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Greatest American Rock and Role Bands of ALL Time

I have run into several advertisements saying that Aerosmith was the greatest American R&R band. I have thought about this claim and asked around and realize it is not an easy choice. So many of the great rock bands are not American..i.e. Led Zeppelin, Beatles, Rolling Stones, Rush, etc.

But before going further, who should/should not be considered?

 I think “band” means not Elvis, Elton John, etc or other single acts, that is another thread. However I would count Ted Nugent since he really is a band but with his name as a title…same with Hendrix, since he usually played with a band.
 They need to write at least most of there own music (another thing that would preclude Elvis).
 “Rock” any thing from the 50s up to alternative (which I consider a derivative of rock). This would include pop rock, so the Monkey’s might be considered (if they were American).
 Heavy metal would be ok.
 they should sustain their appeal over a period of time even if they weren’t able to produce a lot of music…i.e. Buddy Hollie, Hendrix

Anyway, there is no perfect guide so if you have other ideas, no problem. But here are a few of the undisputed best…..(that is bait)

 Amerosmith
 Kiss
 Alice Cooper
 Ted Nugent
Journey
….hey, I don’t know, I really would have a hard time putting any of these in a top 10 list of all time worldwide so I need some help,

Who are the greatest American Rock Bands of All Time???????????? Who is THE Greatest of all time
bbtuna
creeper
251 posts
 
Ben Campbell,
Supertramp is indeed British, my bad. I poorly assumed that since they started living and recording in L.A. in 1978, they must be American. Please excuse my ignorance.
ben_campbell
1,169 posts
 
Creeper go to bed with no snacks and no listening to your system for two whole days,buy some monthly music magazines and the next time you feel the need to upgrade your system buy some music instead,some of Supertramp's best music by the way is pre 78.....now bed!
creeper
251 posts
 
Ben Campbell,
Wow. Why so high and mighty? I thought we were all friends here. Fairly selective criticism. How about a post directed at those mistaking Pink Floyd for American. I'm sorry I don't have your expertise in classic rock history. By the way, I was 9 in 1978. Jeez.
rosstaman
455 posts
 
Ben

David Byrne was born in Scotland, but the Talking Heads were formed when all the members were attending the New York Art Institute. They use to play at a club called CBGB's in midtown Manhattan.
zaikesman
3,017 posts
 
You're all wrong, here's the corrected list:
1. The Sonics
2. The Rock & Roll Trio
3. The Stooges
4. The Ramones
5. The Beach Boys
6. The Byrds
7. Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
8. The Remains
9. James Brown & His Famous Flames
10. James Brown & The J.B.'s
11. Love
12. The Ventures
13. Alice Cooper (the band)
14. The Velvet Underground
15. CCR
16. Elvis & His Trio (yeah, they were a band)
17. The 13th Floor Elevators
18. The Band (well, North American - they're mostly Canadian)
19. Booker T. & The M.G.'s
18. Parliament/Funkadelic
19. Gene Vincent & The Blue Caps
20. The Seeds
21. Neil Young & Crazy Horse (yeah, I know - at least I'm not trying to list The Troggs and Pink Floyd!)
22. Bob Dylan & The Band
23. The Monkees (stop that)
24. The Modern Lovers
25. The Replacements
26. Paul Revere & The Raiders
27. The Mamas & The Papas (I consider some Pop to be R&R, and vice versa)
28. The Five Royales
29. Link Wray & His Ray-Men
30. The Flaming Lips
31. The Bad Brains
32. NRBQ
33. The Temptations
34. The Impressions
35. The Talking Heads
36. ? & The Mysterians
37. The MC5
38. Louis Jordan & The Tympani Five
39. The Meters
40. Little Richard & The Upsetters
41. The Lyres
42. Sonic Youth (for a while there, in the middle years)
43. The Standells
44. The Buddy Holly Trio
45. The Bobby Fuller Four
46. The Fleshtones
47. The Dictators
48. The Everly Brothers (hey, it only takes two mininmum to make a band)
49. The Jackson Five
50. The Cramps

All right, I'm leaving off at 50 (although honorary mentions must go to the technically disqualified Jimi Hendrix Experience and the Funk Brothers [Motown's house band]), and though they're in no particular order, you Jefferson Airplane/Grateful Dead/Allman Brothers/Doors types can rest assured that although they technically would have to make my list eventually, it would have been a long time more before I would've gotten around to them...after Blondie...after Sam The Sham & The Pharohs...after all the Girl Groups and a lot of the Doo Wop groups...after The Dead Kennedys...Cheers!...
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