The biggest influence in Rock music?

[Zaximus]

Chuck Berry.  No question.  And before him, the early blues guys we won't really ever know about (you know the ones Led Zeppelin got a lot of their lyrics from).

 

From Chuck you have Elvis and then the early country guys, then of course your Beatles, etc.  Rolling Stones for the music but also the attitude to rock.  But really a TON of rock bands during the 60's/70's are heavily influential and don't get due.

 

In terms of metal, Ted Nugent doesn't get any credit usually, probably because it's nuts, but he should.  Sabbath obviously really did metal first, but Nugent deserves credit too.  

 

And Nirvana did not kill hair metal, that was Guns N Roses, who were almost as influential at their release as Nirvana was.

[Jangler]

I really just wanted to post this song

 

 

 

[Panthro]

No Pixies = No Nirvana

yep

[PhillyB]

i'd make a case for nirvana simply because once MTV started heavily rotating them they basically slit the throats of twenty to thirty years of evolving styles of rock music. the bands that sprouted up in the wake of the early 90s have pretty much defined the genre ever since. 

 

i'm curious where things will go now. since i heart radio has started developing a monopoly on the industry, you're seeing bands that are really not even close to rock being marketed as rock and played on rock stations, and suddenly the lines between rock and electric pop have been completely blurred. i mean fuging lorde being played on rock stations. i like lorde for what she is, but she's not rock music or even close to it.

 

the market has always determined what's popular and what label execs decide to produce, but i think the internet may be looked back on the way we look back at the beatles and the nirvanas now: it's democratized the process, blurred genre lines, and produced a new generation of demand that seems to be shifting the definition of rock music before our very eyes.

 

fug you kids

[The NFL Shield At Midfield]

what nirvana did in and of itself was innovative because they successfully mainstreamed what a bunch of crazy underground bands had been doing for years already (mudhoney, tad, "my war" era black flag, melvins, beat happening) by sweetening it with pop hooks and arena rock style production.  they were by no means the only band that did that, of course.  before "nevermind" was released they were actually one of the lower rung bands in their own scene.  in the end, none of their contemporaries were nearly as successful but that's how it goes.

 

there are multiple examples of that all throughout rock history, even.  like why were metallica the anointed ones who got to headline stadiums when there were tons of other thrash acts on either coast that had basically the same sound?  i mean they were barely removed from garage band status even after they had released an album.  as musicianship goes their rivals in megadeth smoked them.  they happened to do the right stuff at the right time which i believe to be the case with nirvana as well.

 

 

[pstall]

Look at cars and look at music. You use to be able to distinguish a car by headlights or grill etc and now so many cars look similar. Sure there are some design nuances but oh so slightly.

Music is reversed to what it use to. You had to play concerts to promote a record/album and now you can live off of iTunes. Promotion is instantaneous and ubiquitous.

It seems now I have to stumble upon good music via Pandora instead of the talent itself pushing to the fore.

[Happy Panther]

Beatles.

 

I was born after the beatles. I definitely feel as though they defined music for the next 40 years more than anyone. I continue to rediscover their stuff.

 

Led Zeppelin didn't define anything they just perfected a moment.

[Mol3m4n]

what nirvana did in and of itself was innovative because they successfully mainstreamed what a bunch of crazy underground bands had been doing for years already (mudhoney, tad, "my war" era black flag, melvins, beat happening) by sweetening it with pop hooks and arena rock style production. they were by no means the only band that did that, of course. before "nevermind" was released they were actually one of the lower rung bands in their own scene. in the end, none of their contemporaries were nearly as successful but that's how it goes.

there are multiple examples of that all throughout rock history, even. like why were metallica the anointed ones who got to headline stadiums when there were tons of other thrash acts on either coast that had basically the same sound? i mean they were barely removed from garage band status even after they had released an album. as musicianship goes their rivals in megadeth smoked them. they happened to do the right stuff at the right time which i believe to be the case with nirvana as well.

I don't know why I just nitpick small things, but that's what I do. I have to say that Metallica has a very distinct sounds than everyone else. You can usually tell a Metallica song 2 seconds into it.

[TANTRIC-NINJA]

One band everyone is forgetting..............

Fugging RUSH

The Beyond the Lighted Stage Documentary on Rush is just awesomeness. .on netflix if you have not seen it.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using CarolinaHuddle mobile app

[stankowalski]

 

 

And Nirvana did not kill hair metal, that was Guns N Roses, who were almost as influential at their release as Nirvana was.

Yeah I can agree that Gn'R probably put the first nail in the coffin.  Appetite was so much different than anything else that was out at the time.  

[Anybodyhome]

Since the true essence of rock 'n roll comes from the influence of the blues, country western and some minor jazz influences, how are you going to narrow it down to a single "most influential?"

 

Just this morning I heard Howlin' Wolf's version of "Back Door Man"...

 

 

And then listen The Doors version and listen to how the guitar and piano holds up like the original...

 

 

And as others mentioned, the influence of country cannot be denied (and it's hard to understand how Donna Summer got into the RnR Hall of Fame before Willie Nelson). Chuck Berry, Hank Ballard, Little Richard, etc. are all huge influences as they were the original innovators in combining the blues and country riffs with a different tempo or rhythm.

 

[The NFL Shield At Midfield]

I don't know why I just nitpick small things, but that's what I do. I have to say that Metallica has a very distinct sounds than everyone else. You can usually tell a Metallica song 2 seconds into it.

 

master of puppets and after maybe

 

the first two metallica albums were basically on par with testament, exodus, and all the other stuff going on in the west coast thrash scene

[Panthro]

Nirvana influenced MTV not music

[Raskle]

Chuck Berry, and there isn't any contest in it.

 

 

 

Also, for those saying Nirvana, the real start of the grunge movement in the 90s was with Mother Love Bone, who influenced Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden, and a slew of others from Seattle. Eddie Vedder mentioned them multiple times in interviews, Chris Cornell directly stated they were a huge influence on him, and there's a reason Temple of the Dog came along as a tribute band.