I can certainly see Syd Barrett's Floyd being an influence in part to the earliest era of Blur. Superb. The Beatles of course have to be the most important...we all know how skillful and diverse their playing and musical direction is , and maybe it was the time and space they were present in... but my word I don't think , hand on heart that there will EVER be a band as important or influential as The Beatles ever again. Certainly in OUR lifetimes. Thanks Barry for another great video. 😍
What pisses me off is that these millennial revisionists will reduce the Beatles as a "boy band". I honest don't understand how these kids could be so ignorant and blase, in their opinion about the most important band in Rock. 🤦♀🤦♀🤦♀
The Band might have a place on a similar list somewhere. They are highly linked to Bob Dylan and his early electric years, they made Eric Clapton want to quit Cream, they made Elton John write one his most beloved and different albums, they are a big name in Americana, they made one of the most influential concerts of all time and much of their music is timeless I think while lots of their contemporaries sound dated (not bad, just obviusly from a certain time).
The Beatles almost have to be #1. They created the template for the modern rock band. In one way or another, every band since the early 60's has been influenced by The Beatles. And they still remain as relevant as any band that's come before, or after them.
Yes, agreed. The Beatles created the template for the modern rock band, and The Beatles, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, and The Who - i.e. THE BIG FOUR - created the template for modern rock music that every other band, both British and American, is still using, utilizing, and developing today.
Love the Rush t-shirt. The Beatles started it all. The Who, Pink Floyd and The Kinks were important after the Fab Four as part of the British Invasion in the US along with the Stones. The Dead, the Doors and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young in the US. Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath were an important part of the 2nd US invasion. The 60s bands influenced the other bands to come in the 70s and beyond. Thanks for the video.
Top quality run down here Barry. Well presented and made so interesting with that individualistic approach to delivery that makes your channel a must watch
The Kinks back catalogue just seems to get better with every passing year. To me it's obvious without them most bands would have struggled for inspiration. Particularly thanks to the genuis of Ray Davies. My No 1.
A brilliant analysis and insightful perspective. The first concert I attended was “Cream” in 1967 at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit. It evolved my musical perspective and ignited my 50 plus years love affair with drumming. The only band on your list that I never saw live is “The Velvet Underground”. Bravo! Thank you!
Not a band exactly, and not my favourite skiffler, but Lonnie Donegan made a difference as the big star in the movement that pulled the Beatles together amongst many others.
Conspicuously absent here are The Rolling Stones and The Byrds. Each one was enormously influential in providing a template for the thousands of musicians inspired to form bands by The Beatles, who transcended templates. Either the blues-rock template of The Rolling Stones, the folk-rock template of The Byrds, or some combination of the two was the point of departure for the vast majority of bands formed in the wake of the Beatles. What the Beatles gave the world was the rock band paradigm itself and the imperative for rock bands to write their own songs. What The Rolling Stones and The Byrds gave were starting-points for doing that for those who lacked Lennon's and McCartney's genius: i.e. almost everyone. Kids who ran out to buy guitars after seeing the Ed Sullivan show or A Hard Day's Night couldn't write or sing like John and Paul. But they could play twelve-bar blues progressions like Keith Richards and vocalize like Mick Jagger. That's what all the teenage American garage bands of the 60's did. Or they could learn to arpeggiate the "cowboy chords" of Dylan songs like Roger McGuinn. That's what all the California bands of the 60's and 70's did. I'd say The Rolling Stones (and/or The Yardbirds) are more important historically than Cream, The Stooges, Led Zeppelin, or Black Sabbath, who would not have existed without them, and that leaving those bands off the list would have left room for The Byrds and the folk-rock, psychedelic, country-rock, and alternative bands for whom they paved the way.
The Byrds were great but they started to fall apart almost immediately. How many great albums ? The Stones were magnificent in many ways but nowhere near as influential as the Beatles.
@@PhilBaird1 5 off the top of my head, 5 being imho the benchmark of greatness but they also had an important socio/cultural cache to boast concurrently.
Yardbirds, for sure. One of the first Brit blues bands, during their Jeff Beck era they pioneered psych, garage, raga rock, jamming (from their 'raveups') etc. and opened the gates for Cream and Hendrix. Even the Beatles weren't immune to the influence of the Yardbirds, with Paul McCartney's solo in 'Taxman' suggesting his love of his friend Beck's riffing in 'Over Under Sideways Down' and 'Shapes of Things'. Though British bands tend to cite American influences, the American bands often cite British bands, and the Yardbirds are often cited by the likes of Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Ted Nugent, KISS etc.
Americans excel as solo acts. Maybe it's because of all of our rugged individualism. 😁 The poster doesn't even rank the Jimi Hendrix Experience though, imo, they should be included over Cream. And I assume he excluded them because they're seen as a solo act with a rhythm section.
I think they all fed off each other. Word gets around quickly in the UK. It's a very self-contained country. You see it in comedy too, The Goons, Pythons, Vic & Bob etc
I agree with you 100% on Plant ripping off Marriot. In what way did he rip off Daltry? He sounds nothing like him. His stage presence is nothing like Daltry's. The curly hair? The guy has curly hair. What's he supposed to do?
My ten would perhaps be; 1. Beatles 2. Beach Boys 3. Rolling Stones 4. Kinks 5. Yardbirds 6. Led Zeppelin 7. Fairport Convention 8. Pink Floyd 9. Velvet Underground 10. Nirvana Bubbling under, ABBA, Sex Pistols, Shadows, Hollies.
It's a great list, just 10 is very tricky. Personally I might include Fleetwood Mac over Fairport, The Smiths maybe over Velvet underground (though that is very debatable) and with just 10 there's no room for Black Sabbath or The Clash , Kraftwerk or Public Enemy
The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Who, The Funk Brothers (Motown house band), The Wrecking Crew (LA session players), The Swampers (FAME/Muscle Shoals house bands), Zappa & The Mothers, James Brown & The JB’s.
Without The Kinks, there would be no Madness, Blur, Slade, Ian Dury and the Blockheads, The Stranglers, The Clash, Sex Pistols, XTC, David Bowie, UK Squeeze, Stiff label artists like Jona Lewie, Wreckless Eric etc. A call out to the Moody Blues for creating prog rock.
Your one hundred percent right about The Moody Blues creating Prog Rock. Most people don't think they are cool 😎 anymore so like to think it was King Crimson.
@@herchelleonwood7463 I will take your word or it. Those groups were much better at it then than Craftwerk, because until this video I hadn't heard of them, and that hasn't change no matter their influence. Cheers.
@@junk_rig_sailor1698 You're from the US aren't you? Kraftwerk were the foundational influence behind all early 80s synth bands. Particularly audible in the 78-83 period in the UK which was pretty much ignored by the US. Their robotic rhythms were picked up later in the US to sow the seeds of both Detroit techno and Chicago house. Of course US being the US they originated a form and never evolved it; it took Europe to take the seed and develop it into the vast array of dance styles that evolved from house and detroit techno.
So hard to narrow it down to just 10 I'd have Talking Heads and Dr Feelgood in there but not idea who to remove .Cream at no.2 a bit high for me I'd swap them with the Kinks .Great food for thought anyway
My Top 10 Rock Bands that were both influential and I actually loved them most of my life: 1 The Beatles 2 The Rolling Stones 3 The Jimi Hendrix Experience 4 Pink Floyd 5 Led Zeppelin 6 The WHO 7 Black Sabbath 8 Deep Purple 9 Van Halen 10 UFO (Classic lineup with Michael Schenker on lead guitar). That's mine but really, it should be a top 50, I love so many talented bands that I considered for #10 but UFO is the most underrated band for me, in my lifetime. Saw them 5 times (3 x Michael Schenker, once each with Paul Chapman and then Vinnie Moore on lead guitar), always on a multi-band bills, and they were just plain better than anyone they played with (Styx, REO, etc, though Blackfoot at least gave it extra effort) other than Blue Oyster Cult, who could be #10 for me on a different day. Too many bands anyway going, say the Beatles were the best and here are 50 that could be #2! Rock On! 🎵🎸🎤🎸🎹🎶
I have no problem with you leaving out the Rolling Stones. They have always been great at adapting other styles of music and making it their own. I don't think that they were that groundbreaking (maybe aside from Brian Jones' exotic instrumental contributions). The Kinks definitely branched out in more interesting ways than the Stones, and it's great that in recent decades they've been acknowledged more and more as true innovators. I would have put in the Clash as opposed to Cream though. The Clash blended many styles of music and reinvented it their own way. Cream aren't really that relevant any more. An amazing band to be sure, but I can think of at least ten other bands who I'd put in this list ahead of them. Otherwise, I can't really fault the rest of the top ten. Good provocative stuff.
