I read or heard (maybe a VH1 Behind the Music?) that Nikki Sixx couldn’t even play the bass when he started the band. I don’t think Tommy Lee or Mick Mars are quite as bad of musicians as Sixx, seems like he wrote most of the songs as well.
By the same measure, my vote is for Joy Division. Ian Curtis was an awful singer, but it doesn’t matter.
Milli Vanilli! They got a damn Grammy!
Ha! I’ve met so many guys over the years who play guitar, and when I ask them what kind of stuff they play, they say, “I play originals!” And I’ve silently replied, “Can’t figure out how to play anybody else’s music, eh?” (And yes, that evaluation has almost always been verified when I’ve actually heard them play.)
Yeah, but that’s kinda the whole point. The White Stripes is all about simplicity. When Jack (who’s a freakin’ genius) wants to play with others he forms other bands. See Racontuers.
I second this. I love Joy Division, but Curtis’ voice has a narrow range. Barney was bashing out simple chords, and Hooky was discovering that the chorus pedal could make the bass sound weird. They were a band with a electrifying singer (watch Curtis dance!), a pretty decent drummer who could keep perfect time, and an amazing producer (Martin Hannett) who was a master at manipulating industrial noises. They had the perfect sound and arrived at the perfect time. Curtis’ suicide only makes the cult of the band even stronger.
Whenever I’m getting together for a jam session with people I don’t play with, I ask if they know any Joy Division, and if they do, we’re playing “Digital” in two minutes.
Do not be dissing Sterling Morrison’s playing!!! :mad: (although I’ll admit he was the worst singer of the bunch)
I love the Talking Heads, but I have to admit that their best musicians were always the ones sitting in as “extras” (Adrian Belew, Alex Weir, Bernie Worrell) and not part of the core four itself. They’re no slouches, but their strength was always in the style and the songwriting, not in any instrumental virtuosity.
I misunderstood the term “musical” in the OP – perhaps it would be better stated as ‘chops’ (Malmsteen) vs. ‘taste’ (Ramones, Cobain). Two different forms of musical talent.
Regarding Cobain: His guitar playing was underrated. While his main focus was his singing and his songs, and he was too punk influenced to want to be a guitar virtuoso, his playing supported his music superbly. Playing “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, while singing it, is no picnic.
Also, it’s sophomoric to judge a musician’s ability by the number of chords in the song. This meme seems to have roots in the era when jazz-rock fusion musicians were indeed often more accomplished than their ‘straight-ahead’ rock counterparts. But the fact is, some very demanding music has simple harmonic structures. Were Flatt and Scruggs lacking in talent? Their songs were usually three chords. Blind Willie Johnson was a Texas bluesman who recorded in the 1920s. His songs never had more than one chord, but some were incredible performances of slide guitar virtuosity.
Plus Blind Willie Johnson had a voice like a croaking toad. Doesn’t matter a bit. You don’t need a good voice or virtuosic playing to make great music.
I’m gonna play “Trouble Will Soon Be Over” now…
I totally love Robbie Krieger’s early work with The Doors, and a lot of that was very simple. But he always seemed to put the notes in the right places.
The Monkeys?
You mean The Monkees?
Actually, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork were (and are) extremely talented musicians and were hired as such. Mickey Dolenz was hired for his acting as was Davey Jones, but Jones did have a bit of experience in musicals and was a pretty talented singer.
They weren’t really hired to be musicians, they were hired to be guys acting in a TV show as musicians and were rolled out on stage. Without Nesmith and Tork, they couldn’t have done anything live at all, let alone release a few good albums later on.
Yes, but Densmore and Manzarek were both terrific players, and Krieger just got better and better.
I’ve been picking and singing “Nobody’s Fault But Mine”.
Same with the Beatles, same with nearly any band that isn’t Dream Theater or Rush.
In response to KISS, I have to point out that they have 1.5 songs in the lexicon: I Wanna Rock and Roll All Night, and a couple others that I can’t remember now that combine to 1/2 of a classic song.
KISS won my thread for Biggest Coasters in Rock.
They make money off of the least in rock music.
Ok, so not a band, but an artist, hope that counts.
Elvis Presley. Incredibly famous, but IMO almost completely without talent. He wrote VERY few of the songs he sang, and AFAIK none of the famous ones. Granted he had a good voice, and his looks surely made him popular among the ladies, but a musician he was not.
Don’t think he was very good at playing the guitar either, but not completely sure there.
DING DING DING!!! We have a winner - I wanted to see how far in we would get before these guys were mentioned. My first thought was Monkeys, followed closely by Milli Vanilli.
Eh, I’m not sure we can count Milli Vanilli. You can’t blame the actors hired to perform the stage show for not being singers.
I agree with this. The actual musicians weren’t bad. The frontmen were basically good-looking actor/dancers who had no musical talent.