'70s Rock Songs That Only Became Popular Decades Later

For many rock fans, the 1970s was the decade when the guitar-led genre truly hit its high water mark. After rock became the dominant form of popular music during the 1960s thanks to the impact of acts such as The Beatles reaching new commercial heights, the decade that followed saw an incredible demand for new rock acts, many of whom became incredibly wealthy in ways that would be impossible to imagine for the majority of today's bands.

While '60s veterans such as The Rolling Stones and Neil Young were continuing to treat fans to fresh music throughout the 1970s, they were joined by a whole host of younger artists such as Led Zeppelin, who released their first record in 1969 and would go on to take hard rock to its limits in the 1970s. The decade also saw the rise of proto-punk bands such as The Stooges who, while not an enormous commercial success at the time, proved to be hugely influential for the punk and new wave acts that would come later in the decade.

And some acts would have to wait even longer than that to find their audience. Indeed, in some cases it has taken decades for classic '70s rock cuts to get their due. Here are 10 songs from the 1970s that only became popular decades later.

Sixto Rodriguez has one of the most intriguing stories in the history of popular music. A promising singer and songwriter on the Detroit music scene, his caustic folk-rock won him a record contract with the Buddah label in the late 1960s, with his debut LP, "Cold Fact," appearing in 1970. However, despite his songs receiving praise from critics, he was unable to find an audience. When his sophomore album also failed to sell in 1971, he quit the music industry and went back to college while also working a construction job to make ends meet.

Little did Rodriguez know that his records were finding a devoted listenership overseas, most notably in South Africa, where "Cold Fact" became part of the soundtrack of the anti-apartheid movement. The artist himself was unaware of his fame abroad; it only came to his attention after fans sought him out and convinced him to tour in the late 1970s. It took decades for recognition to arrive for Rodriguez in his home country and Europe, with the 2012 documentary "Searching for Sugar Man" telling the story of his rediscovery. The film won several awards and spotlighted Rodriguez's signature song, "Sugar Man," which became more popular than ever before in the United States and Europe. Rodriguez toured regularly in the years that followed, and died in 2023 at the age of 81.

The goth subculture seems to exist outside of fashions and trends — indeed, that's part of its appeal — beguiling a portion of alienated adolescents every generation. However, goth's roots in popular culture could arguably be traced back to the late 1970s, and in particular one 12-inch single cut by a then-obscure British band named Bauhaus.

The group had only just formed when they went into the studio to record their masterpiece, "Bela Lugosi's Dead," a song which the band's four members had only practiced together one time before, afraid they might alter what they knew was an inspired piece of work and lose its strange magic. A nine-and-a-half-minute dirge wasn't the sort of thing that would have an immediate commercial appeal, but it did find a small alternative following thanks to being played by iconic British DJ John Peel and turning the ear of the small, dedicated music community of the day.

That was nothing compared to its influence down the years, however, with the reputation of "Bela Lugosi's Dead" growing enormously over the decade that followed. Now considered a landmark goth recording, it has been covered in recent years by huge acts including Nine Inch Nails, Chris Cornell, and many others.

David Bowie may have been one of the most prominent artists of the 1970s, but at the start of the decade, even he was struggling to find an audience. His 1970 folk-infused album "The Man Who Sold the World," for example, was little appreciated upon its release when compared to the glam rock albums that would form the foundation of his legacy, such as 1972's "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders from Mars" and 1973's "Aladdin Sane."

Critical appraisal for the album certainly places "The Man Who..." more prominently among Bowie's oeuvre today. However, when it comes to the title track, it was only in the 1990s that it came to achieve the classic status it now enjoys. That is very much thanks to the iconic performance delivered by grunge pioneers Nirvana during their 1993 "MTV: Unplugged" session. Though the British singer Lulu had charted with a cover of the song in 1974, Nirvana's version, a stripped-back affair that saw the lyrics chime with the world-weary outlook that characterized Gen X and the grunge movement, made the song into an anthem. It gave Bowie a new level of credibility among younger artists of the 1990s, leading him to collaborate with acts including Nine Inch Nails and take his own music in a more abrasive direction.

Formed out of the remnants of short-lived late-1960s hard rock outfit The Vagrants, guitarist Leslie West's next project, Mountain, was incredibly productive during the early 1970s, releasing a string of albums that capitalized on the group's prominence on the festival circuit, which included appearances at the 1969 Woodstock festival as well as the Atlanta International Pop Festival in 1970. The similarity of their musical style to that of the British band Cream, which had by then already broken up, earned them an immediate following.

