I know we had this thread before, but I felt it merited another mention today. What is the quintessential American band? The best? Favorite? If you had to pick any American band in history to represent our country in a largest-ever 4th of July celebration, who would you choose? Dead or alive? I think the best American band would have to come down to these 10: Aerosmith Lynyrd Skynyrd The Eagles The Beach Boys CCR The Doors The Grateful Dead The Jackson 5 The Byrds R.E.M. Out of those, I would have to say The Eagles. Now, that's based on popularity, longevity, etc. Who would I personally want to represent America as the best American band? Cheap Trick, hands down.
when people not from america think about american pop music, the first thing that comes to mind is probably the beach boys, with CCR a close second.
Agreed on The Beach Boys- not sure about CCr- I think more people know their songs than the actual band. The Eagles are by far the biggest selling American band (with Aerosmith 2nd), so I put them there even though I don't think they're the best. When I think American, I always think The Beach Boys and Skynyrd, though.
Van Halen in their prime should probably be thrown into consideration. Would Jimi Hendrix count? I know his band was named after him but he fundamentally had the same musicians with him all the time. Doobie Bros? Blondie? The Doors ZZ Top
Pearl Jam & Dave Matthews Band for semi up to date choices. KISS though more image than music. But in that regard probably as influential as anyone.
I don't know about that. When my friends and I traveled through Europe last summer, the song we heard everywhere we went was "Sweet Home Alabama."
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers 35 Years of straight up rock with a rock attitude. No clunkers, no down time, no drama other than the one drug death; great producers, great guest artist interplay with The Wilburys (Bob, Roy and George) , Stevie Nicks and a little gig as Johnny Cash's studio band with the cherry of a top notch Super Bowl halftime. Who's resume' can touch 'em? But there are at least 4 British Bands that can.
Has to be Grand Funk Railroad. 1.They're an American Band 2.They're comin' to your town 3.They'll help you party it down
Those bands are all dead. You want something that is more relevant like Interpol, The Strokes, White Stripes, Red Hot Chili Peppers etc...