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.

[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."

[Robert****]

USATODAY says it's Pearl Jam.

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

[Big_Rob]

[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.

[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?

[mrmudcat]

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

100% agree,LYNRYD SKYNRYD would be either tied or one above my all time favorite American bands..Allmansude: :

[YerDugliness]

Nobody has mentioned Boston yet.

They have a unique sound, and most of those our age would recognize almost anything they play as being Boston.

They have longevity, as they are still around in various incarnations.

Now, having said that, I must admit I'm a bit disappointed we got to the 5th page of this thread without The Doors being mentioned, and even then negatively. I think they had huge influence on American music and had they not been mentioned yet, I would have.

Gotta agree, though, Lynard Skynard is tops for me, not b/c I like their music that much (not that I don't, either), but b/c they really top the charts on all the criterion suggested. After L/S, I guess The Boss, or The Ramones (although other than musicians, I would suggest that the average music listener isn't all that familiar with their work), and nobody seems to have mentioned Guns 'N' Roses yet (wouldn't be my choice, either, but they do come to mind if one is looking for the one band that excited the youth of America, even if it was short lived), and what's wrong with The Doobie Brothers, anyway????????

Guess I might as well shut-up, before somebody else tells me to do so.

Dugly

[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:

[Justaguyin_nc]

Grand Funk RailRoad...

[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.