# Music knowledge and bands you absolutely MUST recognize **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 2, 2009, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-knowledge-and-bands-you-absolutely-must-recognize/498479 "2009-06-02T13:05:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-knowledge-and-bands-you-absolutely-must-recognize/498479/41 "2009-06-02T18:14:39Z")
I bolded the one’s I’ve heard of. **Mahavishnu Orchestra** - yeah, but I think I’m more a fan of the numerous off-shoots **Climax Blues Band** - sort of. Around in the 70’s. West Bruce and Laing **Sun Ra** **Jack Dejohnette** Lake - Greg Lake? of ELP? **Dixie Dregs** - Big fan **Blue Oyster Cult** **Foghat** **Tommy Tutone** **Joan Jett** **Golden Earring** \*\*Blackfoot \*\* - I think a couple of their albums were passed around my HS pals in the '70s Saxon Fastway Shooting Star **Stevie Ray Vaughan** Zebra **Dokken** - know the name, not the music **Survivor** **Yngwie Malmsteen** - heard a couple of his songs back in the '80s **the Motels** - I know what boys like? I don’t know why anyone who wasn’t around during their 15 minutes would have heard of them. **Robin Trower** **Guess Who** **Heart** **Fabulous Thunderbirds** **Foghat** **Atlanta Rhythm Section** - We’re gonna have us a champagne jam :rolleyes: **Outlaws** **Dave Mason** **Spirit** **Little Feat** **Big Head Todd and the Monsters** - only from when they were getting started in Boulder and were basically a SRV clone band. **Screaming Cheetah Wheelies** - heard the name, know the Gary Larson cartoon, don’t know the music **Jeff Beck** **Buddy Guy** **Eric Johnson** **Derek Trucks Band** **Lynyrd Skynyrd** **Kenny Wayne Sheppard** - know the name, don’t know the music Aaron Squirrel Band **Joe Cocker** - funniest Youtube ever! ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-knowledge-and-bands-you-absolutely-must-recognize/498479/42 "2009-06-02T18:19:19Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > Okay. I listened to a Youtube of that song. Gotta change my comment on that one: > > Know 'em, hate 'em. Wouldn’t groupie them with Courtney Love’s vajayjay. If you were a 14 year old girl, and it was 1981, and you thought I was oh so dreamy … you’d be all over that shit. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-knowledge-and-bands-you-absolutely-must-recognize/498479/43 "2009-06-02T18:25:37Z")
> [@HoboStew](#): > > It’s pretty simple, really. If I like a band and you haven’t heard of them, you are musically ignorant and have no business talking about anything. Unless I don’t WANT you to have heard of them. That makes me cooler than you. But if I don’t want you to have heard of them and you HAVE heard of them, then I used to like them before they sold out. Dude! Don’t _tell_ anybody!! When you took the Music Snob’s Oath™ didn’t they warn you about sharing that information?!?! Jeez, next thing ya know, you’ll be sharing the secret handshake or sumthin’… ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-knowledge-and-bands-you-absolutely-must-recognize/498479/44 "2009-06-02T18:37:38Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > If you were a 14 year old girl, and it was 1981, and you thought I was oh so dreamy … you’d be all over that shit. That’s prolly why they suck for me. I was 25 and already had a hardened rock-n-roll heart. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-knowledge-and-bands-you-absolutely-must-recognize/498479/45 "2009-06-02T18:37:45Z")
I’m 37. But these artists span a lot of different genres. Tommy Tutone, I imagine, would not be known by name by folks outside of the US who didn’t listen to music in the early 80s. The Fabulous T-birds, similarly, were regionally famous and unless you were into the blues-rock scene, I wouldn’t expect people to know them outside of that genre. IMO there aren’t really a lot of transcendent artists, like SRV, Jeff Beck, Heart, and Joe Cocker, on this list. Mahavishnu Orchestra - heard of 'em, don’t know their music Climax Blues Band - nope West Bruce and Laing - nope Sun Ra - heard of him, know little of his music Jack Dejohnette - nope Lake - nope Dixie Dregs - nope Blue Oyster Cult - yes Foghat - yes Tommy Tutone - yes