What Makes a Distinctive Rock Group

Coming home from Indianapolis Saturday, I listened to Creed's "My Sacrifice" and realized, "There's a group I miss." Then I thought of Guns 'N Roses, another band with a distinctive sound and a collection of great songs. Miss them, too. Nobody has replaced Creed or Guns 'N Roses. They were unique.

What makes a band unique and memorable? This is what I thought about much of the way home. I decided on these traits:

  1. Great songs.
  2. An overall distinctive sound, unlike anyone else.
  3. A distinctive front man who is a big part of that distinctive sound.
And I began thinking of other groups that meet those criteria. Groups that, if they went away, would be missed. Or groups that have gone away, like Creed and GNR, and their sound is missed. These are the bands I came up with:
  • The Beatles (obviously)
  • Rolling Stones
  • Creedence Clearwater Revival
  • Boston
  • REM
  • Beach Boys
  • U2

And that's about it. I considered Green Day, while listening to "I Walk Alone." I considered Bon Jovi (a great body of work, distinctive lead singer, but not a distinctive enough sound overall). Aerosmith, Kiss, Eagles, the Who--no. Heart--closer. Springsteen--great songs, but you can't pin him down to a certain sound. Styx--real close, but I'll say no for now. Various singers, like David Bowie, sported a distinctive sound but weren't associated with a specific band, so they don't count.

Any groups you would include?

Posted on March 18, 2008 10:02 PM|

Comments

My suggested add: Creedence Clearwater Revival

Posted by: rev-ed | March 19, 2008 03:36 PM

Chicago with Peter Cetterra.

Posted by: jh | March 19, 2008 11:50 PM

Wow! Good selection Steve. Having spent some years in radio, and a love for music, you pose a great question. Most of the bands anyone would choose would stem from personal preference, of which I've tried to stay away from. So in no particular order here's a few I've given some thought to...
- Chicago
- Three Dog Night
- Lynyrd Skynyrd
- Led Zepplin
- Allman Brothers
- Eric Clapton

Posted by: Rick | March 20, 2008 06:41 AM

Rick--

I considered Three Dog Night, one of my all-time favorite bands. However, their "lead singer" was split between three persons (though Chuck Negron sang nearly all the big hits).

Skynyrd almost made my list, but I wasn't sure if their overall sound was all that distinct from other southern rock groups.

Chicago's a good choice. Clapton, Allman Brothers, Zeppelin--honestly, I'm not as well-versed about them as I'd like to be.

Posted by: Steve Dennie | March 20, 2008 08:06 AM

Two of my all-time favorite groups have very distinctive sounds. One is ABBA and the other are The B-52's.

Posted by: Rick D | March 27, 2008 12:02 PM

Ed - I already listed Creedence.

Rick -- Abba and the B-52s do have a distinctive sound, but neither have a great front-man. In fact, they are more about harmony (especially Abba).

Posted by: Steve Dennie | April 9, 2008 02:31 PM

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