Greatest Band Round #2 Top Twenty

[luvthelighthouse]

Hey, missing from that list is our very own Eagles!!! However, they are listed as #75. (at least they made the top 100)

I don't know why, but oddly I feel vindicated that The Ramones are #26 and Nirvana #27.

I also have approx 25 on my list... and Rolling Stone's list is similiar to mine and therefor confusing me more. Who knew this would be so hard?

Edited: Willie, you were posting while I was typing... but we noticed our boys were missing!

[luvthelighthouse]

Ok, I can't look at this anymore! Here are my picks - so not easy:

BB King
David Bowie
Elvis Presley
Bob Dylan
Bruce Springsteen
Chuck Berry
CSNY
Jimi Hendrix
Led Zeppelin
Rolling Stones
Byrds
Michael Jackson
Grateful Dead
Janis Joplin
Joni Mitchell
Pink Floyd
WHO
Allman Bros
Buddy Holly
Madonna

[Brooke]

Thanks for that, Willie. When I saw Ray Charles name I shook my head! I made my list and then compared it to theirs. I only have 6 of theirs in my top 20, but I'm sticking with my list.

This is really hard, but I'm going with my heart.

Brooke's Top 20

Aerosmith
Allman Bros
BB King
Beach Boys
Bob Dylan
Bruce Springsteen
Byrds
Chuck Berry
Creedence Clearwater Revival (maybe this should read John Fogerty-he made them)
CSNY (the harmonies of all four are too wonderful)
Elvis Presley
Eric Clapton
Jimi Hendrix
Led Zeppelin
Lynyrd Skynyrd (cannot leave them out-southern rock kings)
Michael Jackson
Pink Floyd
Queen
Rolling Stones
Who

Now, let me make my case for the Rolling Stones. From Wikipedia:

24 studio albums
9 concert albums
Sold 200 million albums worldwide

The songwriting team of Jagger/Richards.

Sticky Fingers (1971) began the list of 8 consecutive #1 albums.

The album Aftermath, released in 1966 contained the almost 12 minute long Going Home, the 1st extended jam on a top selling rock & roll album. Later, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, and other 60's and 70's bands would release long jams routinely.

They made one of the 1st 'purpose-made' promotional film clips (music video) with the 1966 single, Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadow?

There's lots more technical stuff, but the above made the most sense to me.

Ground breaking? Innovative? I think so.

[MikeA]

I'm really struggling here. I'm having to rethink NOT what my opinion of John Mayall is, but rather of the impact he had in comparison to the others on the list. Nothing I brought forward about his influence was wrong, but one has to wonder if people like Clapton, Green, McVie and Fleetwood and Taylor and Taylor joined The Bluesbreakers BECAUSE of their already influenced Blues tendencies or if they got all of that influence from John Mayall. I know in the case of Clapton that he was already entrenched in the Blues from the US bluesmen and I think he saw the Bluesbreakers as a "safe" outlet where he wouldn't have to battle the other members in the band to stick to a bluesy foundation rather than cutting corners for mass appeal.

I then have to look at what Mayall actually brought to the table and it was mostly covers of his Bluesmen Hero's work. I almost feel disloyal in making that statement, but it's getting to "crunch time" and I fear that Mayall may be the most vulnerable in my list.

I'm looking at the Grateful Dead. Most people listen to their recordings and their response is "So What!" I tend to agree. They were NOT a studio band. They were a LIVE BAND. Each performance was almost completely unique and that wasn't either by design or not by design....they were a train ready to wreck! And the only reason it didn't wreck is that Jerry Garcia didn't let it wreck! He really was a master musician and doesn't get the credit he deserves. He was a little bit "everything" and knew more about music theory and music history than virtually anybody. The way he could weave that band together on stage and magnetically DRAW the audience into the scene (whether it be Folk, Psychedelic, Bluegrass, Country...WHATEVER) is just amazing.

I read in Wikipedia where Bill Graham (their promoter) stated, "The Grateful Dead are not the "best" at what they do. They are the ONLY ones who do what they do!"

That pretty well sums up what I know about them. You could NOT categorize them. You couldn't go to a concert and predict what they were going to play and even when they did play some of the same songs, they never sounded the same because of the extended improvisational interludes that could run 15 or 20 minutes!