Their reputation for being adept live performers led to the release of their first live album, "Mountain Live (The Road Goes Ever On)," in 1972. The album stalled at No. 190 on the Billboard 200 album chart, but one track has proven to have enduring appeal in recent decades. "Long Red" originally appeared in studio form on Mountain's 1969 debut, but the live version, which features yells of "louder!" and other interjections from the group's members, has proven irresistible to generations of producers working in the hip-hop genre. It has been widely sampled: DJ Booth claims that vocals from the track have been used by over 100 artists, including Eric B & Rakim, A Tribe Called Quest, and in several instances by Kanye West. Meanwhile, the song's drum breaks and other instrumentation have also been used as the basis of countless beats. Typically, classic hip-hop samples have come from soul music and R&B; "Long Red" is unusual for being a hard rock record that beatmakers return to time and time again.

Iggy Pop's solo career hit its stride in the late 1970s, when the former frontman of The Stooges formed a close friendship and musical partnership with David Bowie, who also enjoyed a fruitful creative spell during this period. With the two relocating to Berlin — where they were ostensibly meant to be avoiding the rampant drug use that had dominated their lives elsewhere – they recorded some of the best material of Iggy's career, with Bowie acting as producer on the two 1977 albums "The Idiot" and "Lust for Life," both of which are now considered classics.

The albums contain several of Iggy's signature songs, such as the title track of the latter album, as well as the brooding "The Passenger," which puts paid to the idea that the pair might somehow have been resisting Berlin's nightlife during their spell in the city. With lyrics detailing how the narrator would "ride through the city tonight" to "see what's mine," it seems Iggy cannot help but be beguiled by Berlin's cold charm. Now a singalong anthem at Iggy's live shows, upon its release it was not considered worthy of being selected as a lead single by the singer's record label RCA, instead appearing simply as a B-side to the single "Success," which despite its name failed to chart upon its release.

It finally became a Top 30 hit in the U.K. following its use in the movie "Trainspotting" and in a TV commercial for the Toyota Avensis in 1998, after which "The Passenger" was rereleased as a single in its own right. It also found success when covered by Siouxsie & the Banshees in 1987, charting in the U.K. as high as No. 41.

The brainchild of songwriting partnership Alex Chilton and Chris Bell, Big Star pioneered American power pop after forming in 1971. Greatly inspired by the British Invasion, the Memphis, Tennessee, outfit released three studio albums during the decade, overcoming creative differences with the band's label, the resignation of Bell in 1972, and ongoing commercial indifference. However, they eventually built a dedicated following, with songs such as "September Gurls," which charts Chilton's tumultuous love life at the time of its composition, proving to have stood the test of time.

Big Star have been described as akin to The Velvet Underground in the 1960s; though they had limited commercial impact during their creative peak, their influence on the generations of musicians that came after them is incalculable. Those who took inspiration from The Replacements include R.E.M., one of the musical titans of the 1990s, and The Replacements, who released a song titled "Alex Chilton" on their album "Pleased to Meet Me," acknowledging their debt to Big Star. "September Gurls" is now regarded as the band's masterpiece.

The title track to British folk artist Nick Drake's haunting third and final studio album encapsulates much of what makes him such an interesting songwriter and performer for generations of fans. Delicate and sparse both musically and lyrically, the song is nevertheless richly evocative and memorable, with a fragile quality that, it turned out, accurately reflected the character of its creator.

Despite being lauded by those in the know, including Drake's friend and fellow songwriter John Martyn, Drake's work found little success during his lifetime, selling only in their thousands and seemingly adding to the songwriter's depression. The "Pink Moon" sessions took place spontaneously, with Drake contacting producer John Wood at the last minute and recording the whole album in two 11 p.m. sessions. "I knew this was different," Wood told The Guardian in 2022, but nevertheless the incredible haunting quality of what is arguably Drake's finest album still didn't make him a star. He died of an accidental overdose three years after recording the album, aged just 26.

It took until 2000 for "Pink Moon" to finally find the audience it deserved. That year, it featured in an ad for the Volkswagen Cabrio, leading to sales of Drake's music climbing significantly enough to prompt a series of reissues of his work. His appeal has wavered little since, and he continues to find new generations of listeners, his reputation now assured as one of the greatest songwriters of the 1970s.

