We're talkin' Rock & Roll

[poptart]

Tell me who you rate as the greatest band (or performer) for each of the following decades.
Give me a #1 and #1a for each decade.


1950s:
1960s:
1970s:
1980s:
1990s:
2000s:
2010s:

[smackaholic]

50s 1-? 1a-?

60s 1-beatles 1a-stones

70s 1-Zep 1a-Rush

80s 1-Rush 1a-SRV

90s-later no one stands out for me.

[Dinsdale]

Great topic. I'll probably change my mind 14 times before I hit "submit."

50's - Easy... Elvis. Too many 1As to list - Little Richard, Chuck Berry, etc
60's - Beatles, Beach Boys... too many others to list
70's - Zep, Grand Funk, Skynyrd, also too many to list
80's - Tough call. For popularity and longevity through the decade, Motley Crue might get the nod. G'n'R owned the latter part of the decade.

90's - Alice In Chains, Pantera
00's - No one really stands out. White Stripes did their best work at the tail end of the 90's, as did Modest Mouse. I'll have to think on this one for a while. Might put the Killers in there.
10's - Ask me in 6 years. Liking Portugal, The Man, except that gayassed Taco Bell song.


These opinions are subject to change in the next few minutes.

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

1950s: The bands that influenced the bands in the 60s that influenced Zeppelin.
1960s: The bands that directly influenced Zeppelin.
1970s: Zeppelin.
1980s: Zeppelin. Hey, they came out with an album in '82, right?
1990s: Jimmy Page solo stuff.
2000s: Robert Plant solo stuff.
2010s: Who knows? I'm still listening to Zeppelin.

-T1B

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

the Killers

If you ever mock my taste in music again, by God I will crawl through the internet and cut your balls off with a butter knife.

[War Wagon]

Did anyone know that the Everly Brothers were a huge influence on The Beatles?

Of course you didn't and I only found that after one of the Everly's died recently, Phil I believe.

Anyways, the story goes that when John & Paul first met them, they were like Screwey meeting Justin Bieber.

[Dinsdale]

the Killers

If you ever mock my taste in music again, by God I will crawl through the internet and cut your balls off with a butter knife.

Whatever you say, MGMTBlueLightSpecial.

[MgoBlue-LightSpecial]

If you were caught listening to MGMT while sucking a dick, it'd still be slightly less gay than listening to The Killers while banging Kate Upton.

[Mikey]

There's been a lot of music that I've liked over the years and probably a lot of great stuff that I never discovered.

That being said,

1. I didn't know it was a competition. There are a lot of ways to define "great".
2. GFR never did not suck. Worst example of crappy schlock rock ever. Or maybe that should be the "best" example.
2. Skynyrd never did not suck. OK maybe for a total of 10 minutes in their mostly worthless career.

[Dinsdale]

2. Skynyrd never did not suck. OK maybe for a total of 10 minutes in their mostly worthless career.

Uh-oh. I think a gauntlet has been thrown down.


BTW, new list:

60's - Grateful Dead
70's - Grateful Dead
80's - Grateful Dead
90's - Grateful Dead

[Jay in Phoenix]

Bwah! I figured you would go with the all Dead all the time package, Dins.

I'm going to take a little time to think about this, as musical preferences shift over time.

That said, as far as the 50's is concerned, I agree with Dinsdale on Elvis. From an influence standpoint, I would say Robert Johnson.

The 60's are clearly the Beatles, followed by the Stones.

I gotta reflect about the rest.

[Smackie Chan]

as far as the 50's is concerned, I agree with Dinsdale on Elvis. From an influence standpoint, I would say Robert Johnson.

He's been dead since '38. Hard to see how he'd make the cut given 'tart's original challenge.

[Jay in Phoenix]

as far as the 50's is concerned, I agree with Dinsdale on Elvis. From an influence standpoint, I would say Robert Johnson.

He's been dead since '38. Hard to see how he'd make the cut given 'tart's original challenge.

That's why I emphasized "influence". I know that is a divergence from poptart's challenge and I wasn't trying to imply his mention as part of it. When Dinsdale brought up Chuck Berry, Little Richard and others with a blues/soul background, Robert Johnson is a part of their pedigree.

