3 Obscure Country Bands and Musicians From the 60s I Bet You’ve Never Heard Of

Want to go back to the golden era of country music? Some might argue that the 1970s were the best time for country music, but there’s something to be said about the 1960s, too. Let’s take a look at a few obscure country bands from the 60s that found success during that decade, but have since been somewhat lost to time.

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The Harden Trio

Remember The Harden Trio? This group of siblings started their country band when they were kids. And they later found quite a bit of success in the 1960s, performing on pretty well-known television programs. Their first album was the 1966 effort Tippy Toeing, which made it to No. 10 on the Top Country Albums chart. That album also made it to the Billboard 200.

Sadly, the music biz can be rough, and the trio’s follow-up album, Sing Me Back Home from 1968, didn’t chart well. It would be their last release, and they disbanded that same year. Still, we’ve got some singles to remember them by, from “Tippy Toeing” to “Everybody Wants To Be Somebody Else”.

Dillard & Clark

This duo could technically be considered a supergroup among obscure country bands from the 60s. Made up of Gene Clark, formerly of The Byrds, and famed bluegrass banjo master Doug Dillard, Dillard & Clark made music together for less than two years between 1968 and 1969. But they did manage to make some magic during that time. Their first album, The Fantastic Expedition Of Dillard & Clark, dropped in 1968 and has since become a niche gem among fans of country rock and Americana music. 

Apparently, Gene Clark refused to tour to promote the album, and it ended up being a commercial failure. The duo released one last album in 1969 before calling it quits for good.

The International Submarine Band

Well, obscure country bands from the 60s don’t get more obscure than this. The International Submarine Band was a country rock outfit formed by Gram Parsons in the mid-1960s. They were together for a few years before disbanding, and while they were together, they released a handful of albums. The most famous of those albums is their debut, Safe At Home. 

It’s a shame that few know of this group, as Parsons’ other outfits like The Flying Burrito Brothers and The Byrds (or even The Fallen Angels with Emmylou Harris) were more commercially successful.

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