Blondie didn't quite last long enough to me. I think their first couple albums were awesome, but they didn't hold that quality for very long. IMO, anyway.
I hate you. Now I have "I Only Wanna Be With You" and "Livin' La Vida Loca" going through my mind. Those songs are like mental herpes--they're impossible to get rid of.
Yeah, I just looked at a website showing the # of albums they made, and at the start they had a lot of good ones (for the era I mean) and then they just didn't stop crapping them out. They even did one apparently where it seemed they phoned it in (called "15 big ones"...which should've been called "15 big piles of shit" instead).
Well screw you! I didn't have those songs stuck in my head UNTIL I read your post. Oh yeah? well...She bangs..she bangs...oh baby, when she moves, she moves... btw, was I the only one who was absolutely floored when it turned out Ricky Martin was gayer than Nathan Lane?
Ya, only 8 albums, but they are coming out with a new album this year. Freakin Debbie Harry is 65??? They also made it to the rock and roll HOF. For me, bsides their sound, it's the influence and stage presence of the band. But I get you point, and that was the reason I thought no one would mention them.....Plus any youngsters would probably think Debbie was Blondie and not the group
Pearl Jam The Doors The Jimi Hendrix Experience Adding them to the list, not sure if any are #1, but they're all Top 10 for me.
I look forward to seeing where Modest mouse is in five years. A lot of potential. Of course, I thought the same thing about Smashing Pumpkins, Live, and Incubus, and those three bands never developed the promise they showed in their early albums.
Maybe I'm overlooking something, but wasn't the Jimi Hendrix Experience really just a vehicle for Jimi Hendrix, rather than a proper band? Hendrix was amazing, no question, but the OP seemed to want to avoid single artists.
Coincidentally, I pulled out the Brian Wilson Smile a week or two ago, having not heard it in years, and I've fallen in love with it all over again--despite his Bill Murray crooning-like deteriorated voice. IMO, if the group had cooperated and supported Wilson, and ultimately released Smile at it's inception, there'd be no question who the best American rock band is. Smile may not have become a commercial success, but the Beatles would have recognized it every bit as visionary and groundbreaking as Sargent Pepper was for them, and I think that back/forth competitive one-ups-manship would have continued. It would have been fascinating to see where Wilson would have evolved from Smile instead of closing shop like he did. I think the Doors deserve mention too. They have a pretty decent sized catalogue. They were terrific musicians with heavy American jazz influence. They had an original sound. They have quite a few popular and cultish songs. They were iconic. They were highly imitated.
Motown getting some seriously short shrift here (by me, as well). While a lot of their great performances were from solo artists, I'd say that, at least, the Temptations, the Supremes and the Jackson 5 merit inclusion.
I'd classify those groups as R and B. Plus, most of those acts were merely singing songs that other people wrote and did not play instruments, which is fine, but I have to factor that into any ranking.
How do you draw the line, though? It's an interesting question, but I view them as part of, and hugely influencing of, the "rock & roll era."
They were all involved in the writing process, though. Some of their songs were written by others but, by the same token, they were writing songs for others. Very few of them were just singers/musicians (not counting the session guys). And I forgot to include Smokey Robinson & the Miracles. Smokey Robinson was very much a song-writing genius. As to your point about R&B vs. rock & roll...it's not a line that I think is easily drawn, as to what is what. I view both as part of the same era and tapestry. Both came out of the blues tradition.
Kind of like what Bgrantfan said. There were some awesome groups, no doubt, but they were more R&B. And a lot of them didn't write their songs (imho, that is what separates bands in rankings). I wouldn't be opposed to people referring to them as Rock N Roll bands though.
I think it's fairly clear that Motown groups are classified as "R&B". Barry Gordy basically created the genre, at least the Detroit version. Plus, weren't the Miracles just a vehicle for Smokey Robinson?