But your point is valid, I just veered back a couple of decades to sort of underline what Dins said.

I'll punt and start over when I figure out my list.

[Derron]

2. Skynyrd never did not suck. OK maybe for a total of 10 minutes in their mostly worthless career.

Worthless career ?? Smokin the crack again...

One of the best rock groups of all time, playing good music, while generating sufficient drama with drugs, fast cars, booze and whorish women to keep them playing in some form or another for over 40 years now. Selling out every venue they play, touring hard for guys their age, and making money like a bitch...yeah pretty worthless and very fucking long career .

Cue the redneck smack you cock bites, but I have seen in concert Skynyrd 27 times. Done at least 5 meet and greets with them. Good show every time.

[Jay in Phoenix]

Not to pile on Mikey here, but Skynyrd was huge. I was lucky enough to see them on tour just prior to the "Street Survivors" album and subsequent plane crash. They were literally the first band I ever saw live. Blew the roof off the place.

Sorry Mikey, but they by no means suck and never have.

[Derron]

50's : Sure some Elvis, but Bill Haley, Jerry Reed, Chuck Barry and Roy Orbinson.

60's: The Doors, The Beatles, CCR

70's: Doobie Bros, Skynyrd, Clapton

80's: For me rock sucked in the 80's, and I went country for a while. Good time to go country with Alabama, Waylon and Hank Jr. putting it out.

90's: Early in the decade, still country, Strait, Jackson, Chestnut... Then I started digging Pearl Jam, Collective Soul, that sort.

00's: Pretty much digging the improved versions and changing line ups of the Doobies, Skynyrd, Steve Miller, and how good live music can sound now.

10's: Still following basic classic rock genre, although as mine own guitar skills have improved, I am enjoying listening to the more technical aspects of the music, admiring some and wondering how others got paid for playing some of the horrible work that made huge money.

[Derron]

Skynyrd wrote the book on southern rock. Kinda surprised to hear Mikey dogging them.

Look at the spin offs from Skynyrd and its various players over the years, and some of their origins...

38 Special, Blackhawk, Rossington Collins Band, The Outlaws.

Jay mentioned the Street Survivors LP, probably the best Skynyrd ever recorded.....the band went clean after the drugs and booze, and were noticeably tighter and it showed.

Here is a video of Skynyrd's infamous guitar army...Steve Gaines, Ricky Medlocke, and Hughie Thomason.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHQ_aTjXObs

[Jay in Phoenix]

Okay, bearing in mind this is a subjective list, because do you go by album sales as a barometer or by who you enjoyed more?

That said, I guess, here goes:

50's: Elvis Presley, followed by Fats Domino or Chuck Berry

60's: The Beatles followed by James Brown or the Rolling Stones

70's: Led Zeppelin followed by Elton John. (Remember, E.J. crushed everyone in sales in the first half of the '70's. He sucked later, but his early stuff up through Rock of the Westies all killed). Might want to consider Kiss too, from a popularity standpoint, but I never cared for 'em.

80's: Tough era. From sales, it would be Michael Jackson, but I can't pick the weirdo. Prince was right there too. But, we're talking rock here, so I'll opt for Metallica and Rush and Yes.

90's: Enter the Grunge. Nirvana and then Pearl Jam. Though I honestly don't own albums by either band.

2000's: Fuck, waaay too many rap artists that dominated this era. Not rock, which sucks. But I'll go with acts like Green Day and Red Hot Chili Peppers, because the pool is so thin. Or I could just go all Dinsdale here and substitute Grateful Dead.

2010's: Too soon to call. A lot of great artists, but by now, classic rock and roll is dead, for the most part.

[Mikey]

Skynyrd wrote the book on southern rock. Kinda surprised to hear Mikey dogging them.

Yeah - I know "but you're an ABB freak". True, but the ABB was far more blues/jazz driven. Skynyrd was country driven. About 90% of country right now can thank Skynyrd.

OK maybe I overspoke on Skynyrd.

They had some good songs. I actually have a few of their albums. One More for the Road is a pretty good live album.

I was a big ABB fan from the time Fillmore East came out and I always saw Skynyrd as a cheap imitation, even if they did have somewhat of their own style.

Here's my deal:

If I hear Freebird coming on the radio I'll turn it off.

I saw Skynyrd live once around 73 or 74 with the Steve Miller Band, which is who I went to see. What I remember about Skynyrd was it was really loud and there was a tall skinny guy on guitar who would play one riff for about 15 minutes and then switch to another one. Not too interesting. After a couple of songs I just wanted to see the Joker.

And Dreeon, just because they sold out a lot of big venues doesn't make them "great". Do you think Brittney Spears and Justin Beiber are great?

The early/mid 70s was truly a golden age for rock music. Everybody's entitled to their own opinions but there are at least 20 bands/artists active at that time that stand head and shoulders above Lynyrd Skynyrd (IMHO).

off the top of my head,

ABB
Dead
Little Feat
Steely Dan
Yes
Zep
Pink Floyd
Clapton
Santana
The Band
Steve Miller
Van Morrison
Fleetwood Mack
Jethro Tull
Humble Pie
Stones
Doobie Bros
CSNY
Burrito Brothers - a lot more country than Skynyrd
Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks


OK, that's 20

[Wolfman]

Each decade because they span ten years has to encompass a huge body of work. Some bands spill over for more than one. Even the 1950's which were my high school and early college years would include artists and groups such as Fats Domino, Little Richard, Bill Haley and the Comets, Jerry Lee Lewis, and many many others including of course Elvis. I wouldn't attempt to rank them.
You younger guys may have your favorites for the 60's-70's and so on, but I'm guessing the task is no easier. And it's not that the old canard that all the best rock and roll was written/played before 1980 is true either. I've heard a lot of good stuff since then too but can't rank any of them.
FYI--- I was playing Red Hot Chilli Peppers tunes on FM radio in the mid-1980's. Not easy to pigeon hole them in another decade if you believe their best work was before they became a commercial commodity.
Carry on.

[BSmack]

50's - Elvis. 1A Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly
60's - Beatles, 1A Stones, Jimi Hendrix
70's - Led Freaking Zeppelin, 1A Pink Floyd, The Who
80's - U2 (They were good back then), 1A Miche and the Anglos
90's - Public Enemy 1A Too $hort
00's - The Decemberists, 1A Arcade Fire, LCD Soundsystem
10's - Incomplete

[poptart]

1950s:
1. Elvis
1a. Chuck Berry

1960s:
1. The Beatles
1a. Bob Dylan

1970s:
1. Elton John
1a. The Rolling Stones

1980s:
1. U2
1a. Bruce Springsteen

1990s:
1. Pearl Jam
1a. R.E.M.

2000s:
I'm too old

2010s:
I'm too old



Jay, good call on Elton John.
Dearest War Wagon, incredible not to see Led Z. on my page, but... so it goes.
Does Bob Dylan qualify as... rock?
I'll wait for a ruling from Smackie.

[Jay in Phoenix]

Jay, good call on Elton John.
Dearest War Wagon, incredible not to see Led Z. on my page, but... so it goes.
Does Bob Dylan qualify as... rock?
I'll wait for a ruling from Smackie.

I know it's pretty easy to dismiss Elton John, especially given his later proclivities for cock, cocaine and general laziness. But damn his early stuff is just amazing and he ruled the charts for a while. Dylan is at heart a folky and balladeer, but yeah, he qualifies as a rocker, to a point. Though I will defer to a ruling from Smackie on this as well.

I am surprised to see you omit Zep, but as has been said, it's all subjective and musical tastes can shift pretty fluidly. (Insert Elton joke here.)

[poptart]

I am surprised to see you omit Zep

- Jay




I guess I would have placed Zep at 1b.

The '70s was really the golden decade for Rock & Roll, and it would be easy to rattle off 6 or 8 performers who could merit consideration.

Kiss among them, as odd as it may seem, as you noted.

[War Wagon]

I shan't be pigeon holed by ranking according to decade. I like a whole shitload of music from all era's but in my not so humble opinion they can be broken down thus:

The Beatles - they deserve their own category, incomparable to any and all others.

