Are these really the ten greatest American Bands?
Are you still on Twitter? Yeah…I am, too. If you can get past the ridiculous amount of Tweets from Elon Musk and his minions, you might be able to find some interesting threads—especially about sports and music.
Recently, I found one in which someone asked who people thought were the Greatest American Bands. That's cool because I’ve thought of writing about this for a few years but have never pulled the trigger. And what better time than the present?
He used a list published by Ultimate Classic Rock & Culture in January of this year to start the discussion. They broke down what they considered the fifty best American bands, but I’m cutting them off a ten. Here’s their list:
Simon & Garfunkel
9. Eagles
8. R.E.M.
7. Talking Heads
6. The Doors
5. Aerosmith
4. Creedence Clearwater Revival
3. Van Halen
2. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
And the number one all-time Greatest American Band:
THE BEACH BOYS!!!
That’s their list. It certainly wouldn’t be mine. One of my biggest issues with this is who they consider a solo act and what is a band. They left off Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band because they thought he’s a solo artist (even though the band has been together for nearly five decades), but then they put Petty & The Heartbreakers and Paul & Arties as a band? Please!!
So kids, have at it. Tear this list apart—they deserve at least some of it. Next weekend, I’ll give you my definitive list of The Ten Greatest American Bands. And while you wait, here’s the entire Top 50 Bands list by Ultimate Classic Rock: