Rock history isn’t written in stone – it’s written in memory, and memory is fickle.
Some artists remain cultural fixtures decades later, while others, despite massive sales, screaming crowds, or even whole genres revolving around them, fade into obscurity.
Why does this happen? Part of it is timing. Bands who embody a particular moment often struggle to survive beyond it. Another factor is influence: some acts change the landscape, others ride the wave. And then there’s luck – which albums get canonized, which songs keep being played, which stories get told.
The late ’60s through early ’80s was especially ruthless in this regard. The music industry expanded wildly, the counterculture exploded, prog rock tried to build empires, and the rise of MTV reshuffled the deck yet again. Dozens of groups sold millions, toured the world, and for a brief window, seemed eternal – yet today they’re ghosts.
Here are 11 bands who were once huge but are now largely forgotten. You may not hear their names much anymore, but at their peak, they were everywhere. And if nothing else, they left behind songs that still sound vital – even if history forgot their creators.
Great forgotten bands
1. Blood, Sweat & Tears (1967-81)
Jazz-rock fusion was, briefly, the cutting edge of late-’60s pop, and Blood, Sweat & Tears sat at the very top. Their 1968 self-titled album didn’t just chart well – it sold better than The Beatles' Abbey Road in the United States, and won the Grammy for Album of the Year over Crosby, Stills & Nash and Johnny Cash. The band’s secret weapon was its brass section, which gave songs like ‘Spinning Wheel’ and ‘You’ve Made Me So Very Happy’ a swinging, brassy punch.
Their debut sold better than Abbey Road in the US
But the very things that made them successful – polished arrangements, a whiff of showbiz professionalism – doomed them as rock shifted toward grit and authenticity. By the mid-’70s, they were seen as relics, not revolutionaries. Today, they’re rarely mentioned alongside Chicago or Steely Dan, but for a brief moment, they were America’s biggest band.
Defining moment: Spinning Wheel
2. Ten Years After (1966-75)
When Alvin Lee and Ten Years After hit the Woodstock stage in 1969, they played with such blistering speed and intensity that they seemed destined for immortality. Lee’s rapid-fire guitar runs on ‘I’m Going Home’ made him a household name, briefly elevating him to ‘fastest guitarist alive’ status. The band’s blues-rock energy filled arenas in the early ’70s, and they scored radio hits with ‘Love Like a Man’ and ‘I’d Love to Change the World’.
Yet the very virtuosity that made Lee famous began to seem like excess as the decade wore on. Blues-rock suddenly felt stodgy compared to glam, prog, and punk. Despite their talent, Ten Years After never quite defined an era – they reflected it. By the ’80s, they were mostly forgotten, their Woodstock moment preserved on film but rarely revisited on playlists.
Defining moment: I’m Going Home (live at Woodstock)
3. Mountain (1969-74)
Heavy, loud, and swaggering, Mountain were early pioneers of the hard rock sound that would later fuel heavy metal. Formed around guitarist Leslie West and Cream’s producer-bassist Felix Pappalardi, they broke through with ‘Mississippi Queen’ in 1970 – a cowbell-stomped classic of barroom grit and arena power. West, a towering figure both physically and musically, wielded a guitar tone so thick it made Clapton sound polite.
Mountain played Woodstock (technically at the post-festival follow-up), toured relentlessly, and influenced generations of riff-heavy bands. But Pappalardi’s tragic death in 1983 (shot by his wife in a bizarre domestic dispute) cast a shadow, and by then, Mountain had long since peaked. Today, they’re mostly remembered as a one-song band, but ‘Mississippi Queen’ alone cements their place in rock history.
Defining moment: Mississippi Queen
4. Emerson, Lake & Palmer (1970-79 / 1990-99)
Few bands embodied the excess and grandeur of prog rock like Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Combining Keith Emerson’s virtuoso keyboards, Greg Lake’s soaring voice, and Carl Palmer’s thunderous drumming, ELP filled stadiums in the early ’70s and sold millions of albums. Their shows featured giant synthesizers, exploding gongs, and even Emerson stabbing his organ with knives to hold down notes.
At their peak, they were bigger than Yes or Genesis – yet they’ve aged poorly. While Yes and Genesis retained a degree of cool thanks to their songwriting and reinvention, ELP are often remembered as the poster children of prog’s overindulgence. Punk critics targeted them mercilessly. By the ’80s, they were yesterday’s men.
Still, ‘Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends’ remains a perfect slogan for their maximalist legacy: both awe-inspiring and absurd.
Defining moment: Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression, Pt. 2
5. Quicksilver Messenger Service (1965-79)
In the San Francisco psychedelic scene, Quicksilver Messenger Service were once considered on equal footing with the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane. Their jam-heavy performances at the Fillmore earned them a fervent following, and guitarist John Cipollina’s shimmering vibrato style was widely admired.
