Easy answer: Twisted Sister.
[this is a joke]
You may have seen the ads for the new Eagles album, calling them the "greatest American band." My friend and I grimaced simultaneously at that suggestion. I really can't stand the Eagles, to be honest. If Joe Walsh hadn't joined they would have become a veritable black hole of pretentiousness. There are very few bands that will have me reaching for the channel changer on my radio faster than an Eagles song. Or a Don Henley solo song. Nevertheless, I suppose I have to grudgingly accept that they would be in the conversation.
So we tried to come up with an alternative. He suggested Metallica. I thought that was an interesting suggestion, especially given that they are a pure metal band. I countered with Kiss. They've been around forever, sold a ton of records, and put on the best show in the business according to many. I say this despite the fact that I am not a member of the Kiss Army by any means. He countered again with Van Halen. I also mentioned Aerosmith.
The more we talked, the more we seemed to think either Kiss or Van Halen, but we both thought that a closer look at Motown would be necessary too. Having said that, most Motown groups weren't bands per se, but individual singers or singing groups.
I'd be interested to hear what others think. It's funny that if you think of non-American bands, a ton come to mind: The Beatles, the Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Who, etc. With purely American bands, it becomes harder.
Axen: Jackson DK2M, Fender Deluxe Nashville Telecaster, Reverend Warhawk 390, Taylor 914ce, ESP LTD Surveyor-414
Amphen: Jet City JCA22H and JCA12S cab, Carvin X-60 combo, Acoustic B20
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"I wish Imagine Dragons would be stuck in an Arcade Fire for an entire Vampire Weekend."--Brian Posehn
Easy answer: Twisted Sister.
[this is a joke]
The Law of Gravity is nonsense. No such law exists. If I think I float, and you think I float, then it happens.
Master Guitar Academy - I also teach via SKYPE.
KISS, Alice Cooper or Aerosmith. Nobody else has the longevity.
"No Tele For you." - The Tele Nazi
Ha! Tele-ish now inbound.
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, hands down.
DVM's Ever-Expanding Gear List:
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USATODAY says it's Pearl Jam.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/columni...op-candy_x.htm
The Law of Gravity is nonsense. No such law exists. If I think I float, and you think I float, then it happens.
Master Guitar Academy - I also teach via SKYPE.
Ron Paul is like Kryptonite to Tyranny
Guitars:
MIM Fender Stratocaster, Ibanez AS73, Fender F210, Martin Backpaker Steel-String
Amps:
Behringer V-Tone 2x10 60W, Marshall G10 MkII, Danelectro E-Studio Honeytone.
Pedals:
Danelectro Corned Beef reverb, Johnson flanger, DOD FX25 envelope filter, Behringer Hellbabe wah, Digitech Bad Monkey
Grand Funk RailRoad...
Jimmie Vaughan Strat , Squire 51
Epi 56 GoldTop, SX "Vintage" Jazz Bass
Zager 50, Guild GAD30R (Excellent)
G-Dec 3 Thirty, Valve Junior & Cab
Crate PowerBlock, Crate V33H
Avatar Cabinet 2x12 Hellatones
JamVox, Studio GX With Mods/Farm 2.0.
Off the top of my head, I'd suggest The Allman Brothers Band. Innovation, classic songs, stellar musicians, longevity...
Otherwise, I'd say that [for me] the answer is John Zorn's Naked City. This "turn-on-a-dime" all-star band can and does play in every style possible, often changing from one to the other in an instant. I'd actually have named them 1st before the ABB, but I figured (a) few people know who Naked City is, and (b) with the lineup of this band, it's a bit unfair. The band is John Zorn - sax, Bill Frisell - guitar, Fred Frith - bass, Joey Baron - drums, Wayne Horvitz - organ, piano, keys and Yamatsuka Eye/Mike Patton - vocals. No offense to other bands and their musicians, but when you take these heavyweights of the NY downtown scene and make one band out them, any comparisons to other bands become like watching the Globetrotters play the Generals.