They were one of the first "Improv Bands" and by that I mean, they would launch into a stint in the middle of a song and just let them take them wherever it wanted to take them. Usually it was a very good place too. But that Improv didn't lend itself well to the Recording Industry. Everything they did, from designing speaker systems for stage use that were WAY ahead of the technology available to virtually anyone else, to the way they selected their songs....it lent itself to a cult following that may never be equaled. They made their success with the loyalty of an ever growing fan base who saved their money to travel to concerts rather than buy records.

"The Dead" is an enigma. Man, I don't know how much they contributed to "the industry" (hell, they were as anti establishment as anyone could be! They just didn't care!) But their influence on Society was tremendous. The Psychedelic Era certainly wouldn't have been what it was had it NOT been for the Grateful Dead. But because of the very nature of that era, much was "underground". Good grief...when you have Oswley Stanley camped out in the attic of your Haight-Ashbury house mass producing LSD (ever heard of "Purple Oswley"?) you don't actually advertise your business! And you cannot separate the Dead from the early years when they were the House Band for the fabled "Acid Tests". Those "tests" were NOT just a place for Stanley to try out his newest batch of LSD, but were also the venue in which what became the Light Shows that accompany Rock Shows of today! This was also where improved Speaker Systems and audio/visual displays were evolved.

quote from Wikipedia:

The Wall of Sound was an enormous sound system designed specifically for the Grateful Dead.[43][44] The band was never satisfied with the house system anywhere they played, so in their early days, soundman Owsley "Bear" Stanley designed a public address (PA) and monitor system for them.

All of these things...yes, including the drug abuse...came from those early years (circa 1965 in San Francisco!) At the time, LSD wasn't even illegal! But "the Man" won in the end and Stanley was imprisoned in 1970 for selling LSD.

I just can't bring myself NOT to include the Dead in my top Twenty influences.

[luvthelighthouse]

Hey, you sold me on John Mayall... but if you are going to take it back, I'm gonna edit my list!

Since you aren't closing this until Thurs morning, I may edit. Now I'm all confused again!

Of course the Dead belong in the top 20! OMG, they influenced a culture! They didn't have groupies, they have Deadheads! (pretty much a cult following) The only true way to expierence them was to see them live. Their concerts were pretty much jam sessions that lasted for hours on end. They lived in the moment, for the moment and producing studio albums was on the back burner. To have that huge of a following, certainly dictates that they had a profound effect on music... be it live music!

[Prettymaid]

Beach Boys
Elvis Presley
Eric Clapton
Bob Dylan
Bruce Springsteen
CSNY
Jimi Hendrix
Rolling Stones
Aretha Franklin
Byrds
Doors
Michael Jackson
Bee Gees
Fleetwood Mac
Heart
Supremes
Simon & Garfunkel
Alman Bros
Queen
Stevie Ray Vaughn

[eaglesvet]

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".

I thought I just did that...

[eaglesvet]

It was interesting to read the Rolling Stones' List, especially with regards to which artist was reviewing the honored artist. Great pairings! Anyway, here's my list:

BB King
Beach Boys
Elton John
Elvis Presley
Eric Clapton
Bob Dylan
Bruce Springsteen
CSNY
Chuck Berry
Led Zeppelin
Rolling Stones
Aretha Franklin
Michael Jackson
Grateful Dead
Supremes
Who
Buddy Holly
Simon and Garfunkel
Stevie Wonder
Madonna

[Prettymaid]

As you all know, I've been struggling with this game since the beginning. Most of the artists on the list are not my choice of "listening music". I keep thinking about Mike's challenge to vote for "who brought the most to the table". This morning as I was waking up a thought came to me, and I'm paraphrasing:"If a tree falls in the woods and I'm not there to hear it, does it make a sound?" I understand the rules, but I'm probably going to vote for who had the most effect on me.

[MikeA]

Eva...Sorry...I went back and looked and didn't see anything. But I'm using "One Of These Nights" skin for the Forum here and your text was black against a black background. I couldn't see it until I Highlighted it.

There have been a few other posts with lists casting votes but I think I caught all of them. I don't know why your posts tend to have a font color that blends so well with the background.