Good comment. The Rolling Stones are one of my all-time favourite bands - but they were never particularly important in terms of musical impact. Everything they did generally followed closely behind someone else leading the way. Musically, they were always followers...in fact following was their founding ethos - to boldly go where every blues artist had gone before. Later they applied the same thinking to RnR, pop, psychedelia, soul, disco, roots, country, sounding like a Stones tribute band...and so on.
1. Pink Floyd - most influential band for me, by far. 2. The Beatles 3. Rolling Stones 4. Led Zepellin 5. The Who 6. Cream 7. Black Sabbath 8. Kraftwerk 9. King Crimson 10. Sex Pistols
Interesting list and lots of good choices. The only entry i would definitely not have in such a top 10 are Cream. As influential as they were, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Doors or even one of the essential indie and alt bands from the 80s would be more crucial imo.
I tend to think Sabbath should be a bit higher and Velvet Underground a bit lower, but hard to argue with your list. BUT, one could make a good argument that the MC5 should replace The Stooges
I glad you included the Kinks. The lyrics, instrumentation, and production all great. When you think about it they have written hit songs on all sub categories of rock. Sad that they were black balled here in the states for awhile Barry. But I guess in essence the Kinks are an English music hall band with amplifiers. Thanks for your content.
I get Velvet Underground but, the Doors, Stones, and Ramones should definitely be on this list. In fact the song Sympathy for the devil and heroin inspired me to write songs in the same vein.
Every single one of those bands: one or two guitars, bass, drums, singer, maybe some keyboard, self-contained unit playing songs they’d written themselves. So where are The Crickets? By definition of everything we think of when we talk about a band, The Crickets are the blueprint. Irrespective of whether you like the music, the songs, the style, Holly’s voice and guitar, JI’s drums, it’s impossible to deny their extraordinary influence.
I think the Crickets fit in with the Jimi Hendrix Experience and to some extent The Doors as well (being dominated by the front man). The dominance of the front man just can't be denied (the Doors maybe less so given Morrison didn't play an instrument).
@@exhaustguy I never thought of that. Just now I made a case for The Shadows, but presumably they were left out because of their association as a backing band for Cliff Richard. x
Good list and well considered. I'm sure the choice of Rush T-shirt is a preemptive strike to placate the Rush army of uber faithfull (myself included), but clearly they are downstream of Cream and Led Zep. Thanks
@@sapporo1832 I only mention this because of the fact that the Crickets was the first time in pop that we saw a 4 piece band become known worldwide. Buddy also collaborated with Jerry Allison to write most of the songs. Buddy was not a solo artist until breaking in with The Crickets.
My list would be (not in any order): The Beatles The Rolling Stones The Who Pink Floyd Led Zeppelin The Doors The Velvet Underground Steely Dan Roxy Music U2 I think all of these pioneered a new branch of rock music eg psychedelic rock, heavy rock, jazz rock, art rock, rock opera, blues rock.
Being "important" has a certain coolness to it but being important isn't a requirement for great music. As an analogy , the three greatest composers are generally regarded as JS Bach , Mozart and Beethoven. Bach wasn't that important in his own life, it was only many years after he died that his greatness was recognised, and by that time the style he composed in wasn't the fashion. Mozart was mostly following the style of earlier composers like Haydn. Beethoven though was extremely important, most of the 19th century music was influenced by him. So JS Bach and Mozart weren't that "important" really, they just wrote great music.
Love your channel, Barry, but not a fan of this list. Where the hell is Van Halen? They spawned countless wannabes and there's a Sirius XM channel (Hair Nation) that wouldn't exist without VH. Not to mention the thousands and thousands of guitarists inspired by EVH. I cannot possibly fathom how anybody could say The Stooges or Velvet Underground are more influential. And that's not even taking album sales into account. I'd like to think you're not biased against US bands. And that's coming from a Yank who mostly listens to UK bands.
Excellent analysis. One major tributary that got short shrift here is glam rock. Marc Bolan and T-Rex popularized it, but it touched myriad bands on both sides of the Atlantic--Pretty Things, Slade, Gary Glitter, Iggy Pop, Sweet, Mott The Hoople, Roxy Music, New York Dolls, etc. Glam combined fashion with theatricality, so throw in Alice Cooper, Kiss, Queen and Prince. And Bowie, of course.
Great list but as a Number Two, behind The Beatles, I would put the very band that influenced them - The Shadows. With or without Sir Precipice Dick, they drew their sound from nowhere and the man who SHOULD be Sir Brian Rankin, who has had every musical superlative thrown at him over the last 65 years, was simply put, totally unique. I really, REALLY enjoy your videos. x
Thanks for another excellent post Barry. Though not in complete agreement with you, I think there’s a case for everyone on your list and that’s what makes for a good debate about it. Pleased to see The Kinks especially getting some plaudits. Growing up, The Jam were the first band to make a real impact on me and their influence was life-changing. The first gig I saw was them at The Rainbow in 1981, I was 14. Through them and primarily Weller’s influences as a songwriter, I soaked up The Beatles, Who, Kinks, Small Faces, Motown and off you go on that ever-unfolding joyous joining of the dots! Always enjoy your channel old sport. All the best..👍 Oh! Extra thanks for "Sydless" and "Teutonic tinkling." Lovely..
Another vote here for the Rolling Stones and the Byrds. An honourable mention also maybe for Fairport Convention who revolutionised the approach to folk/rock.
I agree. I think it's really a case of "The next 8 Important Bands..." I know that we all have our favourites, but, come on! Beatles and Stones are the root cause of all this list! I'm glad that he said that Ramones & Pistols stand on the shoulders of The Stooges...Correct! but the Stooges themselves stood on the shoulders of The Rolling Stones...Ron Ashton himself explained this clearly!
Fantastic picks, extroadinary......all of them. Honorable Mention? The Flying Burrito Brothers, Television, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Thin Lizzy, Can, Motorhead, Talk Talk, MC5, Deep Purple, Love? So many greats, so little time, lol
@@dwaynejessome1728 Line-up changes perhaps......but sub-par albums? Not many. Zeppelin and Sabbath each had a couple of dud albums in their 70's catalogue before Zep ended and Sab changed singers. The main difference, was Zep & Sab had larger than life managers who were more protective of their charges and who didn't over-milk their cash cow the way Purple management did. Clever, savvy marketing by the Zep and Sabs camps too....that was not Purple's forte. Superior musicianship and virtuosity was however Purple's claim to fame.
