Band that's had the biggest impact on rock music

[Gin and Tonic Sky]

none of you guys know what your are talking about. You know the most influential band not only in the history of Rock n Roll but in the whole history of music all they way back to when the Greek God Pan invented it are these guys:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZH5aY48BP8

Hands down, beats the crap out of Elvis, Beatles, Zepph Nicks and the Wilson Sisters.

[slucero]

none of you guys know what your are talking about. You know the most influential band not only in the history of Rock n Roll but in the whole history of music all they way back to when the Greek God Pan invented it are these guys:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZH5aY48BP8

Hands down, beats the crap out of Elvis, Beatles, Zepph Nicks and the Wilson Sisters.

LOL!

[Pelata]

It's definitely the Beatles. There are others that are close, i.e. Rolling Stones, Elvis, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Rush, KISS, and a couple of others.

Summed up nicely. Add in Beach Boys, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd...

But Beatles by a million miles overall. Their appearance on US TV - Ed Sullivan show - alone was the catalyst for the launching of 1000 careers.

Fact.

[Jeremey]

Chuck Berry is at the very top of a flow chart that inspired and impacted a ton of influential musicians of the 60s & 70s (including The Beatles) ... Although I realize he is not a "band," and he got most of his sound from his cousin Marvin.

[The Sushi Hunter]

Hmmmm....BTTF

George Martin sums it up pretty well in regards to the success of The Beatles:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzy1JdGo9Fw

[verslibre]

Chuck Berry is at the very top of a flow chart that inspired and impacted a ton of influential musicians of the 60s & 70s (including The Beatles) ... Although I realize he is not a "band," and he got most of his sound from his cousin Marvin.

Definitely. Berry, Elvis, Little Richard.

[Memorex]

none of you guys know what your are talking about. You know the most influential band not only in the history of Rock n Roll but in the whole history of music all they way back to when the Greek God Pan invented it are these guys:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZH5aY48BP8

Hands down, beats the crap out of Elvis, Beatles, Zepph Nicks and the Wilson Sisters.

I was going to say Twisted Sister, but you might be right here.

[verslibre]

^^^^^^^WORD!!

"Mudflaps? My baby's got 'em!"

[Pelata]

Chuck Berry is at the very top of a flow chart that inspired and impacted a ton of influential musicians of the 60s & 70s (including The Beatles) ... Although I realize he is not a "band," and he got most of his sound from his cousin Marvin.

Definitely. Berry, Elvis, Little Richard.

Only because they inspired The Beatles...

[verslibre]

Chuck Berry is at the very top of a flow chart that inspired and impacted a ton of influential musicians of the 60s & 70s (including The Beatles) ... Although I realize he is not a "band," and he got most of his sound from his cousin Marvin.

Definitely. Berry, Elvis, Little Richard.

Only because they inspired The Beatles...

"Weird" Al Yankovic inspired everybody, though. History was officially retconned.

[The Sushi Hunter]

Their appearance on US TV - Ed Sullivan show - alone was the catalyst for the launching of 1000 careers.

I wonder if there will ever again in music history be such an overwhelming fanbase world wide as we seen with the Beatles.

[verslibre]

Their appearance on US TV - Ed Sullivan show - alone was the catalyst for the launching of 1000 careers.

I wonder if there will ever again in music history be such an overwhelming fanbase world wide as we seen with the Beatles.

Michael Jackson seemed to have a lot of fans.

[UncleKG]

A (younger) friend posted last night on Twitter that he thought a certain band has had the largest impact on rock music in history, "hands down." I laughed until I realized he was serious, then I told him which band I thought has had the biggest impact. (Apologies if this topic's been covered before/recently) So I ask you good people, which band do you think has "hands down" had the largest impact on rock-n-roll in history?

For the record, my friend, (who's in his early to mid-30's) said Nirvana has had the largest impact on rock music, and I said I thought it was the Beatles. His argument is that Nirvana made a huge impact in spite of having to cut through the clutter of so many other musical acts, while there weren't nearly as many bands around when the Beatles came out. His reasoning is flawed, of course...