"I happen to have perfect situational awareness, Lana. Which cannot be taught, by the way. Like a poet's ... mind for ... to make the perfect words." - Sterling Archer
Yeah, Bruce came up later in our conversation as well. I guess the funniest part about this is that as soon as we asked the question, we had to stop and think about it for a little while. It wasn't as simple as saying, "The Beatles."Originally Posted by duhvoodooman
Axen: Jackson DK2M, Fender Deluxe Nashville Telecaster, Reverend Warhawk 390, Taylor 914ce, ESP LTD Surveyor-414
Amphen: Jet City JCA22H and JCA12S cab, Carvin X-60 combo, Acoustic B20
Effecten: "Thesis 96" Overdrive/Boost (aka DVM OD2), Hardwire DL-8 Digital Delay/Looper, DigiTech Polara Reverb, DigiTech EX-7 Expression Factory and CF-7 Chorus Factory, Danelectro CF-1 Cool Cat Fuzz
"I wish Imagine Dragons would be stuck in an Arcade Fire for an entire Vampire Weekend."--Brian Posehn
That's a worthy nominee, too, G-man! :Originally Posted by R_of_G
DVM's Ever-Expanding Gear List:
Guitars - W-A-A-A-Y-Y too many to list. Check 'em all out HERE
Amps & Cabs - "Kap'n Kerrang-aroo" BYOC 18W TMB kit amp head; Mojave Coyote head; Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Lacquered Tweed Ltd. Ed.; Allen Sweet Spot kit amp; BYOC Tweed Royal kit amp; Epiphone Valve Jr. combo + mods; Drive 2x12 cab / Celestion G12M Greenback + G12H30; AB Custom Audio 1x12 cab / Celestion Alnico Blue
Pedals/Effects - ZILLIONS, including DVM's Home-built Pedals - See some HERE and HERE, TOO!
DVM's Gear Photos
Visit MY WEBSITE!
I'd say Los Lobos has to be part of the discussion. What about ZZ Top?
helliott in Hamilton
Guitars -- 2 PRS CE 24s 85/15 pups, PRS semi-hollow CE 22, Fender Baja Telecaster; Gibson Les Paul Standard; 80s Strat updated with custom 69 pups, Anniversary Strat with Fat 50s, Epiphone Sheraton re-issue; Yamaha 5-string bass; Yamaha TBS 6 and 12 string acoustics,Takamine acoustic, Fender nylon string acoustic
Amps -- Mesa Boogie Lone Star; Boss Katana 100, Peavey Blueamaster 2x10, Line 6 Helix
Pedals etc: Mosfet Full Drive 2; Ibanez Tube Screamer; Fairfield Barbershop OD, Diamond Compressor; Voodo Sparkledrive, Boss Digital Delay DD7; Boss TU2 Chromatic Tuner; Cry Baby wah
this one really has me thinking [excellent question Marnold]... on influence alone, I'd have to nominate The MC5, The Stooges and The Velvet Underground. I hesitate to think of how much great music wouldn't have been made if these 3 bands didn't exist and exert the influence they did.
Also, if jazz bands count, both of Miles Davis 1960's quintets would vault to the top of the list [particularly the latter with Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter]. If jazz bands don't count, I'd still suggest that the band Miles assembled to record "A Tribute to Jack Johnson" was not a jazz band, but a rock band.
Others that have crossed my mind as reasonable answers to this question... The James Brown Band, Booker T. & The MG's, and The Meters. Along with Funkadelic, these represent the most frequently sampled artists in the world. The Meters and The MG's appear as backing bands on so many artists records that their influence is hard to overestimate. Also, Marnold mentioned the Motown acts. While it is true that most of these acts were singers or singing groups, the musicians for all of these records were mostly the same group known as The Funk Brothers. They def deserve a mention, as I find it hard to believe any bass player that picked up the instrument after the Motown era wasn't influenced in some way by James Jamerson.