@@garyh.238 no disrespect intended - I love Deep Purple. I included U2 and I don't really like them very much. But I considered the breadth of their catalogue & how they influenced the musicians my younger brother's age. I considered Deep Purple (along with Queen & left them both out for very similar reasons) until I thought hard about their discography - first three albums were not very good. Then In Rock came and it had some incredible songs but the rest of the album is spotty. Fireball - excellent. Machine Head (top 20 all time rock album) Who Do We Think We Are - similar to In Rock - some greatness but spotty with filler Burn - lineup change & excellent album! Stormbringer - solid album Come Taste the Band - another lineup change - As much as I love Tommy Bolin - the album is a just good - not great Perfect Strangers - classic album & they would never be the same after that. They did 10 weak albums with numerous lineup changes after that. I don't see a dud in the Zep catalogue - & with Sabbath personally I like the Never Say Die and Technical Ecstasy quite a bit & feel they're underrated. Then they followed that with two classics - Heaven & Hell & Mob Rules.I can see Purple's greatest stuff being enough to put them over for some. For me, Purple would be top 20
I'm a bit surprised you didn't include the original Alice Cooper band Baz. Whilst not breaking new ground musically (although certainly lyrically and vocally (that snarl!)), they invented 'the rock show', they were the first male "glam" band (in 1967) - Bowie sent his band to watch them in 1971 at The Rainbow, London in order to convince them to "glam up". They added a whole new dimension to rock that has been emulated since (Ozzy, KISS, Pistols, Manson, Goth, Punk, all that "dark" metal stuff, WASP....even Madonna and Lady Gaga!).
What is this "Baz" band? And "glam" band in '67? Are you referring to The Nazz? Vince Furnier & friends started in high school as The Earwigs, basically a joke band in 1964. They continued and later released their first single as "The Nazz" but had to change the due to the band named "Nazz" (Todd Rundren) already being a signed recording group. So, they changed the band name again to Alice Cooper, a fictional character from a 60's TV show, in 1968. Soon after, singer Furnier changed his name to Alice Cooper and became personally synonymous with the band's name. I grew up in Phoenix, right down the road from Furnier. He is a few years older, and I didn't know him. But I was a younger friend of one of his high school (The Earwigs) girlfriends. Our local high school circle of kids knew that "Alice" was "Vince Furnier" before that information was ever published and became common info in the Rock press. We wore that "insider secret" like a badge of honor. 😂 Personally, I've never seen an attribution from any source to Cooper's band as the "first" glam band in '67, regardless of band name. I would be keenly interested in reading about that, if you could point me in the right direction! Thanks. 🤘
British bias, methinks. Byrds and Beach Boys are still influencing bands to this day. and when Brian Wilson started self-producing his band at 21, that totally changed the music industry. For really the first time, the composers were deciding what their records would sound like. Yeah, there was Spector, but all his records sounded similar.
Hi, here's my list in no specific order. By the way, this is my list of most IMPORTANT bands, not necessarily the most influential. I make a distinction here because for instance, based on popularity, record sales and fan followings, bands such as Journey and Foreigner can be considered "important", though I doubt they influenced many other musicians. To me the "most important" bands were both influential AND popular. So here goes: - The Beatles - The Rolling Stones - The Doors - CCR - Led Zeppelin - Pink Floyd - Black Sabbath - Deep Purple - The Sex Pistols - The Police Honorable mentions: - Yes - Genesis - Jethro Tull - The Beach Boys - Nirvana - Rush - The Who - The Mothers - The Velvet Underground - The Moody Blues - Roxy Music - Metallica - Rage Against the Machine - Soundgarden
I like your list, but The Who deserve first-tier recognition. By infusing the Who's song cycle with a storyline/narrative, Townshend's rock opera took concept albums to a whole new height--one that could be argued hasn't been topped to this day.
@@keithstover2899 You make a fair argument but these lists are somewhat subjective and, honestly, I just never thought The Who were that great. So I can't see them displacing anyone from my top 10. I recognize their importance by including them in my honorable mentions.
I would suggest The Beach Boys, The Allman Brothers Band and Nirvana. While each were certainly influenced by many in your list, they also were incredibly influential to many, many other bands as well.
An excellent report and analysis. I imagine it would be difficult to distill a list down to ten bands only. But when you raise Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin my mind wanders over to two of their peers in that era. Uriah Heep and Deep Purple were both influential and pioneered a genre that many have followed since then. It would be interesting to hear your views on those two bands as well. Cheers.
Definitely. Probably thee most influential band on progressive hard rock and metal since they incorporated psychedelic, blues and classical into the rock format. You could also argue without Purple there would have been no Rainbow, Whitesnake or any other bands that cite them as influential including Metallica, Queen, Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Van Halen or Def Leppard and so on.
Yes Cream thank you for not letting them to get lost in the sauce like now a days and their new found hate for EC 🎸 because of his view on the plaque thank you 🙂
Rolling Stones. Grateful Dead, the band who showed the way for every "jam" band that followed. 60 years don't lie. And in some strange way, they still live.
I’m surprised,no Beach Boys,the list is huge,of the amount of artists,who have said,the were an influence,Good Vibrations,Pet sounds,Sunflower,Surfs Up,inc the Beatles,the who,The flaming lips,REM,Weezer,The Ramones,even Kraftwerk,to name but a few.
Grateful Dead invented improvisation in rock. Influenced so many jam bands. Steely Dan married studio musical perfection to wonderful lyrics that were more like short stories.
Very brave of you. I mean so many can be left out. I like that you have the Stooges, Kinks, and the Velvets but some might balk at what was left off. Not much from the 80's or 90's however and Floyd should be up at the top.
Hard to wrap my head around a list of most important bands with The Byrds not mentioned. The Byrds made Dylan international, created the whole west coast country rock genre (for good or ill) with the Burrito Bros, Eagles, Jackson Brown, Dirt Band, Poco, CSN & Y all heavily influenced. I think the Stones get a nod, too. Maybe a baker's dozen list per chance? Thanks for the thoughtful segment, even with (imo) a big omission.
Agree about the Byrds, I would make a point in merging folk with rock their influence out lasted all others from the era. The Beatles for all their greatness didn't reinvent the wheel. Also the Band would be very high on my list. Pretty close to the motherland of Americana. And of course the Beach Boys should be in there.
The Byrd's made Dylan.Hardly, Dylan made The Byrd's and I love The Byrd's.The Kinks could be the most underrated band.Syd Barrett was way overrated.I like later Floyd.Seen them in '75,'77,'79.
@@denniswinters2541 Bob, himself, is the first to say how much he owes to Roger McGuinn & the Byrds. The Byrds first album had 4 Dylan songs on it and made both the band and Dylan international stars with Mr. Tambourine Man and All I Really Want To Do. Everyone in the pop world started recording Dylan songs after The Byrds first record. Not saying that Bob Dylan was not great. He's the best songwriter of the entire rock era in my mind, but the Byrds really propelled his star in the 1960s.
Good list. I’d include Van Halen because they came along in 1978 when Disco was dominating the charts but their debut album was incredibly successful and influenced most rock bands throughout the ‘80s.
Every band on the list should be a mid 60's band, despite how massively influential any later bands are. Like Led Zeppelin for example are one of the most influential bands ever, but the could not exist without the evolution rock music from mid sixties to 1969. You have to first agree on the start date, which would be 1963 or thereabouts when rock bands truly began. And from that point an accurate list would be almost exclusive to the following years. For example, a list like this would make sense to me: The Beatles Rolling Stones The Beach Boys The Byrds The Kinks The Who Cream Velvet Underground Pink Floyd The Doors After around 1966 and 1967 the number of sub-genres of rock music had already exploded and would continue to do so exponentially beyond counting thanks entirely to bands from rocks formative years like these ones. So it doesn't make sense to look any further into the future. The titles says what are the most important bands (to have shaped popular music as we know it, presumably). Yet the video starts saying "what are the most 'influential' bands", which is different and adds confusion. So yes Led Zeppelin are a more influential band that the Kinks, for example, but they began too late to make the list, already standing on the shoulders of the mid sixties (not to even mention early blues artists). Same goes for Black Sabbath, and all other pioneering, influential bands that came after these few short years. Hope that logic makes sense.