You can't really talk about '70s new wave without mentioning Television, Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd's hugely innovative and, frankly, weird band that emerged from the New York scene. Ostensibly rooted in garage rock, "Marquee Moon," the band's groundbreaking debut album, sees Verlaine and Lloyd taking rock guitar in new, imaginative directions, recalling jazz and classical playing styles, while Verlaine's lyrics are obtuse and surreal but always memorable.

Despite close associations with other major new wave acts such as Blondie, Television failed to build a significant audience in the United States, with "Marquee Moon" and its follow-up, "Adventure," both failing to chart (though they did enjoy a following in the U.K., where "Adventure" actually hit the Top 10). The band sadly split in 1978.

However, Television's reputation has continued to improve as the years have passed, and "Marquee Moon" is now considered a landmark rock album and one of the greatest albums ever recorded. The band reformed to record a third album in 1991, disbanding in 1993 and reforming once again in 2001. Throughout this period, they continued to focus their touring on the U.K. and Europe, where their work was best appreciated. However, by the late 2010s it seemed they had finally cracked the U.S., with Television touring widely to the adulation of American audiences. If you're still unfamiliar with their work, the title track of "Marquee Moon" is the place to start.

The Only Ones were an English band who, as "Another Girl, Another Planet" shows, had an exceptional knack for crafting perfect power pop tunes that stay in your memory like few songs do. However, the story of the band, which showed so much creative and commercial promise, is ultimately a frustrating one despite relics like "Another Girl, Another Planet" having stood the test of time.

Active in the punk era but more melodic than many of their contemporaries, The Only Ones seemed poised to become a huge success. Pop-inclined punk bands such as The Clash had become icons on both sides of the Atlantic, and Only Ones songwriter Peter Perrett's focus on writing love songs should have sent the band stratospheric. Sadly, it was not to be; for whatever reason, The Only Ones split in 1981 after releasing three studio albums, all of which were commercial flops.

However, the band did gain something of a cult following, with American rockers The Replacements regularly including a cover version of "Another Girl, Another Planet" in their live sets. In 2006, it was used in an ad for the telecom company Vodafone, giving the band members a huge boost in terms of royalties and renewed interest in their work. Today, "Another Girl, Another Planet" is considered a classic '70s rock song and boasts tens of millions of streams on music platforms.

Elton John's '70s oeuvre is considered so timeless that it is almost impossible to imagine him having a flop during this era. Indeed, his commercial dominance was incredible, with the flamboyant British star scoring 16 Billboard Hot 100 Top 20 hits in a row between 1972 and 1976, and seven No. 1 albums in a row. Comparisons with Taylor Swift are entirely justified.

But at the time of its release, John's 1971 classic "Tiny Dancer" wasn't to match the commercial heights of his other work of the period. The ballad, which today is considered among John's most tender works and a singalong favorite, failed to break into the Top 40. It has been suggested that its comparative failure — unthinkable today — may have been due to the edits to the single version robbing the song of the pacing that makes its denouement so cathartic.

In any case, the song quietly remained a favorite for hardcore fans, who had to wait until 2000 for the song to rise to significance within John's discography. That year, "Tiny Dancer" was included in a memorable scene in Cameron Crowe's rock drama-comedy "Almost Famous," bringing it to a whole new audience who began to see it as one of the definitive rock songs of the 1970s.

Popularity is relative, and the truth is that the listenership of any particular song or artist will peak and dip continuously over the years, for a variety of reasons. At the time of writing, for example, Fleetwood Mac is enjoying a period of fresh ubiquity thanks to their music being discovered on platforms such as TikTok, firing their classic 1977 album "Rumours" high into the charts alongside new releases by major contemporary stars. Kate Bush saw her music peak once again in the U.S. and the U.K. in 2022, when her 1985 song "Running up That Hill" featured in the TV show "Stranger Things" and quickly accrued a billion listens on Spotify.

But neither of these releases would have been suitable for this list were they released in 1975. Though these works have been brought to the attention of new generations of fans in recent years, they were both also successful releases when they first hit record stores. The above list has been assembled using songs that were considered to have flopped when they first came out — either by failing to sell at all, or when compared to contemporaneous releases by the same artist — and which only gained their status as classic songs years after their release, either slowly and organically, such as in the case of Mountain's "Long Red," or through some event that thrust the song into the limelight.