What is the most popular American rock-and-roll band of all time? Use whatever definition of popular you want; I am thinking along the lines of the biggest household name.
I can think of plenty of American solo acts (e.g. Elvis) and I can think of tons of huge bands from other countries, but I am having a hard time picking an American band that really sticks out ahead of the rest?
Feel free to pick a band that you don’t like. You don’t need to justify their quality - just their popularity.
According to this site, the most popular American band would be The Eagles with their greatest hits album selling over 27 million copies.
Commercially, in terms of sheer record sales, I suppose it would have to be the Eagles.
But if you include other factors, such as how influential they were, and/or how long they’ve remained popular, you could also make decent case for…
The Beach Boys
The Byrds (folk-rock and country rock are pretty much their legacy… which means that without the Byrds, there might not have been any Eagles!)
The Supremes. Commercially, they were by far the most popular American group of the 1960s.
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band (I don’t consider this cheating, because in my opinion, Bruce Springsteen has never made a good album without the E Sreet Band. He may be he Boss, but he’s nowhere near as good with any other accompanists).
Aerosmith. Hey, for longevity alone they deserve some consideration… though I MUCH prefer the 1977 version to the wimpy power-ballad band of 2002.
Commercially, in terms of sheer record sales, I suppose it would have to be the Eagles.
But if you include other factors, such as how influential they were, and/or how long they’ve remained popular, you could also make decent case for…
The Beach Boys
The Byrds (folk-rock and country rock are pretty much their legacy… which means that without the Byrds, there might not have been any Eagles!)
The Supremes. Commercially, they were by far the most popular American group of the 1960s.
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band (I don’t consider this cheating, because in my opinion, Bruce Springsteen has never made a good album without the E Sreet Band. He may be he Boss, but he’s nowhere near as good with any other accompanists).
Aerosmith. Hey, for longevity alone they deserve some consideration… though I MUCH prefer the 1977 version to the wimpy power-ballad band of 2002.
As an Australian, I’d like to offer my observations please as a detached observer by a cousin from across the ‘Pacific’ pond…
My first observation is that, sadly, the very nature of definitions has come into play nowadays with music. For example, in 1980 there were only a grand total of 24 categories handed out at the Grammys - and yet by 2002 there were well over a hundred. And what’s the problem with this? Well, by breaking down music into more and more sub categories, the Grammy’s themselves have devolved in their indivudal worth.
Conversely, in 1927 there were 18 Oscars up for grabs and in 2002 there were still only 24 up for grabs. Net result? Less diminution in value…
So, here in Australia, the very term ‘rock and roll’ now seems to have become a de facto categorisation of music from the late 1950’s - the “Big Bopper” era for want of a better description.
Then by the late 60’s you had Acid Rock and Heavy Metal, and by the 70’s you had Glam Rock followed by Disco in the late 70’s followed by The New Wave in the early 80’s followed by the Big Hair era aka ‘Cock Rock’ which also had at the same time the begininnings of House Music and Rap and Hip Hop etc. I think you’re getting my drift now…
Also, music is remarkable if only because of the degree of passion it elicits from people in regards to what they DON’T like - it sometimes seems to me that people would much prefer to slag a musical artist with every ounce of their passionate prose - much more than to spend a similar degree of energy on actually praising someone. It’s an odd thing to be sure…
There are two seemingly conflicting factors which seem to apply to the popular song - namely, popularity AND artistic merit. It’s very rare that we, the public, ascribe both forms of praise upon a musical artist - it so often seems that such praise is mutually exclusive.
In terms of pure radio play, the single greatest most played song in history on radio throughout the world is The Righteous Brothers “You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feeling” - apparently that one song has been played more times on radio around the world than any other. So in that context alone, The Righteous Brothers win the gong. But as I said, such an award should, in my considered opinion, go to an act which is BOTH popular and possessing great artistic merit.