@@doscwolny2221 I'm glad...there are many running themes on my channel, and one of them is annoying Pink Floyd fans...then can be pompous, and if they can learn to laugh at themselves a little the world will be a better place
I still find you of the most interesting characters online. This one had me scratching my head though. You mentioned the stones about five times. And if you're talking about influential bands, their mark on classic rock 'n' roll and unequal variation is still felt today. I confess to being a stones lifestyler but would independently make the case that they were subsequently more influential than the Beatles. Without the stones the initial influence of "blues" and straight ahead Poppy music might never have turned into the dark, threatening deep blues and wicked rock that followed. And no Dylan on the list? Head scratching. However, I guess that's what makes these type of conversations so interesting.
1. The Beatles 2. The Beach Boys 3. Pink Floyd 4. Led Zeppelin 5. Black Sabbath 6. Metallica 7. Cream 8. The Who 9. Deep Purple 10. Jefferson Airplane (Had a strong female lead, Grace Slick. Acid rock) 11. Soundgarden (Better band than Nirvana. Alice In Chains too)
@davidschecter5247 I went with a band I enjoyed in high school,orinally. I honestly couldn't think of a number 10 at the time. Now, I could always change it to Fleetwood Mac or Jefferson Airplane just for the thought of one of the first strong band with a female lead singer. Also, big on the expansion of Acid Rock. Big Brother and the Holding Company is another.
@davidschecter5247 I changed it to Jefferson Airplane. My dad got to see them a few times. He was even at the Altamont Speedway Free Festival. I ask him if he remembered any of it, and he said no. Where you stoned, probably. He actually just finished his tour in Vietnam. Btw, Altamont is basically right next door to where I live and grew up.
@@paulkazakoff9231 Not a chance. Metallica created a genre that is still loved to this day. They also sing about certain subjects that no one sang about at the time. They were the antideficit of hair metal. Plus, they did it with any help from MTV.
Going down that road risks going back infinitely in time, though, until the only influential band is Ug and Grug throat-singing and playing stegosaurus bones like a xylophone.
Their first top hit was based on a song by Roy Orbison. They drew influence from so many places that none of them add up to making the list just because of their influence on the Fab Four.
The Doors had to be on that list of 10, but okay, at least you mentioned them for 11. As a huge Pink Floyd fan it would break my heart if you didn't mention them. 🎸
Like Andy you unfortunately left out Deep Purple. There is a reason Zeppelin, Sabbath and Purple are mentioned in the same breath as the pioneers of heavy metal. Deep Purple invented speed metal with Fireball in 1971 and of course Ritchie Blackmore inspired the whole neo-classical guitar movement. In 1993, musicologist Robert Walser defined him as "the most important musician of the emerging metal/classical fusion". As a result, he is credited as a precursor of the so-called "guitar shredders" that emerged in the mid-1980s.
Completely agree with you......but the pattern of Purple-exclusion from lists of the mighty and influential continues the same way it has for several decades. There is a narrative which runs within rock criticism circles which somehow chooses to ignore Purps' contributions to the genre.
I can certainly see Syd Barrett's Floyd being an influence in part to the earliest era of Blur. Superb.
The Beatles of course have to be the most important...we all know how skillful and diverse their playing and musical direction is , and maybe it was the time and space they were present in... but my word I don't think , hand on heart that there will EVER be a band as important or influential as The Beatles ever again. Certainly in OUR lifetimes. Thanks Barry for another great video. 😍
What pisses me off is that these millennial revisionists will reduce the Beatles as a "boy band". I honest don't understand how these kids could be so ignorant and blase, in their opinion about the most important band in Rock. 🤦♀🤦♀🤦♀
I agree. The Kinks were so influential. They had the ability to make this Yank feel British, especially with "Village Green".
My first thought was the Kinks. I’m glad he said them. I think it was a good list.
@@williammckay9229 Hollies > Kinks
Did Ween make you feel Boognish?
@@kelbale Let it be
Never understood the praise for The Beatles, the Kinks I can listen to.
I'm so pleased that you mentioned the Kinks, I regard them as influential as the Beatles, and just as great
The Beatles are drastically overrated. I'm not a major Kinks fan, but if one of their songs come on the radio, it holds up way better in my opinion.
Bravo for including the Who, Kinks.
The Band might have a place on a similar list somewhere. They are highly linked to Bob Dylan and his early electric years, they made Eric Clapton want to quit Cream, they made Elton John write one his most beloved and different albums, they are a big name in Americana, they made one of the most influential concerts of all time and much of their music is timeless I think while lots of their contemporaries sound dated (not bad, just obviusly from a certain time).
Crossed my mind too, fantastic artists..👍
The Beatles almost have to be #1. They created the template for the modern rock band. In one way or another, every band since the early 60's has been influenced by The Beatles. And they still remain as relevant as any band that's come before, or after them.
Yes, agreed. The Beatles created the template for the modern rock band, and The Beatles, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, and The Who - i.e. THE BIG FOUR - created the template for modern rock music that every other band, both British and American, is still using, utilizing, and developing today.
Love the Rush t-shirt. The Beatles started it all. The Who, Pink Floyd and The Kinks were important after the Fab Four as part of the British Invasion in the US along with the Stones. The Dead, the Doors and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young in the US. Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath were an important part of the 2nd US invasion. The 60s bands influenced the other bands to come in the 70s and beyond. Thanks for the video.
No Velvet Underground? Alice Cooper, AC/DC. I cannot concur.
No Jeff beck group no led zeppelin
Little Richard started it all.
Comment Section: "Them's fightin' words!" 😂
Great list. I enjoyed your most eloquent, often quite lyrical commentary. 🤘
Top quality run down here Barry. Well presented and made so interesting with that individualistic approach to delivery that makes your channel a must watch
We owe such a debt of gratitude to England. I’m an American and you guys kicked our butts when it came to music
Someone mentioned the Band. They certainly had a huge influence on American music from the 70's onwards.
Glad that the Velvet Underground picked up some well deserved recognition.
The Kinks back catalogue just seems to get better with every passing year. To me it's obvious without them most bands would have struggled for inspiration. Particularly thanks to the genuis of Ray Davies. My No 1.
Fine visual essay Barry. We all have our own ideas regarding this but I can't find fault with any of your choices.
A brilliant analysis and insightful perspective. The first concert I attended was “Cream” in 1967 at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit. It evolved my musical perspective and ignited my 50 plus years love affair with drumming. The only band on your list that I never saw live is “The Velvet Underground”. Bravo! Thank you!
Not a band exactly, and not my favourite skiffler, but Lonnie Donegan made a difference as the big star in the movement that pulled the Beatles together amongst many others.
Conspicuously absent here are The Rolling Stones and The Byrds. Each one was enormously influential in providing a template for the thousands of musicians inspired to form bands by The Beatles, who transcended templates. Either the blues-rock template of The Rolling Stones, the folk-rock template of The Byrds, or some combination of the two was the point of departure for the vast majority of bands formed in the wake of the Beatles. What the Beatles gave the world was the rock band paradigm itself and the imperative for rock bands to write their own songs. What The Rolling Stones and The Byrds gave were starting-points for doing that for those who lacked Lennon's and McCartney's genius: i.e. almost everyone. Kids who ran out to buy guitars after seeing the Ed Sullivan show or A Hard Day's Night couldn't write or sing like John and Paul. But they could play twelve-bar blues progressions like Keith Richards and vocalize like Mick Jagger. That's what all the teenage American garage bands of the 60's did. Or they could learn to arpeggiate the "cowboy chords" of Dylan songs like Roger McGuinn. That's what all the California bands of the 60's and 70's did. I'd say The Rolling Stones (and/or The Yardbirds) are more important historically than Cream, The Stooges, Led Zeppelin, or Black Sabbath, who would not have existed without them, and that leaving those bands off the list would have left room for The Byrds and the folk-rock, psychedelic, country-rock, and alternative bands for whom they paved the way.