[The Sushi Hunter]

Back in '92 my girl and I were sitting on the couch watching the MTV awards. She was recording it with the VCR. After watching this Nirvana performance we were looking at each other like "what the heck just happened" and later on had to rewatch it a few times. This turned out to be my most favorite Nirvana live performance in the band's history. They sure had quite an impact on the audience that night. Grohl was a total animal on the drums and that sent out tons of energy for sure. He had an axe to grind with Rose from what I understand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCIAuRhF0tc

[verslibre]

Back in '92 my girl and I were sitting on the couch watching the MTV awards. She was recording it with the VCR. After watching this Nirvana performance we were looking at each other like "what the heck just happened" and later on had to rewatch it a few times. This turned out to be my most favorite Nirvana live performance in the band's history. They sure had quite an impact on the audience that night. Grohl was a total animal on the drums and that sent out tons of energy for sure. He had an axe to grind with Rose from what I understand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCIAuRhF0tc

I saw that, too. Novoselic gets hit by the bass and stumbles off. That was hilarious. Kurt's end-of-set is epically lame. I've never seen a guy "throw himself" onto a drumkit so carefully.

[The Sushi Hunter]

Back in '92 my girl and I were sitting on the couch watching the MTV awards. She was recording it with the VCR. After watching this Nirvana performance we were looking at each other like "what the heck just happened" and later on had to rewatch it a few times. This turned out to be my most favorite Nirvana live performance in the band's history. They sure had quite an impact on the audience that night. Grohl was a total animal on the drums and that sent out tons of energy for sure. He had an axe to grind with Rose from what I understand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCIAuRhF0tc

I saw that, too. Novoselic gets hit by the bass and stumbles off. That was hilarious. Kurt's end-of-set is epically lame. I've never seen a guy "throw himself" onto a drumkit so carefully.

I don't think I had ever seen stage diving until that night. Was definitely a wild moment on the show. Grohl was definitely looking like the drumer from the muppets band.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8wIXXBOqxE

[conversationpc]

After thinking this over for a few days...





Case Closed!

That film goes to 11!

[Deb]

But of course............LOL, oh come on, you know I had to go there!

[JRNYMAN]

After reading this thread and agreeing with some very poignant and supported statements about the Beatles I keep coming back to the same thought about the initial question... I really don't think it was "The Beatles" who were the hands down nirvana of inspiration for all the successful acts which would follow. Yes, they were groundbreaking and brought a new sound to the generation in which they were members of, but their sound and more specifically their music was about as "bubble gum" and basic from a musical standpoint as you could possibly get.
If the question was worded in such a way as to allow listing "Rock pioneers who had the biggest impact on rock music" it would allow for the inclusion of musicians who contributed far more musically than anything The Beatles did. I really feel Eric Clapton, Jimmi Paige, Jon Bonham, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie and a few others are cited by many musicians as being their inspiration more than The Beatles.

[kgdjpubs]

After reading this thread and agreeing with some very poignant and supported statements about the Beatles I keep coming back to the same thought about the initial question... I really don't think it was "The Beatles" who were the hands down nirvana of inspiration for all the successful acts which would follow. Yes, they were groundbreaking and brought a new sound to the generation in which they were members of, but their sound and more specifically their music was about as "bubble gum" and basic from a musical standpoint as you could possibly get.
If the question was worded in such a way as to allow listing "Rock pioneers who had the biggest impact on rock music" it would allow for the inclusion of musicians who contributed far more musically than anything The Beatles did. I really feel Eric Clapton, Jimmi Paige, Jon Bonham, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie and a few others are cited by many musicians as being their inspiration more than The Beatles.

