What is the most influential (not the best, or most popular, but most influential) rock band in history?
On Monday, February 10, 1964, millions of American teenagers cleaned out their garages to make room for amplifiers, drums, and keyboards.Alright, perhaps not literally. Yet, The Beatles Invasion into the U.S. was the musical equivalent of the Allied Invasion on Normandy. Sure, the Americans had other rock icons, like Elivs and Buddy Holly, but The Beatles were different (note I write this as a 22 year old, born years after these events happened).Without a doubt, The Beatles were the most influential rock band in history, for several reasons.First, The Beatles inspired a generation of Americans to take up music (particularly rock), and to write their own songs. This was an enormous contribution. Elvis was a cultural juggernaut, but he seldom wrote the hits that he performed. The Beatles changed this. In doing so, The Beatles changed the entire dynamic of the music industry, from a commercial enterprise into a platform for artistic expression. Any rock artist since The Beatles that considers their work art and not business owes this to The Beatles. (Ironically, it was The Beatles commercial success that allowed them to do this. While they started off writing songs with popular commercial appeal, they were able to later use their success to explore new musical styles, recording techniques, etc).Second, The Beatles opened the door for the popular success for hundreds of musicians, such as The Who, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, etc et al. Finally, The Beatles have had an enormous influence on the lives of hundreds of thousands of musicians up until today, particularly in rock music. R.E.M., Nirvana, Radiohead, Green Day, Oasis all mentioned The Beatles as an enormous influence on their work. These bands went on to influence millions of other musicians. The influence of The Beatles in rock music can be traced to almost any artist since them.
Who do you think is/was the most influential group or person in Rock and Roll (not necessarily you favorite)?
Why? Make sure to think this through. Think about things like the development of R & R, the sound we have today, the artist's/group's influence on society... Think about if you were to remove one group from the history of R & R, what change would occur to the music we have today.
Blues influence on rock and roll?
Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. What do they have in common? They both took their style of playing from listening to the old blues greats. Like I have always said, in order to keep things from going the way of disco you have to go back to the well of roots music and bring some of that old but sweet water back to what you are playing now. Listening to the early days of rock you can hear exactly what I am talking about. Cream, Zeppelin, Sabbath, even the Stones took their early music seriously enough to call it blues. Some of the most influential blues guitarists of all time are still influencing people's playing today. Freddie King, Albert King, BB King, even Robert Johnson are listed among many bands' influences. Freddie King inspired Eric Clapton who later inspired Eddie Van Halen who has been immitated and emulated for years. This is one example of an indirect influence. The use of electric guitars through tube amps is a signature sound of many blues and rock musicians alike. Of course blues guitarists got them first. The main thing I see a difference in blues and rock is the use of tone in blues. Rock musicians seem to want the loudest noise they can get and play as fast as they possibly can, no matter what it sounds like whereas a true blues musician will get the best sound out of an amp and pour his or her heart into the music. As for other influences on rock, blues drummers brought a different and distinct sound to the stage. Drummers like John Bonnam and Ginger Baker have influenced literally thousands if not millions of drummers around the world. The bass guitar also found a new sound. No longer used in the acoustic form the electric bass guitar is another signature sound of the blues/rock days. One of the most notable bass players of this day was Jack Bruce. If you want to understand the simple yet profound influence of the blues on early rock and roll simply look at Cream. With Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, and Eric Clapton's screaming guitar it is no wonder the blues made such an impact on not only early rock, but today's music as well.
Who are the most influential rock artists and why?
I'll stay with "The Beatles" because everyone else branches out from them.In terms of ACTUALLY INFLUENCING other artists, turning them from listeners into eventual musicians/rockers themselves I've heard groups like Grand Funk directly credit Cream & Hendrix for making them want to be a power trio.I feel that before The Doors, there were no real "heavy metal" groups, not even any real hard rock groups. While the Doors weren't "heavy metal" per se, I've heard members of heavy metal groups pay tribute to The Doors for lighting that initial spark and pointing the way, so they were definitely a Major Influence.I also think, though I can't really prove it, that the "Velvet Underground & Nico" with songs written by Lou Reed, probably had an influence that extended far beyond the mere 30,000 copies that first iconic album with the suggestive banana cover =(which everyone peeled back as soon as they got it home - - and no, it was only a banana inside)= probably contributed to many guys in their teens and early twenties, along with probably more than a few art majors, starting garage bands.Also, since we have to be honest, hey-hey they were the Monkees, and in their day, were wildly popular with young teens. I'm sure more than a few guys wanted to play instruments and be like Mickey, Davy, Peter and Mike, in hopes of being 'cool' & "hip" like them, and living the fun, hippie lifestyle in a beach house in LA. Did I mention, and hopefully getting a slew of girls in the process?Even in real life, the Monkees (whose catchy songs were written by others) did very well in the ladies dept.It's not my forte' but there were, at least in the mid-60s, if not today, several rockers who credited various Blues artists, most of whom have been mostly forgotten today, as being their inspiration.Lastly, despite the nasally voice and often out-of-synch ragged singing voice which did, and still does drive some up the wall, Bob Dylan was certainly a strongly influential force in the Folk-Rock music when it was actually a viable commercial market.So just a few of my thoughts on the matter.Hope this helps. - - - - DJ
SPECIFICALLY how did the beatles influence rock music?
