Best American Rock Band

[Bono]

Hard to say who it is all time. In 2015 it might be the Foo Fighters? So many of them still sell out arenas world wide. What's the criteria for best though? What are we actually talking about? Longevity? Popularity? Hit songs? Quality music? Legacy? Influence?

Bon Jovi, Metallica, Pearl Jam all touring juggernauts and always have been.

Guns N Roses obviously were THE American band but that ship sailed at the turn of the century.

Ramones seem more popular for their t-shirts now than for the music. They're good but I think it's way more than a masive stretch to suggest they are the best rock band America has ever had to offer.

Bruce Springsteen is kinda the all American music act.

Nirvana.... kinda like the Ramones in my opinion but minus the t-shirt

[ZoSoRose]

I guess when you think about it, America doesn't have that one act clearly "above" the rest

No U2, Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Beatles, Zeppelin, etc

[Sixes]

Hey, i agree with you but its presented as Elvis the performer, not a band. Shit, if we're to include backing groups it blows the whole thing wide open, James Browns various backing bands, musically speaking, had more talent in them than any of the bands mentioned in this thread.

The Funk Brothers....if you watched that Motown doc, you'd agree!

[Sixes]

Which is what you end up with if influence or originality don't factor.

On another note, looking through this thread it occurs to me that mainstream American rock is almost completely worthless.

And that is why I tried to list bands that aren't mainstream but have much more impact due to their influence and originality and being ahead of the curve or not even in the curve, which is ideal.

Edited March 19, 2015 by Sixes

[Len Cnut]

Hey, i agree with you but its presented as Elvis the performer, not a band. Shit, if we're to include backing groups it blows the whole thing wide open, James Browns various backing bands, musically speaking, had more talent in them than any of the bands mentioned in this thread.

The Funk Brothers....if you watched that Motown doc, you'd agree!

I been meaning to fuckin' watch that since you mentioned it, i heard of it before actually but i didn't know it was actually a documentary on Motown, i just thought the title referenced Motown for whatever reason. I been stung like that before, i bought a book once cuz it was called Goodbye Johnny Thunders...it was a romance novel, Mills and Boon stuff, there was like 4 sentences on Johnny in the whole thing

[Sixes]

Hey, i agree with you but its presented as Elvis the performer, not a band. Shit, if we're to include backing groups it blows the whole thing wide open, James Browns various backing bands, musically speaking, had more talent in them than any of the bands mentioned in this thread.

The Funk Brothers....if you watched that Motown doc, you'd agree!

I been meaning to fuckin' watch that since you mentioned it, i heard of it before actually but i didn't know it was actually a documentary on Motown, i just thought the title referenced Motown for whatever reason. I been stung like that before, i bought a book once cuz it was called Goodbye Johnny Thunders...it was a romance novel, Mills and Boon stuff, there was like 4 sentences on Johnny in the whole thing

It's about the Motown house band. The tagline for the movie was something like "This band has had more #1 hits than Elvis Presley, The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones and The Beatles COMBINED!!" I heard and saw that and then they said The Funk Brothers and I had no idea who they were but they roped me in with that and I had to see it!

I think I read that book too!

[DieselDaisy]

I know that Motown wouldn't let the Jackson 5 play their own instruments, although they were all good instrumentalists. On all those early songs, ABC, I'll Be There, etc., it is not Tito and Jermaine playing.

Edited March 19, 2015 by DieselDaisy

[DR DOOM]

Hey, i agree with you but its presented as Elvis the performer, not a band. Shit, if we're to include backing groups it blows the whole thing wide open, James Browns various backing bands, musically speaking, had more talent in them than any of the bands mentioned in this thread.

The Funk Brothers....if you watched that Motown doc, you'd agree!

I been meaning to fuckin' watch that since you mentioned it, i heard of it before actually but i didn't know it was actually a documentary on Motown, i just thought the title referenced Motown for whatever reason. I been stung like that before, i bought a book once cuz it was called Goodbye Johnny Thunders...it was a romance novel, Mills and Boon stuff, there was like 4 sentences on Johnny in the whole thing

It wasn't a Pills and Spoon novel, was it?

I remember them doing one about Rotten and Sid being lovers

[Len Cnut]

Hey, i agree with you but its presented as Elvis the performer, not a band. Shit, if we're to include backing groups it blows the whole thing wide open, James Browns various backing bands, musically speaking, had more talent in them than any of the bands mentioned in this thread.

The Funk Brothers....if you watched that Motown doc, you'd agree!

I been meaning to fuckin' watch that since you mentioned it, i heard of it before actually but i didn't know it was actually a documentary on Motown, i just thought the title referenced Motown for whatever reason. I been stung like that before, i bought a book once cuz it was called Goodbye Johnny Thunders...it was a romance novel, Mills and Boon stuff, there was like 4 sentences on Johnny in the whole thing

It wasn't a Pills and Spoon novel, was it?

