3 Country Music Hidden Gems from the 1970s

Even the biggest names have songs that don’t always come quickly to mind when we think of them. For every No. 1 single, there are several deep cuts. And here below, we wanted to explore a trio of such songs from some of country music’s biggest heroes during one of the genre’s golden eras.

While you may know their names, you may not be nearly as familiar with these tracks here below. But in the end, after taking a listen, you will most assuredly be hooked. Perhaps they will rocket up the top of your morning playlist. Indeed, these are three hidden gem country songs from stars of the 1970s.

[RELATED: American Songwriter November Cover Story: Dolly Parton—The Eternal Artist]

“Daddy’s Moonshine Still” by Dolly Parton from Joshua (1971)

This song is about tough times, a rift in a marriage and the negative results of alcohol. And it all sounds so believable and sweet coming off the tongue of country icon Dolly Parton. The singer’s father made alcohol and her brothers took it across state lines to sell but all the while it broke her mama’s heart. The song from Parton is like a movie, it’s so vivid and seemingly accurate to a rural way of life. And on it, she sings,

My bootlegging daddy was known quite well

And he made our home a livin’ hell

And I ain’t forgot it and I know that I never will

My mama finally died, she just gave up

And daddy finally died from drinkin’ that stuff

And bad memories haunt the rest of us

From daddy’s moonshine still

Yeah, daddy’s moonshine still was good for nothin’

But to break mama’s heart

And to tear our home apart

Make our lives a livin’ hell

“Darby’s Castle” by Kris Kristofferson from Kristofferson (1970)

While this album included Kris Kristofferson’s mega-hit “Me and Bobby McGee,” it also included his lesser-known song “Darby’s Castle,” which tells the story of a misguided husband and a sordid love affair. Cecil Darby doesn’t care properly for his wife. Instead he constructs her a castle, though he should have just spent time with her. Later, he sees his wife in the arms of another man and seeks retribution on them both. It’s a rather incredible story and Kristofferson sings it with such dignity and authority. On the song, he croons,

See the ruin on the hill, where the smoke is hanging still,

Like an echo of an age long forgotten.

There’s a story of a home crushed beneath those blackened stones,

And the roof that fell before the beams were rotten.

Cecil Darby loved his wife, and he laboured all his life,

To provide her with material possessions.

And he built for her a home of the finest wood and stone.

And the building soon became his sole obsession.

“Once Before I Die” by June Carter Cash from Appalachian Pride (1975)

There are fewer names bigger in country music than June Carter Cash. A member of both the Carter family and Cash legacy, she released her debut solo album Appalachian Pride in 1975. And on it was the love song “Once Before I Die,” a song about deciding to love someone, if even briefly, before time runs out. On the slow, reflective and sweet song, Carter Cash sings,

I told you once and I’ll tell you now

If I lose your love, I’d die somehow

You broke the news to me today

But I need one thing before I go away

Well, you know I’m gonna love you, baby, once before I die

You know I’ve got to love you, baby, and I ain’t gonna cry

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Photo by David Redfern/Redferns