Greatest American Band?

[marnold***]

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.

[Robert****]

Easy answer: Twisted Sister.

[this is a joke]

[Spudman***]

KISS, Alice Cooper or Aerosmith. Nobody else has the longevity.

[duhvoodooman***]

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, hands down.

[Robert****]

USATODAY says it's Pearl Jam.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/columni...op-candy_x.htm

[Big_Rob]

[Justaguyin_nc]

Grand Funk RailRoad...

[R_of_G]

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.

[marnold***]

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, hands down.

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."

[duhvoodooman***]

Off the top of my head, I'd suggest The Allman Brothers Band. Innovation, classic songs, stellar musicians, longevity...

That's a worthy nominee, too, G-man! :

[helliott***]

I'd say Los Lobos has to be part of the discussion. What about ZZ Top?

[R_of_G]

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.

[R_of_G]

USATODAY says it's Pearl Jam.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/columni...op-candy_x.htm

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:

[Adrian30]

Mothers of Invention.

[marnold***]

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?

[birv2]

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

[Iago]

not a "band"..

Bob Dylan

[R_of_G]

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.

[SuperSwede]

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.

Best lineup must be on "Under the red sky" ! How about Elton on the piano and Slash/SRV/Jimmie Vaughan on guitars!

Amazing album btw!