Looking for music recommendations

December 3, 2009 8:40 AM

Music filter: I'm a big fan of R&B and country music from the 1950s and '60s. What are some great-but-obscure artists/recordings that I might not know about?
posted by pete_22 to Media & Arts (13 answers total)

I can't wait to see some of the answers that pop up in this thread. Hopefully this falls into the obscure category: I just picked up this live Bill Monroe/Doc Watson duet recording.
posted by gnutron at 9:09 AM on December 3, 2009

Candi Staton

Esther Phillips

Fontella Bass

Ann Peebles
posted by applemeat at 9:30 AM on December 3, 2009

James Carr was a great, under-rated soul singer.
posted by timeistight at 10:51 AM on December 3, 2009

Best answer: One of my favorite soul songs of all-time: Timmy Willis, Easy as Saying 1-2-3. It's available on volume 1 of Dave Godin's brilliant and amazing "Deep Soul Treasures" series, all of which you might enjoy.
posted by scody at 11:12 AM on December 3, 2009

Johnny Paycheck

Bob Wills
posted by sully75 at 11:27 AM on December 3, 2009

Numero Group has a number of albums from obscure artists that might fill this bill.
posted by roofone at 11:58 AM on December 3, 2009

Howard Tate?
posted by dpcoffin at 1:23 PM on December 3, 2009

Cool question, btw. I lived in the DC area back then and listened to both the city soul stations (Dr. LSD, the Local Soul Director!) and the CW stations from the VA out-back; most of my friends thought I was switch-hitting in the weirdest way, but both genres seemed like soul music to me.

Good compilation albums seem a smart way to go; thanks, scody!
posted by dpcoffin at 2:09 PM on December 3, 2009

Best answer: Although its popularity waned by the time the 1960s rolled around, the WLS National Barn Dance featured singing cowboys like Rex Allen and Gene Autry -- you may be able to find quite a few old Barn Dance shows online. But that list of performers is a good place to start poking around.

Self-link: Our label released a few compilations of 50s/60s country-western music -- along with the Bill Monroe and Bob Wills posted above, I also highly recommend Chicago's legendary Sundowners.
posted by pfafflin at 2:10 PM on December 3, 2009

Best answer: Clarence Carter
James and Bobby Purify
Billy Stewart
Garnet Mimms

Hard to know who you'd consider obscure… For some reason, I could never keep the CW artists straight in my head like the soul singers, so no suggestions there; probably because my girl friends all preferred the soul guys.
posted by dpcoffin at 2:24 PM on December 3, 2009

Oh, and then there's Spade Cooley, another one of the singing cowboys, a fiddle genius, and the King of Western Swing -- who became notorious in 1961 for stomping his wife to death. Apparently, there's also a Hollywood biopic about Cooley in production.
posted by pfafflin at 2:27 PM on December 3, 2009

One more:
Bobby Moore
posted by dpcoffin at 2:31 PM on December 3, 2009

Obscure is relative. I'll only link a few as I'm lazy.

Soul/r&B:

Spencer Wiggins
The Ovations
Barbara Acklin
Barbara Lynn
Tommie Young
Bettye Swan
Michael Liggins
Denise LaSalle
Shirley Walton
Reuben Bell
Sugar Pie DeSanto
Syl Johnson
Wiliam Bell
Laura Lee
Dori Grayson
Jimmy Conwell
Lou Johnson
Eddy Giles
Lavern Baker
Mayer Hawthorne (contemporary)
Buddy Ace
James Hunter (contemporary)
Chuck Jackson
Danny White
Anna King
The Ikettes
Arthur Conley
Baby Neal and the Smart Brothers
Doris Duke
Danny White
Bill Moss
Bobby Newsome

Country

Lefty Frizzell
Webb Pierce
Porter Wagoner
Johnny Horton
Red Foley
Roger Miller
Ray Price
Buck Owens
Stonewall Jackson
Don Gibson
Grandpa Jones
Henson Cargill
Jeannie Seely
Kitty Wells
Fern Jones (country gospel)
Hank Snow
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 9:34 AM on December 4, 2009