You may never have heard of these artists or bands, but you should. While these artists are relative musical unknowns, each is a genuine talent, but still and all… relative unknowns.
Crack The Sky is a Baltimore MD band I’ve listened to for years, that no-one’s ever heard of. John Palumbo plays guitar, sings lead vocals, and writes the bulk of the songs. The lineup is extensive, three guitars, bass, drums, and keyboards, with multiple vocalists. The band is a cross between ‘Yes’ and ‘Pink Floyd’, what I would call ‘progressive rock satire’. ‘Ice’ was the first song I ever heard by them and I instantly became a fan. ‘From The Greenhouse’ is the title cut off the record of the same name. ‘Hold on/Surf City’ shows the measure of their worth.‘She’s a Dancer’ is a must listen. Every song is a blend of rock, pop, and atmospherics. These guys are good!
The Dixie Dregs are phenomenal. Originally, all instrumental, they did add vocals for a track or two on an album or two. Everybody in the group was a virtuoso in their own right. My all-time favorites are, ‘Go For Baroque’ and ‘Cruise Control’, both of which came off the record ‘Unsung Heroes’. I saw the Dregs at UCLA Auditorium in Los Angeles. Easily the best live show I have ever seen. Their guitar master, Steve Morse later went off to form The Steve Morse Band. Steve played lead guitar on five studio albums with Deep Purple, including ‘Hey Cisco’, a song about The Cisco Kid gone commercial and ‘Vavoom: Ted the Mechanic’. He replaced Cory Livgren on guitars for two albums, in the rock group, Kansas.
Lindisfarne is an English folk rock band from Newcastle, England. Although, ‘Run for Home’ is by far, their most well-known hit, I also like, ‘Meet Me on the Corner’. I have always been a fan of the English Folk Rock scene. ‘Fog on the Tyne’ gives you a good sense of that folksy Anglo flavor. ‘King’s Cross Blues’ and ‘Juke Box Gypsy’ are tunes that have stuck in my head forever, I think you’ll like them, as well.
Harry Nilsson was best known for a song he did not write. ‘Everybody’s Talkin’ was the soundtrack for the movie, ‘Midnight Cowboy’, starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford. ‘One’ was a Nilsson tune that was a radio hit for Three Dog Night. ‘Without You’ was a song by Badfinger that went on to became a hit for Harry. He went on to write and perform the theme song for the hit television show, ‘The Courtship of Eddie’s Father’, called ‘Best Friend’. ‘Coconut’ was a calypso-like ditty that made the radio laugh out loud and hit the charts with a bullet, and later used in endless films. Harry Nilsson also wrote ‘Me and My Arrow’, for the movie, ‘The Point’. Harry was a favorite of John Lennon and Paul McCartney and for a relative unknown, Nilsson made his mark. ‘Spaceman’ and ‘Jump Into The Fire’ round out the long list of Nilsson hits. The band on Jump Into The Fire included Keith Moon, Peter Frampton, and Leon Russell. While Harry Nilsson is not exactly an ‘unknown’ in the strictest sense of the word, we know his songs, but not necessarily, the artist.