Joan Jett - yes Golden Earring - yes Blackfoot - nope Saxon - yes Fastway - nope Shooting Star - nope Stevie Ray Vaughan - of course! Zebra - nope Dokken - yes Survivor - yes Yngwie Malmsteen - yes the Motels - yes Robin Trower - nope Guess Who - yes Heart - yes Fabulous Thunderbirds - yep, I’m from Austin! Foghat - again? Yes Atlanta Rhythm Section - yes Outlaws - nope Dave Mason - yes Spirit - heard of 'em, don’t know their music Little Feat - heard of 'em, don’t know their music Big Head Todd and the Monsters - yes Screaming Cheetah Wheelies - nope Jeff Beck - yes Buddy Guy - yes Eric Johnson - yes Derek Trucks Band- heard of 'em, don’t know their music Lynyrd Skynyrd - yes Kenny Wayne Sheppard - yes Aaron Squirrel Band - nope Joe Cocker - yes ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-knowledge-and-bands-you-absolutely-must-recognize/498479/46 "2009-06-02T18:41:04Z")
> [@mack](#): > > **the Motels** - I know what boys like? I don’t know why anyone who wasn’t around during their 15 minutes would have heard of them. As a Waitresses fan, you’re confusing them with the Motels - “Only the Lonely” and “Suddenly Last Summer.” But they were both fronted by women, maybe that’s the confusion? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-knowledge-and-bands-you-absolutely-must-recognize/498479/47 "2009-06-02T18:42:43Z")
Adding comments to the one I know of: Mahavishnu Orchestra – saw them live. Twice. So loud they made ears bleed withing a ten-mile radius. Actually fairly good at reasonable sonic levels, but they liked to drown out nearby jet landings. Climax Blues Band – has a few hits, actually. West Bruce and Laing – The remnants of Mountain joining with Jack Bruce of Cream. Potentially a supergroup, but never did much of note. Sun Ra – one of the icons of modern jazz Jack Dejohnette – jazz keyboardist. Dixie Dregs – “Cruise Control” was a FM classic. Never had a vocalist; they were a natural team-up with the Persuasions. Blue Oyster Cult – “Don’t Fear the Reaper,” of course, and “Cities on Fire with Rock and Roll” One of the seminal heavy metal groups. Foghat – “Slow Ride,” I think. Blues based rock. Tommy Tutone – “867-5309” but basically one-hit wonders. Joan Jett – Hard rocking woman. “I Love Rock and Roll” Model for the leather-clad female rocker image. Golden Earring – “Radar Love” is a classic. Blackfoot – made a big deal of their native Americanness. Stevie Ray Vaughan – fine blues guitarist, died young, but his rep is deserved. Yngwie Malmsteen – know the name, but not the music. the Motels – A couple of hit singles, but I don’t recall the song titles. Robin Trower – guitarist for Procol Harum who had a very successful solo career. I know his Procol Harum work – love his guitar on “Shine on Brightly.” Guess Who – Canada’s hit factory. Heart – Lot of press as a female-fronted rock band. The Wilson sisters sang and composed and “Barracuda” is a rock classic. Fabulous Thunderbirds – faux-50s rockers Atlanta Rhythm Section – “So Into You” and other soft rock hits. Outlaws – Willie Nelson and friends. Dave Mason – former member of Traffic with a successful solo career with the hit “We Just Disagree” and the album “Alone Together.” Spirit – one of my favorite groups of all time. _Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus_ is one of the greatest rock albums ever. Little Feat – Country tinged rock. Founded by Lowell George, who was with the Mothers of Invention (Legend was that he played “I’m Willing” for Zappa and Zappa fired him on the spot and told him to form his own band). “I’m Willing,” “Dixie Chicken,” and “Fat Man in the Bathtub” are just great songs. Big Head Todd and the Monsters – heard of them, but don’t know their music. Jeff Beck – replaced Eric Clapton with the Yardbirds. His Jeff Beck Group gave Rod Stewart a start (and was the high point of Stewart’s career). One of the top five British guitarists of the 60s. Buddy Guy – A blue legend. I saw him in concert watching him play a solo one-handed better than 90% of all pro guitarists do with two. Derek Trucks Band – know of them, but don’t know their music. Lynyrd Skynyrd – Still well known these days. Maybe the number two or three southern rock bands. Joe Cocker – probably the best vocalist and song interpreter in rock music. People make fun of his mannerisms, but no one makes fun of his voice. