Who are the most influential band/artist of all time ?

[Norman Potting]

Mick Green

 

[Trufflehound]

Over 60 replies and no one has mentioned

Iggy and the Stooges

The single greatest influence on modern music as they inspired the punk/new wave music and attitude (albeit in some case, filtered via the Ramones, who were in turn directly inspired by Iggy and fully admitted it), and consequently most of what followed. Probably edge Velvet Underground and New York Dolls on that score, largely because VU were too arty for some, and NYD looked like girls.



Bowie & Kraftwerk certainly influential, yes.

Gang of Four are an acknowledged influence by dozens of bands.

You can't under-estimate the influence Sonic Youth had on most american bands from the late 80s on.

I'd even put a case for Hawkwind's 'get into the groove' drug rhythm jams being a direct influence on the electro/rave scene.

 

[fat old seagull]

Ug and Og were decent singers in a sort of grunting Burl Ives fashion, but weren't musicians. They relied entirely on their backing group The Iggies and frankly if it hadn't for them and of course Drew and the Pointless Threads we would never heard of them.

They're coming to take me away ha ha, they're coming to take me away.....

In a rare moment of sanity Buddy Holly (and the Crickets) for me.

 

[Withdeano]

No relevance whatsoever where his influences may or may not have come, even clowns like Bowie and heavy metal plagarists Zeppelin started somewhere but developed. At least Sir Paul injected his own insight, wit and pathos to leave his own hallmark.

Not only have you named yourself after one of our most opinionated and unlikeable former players, you seem to have chosen the same traits in your most influential artist too...

 

[Bold Seagull]

Elvis Presley?

"before Elvis there was nothing" - John Lennon.

not quite so...before Elvis there was the blues and great black artists...the quest for racist America was to find a white man who could sing as well as the balck artists, and could be marketed to the white youths. Before these trail blazers there was nothing.

Exactly.

Sure Elvis was great, and shaped popular music, but before him and Buddy Holly there were the masters of jazz such as Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday, but before them was Blues music from the Deep South. Without Blues, and then jazz you would have nothing.

Very much so, and on this basis I nominate Leadbelly as one of the earliest blues artists to be recorded and massively influential on all who followed

But the thread question is, who is the most influential.

None of the Jazz and Blues artists made a mainstream impact like Elvis did. It isn't that he was hugely original, or creatively or musically superior but his voice, attitude and performances in conjunction with the cultural social landscape, shaped where music was to go, and undoubtedly influenced Buddy Holly who saw Elvis perform, and went on to open for the King at various shows.

If there were successful strands of music such as jazz, gospel, blues etc. it was Elvis that bought it together, mushed it up and fired it across the globe.

Lennon was right in his statement, but he didn't mean there wasn't great music before Elvis, he meant that before Elvis there simply wasn't the platform. Music had the various components of gunpowder required to make a firework, however it was Elvis who bought them all together and lit the fuse.

 

[Albumen]

always about the guitar oriented music... what about the how gamut of House and its progeny?

Frankie Knuckles, Marshall Jefferson, Deerick May, Richie Hawtin, Gerald Simpson, Dr Alex Patterson, The Black Dog, Goldie, Richard James, Orbital: when will these and many others be recognised?

All goes back to Eno and Kraftwerk, and Mr Moog. As for Weller, I loved the Jam but it was nothing groundbreaking.
Cardiacs were a fusion of Beefheart, ska and pop. So they (obviously) get my vote.

 

[DavidinSouthampton]

All goes back to Eno and Kraftwerk, and Mr Moog. As for Weller, I loved the Jam but it was nothing groundbreaking.
Cardiacs were a fusion of Beefheart, ska and pop. So they (obviously) get my vote.

I guess Brian Eno first came in to the public eye with Roxy Music very early 1970's - I would be happy to be corrected on that. But I have always thought that Roxy Music have never done anything better than their first album, which I think must be one of the best debut albums by anyone anywhere.

 

[DIFFBROOK]

I think it depends on genres and styles. For pure rock n roll, I would say Buddy Holly. Obvioulsy the Beatles were an influence on many young people thinking of starting up a band. Bowie was very influential, more so his every changing styles. The Kinks on Squeeze, on Blur etc. The Velvet Underground. Roxy Music were an influence, more so on the New Romantic that followed in the 80's.

