Best American Bands (page 6)

talesin

Neil Young is a proud Canadian, who may have dual citizenship ... he got that after receiving a lot of boos for criticizing American politics (reference the song "Southern Man" by Lynyrd Skynyrd).

just sayin' ..... as he is my R&R idol, I couldn't let y'all 'claim him' as yours

from Wiki ...

Although he has lived in northern California since the 1970s and sings as frequently about U.S. themes and subjects as he does about his native country, he retains Canadian citizenship, having no desire to relinquish it. [17] On July 14, 2006, Young was awarded the Order of Manitoba , [5] and on December 30, 2009, was made an Officer of the Order of Canada . [4]

undercover

I noticed a few Canadians in people's lists as well. Even The Band, as quintessentially American roots rock as it is, was comprised of Canadians, except for Levon Helm who was from Arkansas. So are they a Canadian band or an American band? Or both?

Instead of Best American Bands, maybe it should just be Best North American Bands...

00DAD

undercover: Instead of Best American Bands, maybe it should just be Best North American Bands...

Well if that's the case then we need to include Los Crazy Boys:

Corina, Corina

talesin

Yah, the Band is often considered American; a lot of Americans even think Robbie Robertson is American

but NEIL YOUNG is different.

He is 100% Canadian.

And no, my personal preference would be that Canadian talent NOT be identified with American - we are separate cultures.

:)

00DAD

Has anyone mentioned Chuck Berry yet?

Johnny B. Goode

00DAD

We should never forget that, essentially, American Rock (USA) was created by an unusual process reflective of the racially segregated culture of U.S. in the '50s and '60s: White Americans listened to British rockers imitating American Black musicians. The White Americans then imitated this. The results were generally inferior to the original performances, at least initially.

Note: This is of course an over-simplification of the situation, but it is nonetheless generally true.

Compare: Tutti Frutti

Pat Boone's cover

Little Richard's Original

True Fact: Pat Boone's terrible cover made Little Richard famous.

undercover

And no, my personal preference would be that Canadian talent NOT be identified with American - we are separate cultures.

Technically, my preference isn't to list any one nation/continent's best bands. No matter where you're from, pop/rock/soul/country/roots/etc musicians are influenced by musical styles of various people from all over the world.

England's best band lists gets the Beatles and Stones at the top... who were influenced by American rock and blues artists...who were influenced by African and Celtic influences.. and so forth and so on... till you get back to Ringo Starr beating a stick on a hollow log (obscure reference there...)

Music morphs our cultures together, so that we have a common bond. Even though Neil Young is Canadian, his music is so influential in America, Britian and Europe, it doesn't matter what his Canadian culture is... it's the music. He influences people from all over and they don't really care if he's American, Canadian or whatever. (except for ignorant hick rednecks who didn't like his dissing on Alabama)