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-knowledge-and-bands-you-absolutely-must-recognize/498479/48 "2009-06-02T18:44:41Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > As a Waitresses fan, you’re confusing them with the Motels - “Only the Lonely” and “Suddenly Last Summer.” But they were both fronted by women, maybe that’s the confusion? Martha Davis of the Motels - mmmm, Martha. We used to play [Mission of Mercy](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyoscBdnIiw) (audio with a photo from The Big Lebowski on YouTube) at fraternity parties at UC Santa Barbara…man, that was a hard lead to master back in the day… ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-knowledge-and-bands-you-absolutely-must-recognize/498479/49 "2009-06-02T18:45:56Z")
I should have added Buddy Guy to “transcendent artists.” ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-knowledge-and-bands-you-absolutely-must-recognize/498479/50 "2009-06-02T18:47:07Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > That’s prolly why they suck for me. I was 25 and already had a hardened rock-n-roll heart. Their earlier stuff was much less creepy, **Kalhoun**. [Cite](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hx5Ia9-Ff-o) ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-knowledge-and-bands-you-absolutely-must-recognize/498479/51 "2009-06-02T18:50:51Z")
> [@koeeoaddi](#): > > Their earlier stuff was much less creepy, **Kalhoun**. > > [Cite](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hx5Ia9-Ff-o) Ok, that’s more like it. I’ll groupie them with my own vajayjay, but only if the lead guitarist promises to wear that offset belt buckle to bed. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-knowledge-and-bands-you-absolutely-must-recognize/498479/52 "2009-06-02T18:54:54Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Mahavishnu Orchestra > Climax Blues Band > West Bruce and Laing > Sun Ra > Jack Dejohnette > Lake > Dixie Dregs > Blue Oyster Cult\*\*\*\*\* > Foghat\*\*\*\*\* > Tommy Tutone\*\*\*\*\* > Joan Jett\*\*\*\*\* > Golden Earring > Blackfoot > Saxon > Fastway > Shooting Star > Stevie Ray Vaughan\*\*\*\*\* > Zebra > Dokken\*\*\*\*\* > Survivor\*\*\*\*\* > Yngwie Malmsteen\*\*\*\*\* > the Motels > Robin Trower > Guess Who\*\*\*\*\* > Heart\*\*\*\*\* > Fabulous Thunderbirds\*\*\*\*\* > Foghat\*\*\*\*\* > Atlanta Rhythm Section > Outlaws\*\*\*\*\* > Dave Mason > Spirit > Little Feat\*\*\*\*\* > Big Head Todd and the Monsters\*\*\*\*\* > Screaming Cheetah Wheelies > Jeff Beck\*\*\*\*\* > Buddy Guy\*\*\*\*\* > Eric Johnson\*\*\*\*\* > Derek Trucks Band > Lynyrd Skynyrd\*\*\*\*\* > Kenny Wayne Sheppard\*\*\*\*\* > Aaron Squirrel Band > Joe Cocker\*\*\*\*\* Starred the ones I know. Only about half, and I’m orders of magnitude more knowledgable about music than almost everybody I meet. This is one guy’s taste, though, and while it seems to have some depth, it isn’t very broad. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-knowledge-and-bands-you-absolutely-must-recognize/498479/53 "2009-06-02T18:58:08Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > Ok, that’s more like it. I’ll groupie them with my own vajayjay, but only if the lead guitarist promises to wear that offset belt buckle to bed. Okay - see, I just love the geekery: you notice he is fashion-challenged with the goofy-ass belt buckle (I actually had a college astronomy prof who rocked the long hair, corduroys and offset belt buckle look - yeah; no chicks whatsoever ;)) - I notice he is playing an all-aluminum [Veleno guitar](http://www.veleno.net/history2.htm)(website to history, where the guy’s name - Pete Haycock of the CBB - is cited…) \*\*Cisco \*\*- I can’t comment on your music knowledge but I will say the list is more time/era-specific than anything… ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-knowledge-and-bands-you-absolutely-must-recognize/498479/54 "2009-06-02T19:01:02Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Outlaws – Willie Nelson and friends. I think you’ve got the wrong Outlaws there. I’d bet dollars to donuts that the OP was referring to the [southern rock group](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outlaws_(band)) of the same name, of “Green Grass and High Tides” and “Ghost Riders in the Sky” fame. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-knowledge-and-bands-you-absolutely-must-recognize/498479/55 "2009-06-02T19:01:15Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > Fabulous T-birds, similarly, were regionally famous and unless you were into the blues-rock scene, I wouldn’t expect people to know them outside of that genre. They had a short period (late 80s?) during which they made it past the regional / niche band level. “Tough Enough” and “Wrap Her Up” were fairly popular on a national level at that time. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-knowledge-and-bands-you-absolutely-must-recognize/498479/56 "2009-06-02T19:04:56Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > \*\*Cisco \*\*- I can’t comment on your music knowledge but I will say the list is more time/era-specific than anything… I forgot to star Golden Earring (Radar Love might’ve been my first favorite song ever), and a few others looked familiar but I wasn’t 100% sure if I knew them (Lake, Dixie Dregs, Blackfoot, the Motels, Screaming Cheetah Wheelies.) Other than that, who do I have a huge gap in my awareness by not knowing? ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-knowledge-and-bands-you-absolutely-must-recognize/498479/57 "2009-06-02T19:14:24Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Okay - see, I just love the geekery: you notice he is fashion-challenged with the goofy-ass belt buckle (I actually had a college astronomy prof who rocked the long hair, corduroys and offset belt buckle look - yeah; no chicks whatsoever ;)) - I notice he is playing an all-aluminum [Veleno guitar](http://www.veleno.net/history2.htm)(website to history, where the guy’s name - Pete Haycock of the CBB - is cited…) …and hello…the DUDE has camel-toe! The 70s…too bad we can’t go back in time with a big-ass blowtorch and end their misery. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-knowledge-and-bands-you-absolutely-must-recognize/498479/58 "2009-06-02T19:19:28Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > I forgot to star Golden Earring (Radar Love might’ve been my first favorite song ever), and a few others looked familiar but I wasn’t 100% sure if I knew them (Lake, Dixie Dregs, Blackfoot, the Motels, Screaming Cheetah Wheelies.) Other than that, who do I have a huge gap in my awareness by not knowing? None of ‘em. I can argue for a few - I dig Derek Trucks’ slide playing in a huge way (see link in my earlier thread - I think his work stands the test of time) and I have a soft spot for the Motels, but I don’t think any of the unstarred acts are Absolute Must Listens. Many of them have their claims to fame: Mahavishnu was a very-highly-respected fusion band; their CD Inner Mounting Flame is held up there with a few other jazz-fusion highspots. Dixie Dregs is where Steve Morse got his start - he is a huge guitarists’ guitarist and currently with Deep Purple I think (and trivia moment - his drummer Rod Morganstern (also very highly respected, well except for…) became the drummer for Winger)…oh, and Saxon was a early band in the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, but I was always a sucker for UFO over Saxon, Krokus and the like… ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-knowledge-and-bands-you-absolutely-must-recognize/498479/59 "2009-06-02T19:21:06Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > …and hello…the DUDE has camel-toe! …you’ve clearly never seen the photo from the back of Journey’s album Evolution…:eek: 😉 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-knowledge-and-bands-you-absolutely-must-recognize/498479/60 "2009-06-02T19:31:16Z")
Point of order: men don’t have “camel-toes”; they have “moose-knuckles”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-knowledge-and-bands-you-absolutely-must-recognize/498479.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-knowledge-and-bands-you-absolutely-must-recognize/498479.md?page=4)