Accordingly, after much deliberation and after considering such magnificent artists ranging over 5 decades from Elvis thru BuddY Holly thru Buffalo Springfield thru to Nirvana, my personal opinion as an Aussie looking from the outside inwards to the U.S. is this…
As the greatest American overall contributor as a Rock and Roll Band who have earnt both immense popularity AND artistic acclaim, my personal winner (somewhat surprisingly even to myself) is… Steely Dan. And why is this? Well only the absolute best of the best played on their albums - regardless of race creed or colour, only the best musos in the business were invited to play with them. And in concert, I expect their live performances would reflect such perfectionism. And yet, they could write the most caustic lyrics imaginable and their rock songs rocked but their jazz efforts jazzed.
My Silver Medal goes collectively to Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, The Doors, Nirvana, Booker T and MG’s, and The Eagles. Booker T and The MG’s in particular were impressive because of the era they performed in, who they played as backing band for (Otis Redding Wilson Pickett et al) and the fact that they had equal numbers of both white and black guys in their lineup - indicating that the music was the goal - not the image.
My Bronze Medal goes collectively to Pearl Jam, the original Elvis Presley Sun Studios backing band (arguably where it all began), The Band, The Byrds and Crosby Stills and Nash and The Temptations. I’d say The Beach Boys too if only for the efforts of Brian Wilson alone (not that that any of the Beach Boys themselves ever played many instruments on their records sadly).
My Plastic Medal goes to the string pullers collectively behind Mandy Moore, Britney, 'NSync, Boys II Men and the Back Street Boys. The Plastic Medal is a little known award in sporting circles but it is one which seems to innately represent the inherent integrity attached to the aforementioned artists.
Hope you had a laugh with this post! Regards…
I’m gonna have to go with Aerosmith. With a nod to the Eagles and Nirvana. Aerosmith has sold milllions upon millions of records for almost 30 years now. No other american band can match that. That and they dont charge 400$ to see them play live now (Eagles).
dead0man
KISS. You don’t see people being buried in an Eagles Kasket, do you ?
Nevermind the other merchandising. KISS is the most “popular” band in the world. Hands down.
I’m surprised no one has mentioned R.E.M. Maybe they’ve hit a dry spell now, but they certainly produced some great albums in years past.
Sticking with acronyms, I also think CCR deserves mention. Unfortunately, a few of their songs have been overplayed (I doubt any of us would regret never hearing “Proud Mary” again), but how many bands can claim 15 or so classic songs?
The Grateful Dead sold a lot of concert tickets over the decades.
<the dude>I hate the fucking Eagles, man!</the dude>
I know exactly dick about it, but I’m pulling for Kiss, Dead, or Phish. Not bands that sold the most records, but bands that were a way of life for scads of Americans. Counterculture and revolutionary.
I’d say the Doors would have to be up there in the top five, if we’re talking strictly about rock bands and not other kinds of pop.
They had the drawing power and could fill the same venues as Led Zep, the Stones, and (almost) the Beatles. I can’t think of another American band of the era who came close.
Well, if we’re talking influence, and not just record sales, The Ramones should get at least an honorable mention as well.
I’d have to go with KISS, if only because you’d be hard pressed to find anyone in the United States who doesn’t at least recognize them.
Why do these threads always turn into lists of people’s favorite bands? There is no way the Doors are anywhere near the most popular, nor were they particularly influential. I love them, but they don’t meet any of the criterion of the OP.
Same with The Ramones, Kiss, The Grateful Dead, REM, Aerosmith, or most of the other bands mentioned here. I like them all, but none of them would qualify.
“Most Popular” in terms of record sales is undoubtedly the Eagles. “The Eagles Greatest Hits” was the best-selling album of all time until The Beatles passed it with ‘1’. Their concert tour is the most expensive one out there, and even with the outrageous prices they sell out every venue they play in - despite not having a major hit in over 20 years. Now THAT is popularity.
You young guys who weren’t around when the Eagles were regularly recording probably don’t realize just how huge they were. Those guys owned the airwaves in the 1970’s. They had a huge string of #1 singles and albums. You couldn’t listen to a radio for more than 15 minutes without hearing an Eagles song, or so it seemed.
