# Musicians By Nation **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 14, 2008, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-by-nation/463574 "2008-09-14T17:10:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-by-nation/463574/41 "2008-09-17T12:04:15Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > Spain - Gipsy Kings Eh… pardon moi, but Gypsy Kings are supposed to have influenced who? Not a lot of people in Spain, for sure, as there they’re seen as a one hit wonder and that one hit was a discoified version of a lolailo classic. Other groups did flamenco pop and flamenco rock before them, with much longer-lasting success (los Chungitos for example, and their sisters Azucar Moreno, just to name two which come to the mind of this absolutely-not-lolailo poster). Then again, Gypsy Kings are French. Spanish music has lots of different people, separated by gender. After all, ok, yeah, Elvis is huge, but so are Prince or Duke Ellington - in different genders (of music, sillies, not of underpants!). The bestestest metal guitarrist from Spain is Rosendo (Mercado), or at least he’s the one who is more likely to get you yelled at if you dare say within a metalhead’s hearing that he sucks; as well as solo and guest work, he was head axe for Leño (other classical metal bands include Obus and Barón Rojo - Barón’s Metalmorfosis was one of my favourite records for years, and I was no metalhead). The bestestest guitarrist in general is Paco de Lucia, who is most famous for classical work but has done about any gender you care to name. The most influential punk band is probably Siniestro Total. I’ve seen them classified under other labels (“ska” and “world music” among others… uhm…), but “punk” is what they started under. Alaska, in all her incarnations, has run the gamut of music on the edge. Punk, electronic, whatever. Loquillo (“too rocker for the punkis, too punki for the rockers”) is instantly recognizable, as is unclassificable Joaquin Sabina. I refuse to name that guy that foreigners think is good and who lives in Mayami, Flohrida. Light pop of the fluffiest kind, and the interpretative ability of a dead snail on a rotten wood plank. If you like his ehr, songs, argh, may I recommend you Argentinian Maria Dolores Pradera? The same song that Mayami man can use to put a marmot to sleep will, in La Dama’s voice, make a statue break out in tears. And of course, Manolo Escobar was bringing lolailo to parts foreign way before Gypsy Kings or Las Ketchup, while Lola Flores is and will always remain La Faraona… the queen of flamenco. Just don’t tell anybody, but like many non-lolailos I prefer Doña Concha Piquer. Celtas Cortos, heavily influenced by the french Gwendal and the Irish Chieftains, have been the foremost (ok, the only one with large success) Celtic group for years. If you like your Celtic more metalized, get some Mago de Oz. Most famous pop group, probably Hombres G, although Mecano is close up and Radio Futura can’t complain about their sales. Peret can be credited with inventing Rumba Catalana, whose current flagship is Estopa. Serrat and Miguel Bosé are in the list of influences of pretty much any Spanish artist who isn’t on some totally weird branch of music. Oh, Serrat’s full name is Juan Manuel or Joan Manuel, depending on the year the record got printed… just search for Serrat 😃 Note that with the exception of Estopa, everybody I mention either has been around for a long time or isn’t any more. That’s a bit of a requirement for the “influential” part, usually. lolailo: flamencohead ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-by-nation/463574/42 "2008-09-17T13:19:55Z")
> [@Lisa-go-Blind](#): > > But were The Shamen really more influential than, say, Primal Scream or The Happy Mondays or The Prodigy in influencing modern dance music? That said, I agree with your argument for The Shamen much more than if you had argued for Wet Wet Wet. 😉 Yeah, Wet Wet Wet was a reach 😃 The Prodigy aren’t Scottish. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-by-nation/463574/43 "2008-09-17T13:30:35Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Yeah, Wet Wet Wet was a reach 😃 > > The Prodigy aren’t Scottish. Nor are the Happy Mondays I think they’re just talking about the relative influence of the acts rather than where they come from but I could be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-by-nation/463574/44 "2008-09-17T13:38:12Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > The Netherlands – Focus Who the hell are Focus? I have never heard of them. Most influential musicians from the Netherlands in their field are without a shadow of a doubt various trance/house/techno DJs, such as DJ Tiesto (who performed at the opening of the Athens Olympic Games. In rock, the most famous Dutch band outside Holland would have to be The Golden Earring (whose song _When the Lady Smiles_ was used by the Clinton campaign during the primaries until they found out about the video, which included a nun raped on the NYC subway or some such) and more recently Within Temptation. Also, in cheesy music, Boney M is Dutch (but with a German producer) and of course, there’s Guillermo and Tropical Danny. ---
**Author:** ![Lisa-go-Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Lisa-go-Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa-go-Blind)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-by-nation/463574/45 "2008-09-17T17:56:56Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > Nor are the Happy Mondays I think they’re just talking about the relative influence of the acts rather than where they come from but I could be wrong. Exactly, that’s what I meant. I tend to think of The Shamen as also-rans rather than truly influential musicians. ---
**Author:** ![Atomicflea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/58956e/32.png) [@Atomicflea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomicflea)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-by-nation/463574/46 "2008-09-17T18:35:22Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > I refuse to name that guy that foreigners think is good and who lives in Mayami, Flohrida. Light pop of the fluffiest kind, and the interpretative ability of a dead snail on a rotten wood plank. If you like his ehr, songs, argh, may I recommend you Argentinian Maria Dolores Pradera? The same song that Mayami man can use to put a marmot to sleep will, in La Dama’s voice, make a statue break out in tears. Okay, now I have to guess. Iglesias? I love me some Miguel Bose. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-by-nation/463574/47 "2008-09-17T18:39:15Z")
> [@WormTheRed](#): > > Edith Piaf comes to mind. I thought that was a rice dish. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kenner116](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecb155/32.png) [@kenner116](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenner116)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-by-nation/463574/48 "2008-09-17T18:57:43Z")
France: Indochine Senegal: Youssou N’Dour Britain: The Who Sweden: The Hives Brazil: Os Mutantes Cuba: Buena Vista Social Club Austria: Falco Actually, I’m going to have to nominate Falco as the most influential musician ever. ---
**Author:** ![Atomicflea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/58956e/32.png) [@Atomicflea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomicflea)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-by-nation/463574/49 "2008-09-17T19:40:33Z")
Holy crap, Indochine. I need to go listen to “Canary Bay” now. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-by-nation/463574/50 "2008-09-18T10:25:03Z")
> [@Atomicflea](#): > > Okay, now I have to guess. Iglesias? _goes into convulsions_ Here, have a gold star. Another Frenchman who’s very popular outside of France is Charles Aznavour. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-by-nation/463574/51 "2008-09-18T20:48:14Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > South Africa - Al Bowlly (he invented crooning) Who? ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-by-nation/463574/52 "2008-09-18T21:06:56Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Eh… pardon moi, but Gypsy Kings are supposed to have influenced who? Not a lot of people in Spain, for sure, as there they’re seen as a one hit wonder and that one hit was a discoified version of a lolailo classic. Regardless, they’re not from Spain anyway. They’re from France. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-by-nation/463574/53 "2008-09-18T22:25:42Z")
For China, I’d say Anita Mui. She was mostly known outside of China as an actress, but in China was one of those mega triple-threat singer/actress/model talents, sort of like J-Lo I guess. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musicians-by-nation/463574.md?page=2)