"I happen to have perfect situational awareness, Lana. Which cannot be taught, by the way. Like a poet's ... mind for ... to make the perfect words." - Sterling Archer
Interesting, because Pearl Jam says it's the Ramones. Eddie Vedder often introduces PJ's cover of "I Believe in Miracles" as being by "the greatest American band of all time, the Ramones"ude:Originally Posted by Robert
"I happen to have perfect situational awareness, Lana. Which cannot be taught, by the way. Like a poet's ... mind for ... to make the perfect words." - Sterling Archer
Mothers of Invention.
Guitars: '05 MIA Fender Strat HSS, '04 MIA Fender Strat SSS, '03 Burns Steer, '83 Hondo LP copy (project)
Amps: Fender Blues Jr., Line 6 Spider II 112
Pedals: Boss BD-2, Boss CS-3, Boss DS-1, Ibanez TS9DX, Ibanez AW7, Ibanez FZ7, DigiTech Bad Monkey, BYOC Lazy Sprocket (in progress - almost there), Danelectro Cool Cat Chorus.
From my posts in other similar threads, it probably would be good to give my thoughts on what I think "greatest" would mean:
Longevity: Peter Frampton (not American, I know) had one HUGE album that basically made the live album a part of every bands discography, but that was pretty much it.
Influence: How many other bands have taken bits or pieces from them?
Popularity: I don't think this is necessarily the same as "pop" but to be the greatest, I think the average American should know who you are.
Live show: I'm not saying that you need to put on a Kiss extravaganza, but would someone be willing to pony up the cash to see you and leave blown away? I think this would preclude a band like Steely Dan that was predominately (although not exclusively) a recording band and not a touring one. Actually, they were two guys and some studio musicians.
Sound: By this I mean when one of your songs comes on the radio, do you immediately know who it is? E.g. Nobody sounds like Bruce Springsteen (although John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band tried).
Timelessness: Does the band transcend time, eras, music styles. E.g. The Beatles songs (both their pop hits and more psychedelic stuff) seem to have as much impact today as they did when they were first released, whereas the Bee Gees are forever tied to disco and the 70s.
Upon rereading my list, I suppose that the Eagles fit all of this criteria. I suppose I could add another, far more subjective criterion:
Do I hate them and all they represent?
Axen: Jackson DK2M, Fender Deluxe Nashville Telecaster, Reverend Warhawk 390, Taylor 914ce, ESP LTD Surveyor-414
Amphen: Jet City JCA22H and JCA12S cab, Carvin X-60 combo, Acoustic B20
Effecten: "Thesis 96" Overdrive/Boost (aka DVM OD2), Hardwire DL-8 Digital Delay/Looper, DigiTech Polara Reverb, DigiTech EX-7 Expression Factory and CF-7 Chorus Factory, Danelectro CF-1 Cool Cat Fuzz
"I wish Imagine Dragons would be stuck in an Arcade Fire for an entire Vampire Weekend."--Brian Posehn
The Band did all kinds of American music (folk, ragtime, country, etc.). Even though 4/5 of the band was Canadian!
I always feel like they were somehow recording during the Civil War when I listen to their stuff. But their sound is so American.
Bob
Guitars: Jimmie Vaughan Strat, 2001 Affinity Squier Strat with 70's Japanese pickups, Affinity Squier Tele
Amps: Fender Pro Junior w/ Ragin' Cajun speaker, Peavey Delta Blues 115
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Strings: Darco 10's
Website: www.bluesrow.com
not a "band"..
Bob Dylan
I had thought about mentioning Dylan as well, but it begs the question of "with which lineup?" Dylan went through as many band members as Spinal Tap.Originally Posted by Iago
"I happen to have perfect situational awareness, Lana. Which cannot be taught, by the way. Like a poet's ... mind for ... to make the perfect words." - Sterling Archer
Best lineup must be on "Under the red sky" ! How about Elton on the piano and Slash/SRV/Jimmie Vaughan on guitars!Originally Posted by R_of_G
Amazing album btw!
I can't say that I've given up on a flanger cause I've never liked the effect either. I also can't say the same about Tremolo. I hate them both equally. - Tone2TheBone 2009