I remember them doing one about Rotten and Sid being lovers

Now there's fuckin' frightening mental image

[DR DOOM]

Slay the beast Sidney, slay the beast

[bran]

lynyrd skynyrd is up there among american bands, would have been bigger if most the original band didnt die in a plane crash.

[Len Cnut]

Slay the beast Sidney, slay the beast

GOD i hate that fat scouser they got to play Johnny Rotten A scouser for chrissakes, to play John Rotten...and a fat one too!

[Zint]

Sly & The Family Stone

Certainly on my list...they were more than rock, but they qualify.

[Snake-Pit]

[Zint]

The Alice Cooper Group: Coop, Bruce, Buxton, Dunaway and Smith.

*ding ding ding*

We have a winner.

Well, the toppermost of my list anyway.

[Bono]

@ Len

You're right, best is a relative concept. But how myself, and I would imagine the OP, considers the term is as such: musical talent + variety in composition + broad base appeal = best.

Most people consider The Beatles the best rock band of all time because they had a tremendous amount of musical talent, could compose many different styles of songs, and were able to appeal to a broad slice of the music listening public.

It is in that sense that I think a band like the Ramones are extremely overrated within the larger context of America's best band. Sure, they were great at what they did, but their composition was very limited. If that was your thing, then great, but they had little in winning over fans who weren't into the punk sound, unlike a band like The Clash.

And I disagree that their problem was that terrestrial radio wouldn't play their other songs. If they're going to play Blitzkrieg Pop and I Want to Be Sedated, why would they pass on other songs by The Ramones? Not sure what radio is like in the UK, but those two songs have been played fairly regularly for a very long time.

They did win fans of other rock genres. As I stated earlier, The Ramones were held in high regard by metal, new wave, goth, college rock (which was labeled alternative years later), hardcore and industrial fans. They are the only band that I remember from that period that was able to have such a cross section of fans. They were the 1 band that fans of those genres could agree upon without arguing.

Why did radio pass on the rest of their catalog? Who knows, but that can be said about hundreds of successful and/or influential bands. How many hits have Pearl Jam had, for instance? Not many. Why has radio passed on the rest of their catalog? That's just the way it goes.

Smashing Pumpkins are one of the most successful and influential bands of the past 20 years...not many hits though. How many hits have Radiohead had? Maybe they have a bunch of well known songs, as PJ do, as Ramones do, but not legitimate big selling singles. Not every band can be The Beatles or Madonna whom radio and people that bought their 45's embraced. It doesn't make them less talented or less "best".

And on another note, I do not consider The Beatles to be the best rock band of all time. But that's for another thread at another time!

WTF? Pearl Jam didn't have many hits?

They had four monster hits off their first album Ten, (Alive, Even Flow, Jeremy, Black). Then consider the numerous hits that stemmed from their many subsequent releases (Glorified G, Daughter, Elderly Woman, Dissident, Go, Better Man, Not For You, Corduroy, Hail Hail, Do The Evolution, Wishlist, Who Are You, Off He Goes). And that's just their first four albums.

Seriously, what the fuck you smoking?

Those songs you listed aren't hits. They are well known songs, most of them by the band's fans. Nobody on the street is going to know Wishlist or Who Are You or Off He Goes or Corduroy or Dissident. Nobody but a PJ fan.

Alive, Jeremy, Even Flow, Last Kiss are their hits among the mainstream. Glorified G might be the worst song ever written, btw. And I'm a PJ fan.

I could list the 30 songs on Ramones Mania then and call them hits. But it's not true

Better Man is actually a huge song and might be their biggest song as time has gone on. Daughter is also huge and gets played to death still on rock radio up here in Canada(Alberta and Yukon). Their song Breathe was a massive hit too a few years back.

[Bono]

I'm trying to be as unbiased as I can as a GnR fan but I do think when you hear "Great American Rock Band" you think Guns N Roses. I think GnR 87-93 embodies the American Rock band. Every other band fills some roll in the criteria but GnR rolls it all into one.

[Sixes]

@ Len

You're right, best is a relative concept. But how myself, and I would imagine the OP, considers the term is as such: musical talent + variety in composition + broad base appeal = best.

Most people consider The Beatles the best rock band of all time because they had a tremendous amount of musical talent, could compose many different styles of songs, and were able to appeal to a broad slice of the music listening public.

It is in that sense that I think a band like the Ramones are extremely overrated within the larger context of America's best band. Sure, they were great at what they did, but their composition was very limited. If that was your thing, then great, but they had little in winning over fans who weren't into the punk sound, unlike a band like The Clash.