Add in the solo work by Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Timothy B. Schmit, and Joe Walsh, and you simply make the size of their dominance that much bigger.
But if this thread was ‘most influential’, the Eagles wouldn’t even be on the list. They broke no new ground, took very few chances, and weren’t particularly innovative. They did cause a revival of ‘country rock’, which has morphed into today’s MOR country, so I guess you can credit them with some influence. But I’d say Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings had more influence on the direction of Country than did the Eagles.
Most popular, eh? I’ll also nominate The Grateful Dead. Their style of music was as American as you can get…homegrown blues and folk. And not only did their concert tours consistently rank in the Top Ten highest grossing year after year, but they also had the most devoted & fanatical fan base of any American band.
I have to put in at least an “honorable mention” for Creedence Clearwater Revival. Very recognizable sound, as well as some strong political statements for their time. I guess I am showing my age.
I agree and disagree with Sam Stone…
I agree in that there are some people that are ignoring the OP and listing their favorite bands as though the OP asked for the “Best” American rock band.
I disagree that Kiss, The Grateful Dead and Aerosmith should be excluded from discussions of the Most Popular American bands.
Let me put it this way… if I were to ask most people who Kiss is, they would know. If I asked who the Ramones were some would know, some would guess (probably correctly as it sounds like a band name) some just wouldn’t know. And I think the same goes for The Grateful Dead and Aerosmith.
Liking the band (as evidenced by record sales and whatnot) is another matter. Obviously bands that are popular have been around awhile and so have sold a lot of albums. But then, if Album Sales is our basis of judgement… Is The Bodyguard the most popular movie of all-time? (Or even the most popular album of all time? What about Thriller?)
Album sales comes into play, but also take into account band recognition, longevity, and how people in general react to their music-- REGARDLESS of whether they’ve purchased an album or not.
I would say Kiss is the most popular. Most people know at least 1 KISS song and EVERYBODY knows who they are, and can even picture them in their makeup. The Eagles, and Aerosmith and The Beach Boys come in 2nd and 3rd and 4th. And probably the Dead in 5th.
Just my opinion…
I thought “Tunnel of Love” was among his best. Granted, he can’t rock by himself without Clarence and the boys, but he’s a great songwriter. Pity Elvis isn’t around to take a crack at “Without You.”
And **Screeme **, people might know one Kiss song, but it would probably be “Rock ‘n’ Roll All Night” or possibly “Beth.” If you’re talking about Eagles, it could any one of a half-dozen or a dozen songs (especially if you’re including Don Henley or Joe Walsh’s solo work).
Given their stage personas and marketing ability, Kiss does stand out and should probably be in the top 10, but I’d give the Eagles the edge.
Im not justifying it, but i want to throw Lynyrd Sknynyrd in there.
Sorry, but I don’t see Kiss as being all that popular. Sure, they are well known because of their wild makeup, but as for the songs…
Tell you what. Go collect 1000 people from all demographic groups in the U.S. Ask them to name all the Eagles songs they know, and all the Kiss songs they know. Who do you think would win?
Or play the first four bars of ‘Desperado’ or “Hotel California”, and count how many people recognize them. Then do the same for any Kiss song you want. Who do you think would win?
Kiss was an average band, with average talent and great marketing. They made a big splash for a few years, then faded away. Boomer nostalgia has elevated them again somewhat, but they aren’t nearly as big as the Eagles are today. If the Eagles release a new album, it’s guaranteed to hit #1, just on the power of the band’s name recognition. If Kiss released a new album, it had better be able to stand up on its own as a great work, or it’ll be purchased by the few surviving members of the “Kiss Army” and a few other die-hard fans, and that’s it.
In other words, the Eagles were not only more successful when they were recording, but they’ve proven to have a real, long lasting appeal long after they stopped making hits. They’ve got a permanent place in American music. Kiss was largely a novelty act that will be remembered more for their makeup than any songs they wrote.
Let the flames from the Kiss fans begin.