# So who were the first successful AMERICAN rock band? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 29, 2011, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-were-the-first-successful-american-rock-band/576381 "2011-03-29T14:30:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-were-the-first-successful-american-rock-band/576381/21 "2011-03-29T15:29:21Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > I know, I fixed it in edit. :smack: Got it right in the first post. Sorry, I saw it in the first post and deleted my comment, at the same time you quoted it. Trying to spare you some embarrassment there… The Byrds is probably the best answer. By co-incidence, I was listening to the Byrds today, and remembering how great they were. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-were-the-first-successful-american-rock-band/576381/22 "2011-03-29T15:30:47Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > Well, I would say that the Beatles early stuff was Rock and Roll. _I Saw Her Standing There_ is a direct descendant of Bill Haley, but if the above quote is your criteria, I think my earlier answer of **The Lovin’ Spoonfull** or **The Byrds** is the correct answer. Agreed - the early Beatles could easily be described as Rock and Roll. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-were-the-first-successful-american-rock-band/576381/23 "2011-03-29T15:34:08Z")
I’d go with [Duane Eddy](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMz8XRGxZdY&feature=related)myself, if only because of the way he played guitar. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-were-the-first-successful-american-rock-band/576381/24 "2011-03-29T15:42:56Z")
I’m stuck in a meeting all morning while this thread is going on :mad: So - we have two points being discussed: - when did “rock n’ roll” become “rock”? - what American bands were the first successful rock bands? I would argue that the newer music which inspired the British Invasion - meaning stuff that came out in the late 50’s, after Elvis, Buddy Holly and rockabilly was already big - some of that had a more rock sound vs. rockabillly… - [Rumble](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NAq4HyoNe4)by Link Wray - [Honey Hush by Johnny Burnette and the Rock n’ Roll Trio](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orlr7zGo9cU), featuring Paul Burlison on wonderfully-distorted guitar - talk about a “rock” riff vs. a rock n’ roll riff. The Yardbirds ended up recorded a different JB/RnRT song, Train Kept a Rollin’, but using the Honey Hush riff… - ETA: and Duane Eddy, per **Kunilou** … While I would argue that those are more rock sounding vs. rockabilly, it is not like they were HUGE successes as acts…from that standpoint, I can see a bunch of the acts already mentioned, with the Beach Boys as the ones really staking a claim while the Beatles were also ascendant… ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-were-the-first-successful-american-rock-band/576381/25 "2011-03-29T17:10:29Z")
The Allman Brothers. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-were-the-first-successful-american-rock-band/576381/26 "2011-03-29T17:16:14Z")
> [@lukeinva](#): > > The Allman Brothers. Not even close. There were many successful rock bands before the Allman Brothers, most of which have already been put forth. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-were-the-first-successful-american-rock-band/576381/27 "2011-03-29T17:19:44Z")
Why haven’t The Beach Boys been mentioned? Is that Rock and Roll? My mistake, they have been mentioned. That is my answer. ---
**Author:** ![Profound\_Gibberish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Profound\_Gibberish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Profound_Gibberish)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-were-the-first-successful-american-rock-band/576381/28 "2011-03-29T17:54:01Z")
Very interesting OP question. I would classify the BB’s as pop rather than Rock. I agree with the Byrds. They were a transition from the 50’s formulaic rockabilly sound to the early 60’s mystical sound. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-were-the-first-successful-american-rock-band/576381/29 "2011-03-29T18:00:03Z")
There are two real contenders. Both starting charting nationally and regularly in 1962, before the Beatles. Both wrote their own music, both did songs rather than instrumentals, both played their own instruments, both had more or less standard lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass, drum lineups. The Beach Boys and the Four Seasons. Of the two, the Beach Boys are the more obvious “rock” band. But at the time, the Four Seasons were a progression from the more vocally-oriented Four Lads or other “Four” or “Five” groups. If I had to answer the question, my choice would be the Beach Boys, though. They are the first modern rock band, period. Nothing later than 1962 is in the running. There may be some bands who formed earlier in some incarnation, but they didn’t become nationally known until later. I checked some [CashBox Magazine archive charts](http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/) and didn’t spot any real candidates from 1960 or 1961. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-were-the-first-successful-american-rock-band/576381/30 "2011-03-29T18:00:51Z")