I would say the Beatles win for one simple reason moreso than anyone else. They inspired a tremendous amount of people to want to be musicians. You can make a pretty good argument for several bands as far as musically having the biggest impact. That said, the number of people who decided to go into music after seeing the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show in the US simply cannot be understated and makes them the undisputed winner. If you look at the landscape of rock before and after the Beatles, that's where the biggest change happened.

[slucero]

what the Beatles "changed" was how people wrote songs... after they broke everybody was trying to write pop songs.. like them.

[verslibre]

I would say the Beatles win for one simple reason moreso than anyone else. They inspired a tremendous amount of people to want to be musicians.

Maybe in the 60s. I think Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page and Eddie Van Halen inspired more guys to pick up a guitar. Neil Peart is certainly responsible for more drummers than Ringo!

[slucero]

I would say the Beatles win for one simple reason moreso than anyone else. They inspired a tremendous amount of people to want to be musicians.

Maybe in the 60s. I think Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page and Eddie Van Halen inspired more guys to pick up a guitar. Neil Peart is certainly responsible for more drummers than Ringo!

could be true.. except the thread title is:

"Band that's had the biggest impact on rock music"

[mikemarrs]

Elvis is where everything begins he is the big bang theory when everything exploded and when the dust settled there was this white man who blended the sounds of black R&B and white country&western into a mixed stew that was titled rock and roll and Elvis not only sounded great he looked great as well becoming the first bonafide rock star which led to appearances on television plus merchandise,movies,tours,etc. In Memphis they heard it first on July 5,1954 and Sam Phillips put out the first rock single on Sun Records called 'Thats Alright Mama' but it was a year later when Elvis really exploded when he released 'Heartbreak Hotel' all this lead to Elvis getting the first rock and roll manager Colonel Parker.A decade later in 1963 The Beatles became the first group to take Elvis' blueprint and put it to work as a group getting themselves a manager and going on to make movies,put out merchandise,do tours,etc. and The Beatles as a group did everything first and later on other bands would try and copy what they did but it was Elvis and The Beatles who had the biggest impact on rock music.Decades later no band or artist has come close to selling or doing what Elvis and The Beatles did as both have sold billions of records.No other artists have quite enjoyed the staying power or sales that both achieve even though its been decades since either was active.Each year Elvis and the Beatles sell millions year after year and their popularity and legend grows as time moves on.

[Panther]

While the Beatles most certainly did influence the more modern dual songwriting processes along with popularizing what can be termed hallucinatory instrument filled pieces, one really does need to look beyond them in order to find the biggest impacts on rock. Yes, the Beatles handed the genre all the things everyone listed. Their 'team' writing is unparalleled in any style of music. They additionally brought forth the complete commercialization of bands. John, alone was often known to say that his biggest influences were those that were already part and parcel of the American 'rock' scene (Chuck Berry, Elvis, etc.), and those influences can be heard in heavy use throughout the Beatles catalogue. All of the band members, at one time or another, also point to the underground scene in and around not just Liverpool, but Germany - as a huge influence on them and how they shaped their song diversity.

But yes... with the question, as stated, one has to say the Beatles. They single handedly showed the way to the "mass" appeal and commercial success level that we saw throughout the 80's up until now. (clarification: When stating the Beatles have the biggest impact on rock music, one must acknowledge that it wasn't just the Fab Four, but the management and producers/handlers involvement also.)

[verslibre]

I would say the Beatles win for one simple reason moreso than anyone else. They inspired a tremendous amount of people to want to be musicians.

Maybe in the 60s. I think Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page and Eddie Van Halen inspired more guys to pick up a guitar. Neil Peart is certainly responsible for more drummers than Ringo!

could be true.. except the thread title is:

"Band that's had the biggest impact on rock music"

I didn't see you correct JRNYMAN so nyah!

[JRNYMAN]

I didn't see you correct JRNYMAN so nyah!

As has been reminded to me as well as everyone else, the original question is what it is and that being the case, I have to agree with the masses... The Beatles.
I'm curious what Sir Paul's answer would be to the question.