Greatest Band Round #2 Top Twenty

[sodascouts]

BB King
Beach Boys
Elvis Presley
Bob Dylan
CSNY
Jimi Hendrix
Led Zeppelin
Rolling Stones
Aretha Franklin
Doors
Michael Jackson
Bee Gees
Fleetwood Mac
Janis Joplin
Joni Mitchell
Buddy Holly
Stevie Wonder
Cream
John Mayall's Bluesbreakers
Stevie Ray Vaughn

[Prettymaid]

I think Clapton carried a lot more influence on the Industry, particularly other guitarists, that did Cream. I'm not sure if it was Clapton who popularized the guitar solo extending song length into the 10 or 15 minute range. Everyone was doing it there for a while....Hendrix, Grateful Dead, Clapton, James Gang...they were all recording long jam sessions. But I'll have to dig to see who initiated it.

Probably the first time I realized who Eric Clapton was, was when The Beatles' While My Guitar Gently Weeps came out. Even then it took years for me to fully appreciate the guitar work. Now I get it!

[TimothyBFan]

I have kinda worked on this list but plan to concentrate hard on it today and get it posted. As far as lobbying---I don't need to do to much of that thanks to FP and Mike who have pretty much said exactly what I would have.

Sorry but don't think Joan Jett/Runaways and definitely not the Go Gos are anywhere close to the same league as Heart! But I also agree that tho Heart is fabulous and very rocking and bluesy, there were others ahead of them (even tho they never played instruments perhaps) that might have paved the way a bit for them. Can we all say ARETHA!!! This is music in general, not by genre, but who can forgot all the great women coming from the Motown sound in the 60s and 70s?

As far as Cream, have to agree with what someone said where they really didn't do much for the industry. Don't get me wrong LOVE them~~~ but they were just another group of exceptional artists. I rank them like I would groups like Faces, Traffic, Yardbirds or Blind Faith. Great groups that have spawned many many many solo careers. Again, JMHO.

I've made it pretty obvious who I feel should get top billing when all is said and done. But no disputing those that have paved the way, such as the Dead, Stones, Hendrix, Bowie, Dylan, Aretha, Bluesbreakers, etc...Even those that claim they really don't know much about some of the artists who's names are being tossed around, have to have heard of the true legends and know what they have done.

[MikeA]

It has been said of Clapton, that he "does everything" in the minor pentatonic scales. But he knows them as well as he knows his own face. And, he plays them FAST.

The remark, by a self proclaimed music critic was meant disparagingly but he is right. However, that does NOT take anything away from his talent and imagination. And, it is not surprising that he knows the Minor Pentatonic better than any of the other scales. That's what most Blues is built on!

From the Yardbirds, to the Bluesbreakers, to Cream, to Blind Faith, to Derik and the Dominos to voluminous walls full of Gold and Platinium Records; Yeah, Clapton had a lot of influence on the industry. Yet, I think that Eric was more about sticking around within the boundaries of what he loved (the Blues) rather than breaking new ground or changing the "formula of the day" for for success. Eric along with BB King should go down in history for "Perpetuating the Blues Genre". Both, Eric especially, has remained loyal to the old "original" Bluesmen...helping them financially to reap some of the rewards that the Record Labels robbed them of. So many of the really Great Bluesmen, the ones like Muddy Waters, Lightning Hopkins, Little Walter, and even BB King, were screwed out of most of the money they generated in record sales and went to their graves poor as dirt! Eric at least paid homage to these guys and toured with them.

You can see currently the dedication to "making things right" that Clapton is responsible for with the Crossroads Festivals he organizes to raise money to fund the Antigua Drug Rehabilitation Center that he poured his fortune into. Just look at the masses of musicians who give of their time for that event every couple of years.

It took Eric Clapton a LONG TIME to grow up. He had a LOT of baggage to get rid of including NOT knowing that the girl he called "Sister" was really his "Mother". He didn't discover this until he was Nine Years Old! It pretty much warped his personality.

[Prettymaid]

But no disputing those that have paved the way, such as the Dead, Stones, Hendrix, Bowie, Dylan, Aretha, Bluesbreakers, etc...Even those that claim they really don't know much about some of the artists who's names are being tossed around, have to have heard of the true legends and know what they have done.

I know it's hard to believe, but I have never owned any music by the above-mentioned artists - even the Stones! (Sorry, never liked them!) All I know of these artists is what I've heard on the radio.

You have to understand, while some of you were listening to some of these artists I was listening to John Denver, Jim Croce and Cat Stevens. Eventually that developed into Heart, Queen, Firefall, Styx, Boston, Kansas, REO, and Chicago, to name a few.

So yes, I heard the legends, but I don't really know what they did, except from the radio. If I liked what I heard on the radio, I went and bought the record! It's just that it wasn't any of these artists.

[MikeA]

Someone mention or suggested that Cream initiated the Power Trio. It was a format for a band that encouraged long demonstrations of talent by all three members of the group since in most cases, vocals were not the emphasis.

Buddy Holly and the Crickets may be able to claim the honors of promoting the Power Trio format though their formula was a little different than that we call the Power Trio. The Crickets were more about rhythm so that Buddy could get out there and wail his voice as well as play his guitar.

It might be attributed to Muddy Waters and his trio.

But the origins of what we call Power Trio has to be given to Jimi Hendrix AND Cream. They defined the format with their configurations and it wasn't possible until the amplifiers became strong enough to allow all three sections of the trio to come through in BLISTERINGLY LOUD form! While Hendrix and Clapton were doing their thing, the "look back" moment usually signified as the beginning of the Power Trio is the '67 Monterey POP Festival when Hendrix blew everyone away in the USA!

There were certainly a LOT of successful bands following the lead of Hendrix and Cream. Heck, even Led Zep is a derivation of the power trio....three instruments plus Robert Plant as frontman or vocalist.

[Prettymaid]

I'm not sure if the arguments are infuencing anyone, but let me say a few words on behalf of Queen.

Queen is known for their diversity. From the beginning with Killer Queen, which is sort of camp and vaudeville-like, to the gospel-sounding Somebody to Love, to the Elvis-inspired Crazy Little Thing Called Love. And who can forget Queen when they go to a sporting event and hear We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions?

And then, of course, there is Bohemian Rhapsody, thought by some to be the greatest rock song of all time. It is in a category by itself. While studying up on Queen, I learned that the video they made for BR is perhaps the first video ever, not counting The Beatles'.

So, I'm going to include Queen and I hope you do too.

[MikeA]

Queen was another of the Power Trio +1 groups....Mercury was usually considered a vocalist leaving the others to the instrumental parts though Mercury played on a lot of their recordings as well.

[eaglesvet]

Although I don't have time to post my list right now, I am going to take the time to lobby for my fave...surprise...Bruce Springsteen!

He has had an extremely successful career from the mid-70's through today, which is not true of many on the original list. Back in May '74, then music critic Jon Landau made the famous comment, upon seeing Bruce play in Boston, "I have seen rock and roll future, and its name is Bruce Springsteen..." Not long afterward, Bruce appeared on the covers of Time and Newsweek in the same week of Oct. '75, and the rest, as they say, is history. To quote Wikipedia, he is known for his brand of "Heartland rock" full of pop hooks, poetic lyrics, and Americana sentiments...and from personal experience, he's certainly the forerunner of the "Jersey shore sound" (read: lots of big horns, accordians, and keyboards.) His marathon concerts full of emotional personal stories and changing setlists (currently decided by fan signs) are legendary, and would send many a younger artist back to the gym! Not only are two of his albums, Born to Run and Born in the USA among the top-selling albums of all time; he has served as a successful songwriter for other artists such as the Pointer Sisters, Donna Summer, Manfred Mann's Earth Band, and Patti Smith. He has recently been voted to Rolling Stones 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, as well as to Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People of the Year (in 2008. )

VOTE FOR THE BOSS!!

[MikeA]

Okay Eva, Springsteen. So Noted. But exactly what did he bring to the table? How did he revolutionize "life as we know it?" <LOL> Remember, we're stacking up these artist against those who "formed" the music with role models to contend with such as Hendrix, Clapton, BB KING and the other 36 contenders. Something has to stand out, so tell us as though we'd never heard of "The Boss".