Then you have what I consider the Top 3 of all time, also incomparable, but in no uncertain order:

1. Led Zeppelin
2. Pink Floyd
3. The Who

And then you have all the other bands, many mentioned here, some not. I can't necessarily rank them and won't even try but a few good ones I think maybe were missed being mentioned:

ELP
Deep Purple
BTO
Doobie Bros.
Black Sabbath
AC/DC
Aerosmith (pre-1980's)
The Cure
Built To Spill

shit, and I almost forgot:

Foghat

[War Wagon]

Fuck Mikey, btw. I told you he was a goddamn idiot.

[Jay in Phoenix]

Some good inclusions Wags, though the point of the thread was to name the top two of each decade, based on whichever merits you opt for.

Loves me some BTO. Tom Johnston era Doobies were great. Also in that vein, the Grass Roots and the Guess Who. And for each ELP there is an ELO. Sabbath, Deep Purple, Wishbone Ash, you can go on. But again, this is about narrowing it down to two or three from each era. Not pigeon holing.

Hell, give it a shot.

[Derron]

I

I saw Skynyrd live once around 73 or 74 with the Steve Miller Band, which is who I went to see. What I remember about Skynyrd was it was really loud and there was a tall skinny guy on guitar who would play one riff for about 15 minutes and then switch to another one. Not too interesting. After a couple of songs I just wanted to see the Joker.

And Dreeon, just because they sold out a lot of big venues doesn't make them "great". Do you think Brittney Spears and Justin Beiber are great?

The early/mid 70s was truly a golden age for rock music. Everybody's entitled to their own opinions but there are at least 20 bands/artists active at that time that stand head and shoulders above Lynyrd Skynyrd (IMHO).

off the top of my head,

ABB
Dead
Little Feat
Steely Dan
Yes
Zep
Pink Floyd
Clapton
Santana
The Band
Steve Miller
Van Morrison
Fleetwood Mack
Jethro Tull
Humble Pie
Stones
Doobie Bros
CSNY
Burrito Brothers - a lot more country than Skynyrd
Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks


OK, that's 20

As far as Justin and Brittney go, lets revisit that question in about 25 - 30 years and see if they can still sell out a house and make decent jack doing it..see the thing about southern rock bands is they got friends and cousins up the ass, so as they kill off from drugs and bad food, they just add in these other people and keep going for 40 years. Brittney and Justin will have no brand in 20 years, guaranteed.

Your list is good as well, so many artists at that time, and such a wide range of styles and methodology. Tull, CSNY,and Fleetwood Mac. We can probably add Paul Rodgers, Steve Winwood, and Cream in there too. And for a guy who started in the 70's, Tom Petty still makes great music and sells out shows. Traveling Wilburys anyone ?

We could argue this all day, and unless you go down the styles within a genre, you will never get a list. Since day one, musicians have been ripping each other off, and that continues today with many of the recording artists burying at single bar riff or two in a song, which is cool to hear.

[Derron]

[

They weren't the natural musicians the ABB was, so improvising wasn't really their thing. However, they had a LOT of intricate shit in their songs that most people really don't even notice. Listen to a tune like "I Ain't the One". God damn - that is some seriously complex shit going on behind the singing. Alan said that they would work on one song like that for sometimes 16 hours a day in a non-AC hell hole in the woods in Jacksonville in the summer. Nothing too appealing about that!

Skynyrd has one cut on one of their albums, where they have Duane Allman and Dickie Betts playing live with them. I am not finding it, but heard it the other day. Skynyrd did great covering JJ Cale stuff too.

[Mikey]

I

I saw Skynyrd live once around 73 or 74 with the Steve Miller Band, which is who I went to see. What I remember about Skynyrd was it was really loud and there was a tall skinny guy on guitar who would play one riff for about 15 minutes and then switch to another one. Not too interesting. After a couple of songs I just wanted to see the Joker.

And Dreeon, just because they sold out a lot of big venues doesn't make them "great". Do you think Brittney Spears and Justin Beiber are great?

