# U.S. vs U.K. Rock and Roll -- No Contest **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 1, 2000, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-vs-u-k-rock-and-roll-no-contest/24299 "2000-07-01T20:11:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![lunapark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/278dde/32.png) [@lunapark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lunapark)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2000, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-vs-u-k-rock-and-roll-no-contest/24299/61 "2000-07-07T16:05:14Z")
Ok now let’s start with the U.S. Chuck Berry Buddy Holly Bob Dylan Velvet Underground Elvis? Carl Perkins? Jimi Hendrix??? Overated. Maybe he was a good guitar player, but his songwriting lacked. He covered a lot of songs (his best ones), for ex. Along the Watchtower was Dylan tune. Eric Clapton??? Overated. Maybe he was a good guitar player, ok he _is_ a good guitar player, but songwriting?? lacking. Clapton even states that Robert Johnson (whom clapton listening to exclusively for a long time) blows him away on guitar. He covered Robert Johnson’s Crossroads, and even named the album that. Robert Johnson can be credited to the U.S. side, he was around in the 30’s. He played blues, where rock really started in america in the 20’s and 30’s. U.K. We have to agree that the Beatles are the best rock band of all time. Maybe they didn’t invent it, but they definetly took it somewhere and everyone copied what they did in the 60’s & 70’s. The dictionary states under The Beatles, that they set the tone for rock’n’roll. So the U.K. does definetly have the Number 1, if that counts for anything. Then i would give them: The Clash Pink Floyd Led Zeppelin The Who and/or Rolling Stones Now in the 80s and 90s, you’d have to give it to America hands down. But have we taken into consideration the fact that England has way less people, and bands, than the U.S.? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-vs-u-k-rock-and-roll-no-contest/24299.md?page=3)