Who are the most influential band/artist of all time ?

[wigman]

As the thread title says, which band/artist have influenced others the most,
and also is there a song that has ever been an major influence to these bands/ artists ?

 

[Icy Gull]

Dylan - apart from a stupendous catalogue of music, the fact that you don't need a sweet or strong voice to sing.

Buddy Holly, you can trace the sixties pop explosion back to him. Dead in 1959 at 22 having pretty well invented pop music.

Take your pick from these

Everyday
Rave On
Oh Boy
Heartbeat
Maybe Baby
That'll Be The Day
True Love Ways
Not Fade Away
Peggy Sue
It's So Easy
It doesn't matter anymore

 

[brakespear]

Beethoven, or was it Haydn?

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Kraftwerk? They popularized computer based music which has subsequently been very strong, popular and wide spread for decades. They played their part in early hip hop and this is arguably the most pervasive wide spread pop culture of our times.

 

[Brighton Breezy]

David Bowie.

 

[Driver8]

Led Zeppelin. Turned blues into rock music.

 

[Icy Gull]

David Bowie.

Bizarrely he tried to sound like Anthony Newley when he started out

 

[Titanic]

Beethoven, or was it Haydn?

Johann Sebastian Bach.

 

[Superphil]

David Bowie.

Oft regarded as the correct answer.

 

[Icy Gull]

Velvet Underground

 

[The Legend that IS Lawro]

Sir Paul Weller, well that's the end of that then.

 

[spring hall convert]

Kraftwerk

 

[wigman]

I would also say Bowie, closely followed by the Clash.

 

[The Modfather]

Sir Paul Weller, well that's the end of that then.

As much as I would love to agree with you, surely it has to be The Beatles

 

[Mackenzie]

Bill Haley.

 

[kevtherev]

The Smiths, or at least that's who a lot of bands said they were influenced by....Great band.

 

[Icy Gull]

Sir Paul Weller, well that's the end of that then.

That is a joke isn't it? Massively influenced by the Who and the Small Faces. Has Weller brought anything new to the table at all?

 

[The Legend that IS Lawro]

That is a joke isn't it? Massively influenced by the Who and the Small Faces.

No relevance whatsoever where his influences may or may not have come, even clowns like Bowie and heavy metal plagarists Zeppelin started somewhere but developed. At least Sir Paul injected his own insight, wit and pathos to leave his own hallmark.

 

[unklbrian]

Honest answer - Louis Jordan ...

without him breaking down so many barriers modern pop/rock would never have heard the music that gave it its reference points [imho]

Tune - lets start with Choo Choo Ch'Boogie

 

[spring hall convert]

Velvet Underground

Would have been my 2nd choice. White Light/ White Heat in particular spawned generations of imitators