Best American Band...

[WCGreen]

Longevity, high artistic output, Diverse sound and a Unique blend of American Themes...

The Eagles...

Discuss.

[Populist_Prole]

1. Gotta go with the Ramones

They may not meet the metrics you apply to The Eagles, but they were long lived and defined a genre. Plus they're so stirring to the soul to listen to.

[WCGreen]

4. Yes they did...

Iggy Pop comes to mind as well.

[nomorenomore08]

11. +100

Really, it's no contest. CCR, The Stooges, Husker Du are about the only ones that come close to the Ramones IMO.

[geardaddy]

25. +1 million

Them and The Stooges

[Archae]

2. The Grateful Dead.

With Jerry.

For sheer rock, early Van Halen.

[WCGreen]

5. They didn't last...

The Grateful Dead was damn good.

The thing about the Eagles is they had several singers, all wrote music and had harmonies that were almost angelic...

[Archae]

7. Except they did too much "soap opera rock."

Like the song "Lying Eyes."

Not enough "Journey Of The Sorcerer."

[astral]

17. +1

They just leave all the rest in the dust.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. Oh, yes. I love their sound...

[OriginalGeek]

6. Don't get me wrong

I like the Eagles.

They had great songs on all 6 of their 70s albums. But that's all they had - nothing useful since then other than cash-in tours. I went to the last one and enjoyed the hits tremendously but I don't think you get to count as having longevity for just reuniting for a couple tours in the last 30+ years. If I'm gonna give a band credit for that they would have to be together and producing songs during all that time. Rush has been steadily putting out quality albums since the 70s. Even their shitty albums are good.

Sick of It All has been putting out quality crossover hardcore albums since the 80s.

You might could say the Eagles were one of the best American bands of the 70s but they have been irrelevant to music as a whole in regards to contributing to the American music scene since 1980.

Hell, Willie Nelson has been steadily putting out good to great albums since 1962. He's way more Americana to me.

[harmonicon]

22. That was my thought about the Eagles as well.

They were really just around for a very short period, and as good as they were at what they did, it was too late to have the massive impact that other short-lived bands like The Beatles or The Velvet Underground had in as few years.

I agree about Willie Nelson, but I think a solo artist is different from a band, so he doesn't count, nor does Elvis, Johnny Cash, etc... not even Chuck Berry who was probably more influential than all of them.

Thinking about it a bit, I don't know if there is any one band that I think meets the OPs criteria. The Velvet Underground must have been the most influential, and put out diverse and terrific albums but not for very long.

[Trailrider1951]

8. Eagles? Of course, but we also have to consider two others:

Tom Petty and Bruce The BOSS Springsteen

Both as American as apple pie.

[WCGreen]

9. Both of them are two of my favorites...

Springsteen is right up there.

[UtahLib]

10. Love the Eagles. They are my all time favorite band! n/t

[Scuba]

12. CS&N

[ms liberty]

13. Errr...Nash is a Brit...n/t

[ms liberty]

14. They fail on longevity...

I'd have to go with Springsteen based on your criteria, but if the criteria was expanded to North America instead of the USA, it would be Rush.

[mulsh]

15. The Isley Brother have been performing since 1954

maybe they're not the kind of band most people are thinking of but ask any musician about them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Isley_Brothers

[Flashmann]

16. Creedence Clearwater Revival or Beach Boys

Although every other choice is good.

[lovemydog]

18. I'd say r.e.m.

but of course there's lots of great bands: the Ramones, Talking Heads, Creedence, E Street Band, The Band, The Temptations, The Supremes & many others.

[Tobin S.]

19. The Beatles!

Seriously, that's a very subjective question.

[DFW]

20. They hid their American status fairly well, though n/t

[DFW]

21. Three way tie

Spirit (12 Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus, plus this :

The Byrds (late 60s lineup with McGuinn, Crosby and Hillman):

and Bruce Hornsby and the Range (late 1980s lineup with George Marinelli and Peter Harris):

The Eagles were classics, too, but I liked the raw edge of Genn Frey (Heat is On) and the intensity of Don Henley (End of the innocence) separately almost more that the collaborations of the Eagles.

I wouldn't really call Simon & Garfunkel a band, or Simon's sheer creative genius would have blown them all away.

[Arugula Latte]

23. It's interesting how few great American bands there are compared to British ones.

I'd say I listen to about 70% British music (British Invasion, "classic rock," New Wave, Britpop, Madchester, modern stuff, etc.) vs. 30% American.

I guess I'd have to go with R.E.M. if I had to choose one "best" American band. Steely Dan was another great one. Creedence was good, too. Green Day in modern times.

It's slim pickin's, though, compared to the Brits.

On edit -- I'm making a distinction between "bands" and individual singers, which can sometimes get tricky.

[KamaAina]

24. Grand Funk!

The others need more cowbell.

[lovemydog]

27. that's a lotta cowbell!

It's funny, it's a cheesy song yet I still love it. Long live Grand Funk.

[nomorenomore08]

26. Aside from the Dead, the Allman Brothers deserve an honorable mention, for their live jams alone: