5 Rock Songs From 1975 That Are So Underrated

It's fair to say that 1975 was a pretty solid year for music, with releases from that year remaining firmly embedded within the pop culture consciousness half a century later. Among the albums released that year are Bob Dylan's "Blood on the Tracks," David Bowie's "Young Americans," Jersey legend Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run," Patti Smith's "Horses," the Eagles' "One of These Nights," Elton John's "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy," Heart's "Dreamboat Annie," Aerosmith's "Toys in the Attic," Queen's "A Night at the Opera," Neil Young's "Tonight's the Night," Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here," and Led Zeppelin's "Physical Grafitti," boasting an album cover bursting with cultural references.

As incomplete as it is, that's a pretty impressive list by anyone's standards, including dozens of songs that remain beloved classics for fans — both those who bought the vinyl back in '75, and ensuing generations of music lovers who've discovered those iconic songs via CDs, and then streaming. With all the incredible music unleashed within a single 12-month period, it's no surprise that a lot of worthy albums and singles have flown under the mainstream radar. 

And that's a shame. It's only with the passage of time that some unsung classics have emerged, claiming their rightful place among that awe-inspiring pantheon of rock LPs. From a proto-punk cult classic to a hard-rocking hit, read further to explore five rock songs from 1975 that are so underrated. 

The Dictators released their first album in 1975, "The Dictators Go Girl Crazy!" While there's some debate about as to who really invented punk, that album is widely credited with paving the way for the punk boom of the late 1970s. The lead single, "The Next Big Thing," is an audacious declaration from afro-topped frontman Handsome Dick Manitoba, telling listeners that they are hearing a band about to become just that. A stark rebuttal to the instrumental virtuosity that was in vogue at the time (think Steely Dan's "Katy Lied," or Jeff Beck's "Blow By Blow," both released that same year), "The Next Big Thing" is swaggering DIY garage rock at its most basic, yet packing a powerful sonic punch.

In an age of social media influencers and reality show celebrities, the lyrics still resonate, with Manitoba boldly declaring fame to be his only goal. "But I won't be happy / Till I'm known far and wide," he sings. "With my face on the cover / Of the TV Guide." Of course, there's also a certain tongue-in-cheek element at play in the lyrics, with Manitoba bragging, "I knocked 'em dead in Dallas / They didn't know we were Jews."

"The Next Big Thing" has become an underrated cult classic, and while Manitoba loves the song's energy and ideas, he wishes it was recorded better. He told Psychedelic Baby Magazine," ... sonically speaking — pure sound-wise execution-wise singing? I just think the record sounds terrible.

During the early 1970s, Newcastle-based British folk-rock band Lindisfarne hit No. 1 in the U.K. with the "Fog on the Tyne" album; in 1972, in fact, Lindisfarne and glam-rockers Slade were neck and neck as the U.K.'s biggest-selling artists of the year. Attempts to break the band in America, however, proved elusive. When the group returned after a lacklustre U.S. tour as the opening act for the likes of The Kinks and Taj Mahal, Lindisfarne owed money, and eventually split up.

Hull embarked on a solo path, and his first project was an ambitious one: "Squire," a 1974 U.K. television play, in which he starred and also produced the soundtrack. The title track from that soundtrack was added to songs he'd already recorded for an in-limbo solo album, which was released in 1975 as "Squire." While neither the song nor the album made much of a dent, the song "Squire" features Hull at his best. With echoes of the aforementioned Kinks, John Lennon's early solo work, and even a bit of ELO, the mid-tempo rocker boasts a hint of prog without forsaking its gutsy, propulsive groove. Snaky lead guitar comes courtesy of Albert Lee, who would spend several years as second guitar on tour with Eric Clapton, a guitarist who is loathed by some other musicians. 

Hull died at age 50 in 1995. "Squire," while far from his best-loved songs among Lindisfarne fans, remains an underrated gem that's well worth giving a spin.

Elvin Bishop made his name as a blues guitarist, a co-founder of the trailblazing Paul Butterfield Blues Band in the early 1960s. After moving on to explore a solo career, he embraced a more radio-friendly pop sound on his 1975 album, "Struttin' My Stuff." The album's first single, "Travelin' Shoes," was a modest hit, but the follow-up single, "Fooled Around and Fell In Love," rocketed to No. 3 on the Billboard Top 100, spending 17 weeks there. In retrospect, the song holds up well, with its sing-along melody and bright production from Bill Szymczyk and Allan Blazek, whose combined credits include hit albums for the Eagles, The Who, and Joe Walsh. 

Of course, the grand irony is that "Fooled Around and Fell in Love" has become Bishop's signature song — despite the fact that he's not the one singing on it.  As Bishop told Alabama.com, he wasn't thrilled with his vocal performance on the recording, and asked his background singer, Mickey Thomas (who would later go on to front Jefferson Starship and its offshoot, Starship), if he felt like giving it a shot. "He got in there and just killed it," Bishop recalled. 

This underrated 1975 hit continues to conjure up easygoing mid-'70s vibes for anyone who hears it. That's a big reason why it's appeared in multiple motion pictures, ranging from "Guardians of the Galaxy" to "Boogie Nights."

During their heyday in the 1970s, Scottish hard-rock band Nazareth charted hits with rocked-out covers of the Everly Brothers' "Love Hurts" and Joni Mitchell's "This Flight Tonight." But it's their 1975 original, "Hair of the Dog" (from the album of the same name), that is arguably the group's most underrated hit. Beginning with a thunking cowbell, the song kicks into high gear immediately, driven by guitarist Darrell Sweet's infectiously gritty guitar riff and the gravelly vocals of Dan McCafferty, sounding as if he'd just downed a bottle of Jack Daniels to wash down a handful of broken glass. Then comes the chorus, "Now you're messin' with a son of a b****."

Not their biggest (that would be "Love Hurts," which hit No. 8 in America), "Hair of the Dog" nevertheless resonated with listeners and has remained a fan-favorite staple of Nazareth concerts. Interestingly, "Hair of the Dog" was not the intended title for either the single or the album, which the band had wanted to call "Son of a B****." 

Clearly, that didn't happen. "The record company went ape s***," McCafferty recalled in an interview with Classic Rock Revisited (via Ultimate Classic Rock). "They said, 'You can't say that.' We said, 'F*** off, John Wayne says that in his movies, and he is the neatest thing that you've got going.'" As has often been the case, the record company won that particular battle, and "Hair of the Dog" was substituted for the offending title.

When it comes to slick, infectious and underrated earworms, there are few that can top "Jackie Blue," the 1975 hit from The Ozark Mountain Daredevils. In much the same manner as the Eagles' "Witchy Woman," the song blends a smooth, soft-rock vibe with an undercurrent of menace, a bit of a departure from the outright country-rock that characterized the band's earlier hit, "If You Want to Get to Heaven." 

The song was written by the band's drummer, Larry Lee. "He said he wrote it about a guy we knew," bass player Mike "Supe" Granda told Classic Rock, explaining the somewhat sleazy story underpinning the lyrics. "Every night, this guy would go out to the nightclub with a wad of money and a pocket full of blow and he'd be out there chasing women," Granda continued. 

After about a year of performing the song in concert, they finally cut it in a recording studio. Their label, A&M, loved it — albeit with a caveat. "After we recorded the song we went to L.A. to mix it, and A&M said: 'You've recorded a No. 1 song, but Jackie needs to be a girl.'" Lee then enlisted the group's lyricist, Steve Cash, to rewrite the lyrics and swap the gender of the titular Jackie Blue, then rerecorded the vocal track. "Larry laid his vocals down, and it flipped all of us out," Granda recalled.