The Byrds were great but they started to fall apart almost immediately. How many great albums ? The Stones were magnificent in many ways but nowhere near as influential as the Beatles.
I would have put the Byrds in there myself,maybe in place of Sabbath, but l defer to Barry's astute summation's in the main.
@@PhilBaird1 5 off the top of my head, 5 being imho the benchmark of greatness but they also had an important socio/cultural cache to boast concurrently.
Also The Ramones I would add need to be on this list
I'd include the Beach Boys before the Byrds.
Good to see Cream getting some recognition.
CREAM WERE TREMENDOUS !!!!!
'There was nothing like The Yardbirds'.
Jeff Beck
Yardbirds would be a good shout as the root to many subsequent branches of classic rock.
Yardbirds, for sure. One of the first Brit blues bands, during their Jeff Beck era they pioneered psych, garage, raga rock, jamming (from their 'raveups') etc. and opened the gates for Cream and Hendrix. Even the Beatles weren't immune to the influence of the Yardbirds, with Paul McCartney's solo in 'Taxman' suggesting his love of his friend Beck's riffing in 'Over Under Sideways Down' and 'Shapes of Things'. Though British bands tend to cite American influences, the American bands often cite British bands, and the Yardbirds are often cited by the likes of Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Ted Nugent, KISS etc.
Don't shout at deaf ears the man is on the "track"..😂😂 Velvet Underground,Who,Kinks,even the walks laughing 😂😂😂
Nah
I would include the Yardbirds before the Who
I'd love to see you And Andy just rambling about music! Have a nice weekend my friends!
A great question is what made English band's so influential for so many decades.
Americans excel as solo acts. Maybe it's because of all of our rugged individualism. 😁 The poster doesn't even rank the Jimi Hendrix Experience though, imo, they should be included over Cream. And I assume he excluded them because they're seen as a solo act with a rhythm section.
@@stevehoran5595or as someone commented on a drum website, Jimi was Mitch Mitchell's guitarist.😅
English fondness of the absurd, and literate background seemed to be the difference. American was more base emotion.
@@stevehoran5595 He did explain.
I think they all fed off each other. Word gets around quickly in the UK. It's a very self-contained country. You see it in comedy too, The Goons, Pythons, Vic & Bob etc
I am glad that you mentioned Percy Plant ripping off Marriott and The Who.
Talking of which, no Small Faces?
I agree with you 100% on Plant ripping off Marriot. In what way did he rip off Daltry? He sounds nothing like him. His stage presence is nothing like Daltry's. The curly hair? The guy has curly hair. What's he supposed to do?
@@jjvermeer and the fringed jacket. The way he moved on stage. To name but two
I really enjoyed such a personal trip through time. Thank you.
My ten would perhaps be;
1. Beatles
2. Beach Boys
3. Rolling Stones
4. Kinks
5. Yardbirds
6. Led Zeppelin
7. Fairport Convention
8. Pink Floyd
9. Velvet Underground
10. Nirvana
Bubbling under, ABBA, Sex Pistols, Shadows, Hollies.
It's a great list, just 10 is very tricky. Personally I might include Fleetwood Mac over Fairport, The Smiths maybe over Velvet underground (though that is very debatable) and with just 10 there's no room for Black Sabbath or The Clash , Kraftwerk or Public Enemy
No Nirvana...
Fairport Convention? Created the folk rock genre and were the best. Hugely influential to many and still performing to a high standard.
No that would be the Byrds.
Never heard of them
Superb ,mate, I didn't agree with three of your choices ,but hey that's part of what makes your channel great👍👍👍👍👍
Good list . You saved it at the last second by including The Doors
The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd will always be top 3 for me
Agreed
agreed
Agreed.
The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Who, The Funk Brothers (Motown house band), The Wrecking Crew (LA session players), The Swampers (FAME/Muscle Shoals house bands), Zappa & The Mothers, James Brown & The JB’s.
yeh this past week i bought 1974 glen campbell the crew and billy vera and the beaters 1981 swampers those guys were staples same as funk bros. agree
Can i just say a BIG thank you to you for all your vlogs, both entertaining and informative excellent thank you
Without The Kinks, there would be no Madness, Blur, Slade, Ian Dury and the Blockheads, The Stranglers, The Clash, Sex Pistols, XTC, David Bowie, UK Squeeze, Stiff label artists like Jona Lewie, Wreckless Eric etc.
A call out to the Moody Blues for creating prog rock.
Massive influence on Paul Weller
Sure there would
Procol Harum created prog rock.
@@MarkStevens8899Along with The Small Faces......
Your one hundred percent right about The Moody Blues creating Prog Rock. Most people don't think they are cool 😎 anymore so like to think it was King Crimson.
Finally someone who doesn't put The Stones, Sex Pistols, or god forbid, Nirvana in a top 10 influential bands. I 100% agree with this list.
Finally, someone who acknowledges Kraftwerk as being a driving influence of the Techno 20 years before the Detroit scene came to be.
Never heard of them until this video
kraftwerk was a giant influence on Joy Division , New Order, Devo, Gary Numan and much of the early new wave, post punk.
@@herchelleonwood7463 I will take your word or it. Those groups were much better at it then than Craftwerk, because until this video I hadn't heard of them, and that hasn't change no matter their influence. Cheers.
@@junk_rig_sailor1698 They were much better, yet you've never even heard of Kraftwerk? How does that work?
@@junk_rig_sailor1698 You're from the US aren't you? Kraftwerk were the foundational influence behind all early 80s synth bands. Particularly audible in the 78-83 period in the UK which was pretty much ignored by the US. Their robotic rhythms were picked up later in the US to sow the seeds of both Detroit techno and Chicago house. Of course US being the US they originated a form and never evolved it; it took Europe to take the seed and develop it into the vast array of dance styles that evolved from house and detroit techno.
The Rolling Stones have to be on any type of list if you are going to have one. I like your list despite that big omission.
So hard to narrow it down to just 10 I'd have Talking Heads and Dr Feelgood in there but not idea who to remove .Cream at no.2 a bit high for me I'd swap them with the Kinks .Great food for thought anyway
My Top 10 Rock Bands that were both influential and I actually loved them most of my life:
1 The Beatles
2 The Rolling Stones
3 The Jimi Hendrix Experience
4 Pink Floyd
5 Led Zeppelin
6 The WHO
7 Black Sabbath
8 Deep Purple
9 Van Halen
10 UFO (Classic lineup with Michael Schenker on lead guitar).
That's mine but really, it should be a top 50, I love so many talented bands that I considered for #10 but UFO is the most underrated band for me, in my lifetime. Saw them 5 times (3 x Michael Schenker, once each with Paul Chapman and then Vinnie Moore on lead guitar), always on a multi-band bills, and they were just plain better than anyone they played with (Styx, REO, etc, though Blackfoot at least gave it extra effort) other than Blue Oyster Cult, who could be #10 for me on a different day. Too many bands anyway going, say the Beatles were the best and here are 50 that could be #2! Rock On! 🎵🎸🎤🎸🎹🎶
Full agreement on UFO.
Your list is juuuust about right! Nice!
Fantastic list big up for including UFO, and mentioning blue oyster cult
Great t-shirt! I have that one in my sizeable collection of Rush shirts and it's a personal favourite.
I have no problem with you leaving out the Rolling Stones. They have always been great at adapting other styles of music and making it their own. I don't think that they were that groundbreaking (maybe aside from Brian Jones' exotic instrumental contributions). The Kinks definitely branched out in more interesting ways than the Stones, and it's great that in recent decades they've been acknowledged more and more as true innovators. I would have put in the Clash as opposed to Cream though. The Clash blended many styles of music and reinvented it their own way. Cream aren't really that relevant any more. An amazing band to be sure, but I can think of at least ten other bands who I'd put in this list ahead of them. Otherwise, I can't really fault the rest of the top ten. Good provocative stuff.
