TIL The band Redbone, who played the 70’s hit “Come and Get Your Love” (repopularized by “Guardians of the Galaxy”), was the first successful rock group formed by Native Americans.

Some Native American musicians from the 1960s and 1970s are listed below. In the 1960s and 1970s, Native American musicians made rock and roll, as well as folk music, disco, blues music, and country music. Long before rock and roll, Native American musicians had a big impact on blues music, and blues music used parts of Native American music. The Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian has a very interesting piece about it. 

Blackfoot is a Southern Rock band from Florida that has been around since 1969. Southern rock is a type of rock that is influenced by blues, gospel, and country music. Southern rock songs often have long jams and solos. Most of the people in the band were Native Americans. Jakson Spires is a drummer with Cherokee roots, and Greg T. Walker is a bassist with Creek roots. Rickey Medlocke is a guitarist whose grandfather, blues musician Shorty Medlocke, is a descendant of the Blackfoot Confederacy. 

Buffy, Sainte-Marie

A folk singer-songwriter who was raised in the U.S. after being adopted from a First Nations reserve in Canada She’s Cree. It’s My Way was her first album, which she put out in 1964 and still does. She keeps putting on live shows. Power In The Blood is the name of her new album, which will be out soon. She has won many awards, including Grammys, Junos Canada’s version of the Grammys, Oscars, BAFTAs, and medals from Queen Elizabeth II. 

Romero, Chan

The song “Hippy Hippy Shake” came out in 1959 and was a big hit in the US, Australia, and the UK. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he was best known as a rock-and-roll singer. He wrote the song and sang the first version of it. The Swinging Blue Jeans, The Beatles, and Czesaw Niemen have all done their own versions of this song. His mother was half Mexican and half Cherokee, and his father was half Spanish and half Apache. He was born in Montana. A few years before his biggest hit, Elvis Presley’s song “Hound Dog” was a source of inspiration for him. 

Iyall, Debbie

The lead singer of Romeo Void was in a new wave/post-punk band before joining Romeo Void. She is a Cowlitz Native American. She was born in Washington and grew up in California. When Romeo Void first got together in 1979, Joy Division was a big part of their sound. Her voice performance is a mix of singing and talking. One of the best examples of her style is the hit song “Never Say Never.” 

Rose, Fernando

A Village People participant He has Lakota and Puerto Rican blood in him. He used to dance before he joined the Village People. He became famous by going on stage and in music videos dressed like a real Native American. The Village People were a disco band best known for their hit singles “Y.M.C.A.,” “Macho Man,” “In the Navy,” and “Go West,” which all went to number one in different countries.

Jeremy Ed Davis

A session guitarist He is half Kiowa, half Seminole, and half Muscogee Creek. He was best known for working with blues musician Taj Mahal. Rod Stewart, George Harrison, Keith Moon, Bob Dylan, and Eric Clapton are just some of the great rock musicians who have worked with him.