Looking through this forum thoroughly I haven't seen many classic rock fans. So me, King Internet, is here to enlighten you on some of my favorite "old school" rock bands, some of them not very known, while some of them leaving a huge mark on the future of rock.
Let me start off with a band that is widely recognized.
Led Zeppelin
Composed of Jimmy Page (Guitars), John Bonham (Drums), Robert Plant (Vocalist), and John Paul Jones (Bass)
Albums: Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin II, Led Zeppelin III, Led Zeppelin (Untitled), Physical Grafitti, Presence, Houses Of The Holy, How The West Was Won, Early And Latter Days (Greatest Hits), The Song Remains The Same are their most notable ones. There are other live albums, singles, and later songs which they aren't as famous for.
There is a reason why Led Zeppelin are widely recognized in the era of classic rock. One main reason is that they were
good. Actually, I don't thnk good is a powerful enough word. They were amazing. They revolutionized Rock and emphasized album-oriented rock. Although they broke up after Bonham passed away, the mark they left on the rock genre changed the future of music. With songs such as Stairway To Heaven, Heartbreaker, Since I've Been Loving You, Achilles Last Stand, The Ocean, Ramble On, and many more, one could see how amazing this band was.
Pink Floyd
I would say all the members who were in Pink Floyd, but that would take a long time. So I will just include Roger Waters, Dave Gilmour, Rick Wright, and Nick Mason. There are a lot of members.
Albums: Echoes (Greatest Hits), Dark Side of the Moon, Meddle, Wish You Were Here, Animals, The Wall, and other less notable albums.
Ah, Pink Floyd, an amazing band I must add. Let me start however with the fact that Pink Floyd reunited after 25 years now at the Live 8 concert. I look forward to hearing their songs. Pink Floyd are most notably known for their grandiose concept albums of the 70's. Dark Side of the Moon finally broke Pink Floyd as superstars in the United States, where it made number one. More astonishingly, it made them one of the biggest-selling acts of all time. Dark Side of the Moon spent an incomprehensible 741 weeks on the Billboard album chart. Additionally, the primarily instrumental textures of the songs helped make Dark Side of the Moon easily translatable on an international level, and the record became (and still is) one of the most popular rock albums worldwide.
It was also an extremely hard act to follow, although the follow-up, Wish You Were Here (1975), also made number highlighted by "Shine On You Crazy Diamond." Dark Side of the Moon had been dominated by lyrical themes of insecurity, fear, and the cold sterility of modern life; Wish You Were Here and Animals (1977) developed these morose themes even more explicitly. By this time Waters was taking a firm hand over Pink Floyd's lyrical and musical vision, which was consolidated by The Wall (1979).
e bleak, overambitious double concept album concerned itself with the material and emotional walls modern humans build around themselves for survival. The Wall was a huge success (even by Pink Floyd's standards), in part because the music was losing some of its heavy-duty electronic textures in favor of more approachable pop elements. Although Pink Floyd had rarely even released singles since the late '60s, one of the tracks, "Another Brick in the Wall," became a transatlantic number one. The band had been launching increasingly elaborate stage shows throughout the '70s, but the touring production of The Wall, featuring a construction of an actual wall during the band's performance, was the most excessive yet.
Rush
Composed of Alex Lifeson (Guitars), Neil Peart (Percussion, and if I might add, one of the very best rock drummers ever, and one of the most skilled drummers ever).
Albums: Rush (Debut), Fly By Night, Caress Of Steel, 2112, A Farewell To Kings, Hemispheres, Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures, Signals, Roll The Bones, Grace Under Pressure, Power Windows, Hold Your Fire, Vapor Trails, Exit...Stage Left (Live), Presto, and a few more that I can't name off the top of my head.
Over the course of their decades-spanning career, the Canadian power trio Rush emerged as one of hard rock's most highly regarded bands; although typically brushed aside by critics
and although rare recipients of mainstream pop radio airplay, the group nonetheless won an impressive and devoted fan following while their virtuoso performance skills solidified their standing as musicians' musicians.
Rush formed in Toronto, Ontario, in the autumn of 1968, and initially comprised guitarist Alex Lifeson (born Alexander Zivojinovich), vocalist/bassist Geddy Lee (born Gary Lee Weinrib), and drummer John Rutsey. In their primary incarnation, the trio drew a heavy influence from Cream, and honed their skills on the Toronto club circuit before issuing their debut single, a rendition of Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away," in 1973. A self-titled LP followed in 1974, at which time Rutsey exited; he was replaced by drummer Neil Peart, who also assumed the role of the band's primary songwriter, composing the cerebral lyrics (influenced by works of science fiction and fantasy) that gradually became a hallmark of the group's aesthetic.
With Peart firmly ensconced, Rush returned in 1975 with a pair of LPs, Fly by Night and Caress of Steel. Their next effort, 1976's 2112, proved to be their breakthrough release: a futuristic concept album based on the writings of Ayn Rand, it fused the elements of the trio's sound -- Lee's high-pitched vocals, Peart's epic-length compositions, and Lifeson's complex guitar work -- into a unified whole. Fans loved it -- 2112 was the first in a long line of gold and platinum releases -- while critics dismissed it as overblown and pretentious: either way, it established a formula from which the band rarely deviated throughout the duration of their career.
A Farewell to Kings followed in 1977 and reached the Top 40 in both the U.S. and Britain. After 1978's Hemispheres, Rush achieved even greater popularity with 1980's Permanent Waves, a record marked by Peart's dramatic shift into shorter, less sprawling compositions; the single "The Spirit of Radio" even became a major hit. With 1981's Moving Pictures, the trio scored another hit of sorts with "Tom Sawyer," which garnered heavy exposure on album-oriented radio and became perhaps their best-known song. As the 1980s continued, Rush grew into a phenomenally popular live draw as albums like 1982's Signals (which generated the smash "New World Man"), 1984's Grace Under Pressure, and 1985's Power Windows continued to sell millions of copies.
As the decade drew to a close, the trio cut back on its touring schedule while hardcore followers complained of a sameness afflicting slicker, synth-driven efforts like 1987's Hold Your Fire and 1989's Presto. At the dawn of the 1990s, however, Rush returned to the heavier sound of their early records and placed a renewed emphasis on Lifeson's guitar heroics; consequently, both 1991's Roll the Bones and 1993's Counterparts reached the Top Three on the U.S. album charts. In 1996, the band issued Test for Echo and headed out on the road the following summer. Shortly thereafter, Peart lost his daughter in an automobile accident. Tragedy struck again in 1998 when Peart's wife succumbed to cancer. Dire times in the Rush camp did not cause the band to quit. Lee took time out for a solo stint with 2000's My Favorite Headache; however, rumors of the band playing in the studio began to circulate. It would be five years until anything surfaced from the band. Fans were reassured in early 2002 by news that Rush were recording new songs in Toronto. The fruit of those sessions led to the release of Rush's 17th studio album, Vapor Trails, later that spring. (
Credit to VH1, because I am quite too lazy to type up a biography right now, seeing as so much went on in the Rush history.)
If this topic receives popularity I might consider getting The Who, Deep Purple, and King Crimson biographies too. ;d