But while the Dead and Airplane secured their legacies through myth, politics, and sheer persistence, Quicksilver never made the leap into cultural permanence. Their biggest hit, ‘Fresh Air’, is a breezy gem of acid-tinged country rock, but it didn’t have the staying power of ‘Somebody to Love’ or ‘Truckin’.
They were too loose to become hitmakers, and too straight to become legends. By the mid-’70s, they were gone, their moment swallowed up by the very scene they helped create.
Defining moment: Fresh Air
6. Asia (1981-86)
In 1982, prog veterans from Yes, ELP, and King Crimson formed a supergroup. Asia’s debut album was a monster, selling over 10 million copies worldwide and dominating MTV with ‘Heat of the Moment’. For a brief moment, Asia (also pictured top) were the biggest band in the world.
But prog supergroups don’t age well. Critics derided them as corporate rock, fans drifted away, and by the mid-’80s they were a punchline. Today, Asia are remembered mostly for that one gleaming, era-defining single.
Defining moment: Heat of the Moment
7. Humble Pie (1969-75)
Fronted by Small Faces veteran Steve Marriott and featuring a young Peter Frampton, Humble Pie seemed destined for greatness. Their raw mix of blues-rock and soul made them one of the loudest, heaviest bands of the early ’70s, with legendary live shows that earned them a rabid following. Their 1971 Performance: Rockin’ the Fillmore album is still considered a classic of live rock excess.
Yet their success didn’t translate into long-term cultural memory. When Frampton left to pursue his solo career – culminating in Frampton Comes Alive! – Humble Pie lost their crossover appeal. Marriott’s voice was remarkable, but the band never fully broke through to superstardom. By the end of the ’70s, they were more of a cult act than a household name.
‘30 Days in the Hole’ remains Humble Pie’s signature, a swaggering anthem of hard-living defiance, even if the band’s legacy has dimmed.
Defining moment: 30 Days in the Hole
8. Grand Funk Railroad (1969-76)
Dismissed by critics but adored by fans, Grand Funk Railroad were the ultimate blue-collar band. In the early ’70s, they sold out Shea Stadium faster than The Beatles, blasting their hard rock to crowds of working-class kids who didn’t care about critical approval. Songs like ‘We’re an American Band’ and ‘Some Kind of Wonderful’ made them chart staples.
Yet their very populism doomed them. Critics sneered, punk bands mocked them, and history wrote them out of the canon. Today, they’re remembered (when they are at all) as symbols of bloated ’70s arena rock. Still, their energy was undeniable – and they remain one of the clearest examples of how success and legacy don’t always align.
Defining moment: We’re an American Band
9. Poco (1968-2021)
Before the Eagles conquered the world with country-rock harmonies, Poco laid the groundwork. Founded by ex-Buffalo Springfield members Richie Furay and Jim Messina, the band perfected the blend of twang and polish that would define California rock.
Despite critical respect and a loyal fanbase, Poco never quite broke through – perhaps because their former protégés in the Eagles took their blueprint and magnified it. Their 1979 hit ‘Crazy Love’ gave them one last brush with stardom, but by then, the Eagles had become stadium gods. Poco’s fate is one of rock’s cruel ironies: they helped invent a sound, but history remembers the band who commercialized it.
Defining moment: Crazy Love
10. Raspberries (1970-75)
In the early ’70s, when rock was either sprawling (prog) or heavy (hard rock), the Raspberries championed something different: concise, melodic power-pop. Fronted by Eric Carmen, they delivered sugary harmonies with a rock punch, and their single ‘Go All the Way’ was both a radio smash and, thanks to suggestive lyrics, mildly scandalous.
For a time, they looked like inheritors of The Beatles’ pop mantle. But power-pop rarely sells longevity, and after four albums, they split. Carmen’s solo career and ballads (‘All By Myself’) overshadowed his former band. Today, the Raspberries are remembered mainly by power-pop aficionados, but their best singles still sparkle.
Defining moment: Go All the Way
11. The Knack (1978-82)
Few bands flamed out faster than The Knack. Their debut single ‘My Sharona’ was the defining pop-rock hit of 1979, a New Wave earworm that seemed inescapable. Their debut album, Get the Knack, sold millions and prompted a media frenzy dubbing them ‘the new Beatles’.
But hype is dangerous. The backlash was immediate – critics mocked them as shallow opportunists, and their second album couldn’t sustain the momentum. By 1982, they were done. Today, ‘My Sharona’ lives on as a nostalgic novelty, but the band behind it has all but disappeared from cultural memory.
Defining moment: My Sharona
All pics Getty Images