My question for people citing the Beach Boys (in an attempt to start a discussion, not an argument), if you include them do you count them as separate from the Ventures or Dick Dale? Were they far enough from Surf Rock that they count as a different thing? The Ventures cut Walk Don’t Run in 1960, Dale’s first hit was in 1962, the Beach Boys and Jan and Dean in 1963 but that was all surf rock. The Beach Boys started to separate themselves from the Surf Rock pack in 1964 but didn’t really drop that basic style until Pet Sounds in '66. By '66 a whole bunch of other groups could stake their claim. _Do You Believe in Magic_ (Lovin Spoonfull) and _Mr. Tamborine_ Man (Byrds) were both released in '65. The Doors were around by '66, Jefferson Airplane was already working etc. Also where do people like Bob Dylan fit in? He had already released 5 albums by then. Also, as a side note, in putting this post together it was really driven home just how amazingly jam packed the period between 1958 and 1966 was with amazing progressive music. It’s really kind of nuts. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-were-the-first-successful-american-rock-band/576381/31 "2011-03-29T18:10:16Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > Also where do people like Bob Dylan fit in? He had already released 5 albums by then. I assume Bob Dylan’s being ignored because he’s not a rock band. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-were-the-first-successful-american-rock-band/576381/32 "2011-03-29T18:13:06Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > Not even close. There were many successful rock bands before the Allman Brothers, most of which have already been put forth. Well. The AB’s are a Rock band whereas many of the others here are Rock n Roll which the OP stated are not to be considered. The AB’s formed in 1969. Okay so maybe they aren’t the first but it’s definitely not the BB’s or Dylan. Perhaps the Byrds? Jimi Hendrix was not playing Rock n Roll… maybe Jimi then…? ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-were-the-first-successful-american-rock-band/576381/33 "2011-03-29T18:16:41Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > I assume Bob Dylan’s being ignored because he’s not a rock band. Oh I know, I am just wondering if he should count as “rock”. Where is the line, that sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-were-the-first-successful-american-rock-band/576381/34 "2011-03-29T18:17:32Z")
As I said, the Beach Boys played songs rather than instrumentals. That was a huge difference. They also didn’t sound anything at all like those other surf bands. Brian Wilson didn’t surf. He just saw what the hot fads were. They did as many songs about cars because that’s what his peers were into. “Surfin’ USA” ripped off Chuck Berry, not Dick Dale. Dylan did folk music until 1965. In 1962 he was a folk purist who wasn’t within a million miles of the charts. If we’re talking about 1964 in America and the emergence of the British Invasion, then the comparisons need to be made between “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “Ferry Across the Mersey” and “Glad All Over” and “The House of the Rising Sun” on one side and “Dance, Dance, Dance” and “Rag Doll” on the other. They were all considered rock music and equally evil. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-were-the-first-successful-american-rock-band/576381/35 "2011-03-29T18:22:58Z")
> [@lukeinva](#): > > Well. The AB’s are a Rock band whereas many of the others here are Rock n Roll which the OP stated are not to be considered. The AB’s formed in 1969. Okay so maybe they aren’t the first but it’s definitely not the BB’s or Dylan. Perhaps the Byrds? Jimi Hendrix was not playing Rock n Roll… maybe Jimi then…? Yeah, The Byrds and The Doors would still beat them by a few years. As would Jefferson Airplane and The Grateful Dead. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-were-the-first-successful-american-rock-band/576381/36 "2011-03-29T18:23:03Z")
Here are a few other early American groups who had hits. Were they “rock bands”? IDK. Jan and Dean: “Baby Talk”, 1959 (#10). Dion & The Belmonts: “Teenager in Love”, 1959. Joey Dee and the Starliters: “Peppermint Twist”, 1961. Kingsmen: “Louie Louie”, 1963. Post-Beatles, one of the first American groups to successfully incorporate the British Invasion sound was the Beau Brummels (“Laugh Laugh”, Jan. ‘65). This was a few months before the release of the Byrds’ first single, and about 6 months before the Lovin’ Spoonful’s debut. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-were-the-first-successful-american-rock-band/576381/37 "2011-03-29T18:37:24Z")
“Louie, Louie” is, in my opinion, _the_ definitive rock song, if there is one, but I don’t know how successful the Kingsmen are outside of that one song. Good call on **Beau Brummels** , too. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-were-the-first-successful-american-rock-band/576381/38 "2011-03-29T18:50:03Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > Yeah, The Byrds and The Doors would still beat them by a few years. As would Jefferson Airplane and The Grateful Dead. Grateful Dead & Jefferson Airplane is more like it, and more what the OP was looking for I think. ---
**Author:** ![Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ed655f/32.png) [@Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crown_Prince_of_Irony)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-were-the-first-successful-american-rock-band/576381/39 "2011-03-29T19:09:34Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > Here are a few other early American groups who had hits. Were they “rock bands”? IDK. > > Jan and Dean: “Baby Talk”, 1959 (#10). > > Dion & The Belmonts: “Teenager in Love”, 1959. > > Joey Dee and the Starliters: “Peppermint Twist”, 1961. > > Kingsmen: “Louie Louie”, 1963. Jan & Dean and Dion & the Belmonts, while successful, were vocal acts, and the Starliters only hit was yet another tired “Twist” song. Which puts them all in rock-and-roll, oldies-station squaresville, man. I’ll give you the Kingsmen as a rock band, but while they had a couple other minor hits, I wouldn’t consider them successful in the traditional sense. Sure, they can draw a crowd on the oldies circuit, but they didn’t have a long, enduring influence. Now, when I hear The Ventures, I hear **ROCK** , and they’ve had a huge influence in shaping rock music. Hell, if Link Wray & the Ray Men had been more successful, I’d put it all on them, just for “Rumble”. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-were-the-first-successful-american-rock-band/576381/40 "2011-03-29T19:18:03Z")
One group that hasn’t been mentioned is the Isley Brothers, who toured England with the Beatles in 1962. There was quite a bit of cross over, give-and-take with the two groups. Having spoken with Rudy Isley many times, I’m surprised I didn’t think of them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-were-the-first-successful-american-rock-band/576381.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-were-the-first-successful-american-rock-band/576381.md?page=3)