Some songs are so huge they end up outshining the songwriter who wrote them. Here are some folk singer-songwriters from the 70s that you’ve likely heard of, even if you didn’t know you had.
Yusef / Cat Stevens
You might not know the name Cat Stevens, but even if you don’t, you’re definitely familiar with his songs “Wild World” and “Father And Son”. If you combine all of his works, this folk phenomenon has sold more than 100 million records and received more than two billion streams. The songwriter currently goes by Yusef, a name he adopted after converting to Islam in the late 70s, as well as his stage name, Cat Stevens. You also might know his song, “The First Cut Is The Deepest”, which has been recorded by several artists, including Sheryl Crow and Rod Stewart.
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Jim Croce
If you’ve ever heard the songs “Time In A Bottle” or “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown”, then you’re already super familiar with Jim Croce’s work. Croce emerged as an artist in the early 70s, just as he was approaching his 30s. Then, it was a tragic plane crash in 1973 that truly catapulted his career to new heights. His album, I Got A Name, quickly shot to No. 1 on the Billboard Album Chart, while his previous release, Life And Times, rose to No. 2. To this day, his songs appear in several films and TV shows and continue to be covered by artists around the world.
Don McLean
Ever heard the song “American Pie”? You can give singer-songwriter Don McLean credit for that one. McLean recorded his first album, Tapestry, in 1969 and followed that two years later with “American Pie”, which also served as the name for his second album. To this day, the song has become a staple of American culture and McLean’s biggest musical contribution.
As McLean once shared, per Songfacts, the song actually has a lot to do with his personal story.
“I’m very proud of the song,” he explained. “It is biographical in nature and I don’t think anyone has ever picked up on that. The song starts off with my memories of the death of Buddy Holly. But it moves on to describe America as I was seeing it and how I was fantasizing it might become, so it’s part reality and part fantasy but I’m always in the song as a witness or as even the subject sometimes in some of the verses…”
Photo by: Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns
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Musician, singer, songwriter and composer Billy Joel is shown performing on stage during a live concert appearance on February 2, 1987 in Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by John Atashian/Getty Images) -
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