The Beatles' influence on rock music and world culture was profound. Prior to their emergence as pop superstars, it was common for rock bands to rely on professional songwriters for their material (the Brill Building in New York City was a source of many hit singles in the early 1960s). Whilst by no means the first to do so (Buddy Holly composed his hits, for example), their example made self-composition the standard for rock bands then and since. Although they did not necessarily invent all the new ideas they incorporated in their music, they often competed with and played off of the developing ideas of other prominent acts of the period (such Bob Dylan, The Byrds, and the Beach Boys). As such, they spurred rock music, which hitherto had been largely looked down upon by older music fans, towards becoming an accepted art form. When the Sergeant Pepper album was released, it was hailed by music critics of the time as a major work of art, even compared favorably to classical musicians such as Schubert and Schuman. Within days of its release, the album's title song was being covered by artists like Jimi Hendrix. It's been said that everyone that watched the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show immediately started a band. Since the 1960s when the band were still recording and performing to this very day, the Beatles have inspired and influenced musicians from one end of the musical spectrum to the other, including Everclear, The Brodsky Quartet, MxPx, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Genesis, King's X, Jerry Garcia, Elvis Costello, Brian Wilson, Neil Diamond, Rush, Jimi Hendrix, Skid Row, Buddy Miller, Alice Cooper, Jeff Lynne and ELO, Rich Mullins, Kiss, Nirvana, Los Lobos, Queensryche, Guns 'n Roses, Moxy Fruvous, and Run DMC. In the studio, The Beatles were always experimenting with new recording techniques and even coined a few common studio phrases that are still in use today. For example, a common vocal or guitar effect where two copies of the same sound are overlapped and time-shifted slightly (producing a swirling, swishing sound), is now known as flanging, thanks to John Lennon who nicknamed the effect in the 1960s.
Who is the most influential alternative rock artist?
R.E.M. was the first wildly successful group to come out of what were called “College Radio Bands” in the early ‘80s. This included Elvis Costello & The Attractions, U2 (who would go on to wild success) and New Order among others. These acts went on to be called “Alternative” because, well, suits in the music industry insist on tagging any new movements in the art form with an all encompassing moniker.As for the most influential single artist in the genre, gosh, that’s a tough one. I guess I’d give it to Kurt Cobain, not because he was the best necessarily, but because he created an aesthetic that most Alternative artists have embraced. One that rejects industry bullshit. Kurt hated it so much he killed himself to escape it. He became the poster boy for antiEstablishment artistic expression. And I mean The Music Establishment. That rejection of the trappings of success, a rejection as blunt as one can be, has reverberated from his death right up to today.
Who is and was the biggest and most influential in pop/rock music ever?
The Beatles
Who are the 5 most “talented” rock groups ever?
1, Yes. Multiple lineups, all have hugely skilled musicians musicians. They however, could also connect with an audience, the likes of Alan Holdsworth or Yngie couldnt. With 5 members, they out point the likes of Led Zep Pink Floyd, Rush etc2. There was a little group from Liverpool who all did ok post breakup in 1970. The Blueprint. George Harrison 9rest his soul) in particular put together a number of tasty groups. The Travelling Willburys being a dream lineup.3. Nick Caves Bad Seeds. Conway Savage, Warren Ellis, Mick Harvey, Barry Adamson, Blixa Bargeld, Hugo Race, Anita Lane, Kid Congo Powers, Roland S.Howard, James Johnston, Ed Kuepper, Jim Sclavunos.Check them all out. Go down the rabbit hole. Einstürzende Neubauten dumps you straight into industrial goth. The Dirty Three as a sublime trio bass,drums & violin - very emotive. The Cramps - nuff said. Where it started - The Birthday Party. For street cred - Teenage Jesus & the Jerks . The Triffids - Quintessential Australian. Gallon Drunk - the UK Nick See & the Bad Caves type appeal. The Saints- Oz punk 1975 style. The tentacles run deep.4. Maths rockers - Dillinger Escape Plan - they are legit amazing technical musicians. They are ferocious live. Ferocious. A touch too perfect for me, but need to checked out. They leave the likes of Joe Satriani crying in his breakfast cereal.5. Lastly, for tightness and perfection - James Brown & the JB’s. These guys would make Weather Report (nod tp Howard moon) cry. Saxophone player Maceo Parker, trombonist Fred Wesley and drummers Clyde Stubblefield and John "Jabo" Starks, The crazy Bootsy Collins on bass. These guys roll into Funkadelic and the like. Makes Capt Beefheart or the Mothers of Invention, seem under prepared. Highly sampled.Similarly, the Mahavishnu orchestra- Although I feel I should discount any of the Electric Jazz crossovers - eg Herbie Hancook, Billy Cobden, Check Corea, Ozric Tentacles, . The group War - fronted by Eric Burdon, circa spill the Wine. But the JBs smash them all for connectivity with the audience.