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Is British rock overrated?
I've been seeing alot of British vs American rock questions on here, and it seems that some people have the impression that British artists have historically been more influential than American artists on music as a whole. I'm going to have to strongly disagree. England had a few very successful bands like the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, the Who, Pink Floyd, the Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin and Yes. Those bands sold incredibly well, but out of them, how many truly talented and influential musicians were there? Pete Townsend, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Robert Plant, Peter Frampton, Ian Anderson and maybe Jimmy Page? Those guys really had an impact on their instruments and the rock genre. But look at American musicians like Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Chuck Berry, Dick Dale, Elvis Presley, Billy Gibbons, Joe Walsh, Johnny Cash, Eddie Van Halen, Frank Zappa, Steve Miller, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Joe Satriani, John Petrucci...you get the idea.
Those guys really changed the way people look at and make rock music. They've had just as much if not more of an effect than British artists in my opinion.
Sorry, Sarah, but greatest rock bands ever...the Beatles and Stones would never fit on my list. The Beatles had some decent songwriters onboard, but were too focused on drugs and fame to make anything more than mildly creative pop music. They were never as creative or inventive as early American rock pioneers like Elvis and Chuck Berry, and they certainly didn't have the kind of talent that Jimi Hendrix, SRV, EVH and Joe Satriani took to the stage. They brought a whole new level of performance to their instruments. How many serious rock guitarists do you think that are alive today don't draw some influence from one or all of these guys?
5 Answers
- 1 decade agoFavorite Answer
The British had a different sound in the music. People thought that rock and roll was on it's way out, but then, poof! here comes the Beatles, leading the British Invasion! They changed music and inspired everyone else.
- 1 decade ago
The whole rating system based on influence is overrated. Sure the Beatles were influenced by early American rock like Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis and even Bob Dylan, but they've been influenced by old blues musicians like Robert Johnson or Blind Lemon Jefferson. They were influenced by gospel which was influenced by vocal slave music which evolved from Africa. So I would say to an extreme, if it wasn't for early day's tribal Africans we wouldn't be having this discussion about rock music. Music is constantly living organism which will grow and grow.
But to offer my answer: As far as one versus the other (US v. UK). I don't' think either are more influential than the other, but I would say that while America may have more influential artists, (which should seem about right since America has five times the UK's population) I would say that some individual artists in Britain are among "the" most influential. This would then place this discussion into a debate over quality versus quantity. Both are good but which is more important?
PS
there are two people, one Brit and one American who I'm surprised haven't been mentioned yet in this discussion: David Bowie and George Clinton. Both have changed the face, sound and persona of rock music and non-rock music alike like few others have before or since.
- meep meepLv 71 decade ago
I'm sorry, but The UK has better music. Think of the greatest bands ever, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, the Stones, the Who. They're all British. Dylan was influential but is he more than Lennon? No.
- LeafyLv 61 decade ago
I think the thing is that England is such a tiny little country, and it produced a ton of good artists. Course there's Lynyrd Skynyrd and Fleetwood Mac and...
English and Southern rock. I know, it's an interesting mix, but that's just what I like.
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- 1 decade ago
jimi-got big in Britain first...Zappa-ditto..Van Halne-crap
technique isnt everything...look at lyrics and arragnements once in a while
brits have a deceptively simple and derivative arrangements, but lyrically much more socially concious..but in the end..its all preference there are plenty of talent from both ----u fail to mention any soul/rnb american talent who help shape rock
