Seconded.
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- This is why I haven’t posted to this thread. When people post folks like Ringo, Nick Mason or Richard Wright, or Michael Anthony, or even U2’s rhythm section who I am not a big fan of myself but would NEVER characterize as “money hogs,” it is pretty clear that there is a gap between what you are hearing and what goes on with a band, day in, day out, on tour and in the studio…
I get the feeling none of you have ever been in a band.
Bands are largely about chemistry. Take away one peice and you alter that chemistry. You can argue that one bass player is more talented than another, but that doesn’t mean you could replace one with the other. It may not be as much about musical ability as it is personality. Maybe Bono and the Edge would have withered without the influence and support of the bass player and drummer.
And Bill Bruford is an incredible drummer who contributed highly to Yes’s unique sound and style.
But let’s get on to slugs.
Alec John Such, bass player from Bon Jovi. If you saw the Behind the Music, you heard from Bon Jovi and Ritchie Sambora that this guy just couldn’t cut it. And he was fired from the band in their heyday.
Right, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, Lindsay Lohan…
So handling the business isn’t important to their success?
P. Diddy. He road the coattails of the death of a talentless hack and made a big hit that was just a ripoff of a Police song.
Exactly. I’ll say this about Larry Mullen, Jr. and Ringo (as a fellow drummer): While nobody’s going to make the case that either is technically great, they both have their own unique sound, which is more than you can say for 99% of the drummers out there. However limited they may be (and I haven’t been a U2 fan for decades), their style contributed immensely to the overall songs, and neither band would have been the same without them.
I’ll go along with Michael Anthony and Bon Jovi’s bass player, though. But then, the majority of rhythm sections are a dime-a-dozen, really.
I’m not his biggest fan, but I don’t think that’s fair. He helped Biggie make it more than he rode any coattails. He was part of a number of successful groups both before and after. And in the few interviews I have heard/read, he seems to know his shit re: music and the music business.
I second any of the more recent manufactured pop “performers”; Britney etc.
Also, I may be talking out my ass here, but somebody of authority once told me that Elvis only wrote two of his songs. Pretty sad if you ask me.
How many of his own songs did Luciano Pavarotti write?
I would think that candidates for this thread would be those interchangeable parts of a band that just don’t add or contribute a lot. So people like Elvis, Britney Spears, and Adam Clayton wouldn’t work. Obviously the former two are the frontpersons for the act - they sing, dance, appear in mags, do interviews, etc. Now I don’t think that technically replacing Clayton would be difficult - his bass playing isn’t really that difficult or unique - but the creative process seems to be something he’s very involved in. This is also true of Larry Mullins Jr., who of course founded the band - he figured out these guys together would make some kind of decent racket, so he’s hardly a money hog. It was his idea!
I’m in for the interchangeable KISS members. Never gave much thought to Michael Anthony’s role in VH, but maybe him too… but didn’t he sing backup?
How about the dancing guy from Frankie Goes To Hollywood? Paul Rutherford, I think, is his name. Or Bez from Happy Mondays. The band definitely needs those guys for image, but I’m not sure what either contributed musically. Okay, Bez plays a mean maraca…
I tend to think that music is such a tough business that anyone making decent money at it is probably doing something to earn their keep. There are some who seemingly fall into a good situation, milk it for what they can, and bite the hand that feeds them (the original members of Boston, aside from Tom Scholz and Brad Delp might be a good example, but I don’t know enough of the particulars). But even these guys probably work harder, for a few years, than most of us ever do.
Biggie Smalls? A talentless hack? Really?
You are going against the grain of reality here.
As for P. Diddy, I hope you know that the success of a song mostly relies on its producer. Ever hear of Timbaland? Most pop artist don’t write their own music, and most rappers don’t make their own beats. The producer tells the artist how to sing the song and he adds in the instrumentals. That’s what P. Diddy does, and his songs have made a lot of money.
Does Itzakh Perlman write his own violin concertos?
Did Frank Sinatra write his own songs?
Did the Supremes or Temptations write their own songs?
The idea that singers and musicians have an obligation to write their own material is VERY recent.
Well that’s the difference between a performer and an artist. Regarding Elvis, rock n roll is a genre of music where people expect the the person to be an artist the majority of the time.
That wasn’t true back when Elvis was performing, and it’s not true now.
How about any Spice Girl whose christian name wasn’t Mel?
& Brit boy band 5ive - I always thought Scott got a lucky break! Don’t recall him ever singing a solo, lousy dancer & don’t recall him having a songwriting credit ( other than the collective "5ive ones)
True, the majority of all-time greatest singers didn’t write their own songs. In my “IMHO Appreciation Scale” each and every one of them ranks way below anyone crafting AND performing quality music. There are absolutely superb singers who do just that. Then there are performers like Elvis or Pavarotti I never cared about (I’m a hack-hobbyist bass player, singer and songwriter myself and can relate to the difference between playing or singing a great tune vs. creating the tune in the first place, then performing it beautifully). The old-time stars had it easy *.
Regarding ABBA guys: they wrote about 30 or 40 all-time pop classics, anointed them with top-notch production and deserve every penny they ever got. Professional bass players fawn on the inventive, articulate bass lines in ABBA songs - there’s way more than simple bubblegum appeal there. The ABBA gals were no lookers or stellar singers, anyway. I can’t think of many more poorly chosen contenders for this thread, no matter how much one loathes commercial pop music.
*provocation intended
Actually, Cliff Williams isn’t an original member (although he’s been there since 1977), so he’s probably on salary. No way is he getting as big a cut as Angus and Malcolm. And no bassist or drummer in AC/DC has ever gotten a single writing credit. He’s probably very reliable though.
My vote goes to Sid Vicious, hands down. Couldn’t even play bass, and didn’t really play on Bollocks.
Wrong wrong wrong. Rock music is closer to it, but not much more.