Good comment. The Rolling Stones are one of my all-time favourite bands - but they were never particularly important in terms of musical impact. Everything they did generally followed closely behind someone else leading the way. Musically, they were always followers...in fact following was their founding ethos - to boldly go where every blues artist had gone before. Later they applied the same thinking to RnR, pop, psychedelia, soul, disco, roots, country, sounding like a Stones tribute band...and so on.
Congrats on the 60K. Much deserved. Great Channel. Best Regards, Jeremy
1. Pink Floyd - most influential band for me, by far.
2. The Beatles
3. Rolling Stones
4. Led Zepellin
5. The Who
6. Cream
7. Black Sabbath
8. Kraftwerk
9. King Crimson
10. Sex Pistols
Nice to have you back.....
Of course Floyd need to be on that list!
Pink Floyds music is lullabies for stoners.
@@user-qb1sm3rk9r binaural beats on valium?
I write as a fan of course....
Correct List: Beatles, Stones, Zep, Who, Sabbath, Deep Purple, Cream, Boston, Van Halen, Triumph
Triumph! Good band "Allied Forces" is a great album!
No the gentleman already gave the correct list I think you'll find.
Certainly any list worth its salt should include Deep Purple.
I’ve never in my life heard or read anyone mention Triumph as influential, or anything special for that matter.
@@nationaltrevor255 until now
Interesting list and lots of good choices. The only entry i would definitely not have in such a top 10 are Cream. As influential as they were, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Doors or even one of the essential indie and alt bands from the 80s would be more crucial imo.
I tend to think Sabbath should be a bit higher and Velvet Underground a bit lower, but hard to argue with your list.
BUT, one could make a good argument that the MC5 should replace The Stooges
I was ready to be outraged by the lack of The Doors, but you saved it at the end. I will take an honorable mention.
The Moody Blues' "Days Of Future Passed" has to be one of most influential albums of all time. It was revolutionary. It should be in the top 3.
Creedence Clearwater Revival I would say were a massively important and influential band too.
I love CCR and would put them in before Rolling Stones.
They would definitely be top 20, maybe 15, along with the Allman Brothers and Skynyrd.
Nah, not as influential as many, many others.
America's answer to The Beatles, and a heck of an answer at that!
@@chuckm4540 Not even close
Syd Barrett ❤
I glad you included the Kinks. The lyrics, instrumentation, and production all great. When you think about it they have written hit songs on all sub categories of rock. Sad that they were black balled here in the states for awhile Barry. But I guess in essence the Kinks are an English music hall band with amplifiers. Thanks for your content.
I get Velvet Underground but, the Doors, Stones, and Ramones should definitely be on this list. In fact the song Sympathy for the devil and heroin inspired me to write songs in the same vein.
Every single one of those bands: one or two guitars, bass, drums, singer, maybe some keyboard, self-contained unit playing songs they’d written themselves.
So where are The Crickets? By definition of everything we think of when we talk about a band, The Crickets are the blueprint.
Irrespective of whether you like the music, the songs, the style, Holly’s voice and guitar, JI’s drums, it’s impossible to deny their extraordinary influence.
I think the Crickets fit in with the Jimi Hendrix Experience and to some extent The Doors as well (being dominated by the front man). The dominance of the front man just can't be denied (the Doors maybe less so given Morrison didn't play an instrument).
@@exhaustguy I never thought of that. Just now I made a case for The Shadows, but presumably they were left out because of their association as a backing band for Cliff Richard. x
Good list and well considered. I'm sure the choice of Rush T-shirt is a preemptive strike to placate the Rush army of uber faithfull (myself included), but clearly they are downstream of Cream and Led Zep. Thanks
Buddy Holly and The Crickets is in the DNA of every single band. They should not be ommited from this list.
❤
Nope. Try again.
@@shirleymental4189 yeah live up to your name!
I agree completely about Buddy Holly's place, but - not to insult the Crickets - I wonder if this is similar to what he said about Jimi Hendrix.
@@sapporo1832 I only mention this because of the fact that the Crickets was the first time in pop that we saw a 4 piece band become known worldwide. Buddy also collaborated with Jerry Allison to write most of the songs. Buddy was not a solo artist until breaking in with The Crickets.
Coil, Pink Floyd, Kraftwerk, Can, Tangerine Dream, Hüsker Dü, Black Sabbath, Ulver, Joy Division, Velvet Underground,
Never heard of Coil, Can, or Ulver.
@@tan-jello just listen to them ...being not so popular, doesn't mean that they were not important.
@@opaknack5997 Coil are a rewarding listen, start with 'Musick to play in the Dark, vols 1&2'
Yes to Tangerine Dream, taught the world how to use sequencers.
@@Titus9508 yes - together with Klaus Schulze
My list would be (not in any order):
The Beatles
The Rolling Stones
The Who
Pink Floyd
Led Zeppelin
The Doors
The Velvet Underground
Steely Dan
Roxy Music
U2
I think all of these pioneered a new branch of rock music eg psychedelic rock, heavy rock, jazz rock, art rock, rock opera, blues rock.
Being "important" has a certain coolness to it but being important isn't a requirement for great music. As an analogy , the three greatest composers are generally regarded as JS Bach , Mozart and Beethoven. Bach wasn't that important in his own life, it was only many years after he died that his greatness was recognised, and by that time the style he composed in wasn't the fashion. Mozart was mostly following the style of earlier composers like Haydn. Beethoven though was extremely important, most of the 19th century music was influenced by him. So JS Bach and Mozart weren't that "important" really, they just wrote great music.
Love your channel, Barry, but not a fan of this list. Where the hell is Van Halen? They spawned countless wannabes and there's a Sirius XM channel (Hair Nation) that wouldn't exist without VH. Not to mention the thousands and thousands of guitarists inspired by EVH. I cannot possibly fathom how anybody could say The Stooges or Velvet Underground are more influential. And that's not even taking album sales into account. I'd like to think you're not biased against US bands. And that's coming from a Yank who mostly listens to UK bands.
Excellent analysis. One major tributary that got short shrift here is glam rock. Marc Bolan and T-Rex popularized it, but it touched myriad bands on both sides of the Atlantic--Pretty Things, Slade, Gary Glitter, Iggy Pop, Sweet, Mott The Hoople, Roxy Music, New York Dolls, etc. Glam combined fashion with theatricality, so throw in Alice Cooper, Kiss, Queen and Prince. And Bowie, of course.
Pleased that you mentioned the Incredible String Band re. Led Zeppelin.
The kinks were incredible, i think they influenced many later 'heavy' bands. I think Family, and king Crimson also played a part.
Forgot Buddy Holly and the Crickets, who set the template for a 4 piece band
Great list but as a Number Two, behind The Beatles, I would put the very band that influenced them - The Shadows. With or without Sir Precipice Dick, they drew their sound from nowhere and the man who SHOULD be Sir Brian Rankin, who has had every musical superlative thrown at him over the last 65 years, was simply put, totally unique. I really, REALLY enjoy your videos. x
Thanks for another excellent post Barry. Though not in complete agreement with you, I think there’s a case for everyone on your list and that’s what makes for a good debate about it. Pleased to see The Kinks especially getting some plaudits.
Growing up, The Jam were the first band to make a real impact on me and their influence was life-changing. The first gig I saw was them at The Rainbow in 1981, I was 14. Through them and primarily Weller’s influences as a songwriter, I soaked up The Beatles, Who, Kinks, Small Faces, Motown and off you go on that ever-unfolding joyous joining of the dots! Always enjoy your channel old sport. All the best..👍
Oh! Extra thanks for "Sydless" and "Teutonic tinkling." Lovely..
Thanks for that nod to the Kinks. They are somewhat overlooked here in the US. But they delivered over and over through the years.
yeh record store today looked at vusual record not one of their best but even so had a few hit songs
Nice, and the added bonus of The Doors was the icing on the cake.
Another vote here for the Rolling Stones and the Byrds. An honourable mention also maybe for Fairport Convention who revolutionised the approach to folk/rock.
Stones should have been on this list. They were the first in so many areas of performing rock and roll.
I'm not really Stones fan, but I would have put them on my list, just for their 1960s singles alone, hard to argue about their influence.
I agree. I think it's really a case of "The next 8 Important Bands..." I know that we all have our favourites, but, come on! Beatles and Stones are the root cause of all this list! I'm glad that he said that Ramones & Pistols stand on the shoulders of The Stooges...Correct! but the Stooges themselves stood on the shoulders of The Rolling Stones...Ron Ashton himself explained this clearly!
Nope.
No they shouldn’t because it’s not your fucking list.
Thank you for your Good Friday greeting.
Good list; read a lot of the comments - certainly the Allman Brothers Band gave us Southern Rock, which seems rather influential too.
Fantastic picks, extroadinary......all of them. Honorable Mention? The Flying Burrito Brothers, Television, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Thin Lizzy, Can, Motorhead, Talk Talk, MC5, Deep Purple, Love? So many greats, so little time, lol
Deep Purple anyone!?!? No, unfortunately once again the Red-Headed Step-Child hidden away in the attic.
They had a great moment, but too many lineup changes with seveeral subpar albums
@@dwaynejessome1728 Line-up changes perhaps......but sub-par albums? Not many. Zeppelin and Sabbath each had a couple of dud albums in their 70's catalogue before Zep ended and Sab changed singers. The main difference, was Zep & Sab had larger than life managers who were more protective of their charges and who didn't over-milk their cash cow the way Purple management did. Clever, savvy marketing by the Zep and Sabs camps too....that was not Purple's forte. Superior musicianship and virtuosity was however Purple's claim to fame.
@@garyh.238 no disrespect intended - I love Deep Purple. I included U2 and I don't really like them very much. But I considered the breadth of their catalogue & how they influenced the musicians my younger brother's age. I considered Deep Purple (along with Queen & left them both out for very similar reasons) until I thought hard about their discography - first three albums were not very good. Then In Rock came and it had some incredible songs but the rest of the album is spotty. Fireball - excellent. Machine Head (top 20 all time rock album)
Who Do We Think We Are - similar to In Rock - some greatness but spotty with filler
Burn - lineup change & excellent album!
Stormbringer - solid album
Come Taste the Band - another lineup change - As much as I love Tommy Bolin - the album is a just good - not great
Perfect Strangers - classic album & they would never be the same after that. They did 10 weak albums with numerous lineup changes after that.
I don't see a dud in the Zep catalogue - & with Sabbath personally I like the Never Say Die and Technical Ecstasy quite a bit & feel they're underrated. Then they followed that with two classics - Heaven & Hell & Mob Rules.I can see Purple's greatest stuff being enough to put them over for some. For me, Purple would be top 20
Wonderful list i Will Add the Stones and the Moody Blues.
I'm a bit surprised you didn't include the original Alice Cooper band Baz. Whilst not breaking new ground musically (although certainly lyrically and vocally (that snarl!)), they invented 'the rock show', they were the first male "glam" band (in 1967) - Bowie sent his band to watch them in 1971 at The Rainbow, London in order to convince them to "glam up".
They added a whole new dimension to rock that has been emulated since (Ozzy, KISS, Pistols, Manson, Goth, Punk, all that "dark" metal stuff, WASP....even Madonna and Lady Gaga!).
Screaming Lord Sutch predates Baz. 'Rock show' founder.
No, I mean "a rock show" - a stage show, not one person with a cloak and dagger.
What is this "Baz" band? And "glam" band in '67? Are you referring to The Nazz?
Vince Furnier & friends started in high school as The Earwigs, basically a joke band in 1964. They continued and later released their first single as "The Nazz" but had to change the due to the band named "Nazz" (Todd Rundren) already being a signed recording group.
So, they changed the band name again to Alice Cooper, a fictional character from a 60's TV show, in 1968. Soon after, singer Furnier changed his name to Alice Cooper and became personally synonymous with the band's name.
I grew up in Phoenix, right down the road from Furnier. He is a few years older, and I didn't know him. But I was a younger friend of one of his high school (The Earwigs) girlfriends. Our local high school circle of kids knew that "Alice" was "Vince Furnier" before that information was ever published and became common info in the Rock press. We wore that "insider secret" like a badge of honor. 😂
Personally, I've never seen an attribution from any source to Cooper's band as the "first" glam band in '67, regardless of band name. I would be keenly interested in reading about that, if you could point me in the right direction! Thanks.
🤘
You cannot omit the Byrds, Beach Boys, Rolling Stones or Sex Pistols without an explanation. Get serious 😮
British bias, methinks. Byrds and Beach Boys are still influencing bands to this day. and when Brian Wilson started self-producing his band at 21, that totally changed the music industry. For really the first time, the composers were deciding what their records would sound like. Yeah, there was Spector, but all his records sounded similar.
Hi, here's my list in no specific order. By the way, this is my list of most IMPORTANT bands, not necessarily the most influential. I make a distinction here because for instance, based on popularity, record sales and fan followings, bands such as Journey and Foreigner can be considered "important", though I doubt they influenced many other musicians. To me the "most important" bands were both influential AND popular. So here goes:
- The Beatles
- The Rolling Stones
- The Doors
- CCR
- Led Zeppelin
- Pink Floyd
- Black Sabbath
- Deep Purple
- The Sex Pistols
- The Police
Honorable mentions:
- Yes
- Genesis
- Jethro Tull
- The Beach Boys
- Nirvana
- Rush
- The Who
- The Mothers
- The Velvet Underground
- The Moody Blues
- Roxy Music
- Metallica
- Rage Against the Machine
- Soundgarden
I like your list, but The Who deserve first-tier recognition. By infusing the Who's song cycle with a storyline/narrative, Townshend's rock opera took concept albums to a whole new height--one that could be argued hasn't been topped to this day.
@@keithstover2899 You make a fair argument but these lists are somewhat subjective and, honestly, I just never thought The Who were that great. So I can't see them displacing anyone from my top 10. I recognize their importance by including them in my honorable mentions.
Definitely Yes! They'd be in my top 10
I would suggest The Beach Boys, The Allman Brothers Band and Nirvana. While each were certainly influenced by many in your list, they also were incredibly influential to many, many other bands as well.
An excellent report and analysis. I imagine it would be difficult to distill a list down to ten bands only. But when you raise Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin my mind wanders over to two of their peers in that era. Uriah Heep and Deep Purple were both influential and pioneered a genre that many have followed since then. It would be interesting to hear your views on those two bands as well. Cheers.
Yes Purple especially should be on any list of this type.
Definitely. Probably thee most influential band on progressive hard rock and metal since they incorporated psychedelic, blues and classical into the rock format. You could also argue without Purple there would have been no Rainbow, Whitesnake or any other bands that cite them as influential including Metallica, Queen, Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Van Halen or Def Leppard and so on.
Yes Cream thank you for not letting them to get lost in the sauce like now a days and their new found hate for EC 🎸 because of his view on the plaque thank you 🙂
Rolling Stones. Grateful Dead, the band who showed the way for every "jam" band that followed. 60 years don't lie. And in some strange way, they still live.
Great: Jim morrison absolutely loved the kinks!
The kinks all day and all of the night inspired jim with hello i love you.
I’m surprised,no Beach Boys,the list is huge,of the amount of artists,who have said,the were an influence,Good Vibrations,Pet sounds,Sunflower,Surfs Up,inc the Beatles,the who,The flaming lips,REM,Weezer,The Ramones,even Kraftwerk,to name but a few.
Grateful Dead invented improvisation in rock. Influenced so many jam bands. Steely Dan married studio musical perfection to wonderful lyrics that were more like short stories.
Very brave of you. I mean so many can be left out. I like that you have the Stooges, Kinks, and the Velvets but some might balk at what was left off. Not much from the 80's or 90's however and Floyd should be up at the top.
Love your channel man. I was just listening to Tom Waits 'what's he building in there' What about a top ten of the most spooky songs?
Hard to wrap my head around a list of most important bands with The Byrds not mentioned. The Byrds made Dylan international, created the whole west coast country rock genre (for good or ill) with the Burrito Bros, Eagles, Jackson Brown, Dirt Band, Poco, CSN & Y all heavily influenced. I think the Stones get a nod, too. Maybe a baker's dozen list per chance? Thanks for the thoughtful segment, even with (imo) a big omission.
Agree about the Byrds, I would make a point in merging folk with rock their influence out lasted all others from the era. The Beatles for all their greatness didn't reinvent the wheel. Also the Band would be very high on my list. Pretty close to the motherland of Americana. And of course the Beach Boys should be in there.
The Byrd's made Dylan.Hardly, Dylan made The Byrd's and I love The Byrd's.The Kinks could be the most underrated band.Syd Barrett was way overrated.I like later Floyd.Seen them in '75,'77,'79.
@@denniswinters2541 Bob, himself, is the first to say how much he owes to Roger McGuinn & the Byrds. The Byrds first album had 4 Dylan songs on it and made both the band and Dylan international stars with Mr. Tambourine Man and All I Really Want To Do. Everyone in the pop world started recording Dylan songs after The Byrds first record. Not saying that Bob Dylan was not great. He's the best songwriter of the entire rock era in my mind, but the Byrds really propelled his star in the 1960s.
@@johnthrasher8146 The clue is that the original Tambourine Man is 3/4; the Byrds is 4/4. Dylan's versions have been 4/4 ever since.....
Good list. I’d include Van Halen because they came along in 1978 when Disco was dominating the charts but their debut album was incredibly successful and influenced most rock bands throughout the ‘80s.
Agreed! Though I would argue: Throughout the '80s and still today.
Every band on the list should be a mid 60's band, despite how massively influential any later bands are. Like Led Zeppelin for example are one of the most influential bands ever, but the could not exist without the evolution rock music from mid sixties to 1969.
You have to first agree on the start date, which would be 1963 or thereabouts when rock bands truly began. And from that point an accurate list would be almost exclusive to the following years.
For example, a list like this would make sense to me:
The Beatles
Rolling Stones
The Beach Boys
The Byrds
The Kinks
The Who
Cream
Velvet Underground
Pink Floyd
The Doors
After around 1966 and 1967 the number of sub-genres of rock music had already exploded and would continue to do so exponentially beyond counting thanks entirely to bands from rocks formative years like these ones. So it doesn't make sense to look any further into the future.
The titles says what are the most important bands (to have shaped popular music as we know it, presumably). Yet the video starts saying "what are the most 'influential' bands", which is different and adds confusion.
So yes Led Zeppelin are a more influential band that the Kinks, for example, but they began too late to make the list, already standing on the shoulders of the mid sixties (not to even mention early blues artists). Same goes for Black Sabbath, and all other pioneering, influential bands that came after these few short years.
Hope that logic makes sense.
I like your point...it's all a bit of fun though!
@@tombeithemist5255 No fun allowed!
If he changed the title to most influential bands I'll allow it. 😤
Thanks for the mention, and for appeasing the Floyd fans
Yep I'm happier now lol
@@doscwolny2221 I'm glad...there are many running themes on my channel, and one of them is annoying Pink Floyd fans...then can be pompous, and if they can learn to laugh at themselves a little the world will be a better place
Who knew Mike Ehrmantraut had a twin brother? 🤔
Mike Ehrmentraut's ranking
@@fernandodebisogno6428 ?
Love 'Breaking Bad'
@@classicalbum Cool! And please take my post as a compliment - Mike was a really cool character :)
Good review. Calling it ‘the most important’ as opposed to the most popular or the best, was thought provoking
No Wombles??? All fantastic musicians and they always cleaned up after themselves. 😉
Kasenatz Katz Super Circus is pretty much the basis of all modern pop (including K). Influential doesn't have to mean good.
I still find you of the most interesting characters online. This one had me scratching my head though. You mentioned the stones about five times. And if you're talking about influential bands, their mark on classic rock 'n' roll and unequal variation is still felt today. I confess to being a stones lifestyler but would independently make the case that they were subsequently more influential than the Beatles. Without the stones the initial influence of "blues" and straight ahead Poppy music might never have turned into the dark, threatening deep blues and wicked rock that followed. And no Dylan on the list? Head scratching. However, I guess that's what makes these type of conversations so interesting.
1. The Beatles
2. The Beach Boys
3. Pink Floyd
4. Led Zeppelin
5. Black Sabbath
6. Metallica
7. Cream
8. The Who
9. Deep Purple
10. Jefferson Airplane (Had a strong female lead, Grace Slick. Acid rock)
11. Soundgarden (Better band than Nirvana. Alice In Chains too)
Not sure of No. 10, but you have the best list out of all the ones I've seen.
@davidschecter5247 I went with a band I enjoyed in high school,orinally. I honestly couldn't think of a number 10 at the time. Now, I could always change it to Fleetwood Mac or Jefferson Airplane just for the thought of one of the first strong band with a female lead singer. Also, big on the expansion of Acid Rock. Big Brother and the Holding Company is another.
@davidschecter5247 I changed it to Jefferson Airplane. My dad got to see them a few times. He was even at the Altamont Speedway Free Festival. I ask him if he remembered any of it, and he said no. Where you stoned, probably. He actually just finished his tour in Vietnam. Btw, Altamont is basically right next door to where I live and grew up.
I would replace Metallica with The Stooges.Then it's a great list !!
@@paulkazakoff9231 Not a chance. Metallica created a genre that is still loved to this day. They also sing about certain subjects that no one sang about at the time. They were the antideficit of hair metal. Plus, they did it with any help from MTV.
IMO
1 - The Beatles
Rush
Elvis Presley
Queen
Led Zeppelin
The Who
Ramones
Deep Purple
Black Sabbath
Nirvana
Didn't the Beatles say they were heavily influenced by Buddy Holly and the Crickets, you can't get more influential than that.
Going down that road risks going back infinitely in time, though, until the only influential band is Ug and Grug throat-singing and playing stegosaurus bones like a xylophone.
That's true but you have to start somewhere and they were operating only a few years the Beatles
Their first top hit was based on a song by Roy Orbison. They drew influence from so many places that none of them add up to making the list just because of their influence on the Fab Four.
@@RubUOutC😂😂😂
First 4 piece group with a singer songwriter but fair enough, maybe not so influential
Interesting choices - I'm very surprised to not see the the Stones on this list.
The Doors had to be on that list of 10, but okay, at least you mentioned them for 11. As a huge Pink Floyd fan it would break my heart if you didn't mention them. 🎸
The Doors should be on top 5.
The Doors influenced the Stooges. The Doors should be in the top 10 for sure.
@@H-mu4boYes, Iggy Pop was a fan of Jim Morrison.
I'd suggest the MC5 over the Stooges. But a very thought provoking list.
Like Andy you unfortunately left out Deep Purple. There is a reason Zeppelin, Sabbath and Purple are mentioned in the same breath as the pioneers of heavy metal. Deep Purple invented speed metal with Fireball in 1971 and of course Ritchie Blackmore inspired the whole neo-classical guitar movement. In 1993, musicologist Robert Walser defined him as "the most important musician of the emerging metal/classical fusion". As a result, he is credited as a precursor of the so-called "guitar shredders" that emerged in the mid-1980s.
Completely agree with you......but the pattern of Purple-exclusion from lists of the mighty and influential continues the same way it has for several decades. There is a narrative which runs within rock criticism circles which somehow chooses to ignore Purps' contributions to the genre.