Next five and what comes to mind. These are not my picks, but just what comes to mind of their contributions:
Springsteen - Wrote to and about the working class, rocked it hard and wrote like Dylan - nothing groundbreaking, but boy does he have energy
Buddy Holly - Was pretty much the first one to explore all avenues of music. He broke the mold of the seperation of songwriters and performers. He wrote and produced his own music. This was not done at the time and now it's commonplace! Was said to have influenced the Beatles.
Byrds - First band to infuse country and rock. Different backgrounds from Bluegrass to Folk... they were America's answer to the British Invation
CCR - Nothing comes to mind!
Chuck Berry - Quoted (paraphrasing) "although no one person is said to have created rock and roll, but Chuck Berry comes the closest". Was amongst the first inducties into the R'n'R hall of fame. Influenced Joe Perry and Jerry Garcia.
I don't know why I'm doing this. Seems most people have their minds made up and some lists are already posted, so this won't influence them at all. Guess it's like talking outloud. From the above, Buddy Holly, IMO did the most out of that group.
Anybody who is interested---right now is a show on Ovation TV called Jimi Hendrix American Landing. Talking to those who knew him and the things that led up to him arriving at the Monterey Blues Festival! Stumbled across it just now and it looks like it's going to be really good.
CSNY - One of the first "supergroups". They were the driving force of the counterculture and best known for their four part harmonies.
The Doors - Loved for Jim's cryptic lyrics the often had nothing to do w/the background music. As a promotional tool, they video taped their songs... thus inspiring the music video! (I thought that was interesting and something I didn't know) Said to have had an influence on both punk rock and grunge.
Elton John- In the world of the guitar, he was began the piano playing bassed rock.
Elvis - Lots of controversy due to him mixing (at the time) black and white music. (seems so odd to me, but I wasn't growing up in the deep south at the time) Mixed blues and gospel. The King ... an icon.
Eric Clapton - Hailed as a guitar god
Fleetwood Mac - I know there are many fans of theirs on this site, so I'm not really sure what to put here... I'm sure someone else would do a better job summing them up
Greatful Dead - Known for their marathon long concerts and improvised playing.
Janis Joplin - In the male driven rock scene, she paved the way for female rockers. Was wild and crazy and played by her own rules.
Jimi Hendrix - All the stuff Mike said about him he said so well... no need to repeat
Okay, that takes me through most of the list. Not sure if I'll add comments to the last eight or not.
Based on the "what did they contribute to music" basis, I did my homework. I have it narrowed down to 14 currently. It's hard though, because I don't like a lot of the artists musically that I'm choosing. Being from Chicago, I should love the blues... but my goodness, unless it's live I can't stand it! I enjoy blues bars, but listening to studio recordings... I just can't w/out getting a headache!
Last edited by luvthelighthouse; 07-17-2009 at 12:25 AM.
I doubt there is anyone alive who does not know who Aretha Franklin is. I myself have very mixed thoughts about Ms. "Respect" though. Between 1966 and 1970, I was just graduating from High School and getting through college and then moved to Texas.
So much was going on musically at that time. The Folkies protesting Viet Nam. The Psychedelics trying to figure out if they or anyone else had a brain between them. The Country rednecks trying to pick fights with anyone who would accommodate them. The Black Blues crowd most who were walking around with a chip on their shoulder. And then the Soul Train came blowing through. I stayed confused trying to figure out whether Soul was a sub-set of Motown, was Motown, was Jazz or a derivative of Blues or maybe a Black version of Rock.
For sure, the people I knew either loved Soul or they loved Psychedelic but it was rare to encounter anyone who appreciated both. Since my love of the day was Blues, I wasn't emotional over either Psychedelic or Soul.
Now Soul wasn't the same as Blues. I felt that Soul was more a blend of Gospel and Blues but not just any Gospel....it was the reminiscent of the gospel sang in the Black churches...cool stuff! I think of Soul as the predecessor to R&B or maybe it Was R&B under a different name.
Whatever the case, Aretha Franklin was at the top of the pile in the late 60's. Possibly only James Brown gathered more of the spotlight than AF, but for me, Aretha's Soul Style took honors.
She was in a class that she pretty much created and comparing her to James Brown is not comparing apples to apples. Aretha's style was most heavily influenced by the Gospel Shouting Hell Fire and Brimstone inspired vocals coming from a choir with a soloist who must have been strung up from the rafters on the Saturday night before the service....had to do it well before the service to tone it down for mere mortal ears!
Regardless of whether "I" liked the music that Aretha sang or not, there is no doubt that a LOT of people did and her endeavors cannot have helped but cement R&B's appeal. But as for Aretha herself, I can't look at her style and stick it into a box. Her talent far exceeded "Soul" and her capabilities are so enormous that I think she could and probably has, done just about anything vocally that can be imagined.
Last night on Ovation TV, after the Jimi Hendrix show, they had a special with James Brown, Little Richard, BB King, Bo Didley, Jerry Lee Lewis and several others. WOW is all I can say!! Absolutely amazing all of them were. Glad I caught it!!!!
I think I've got my list under control and will post it in a few minutes. I want to get it done so I don't scratch and rewrite any more!
Quite a line up of artist there TBF! This has been a great couple of weeks for me. Like an interlude reminiscing years gone by!
FLEETWOOD MAC
I'm sort of in the same boat as LTLL concerning Fleetwood Mac. I think I have all their albums. They are one of the groups that spans decades and that spans genres. I guess I can call the original lineup with Peter Green a Brit Blues band. But the Fleetwood Mac that I know and love was Pop or "Soft Rock" with Nicks and Buckingham in the lineup.
I've struggled to find innovations or ground breaking performance characteristics which along with popularity are the criteria I'm trying to use in making my own selections in this exercise we are undertaking here. Either I'm missing it, or it isn't there.
Their popularity is unquestioned. They have a resume as being one of the top selling groups to date. Harmonies and lyrics and style exude from each performance as a live show. Nicks particularly is one of the most prolific song writers EVER.
For me personally and probably for a lot of people, the softer sound of the band in the mid-seventies was a welcome relief after the hard driving tone of the music of the late sixties and early seventies. A relief from all of the protest stuff. Sort of like coming out of a huricane at sea in a small boat that you thought you'd never escape from alive and finding yourself in a calm lagoon with dolphins and tropical birds singing! That is NOT a BAD THING!
Re: Greatest Band Round #3 the Top-Ten
MikeA
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