Which Band Was the American Beatles?
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Some say Steely Dan was "the American Beatles." Steely Dan is undeniably excellent and unique, but is the band THAT good? They're fantastic. The title might possibly fit. Which group would you think qualifies for that moniker? The Eagles achieved great stature and status. They might be a tad "hickified" in other words too country or laid back country rock to be the U.S. Beatles--the Welcome to the Hotel California album was iconic, though, their album with that and "Life in the Fast Lane" etc. on it. Their work might lack the striking diversity of the Beatles' songs.
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A recent Net headline claimed Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground were the American Beatles.
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The Monkees?
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I'd say The Beach Boys are their musical equivalents over here.
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The Beatles for all nations
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Grateful Dead? Phish? The Doors? Jefferson Airplane? Weezer? Cheap Trick? The Beach Boys
That might be getting sorta close 
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Based on record sails: hands down The Eagles.
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The Band (but they're all Canadians except for Levon Helm, so I guess that's out) Metallica (LOL)
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Good topic! I'd say The Monkees were the American Beatles, since their whole existence was based on The Beatles in A Hard Day's Night.
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beatlesfanrandy:
Good topic! I'd say The Monkees were the American Beatles, since their whole existence was based on The Beatles in A Hard Day's Night.
Yes but...they didn't actually do anything...
ops: -
WixRocks!:
beatlesfanrandy:
Good topic! I'd say The Monkees were the American Beatles, since their whole existence was based on The Beatles in A Hard Day's Night.
Yes but...they didn't actually do anything...
ops: What do you mean by that? They had tons of fans, sold a bunch of records, and even eventually got to play their own instruments.
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I don't think there is an American counterpart BAND. Nothing even close. Not even close to near. Which is strange. Yeah, from a cultural icon perspective, we have the great Elvis (who I love!), but he is an individual, and with the exception of Love Me Tender, he didn't write anything (even then he probably contributed one word to the song)... But geez, I LOVE Elvis. If I had to think of one U.S band that made the fans go crazy for a 5-10 year period, which garnered a loyal fan base that continues to this day, which had it's own "army", which had the paps snapping cameras at them, ladies lining up, the media clinging on their every word.... It is KISS. N0w, in no way can they be compared to The Beatles. They'd be happy to carry their luggage, I reckon. And I think even through their massive ego they acknowledge that. They cite The Beatles as their biggest influence. They are on the McCartney tribute album, by the way, which still has not seen the light of day (I think they did "Rock Show')....
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WixRocks!:
beatlesfanrandy:
Good topic! I'd say The Monkees were the American Beatles, since their whole existence was based on The Beatles in A Hard Day's Night.
Yes but...they didn't actually do anything...
ops: They were the top selling group in the world in 1967, sold millions of records, incited Monkeemania on tour to rival Beatlemania, and made a hit TV show to boot. That it only lasted 3 years is beside the point. Their records still sell now, and they still have a huge following.
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beatlesfanrandy:
WixRocks!:
beatlesfanrandy:
Good topic! I'd say The Monkees were the American Beatles, since their whole existence was based on The Beatles in A Hard Day's Night.
Yes but...they didn't actually do anything...
ops: They were the top selling group in the world in 1967, sold millions of records, incited Monkeemania on tour to rival Beatlemania, and made a hit TV show to boot. That it only lasted 3 years is beside the point. Their records still sell now, and they still have a huge following.
It's only comparable to The Beatles because it tried to recreate The Beatles. It was manufactured, not natural.
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Did the Monkees write some of their own songs? The Beatles wrote all of theirs. And weren't deliberately "manufactured" for a zany t.v. show (granted the show was based on "A Hard Day's Night"!). Assembled on a cattle call. Michael Nesmith could always play and write songs, right? Did the Monkees have any rock songs or were they all pop songs? They're able to carry on touring now even without Davy Jones, because Mickey Dolenz sang lead a lot. He had a good singing voice. How about "America" produced by former Beatles producer George Martin! They didn't put out a whole lot of albums, did they and most of their songs were folk rock or country rock? Neil Young and Crazy Horse? a little? Tom Petty and his band, a little?
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SusyLuvsPaul:
How about "America" produced by former Beatles producer George Martin! They didn't put out a whole lot of albums, did they and most of their songs were folk rock or country rock?
While America is a great band with great music, they aren't 'American' per se. More 'English-American' as the band was formed in London while 2 of the founding members (Beckley and Peek) were born in the US but moved to England, while Bunnell was born in England (all 3 were children of born of British mothers with American military personnel fathers stationed in London). The band growing, playing and rising in England (with later albums recorded in the US). so they don't qualify as 'American'
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maybe Nirvana (in Terms of cultural Impact)... but really, i think there was never ever an american beatles
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SusyLuvsPaul:
Did the Monkees write some of their own songs? The Beatles wrote all of theirs. And weren't deliberately "manufactured" for a zany t.v. show (granted the show was based on "A Hard Day's Night"!). Assembled on a cattle call. Michael Nesmith could always play and write songs, right? Did the Monkees have any rock songs or were they all pop songs? They're able to carry on touring now even without Davy Jones, because Mickey Dolenz sang lead a lot. He had a good singing voice. How about "America" produced by former Beatles producer George Martin! They didn't put out a whole lot of albums, did they and most of their songs were folk rock or country rock? Neil Young and Crazy Horse? a little? Tom Petty and his band, a little?
At first The Monkees did not write all their songs, though Nesmith did from the beginning. Then from Headquarters on they forced the record company to let them record their own material. They took it into their own hands and did their best work. They learned that from The Beatles too. Yes, they were picked to be "Monkees" by TV executives but they rebelled and tried to be their own men. You have to at least hand it to them for that. Cool
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WixRocks!:
beatlesfanrandy:
WixRocks!:
beatlesfanrandy:
Good topic! I'd say The Monkees were the American Beatles, since their whole existence was based on The Beatles in A Hard Day's Night.
Yes but...they didn't actually do anything...
ops: They were the top selling group in the world in 1967, sold millions of records, incited Monkeemania on tour to rival Beatlemania, and made a hit TV show to boot. That it only lasted 3 years is beside the point. Their records still sell now, and they still have a huge following.
It's only comparable to The Beatles because it tried to recreate The Beatles. It was manufactured, not natural.
Nobody said the group couldn't be "manufactured!" Look at One Erection er...Direction. Weren't they manufactured too?
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Isn't Mike Nesmith that guy who was the son of the woman who created liquid paper?... Yeah, I've heard of him.... Apparently, he was in The Monkees too... Wouldn't want to be buying shares in an "email" generation, but they must have cleaned up at the time. Big.
