Who is the Greatest American Rock Band

 This article is inspired by a YouTube post by the great rock and prog content creator Andy Edwards (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmdEZcLDQnQ&t=1923s). There is a strange phenomena in the world of rock and roll. Rock is a quintessentially American music form, yet if were asked to name a top 10 of all time rock bands, 8 of them are probably British. Why is this? I think it has to do with Elvis. Elvis, the first rock star, was a solo artist and celebrity even though his early band was highly influential. This kind of set the tone for the future. To me, Bob Dylan is right up there with the Beatles in his importance to rock, but he was a solo artist. As was Jimi Hendrix, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Ray Vaughn or any number of artists that were actually bands. They all had long term bands they played with that even had names (Experience, E-Street Band, Double Trouble) but they are considered solo artists. What is left is bands who most likely do not have a star famous enough to be solo. I am going make my case for 5 bands that can be considered as the greatest American bands of all time.

The Doors — Andy Edwards makes the claim the Doors are not rock, but even their first album contained hard rock songs like Break on Through (to the other side). And there final two albums, Morrison Hotel and LA Woman, are unequivocal rock albums. The Doors, hailing from Los Angeles, were led by enigmatic frontman Jim Morrison who also wrote many of the songs. Morrison was many things, a poet, a film maker, a performance artist, alcoholic, misogynist, and general all around a-hole. Many rock musicians hated him including Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Jerry Garcia. Morrison unfortunately became a member of the 27 club via heroin overdose in Paris where he was to avoid criminal charges related to exposing himself at a concert in Florida. What made the Doors great? Has there ever been a weirder band that had serious hits as them? So that is what is special. They were uncompromisingly different yet still successful. The lyrics are what set them apart, poetic and mysterious.

Van Halen — I have always had some beef with Van Halen because they spawned two great dead ends in rock, hair metal (thanks to David Lee Roth) and shredder guitarists who play amazingly fast but with almost no soul or feel for a song (thanks the Eddie Van Halen). Van Halen was a Pasadena band that started to peak as rock was declinining. Their sound, based on the unique guitar playing, put a boot in a tush of rock. They had raw energy and excitement and were about the hardest thin anyone had ever heard. Their first album, Van Halen I, was absolutely incredible. Eventually the band got so famous that ego tore them apart and lead singer David Lee Roth left for greener pastures. The band eventually replaced him with Red Rocker Sammy Hagar. That incarnation of the band was also darn good, jus different. The question you need to ask is not was it better than the early stuff, but is it better than what David Lee Roth did? Yes it was. Van Halen eventually disintegrated due to addictions and back biting. What made them great? They were absolutely the best live band of the 80’s and their guitar was ground breaking.

Nirvana — Nirvana would be at a disadvantage in a conversation like this because their career was so short, only 3 albums. They had a blend of punk rock ferociousness and pop melody. When Nevermind hit it was an absolute game changer. It looked like rock would never re-capture the popular imagination again. Rap and pop were all that was being played on the radio. But there were rumblings to be heard. Pixies, Jane’s Addiction, Sonic Youth, the Melvins, all were pointing in a direction that Nirvana followed. The thing that made them great was the song writing of Kurt Cobain. Sadly though he was one of those people that fame harms and he took his own life at a young age.

Grateful Dead — The Grateful Dead? You ask. Let me say that all of these years later and the Dead are still talked about. They had this terrific lineage where they were passed the torch of the Beat movement by Ken Kesey and Neal Cassady. They played acid tests where people took LSD (legal at the time) and had a free form frreakout for hours just to see what would happen. They played wild weekends at Ken Kesey’s La Honda ranch where the Hell’s Angels hung out. They were key figures in Haight-Asbury and played free concerts in in Golden Gate Park. There career was a guide in how not to become famous as a rock band. Instead of selling records, they played shows. They would come to a town for 3–4 days and set up shop. The parking lot was a scene with various deadheads living in a microcosm of the Haight for the weekend. What makes the Dead special? Improvisation? Sure. But the quality of their songs is over and above any other jam band. They had a unique relationship with their song writers. They were considered a part of the band, but they did not play. The most famous one was Robert Hunter who wrote songs with Jerry Garcia until Jerry passed. These are not pop songs. They are emotional and heavy like Wharf Rat or China Doll, or fun like Truckin’ or Sugar Magnolia. There are a large number of songs and they keep getting played.

Lynyrd Skynyrd — Yes, Lynyrd Skynyrd became a caricature of themselves long after the bang was gone after dying in a plane crash in a field in Mississippi. Kid Rock and the political right co-opted them, and they became known only for Freebird (“Play Freeboard!”), but that band was more than that. Ronnie Van Zandt was more than that. The band was from humble beginings and Ronnie would probably be considered white trash. He had anger and alcohol issues, he was a tyrant in the band, he made them practice for hours, and he hit people when things weren’t going right. But … there is a sensitivity there you do not find in other bands. He wrote songs that could really touch your heart. And the band, that is a big bag with a lot of moving pieces. It could easily devolve into raggedness, but it didn’t. They were tight and could rock as hard as anyone, but could also make you cry with Tuesday’s gone.

I am not even mentioning some great bans that I am not the biggest fan of so I can’t write about. The Eagles, Metallica, CCR, Pearl Jam, … But all of them can make a case.