Greatest American band in history

Picture it:

It is the winter of 1989. A young boy buys a cassette, “Full Moon Fever,” after hearing the smash hit song, “Free Fallin’.”

“Full Moon Fever” contains many great songs, including the smash hit song, “Runnin’ Down a Dream.” Many years later, that young boy listens to “Full Moon Fever” after the tragic news of Mr. Perry’s death. He still loves it. Imagine that!

Tom Petty and the “Heartbreakers” is my number 3 band.

 

I Won’t Back Down was the song of the Detroit Newspaper Strike

 

I got to where I loathed "Full Moon Fever." I worked at a radio station, and every new song from that album that dropped was seemingly on every fucking hour. I got soooo sick of it. And I still don't really care for that album.

But I pretty much liked/loved all his stuff that came before that.

 

Bruce and E St.

Petty and the Heartbreakers.

The Allman Brothers.

The Dead.

You can't go wrong with any of them.

 

Agree that none of the "and the" bands count. And I'm sticking with rock bands:"

GNR
Metallica
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Pearl Jam
Grateful Dead
Soundgarden
Smashing Pumpkins
Nirvana
Aerosmith
Van Halen

Those are my top 10 in no particular order (except GNR is my #1). Eagles suck hard. R.E.M. has always bored the fuck out of me. I saw them at the Palace of Auburn Hills in 1995 and it had all the energy of a teal-era Pistons-Cavs game on a random Tuesday night in February. Just awful.

 

Maybe though I should make room for the Flying Burrito Brothers in my Top 10. Love Gram Parsons. Or the Allmans. I could replace VH with the Allmans.

 

I saw that tour too. You were too late. I saw REM in their prime and they were brilliant. By '95 they were running on about 60% energy.

 

You have to have the Beach Boys in there somewhere.

 

The Guilded Palace of Sin is a masterpiece, except for "Hippie Boy." Burrito Deluxe is a double at best. Replace "Hippy Boy" with "Hickory Wind" and GPOS is almost perfect.

 

I really think of them more as a singing group than as a “band” per se in the truest sense. Other than Brian Wilson’s multi-instrumentals, they relied heavily on session musicians with very limited instrumental contributions from the others. I’m not sure Carl, Dennis, Al or Mike contributed anything other than vocals on Pet Sounds. Brian was a genius but they weren’t really a band. He could have done what he did without them.

 

It was also played over the closing credits of that HBO movie "Recount," about the Bush-Gore election.

 

I was actually thinking of them more for their early ground breaking stuff that is still incredibly catchy. Maybe it’s dated, I don’t think of it as such, just fantastic songs. They, too, can thank Chuck Berry. Still, they toured almost constantly and played their own instruments, albeit supplemented with an extra guitar often.