And I disagree that their problem was that terrestrial radio wouldn't play their other songs. If they're going to play Blitzkrieg Pop and I Want to Be Sedated, why would they pass on other songs by The Ramones? Not sure what radio is like in the UK, but those two songs have been played fairly regularly for a very long time.

They did win fans of other rock genres. As I stated earlier, The Ramones were held in high regard by metal, new wave, goth, college rock (which was labeled alternative years later), hardcore and industrial fans. They are the only band that I remember from that period that was able to have such a cross section of fans. They were the 1 band that fans of those genres could agree upon without arguing.

Why did radio pass on the rest of their catalog? Who knows, but that can be said about hundreds of successful and/or influential bands. How many hits have Pearl Jam had, for instance? Not many. Why has radio passed on the rest of their catalog? That's just the way it goes.

Smashing Pumpkins are one of the most successful and influential bands of the past 20 years...not many hits though. How many hits have Radiohead had? Maybe they have a bunch of well known songs, as PJ do, as Ramones do, but not legitimate big selling singles. Not every band can be The Beatles or Madonna whom radio and people that bought their 45's embraced. It doesn't make them less talented or less "best".

And on another note, I do not consider The Beatles to be the best rock band of all time. But that's for another thread at another time!

WTF? Pearl Jam didn't have many hits?

They had four monster hits off their first album Ten, (Alive, Even Flow, Jeremy, Black). Then consider the numerous hits that stemmed from their many subsequent releases (Glorified G, Daughter, Elderly Woman, Dissident, Go, Better Man, Not For You, Corduroy, Hail Hail, Do The Evolution, Wishlist, Who Are You, Off He Goes). And that's just their first four albums.

Seriously, what the fuck you smoking?

Those songs you listed aren't hits. They are well known songs, most of them by the band's fans. Nobody on the street is going to know Wishlist or Who Are You or Off He Goes or Corduroy or Dissident. Nobody but a PJ fan.

Alive, Jeremy, Even Flow, Last Kiss are their hits among the mainstream. Glorified G might be the worst song ever written, btw. And I'm a PJ fan.

I could list the 30 songs on Ramones Mania then and call them hits. But it's not true

Better Man is actually a huge song and might be their biggest song as time has gone on. Daughter is also huge and gets played to death still on rock radio up here in Canada(Alberta and Yukon). Their song Breathe was a massive hit too a few years back.

Forgot about Better Man

Sirens got a fair bit of play too

[Snake-Pit]

I haven't heard this video before last night or heard of this show either too...

but, WOW!

They sound great!

Edited March 20, 2015 by Snake-Pit

[drtydane]

Limp Bizkit. Obviously.

[Georgy Zhukov]

So this thread went five pages before someone mentions Red Hot Chili Peppers, Grateful Dead and Bruce Springsteen and E Street Band.

And has anyone mentioned The Allman Brothers Band yet? Now that was a great American band. A string of solid albums, one great live album. Even today they are awesome with a different lineup.

The Doors is one of the best American bands though some of their stuff is terrible.

Fuck all the Eagles haters, great driving music. I love listening to the Eagles going to work now that I live in the South West. Perfect for the setting. One of These Nights is espectially good for driving at night time.

Guns N' Roses obviously.

The Ramones for being influential but I prefer Television

Modest Mouse

Nirvana

Pearl Jam

I feel Pearl Jam got so big because radio DJ's were looking for a grungy band that sounds classic enough to keep their old listeners and bring in new listeners.

Alice in Chains

Alice Cooper

Red Hot Chii Peppers, Grateful Dead and Springsteen and E Street Band need a mention again.

Nine Inch Nails (touring bands included)

Lynyrd Skynyrd

Metallica

Jimi Hendrix alone. His band was British, his producers and reps were all Brits. He was based in UK. But that's okay because we had Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble

[J Dog]

And has anyone mentioned The Allman Brothers Band yet? Now that was a great American band. A string of solid albums, one great live album. Even today they are awesome with a different lineup.

Nice call.

[DieselDaisy]

History of American rock n' roll on the beeb.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03p7tnp

Slash, Duff and Steven are on part 3.

[Bono]

I feel Pearl Jam got so big because radio DJ's were looking for a grungy band that sounds classic enough to keep their old listeners and bring in new listeners.

That or because they're just fucking good.

[James Bond]

Quick scroll through the thread on mobile which was quite an eye sore (so many long quotes - thanks downzy and Len ) but I didn't see KISS mentioned. Like them or hate them, they've been incredibly influential and amidst a string of bad albums and line-up changes they persevered and are still going. Biggest band? Currently no, but perhaps at one time. Big in general though? Yes, even just the name is known everywhere.