Big 4 bands of classic rock?

[soupytwist]

Coming from the UK - I'd rate the 4 biggest classic America bands as...

The Doors
Fleetwood Mac
Aerosmith
The Beach Boys (If not classed as rock then The Eagles).


Also The Kinks were the best 60's UK band - yup better than The Beatles, Stones and Who. 

[jingle.boy]

I'm actually surprised that BOSTON doesn't get more love here on DT forums...

Lots of love I suspect, but they only had 4.5 albums (I'm including RTZ, but NOT including their post 2000s work)

[Cool Chris]

Boston's discography does hurt them a bit from being in the elite category.

I believe Fleetwood Mac band was formed in England, so I never think of them as an "American" group.

[Stadler]

I just came. 

[Stadler]

Why are the Dead not mentioned here? 

As for The Who, they are very influential.  There's no Pearl Jam or Kiss without The Who.  I would argue that the first two Alice Cooper albums (now that I'm an expert, because I listened to them twice each, hahahah!) are heavily influenced by The Who, at least vocally and arrangement-wise.

For me:
1. Beatles
2. Zeppelin
3. Stones
4. Floyd

5. The Who
6. The Grateful Dead
7. Jimi Hendrix
8. Black Sabbath

American Only:
1. The Grateful Dead
2. Aerosmith
3. Kiss
4. Van Halen

Yes, I know Hendrix is American; I purposefully excluded him, though, because he wasn't "quintessentially" American, and I didn't want to have to decide between 3, 4, and 5.   The Dead, with their love of Bluegrass and Americana was perhaps the quintessential American band.   Aerosmith billed themselves as the "American Stones".   Kiss is about as American - in every way, good and bad - as you get.   Van Halen is the blueprint for almost the entire LA - read: American - metal scene, which goes on to this day.

[WildRanger]

Big 4 of American classic rock:
1.The Doors
2.Beach Boys
3.CCR
4.Lynyrd Skynyrd or Aerosmith

[Dream Team]

The Eagles are the only classic rock band I hate more than the Stones.  Please don't make me include them. 

It's been a long day and I ****in hate the Eagles, man!!!

Totally agree on both bands, and I also don't like Floyd. Kev's list nailed it though.

[Cool Chris]

Why are the Dead not mentioned here? 

Because they suck. Seriously though, while legendary in a weird way, they never had the mass appeal the other bands we are discussing did. 

[Stadler]

I disagree though; they toured stadia on the regular with zero album play and zero radio play.   They spawned an entire genre (jam band) and it's no coincidence that the Jammies are based in San Francisco.   They might not have the "hits" but shit, even Soundgarden has a song called "Jerry Garcia's Finger".   

To this day, they release a live show every three months (and have been doing so for the last several years) and people are lining up.   Some of those early Dave's Picks sets get $400, $500 a pop on eBay.  I just sold a set of shows from July '78 for $400.   

I did fuck up by leaving off The Beach Boys, though.  They influenced the Beatles for fuck sake, and you probably have to include Dylan too.   Buh-bye Kiss and Aerosmith. 

[jingle.boy]

Why are the Dead not mentioned here? 

Because they suck. Seriously though, while legendary in a weird way, they never had the mass appeal the other bands we are discussing did.

I'm with ya here too Chris.  Never could appreciate anything about the Dead.

[WildRanger]

Why are the Dead not mentioned here? 

Because they suck. Seriously though, while legendary in a weird way, they never had the mass appeal the other bands we are discussing did.

Although I'm not a Dead fan I wouldn't say they sucked, but I agree they never had the mass appeal, they were always a very polarizing band. But they have their place in American rock history though.
On American rock scene Grand Funk Railroad were most active at the same time as Dead were and then they were fairly bigger than them, they were an American stadium-level act, most people today overlook GFR.

[Tick]

`

I think you could make a pretty strong case for Pink Floyd replacing The Who on that list.     And I say that as someone who really thinks the Stones are grossly overrated and mostly irrelevant in the 21st Century.   

I would waffle on that one too, and The Who and Floyd are two of my favorite bands.

I am not sure how the Stones are "irrelevant in the 21st Century" though. They will always be legends in the realm of classic rock, will always get a ton of radio airplay, and even on this forum people have included songs of theirs in the "Greatest Rock Song" discussion thread.

I don't know. I love Pink Floyd but no way am I putting them ahead of The Who as far as the more relevant "classic rock" band. The early Floyd stuff is to out there to even be in the conversation and while they are legends I can't put them on Mt. Rushmore. I would say Beatles, The Who, Stones, and Zep is pretty spot on, and I don't even really care for the Stones much.

[Cool Chris]

I disagree though; they toured stadia on the regular with zero album play and zero radio play. 

My cheeky response is, Yeah, but didn't essentially the same 10,000 people go to every single show of theirs?    To counter your argument, I don't think a band with zero radio play can be an elite band in their genre. Being on the radio doesn't make you elite, but it needs to factor in to the deal. 

I did fuck up by leaving off The Beach Boys, though.

The Beach Boys have an interesting legacy. In name alone, they are among the elites, but their music is so hard to categorize. And they hit the scene in a weird time period, post-Buddy Holly and pre-British Invasion, where rock music was a bit of a wasteland.

[TAC]

I disagree though; they toured stadia on the regular with zero album play and zero radio play. 

My cheeky response is, Yeah, but didn't essentially the same 10,000 people go to every single show of theirs?   

[bill1971]

Beatles
Rolling Stones
The Who
Led Zeppelin

I agree 100%, only really like The Beatles and Zeppelin, a handful of Stones and even fewer of The Who but that list is pretty hard to dispute.