Led Zepplin on rock music. The Clash on many punk bands since (much more so than the Sex Pistols). The Smiths. Kraftwork, so much electronic music is based on their sound (Depeche Mode). Run DMC.

Is their any new genuine influential band around? Cant think of any.

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

No relevance whatsoever where his influences may or may not have come, even clowns like Bowie and heavy metal plagarists Zeppelin started somewhere but developed. At least Sir Paul injected his own insight, wit and pathos to leave his own hallmark.

No he didn't. He just copied Ray Davies.

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

It's the Kinks.

They provided the precursor songs and influence to whole genres, not just artists.

You Really Got Me - precursor to Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, American Garage Rock and Punk music.

I'm Not Like Everybody Else/Dead End Street - Punk/Post Punk precursors

Waterloo Sunset(and a stack of other songs) - Britpop and it's expression of being British owes its roots to Ray Davies writings.

Face to Face - one of the first concept albums by a popular comercial artist

See My Friends - precusor to Raga Rock and the use of eastern instruments sounds meshed with western rock.

 

[Northstander]

Buddy Holly
The Everley Bros
Elvis
The Beatles
The Kinks
Marc Bolan
Queen
Kraftwork
Marc Weller
*edit paul weller*

 

[Icy Gull]

Gonna throw in Neil Young too

 

[Albumen]

Buddy Holly
The Everley Bros
Elvis
The Beatles
The Kinks
Marc Bolan
Queen
Kraftwork
Marc Weller

https://myspace.com/markweller ?

 

[BadFish]

The Beatles are name checked by more bands across the musical spectrum than any other. So I think the answer is them.

 

[The Antikythera Mechanism]

But the thread question is, who is the most influential.

None of the Jazz and Blues artists made a mainstream impact like Elvis did. It isn't that he was hugely original, or creatively or musically superior but his voice, attitude and performances in conjunction with the cultural social landscape, shaped where music was to go, and undoubtedly influenced Buddy Holly who saw Elvis perform, and went on to open for the King at various shows.

If there were successful strands of music such as jazz, gospel, blues etc. it was Elvis that bought it together, mushed it up and fired it across the globe.

Lennon was right in his statement, but he didn't mean there wasn't great music before Elvis, he meant that before Elvis there simply wasn't the platform. Music had the various components of gunpowder required to make a firework, however it was Elvis who bought them all together and lit the fuse.

Elvis didn't write any of his music, just arranged it to suit his style. He was a singer, like Frank Sinatra, but just had much more of a stage presence.

 

[The Antikythera Mechanism]

I guess Brian Eno first came in to the public eye with Roxy Music very early 1970's - I would be happy to be corrected on that. But I have always thought that Roxy Music have never done anything better than their first album, which I think must be one of the best debut albums by anyone anywhere.

I remember seeing Roxy Music perform live, on the Old Grey Whistle Test. The next day I went into HMV in Churchill Square to buy the record - "Poxy who?" was the helpful reply from the sales assistant.

[YT]HpSJVlDSlFY[/YT]

 

[Bold Seagull]

Elvis didn't write any of his music, just arranged it to suit his style. He was a singer, like Frank Sinatra, but just had much more of a stage presence.

This is often rolled out about Elvis, however no artist till that point had the courage to do what he was doing, and lets face it, the rearrangements in most cases dramatically transformed the originals into something quite different. You have to remember it was a different era, many of the artists at that time were taking original folk or blues songs or whatever and doing their own thing with them. There was a massive divide between black and white music, Elvis and Holly transformed that landscape completely. It was only Holly at that time who really came forward with his own written original material, and established the modern format of 2 guitars, bass and drums for a band.

To say that Elvis, as a white person coming forward and doing what he did with traditionally black american music in the early '50's and saying he's just a singer like Sinatra is really missing a massive moment in the origins of popular music.

 

[DavidinSouthampton]

I remember seeing Roxy Music perform live, on the Old Grey Whistle Test. The next day I went into HMV in Churchill Square to buy the record - "Poxy who?" was the helpful reply from the sales assistant.

[YT]HpSJVlDSlFY[/YT]

Thanks for the link - I really enjoyed that.

 

[Mellotron]

The answer IS The Beatles.

I'm struggling to think of someone LESS groundbreaking than Paul Weller.

 

[Steveapps71]

The answer IS The Beatles.

I'm struggling to think of someone LESS groundbreaking than Paul Weller.

How about Pepsi & Shirley??