The early/mid 70s was truly a golden age for rock music. Everybody's entitled to their own opinions but there are at least 20 bands/artists active at that time that stand head and shoulders above Lynyrd Skynyrd (IMHO).

off the top of my head,

ABB
Dead
Little Feat
Steely Dan
Yes
Zep
Pink Floyd
Clapton
Santana
The Band
Steve Miller
Van Morrison
Fleetwood Mack
Jethro Tull
Humble Pie
Stones
Doobie Bros
CSNY
Burrito Brothers - a lot more country than Skynyrd
Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks


OK, that's 20

As far as Justin and Brittney go, lets revisit that question in about 25 - 30 years and see if they can still sell out a house and make decent jack doing it..see the thing about southern rock bands is they got friends and cousins up the ass, so as they kill off from drugs and bad food, they just add in these other people and keep going for 40 years. Brittney and Justin will have no brand in 20 years, guaranteed.

Your list is good as well, so many artists at that time, and such a wide range of styles and methodology. Tull, CSNY,and Fleetwood Mac. We can probably add Paul Rodgers, Steve Winwood, and Cream in there too. And for a guy who started in the 70's, Tom Petty still makes great music and sells out shows. Traveling Wilburys anyone ?

We could argue this all day, and unless you go down the styles within a genre, you will never get a list. Since day one, musicians have been ripping each other off, and that continues today with many of the recording artists burying at single bar riff or two in a song, which is cool to hear.

Can't argue with any of that. I know I missed a whole lot on my list. Definitely too many to pick "the greatest". There's only one, BTW...




Talking about old timers that are still making great music, I'll be going to see Boz Scaggs in a few weeks. The guy doesn't sound a whole lot different than he did 40 years ago and released an excellent album just last year.

Also seeing Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks.

[War Wagon]

Some good inclusions Wags, though the point of the thread was to name the top two of each decade, based on whichever merits you opt for.

Loves me some BTO. Tom Johnston era Doobies were great. Also in that vein, the Grass Roots and the Guess Who. And for each ELP there is an ELO. Sabbath, Deep Purple, Wishbone Ash, you can go on. But again, this is about narrowing it down to two or three from each era. Not pigeon holing.

Hell, give it a shot.

No can do. It's like asking me to name my favorite Zep album, or taking it a step further, ranking each song off each album.

It's like asking me if I'd prefer to fuck a blonde or a brunette.

It's like asking 'tart if he prefers Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John.

Screw the "point" of the thread, my takes are clear, as are many others.

[War Wagon]

btw, ELO was a bad miss on my part.

[Shlomart Ben Yisrael]

Well done, 'tart.


Well done.

[poptart]

1. I didn't know it was a competition. There are a lot of ways to define "great".

True and true.

I made my selections based on what I saw as popularity and influence... and not necessarily my own personal taste.

People can select according to whatever criteria they want.

It is a bit difficult to narrow it down to just a 1 and 1a for each decade, but that's part of the fun, imo.

And if it leads to some bickering,... more fun.


Why does Wagon hate fun?

[War Wagon]

Why does Wagon hate fun?

More than one bloke mentioned KISS in this thread. I've actually been to a KISS concert, how much more "fun" should a guy be allowed to have in a lifetime?

Fun? I once bought a Creed CD that I still have. That's not funny, btw.

[Shlomart Ben Yisrael]

I've actually been to a KISS concert

Were you a member of the "KISS ARMY"?

[War Wagon]

I've actually been to a KISS concert

Were you a member of the "KISS ARMY"?

I was 15 at the time, I didn't know they were having signups.

[trev]

Mgo doesn't like music from the 70's because he was just a newborn.

[poptart]

I was hoping Mgo and Screw M could help us out with the '00s-'10s era.

So far Dins has offered up White Stripes and Modest Mouse -- and I've never heard of either.


I'm sure some 14 year old out there somewhere would read this and think, "Wow, dude doesn't know Modest Mouse?!? He's fucked. Hope I'm never that old."

[campinfool]

1950s:
1 Buddy Holly
1a The Ventures

1960s:
1 The Sonics
1a The Standells

1970s:
1 Dead Boys
1a Ramones

1980s:
1 Black Flag
1a Big Boys

1990s:
1 New Bomb turks
1a Rip Offs

2000:
Relive the glory of of the 90s Austin scene

2010s:
Turning old and liking alt country/ red dirt or whatever it is called and 1100 Springs from Dallas makes me moist in my old age