History SugarWiki / MusicOfNote

* Music/ZZTop, the lil' ol' blues band from Texas. Instantly identifiable by their [[MemeticOutfit sunglasses and massive beards]], they were blues fanatics to the core and showed that off through a hard, dirty BluesRock boogie, suggestive lyrics and a hell of a good-time party vibe. They embraced synthesizers in the 80s, but that just made them even bigger icons than before - maybe one of BluesRock's biggest.

* Music/BobDylan is ridiculously influential. His politically-conscious style of folk music inspired such contemporaries as Joni Mitchell, Peter Paul & Mary, and the Byrds. He's the TropeCodifier, in many aspects, of the modern day SingerSongwriter. He paved the way for many styles of rock music to come, such as FolkRock, heartland rock, country rock and more. Influenced the latter-day direction of Music/TheBeatles, and rock luminaries such as Music/BruceSpringsteen and Music/BryanAdams would never have become household names without him. Known in some circles as "the most influential living musician."

* Alex Chilton and Music/BigStar have been credited with influencing dozens of artists and bands from Music/TheReplacements to Music/{{REM}}, Music/{{Beck}}, and Music/{{Wilco}}. Chilton also wrote the 1967 hit "The Letter" when he was sixteen.

* Music/{{Beck}}, whose music popularized a "cut-and-paste" style of production that fuses multiple styles together along with a plethora of found sounds and {{Sampling}}. Like Ween, Beck encompassed the weirdness of the 90s, except his approach was even more abstract and postmodern. His sound could be described as [[PsychedelicRock psychedelic]]-[[FolkMusic folk]]-[[HipHop hip-hop]]-[[{{Funk}} funk]]-[[RockAndRoll rock]]... and even that doesn't quite capture his music. If anyone ever asks you what TheNineties was like in a nutshell, just put on ''Odelay,'' arguably Beck's definitive album.

* Music/PearlJam was arguably on a level with Nirvana in terms of popularity and influence in championing alternative rock in the 1990s. Their debut ''Music/{{Ten|PearlJamAlbum}}'' exceeded the sales of ''Music/{{Nevermind}}'' for a period of time, and remains one of the largest-selling alternative rock albums of all time. They had a grunge sound with a strong influence from classic rock, for example playing with Neil Young. They were also one of the few bands not to die out by the end of the "grunge era."

* Music/{{Nirvana}}, with the unique vocal stylings of Music/KurtCobain, changed the rock scene forever by bringing AlternativeRock into popular consciousness. The famous ''Music/{{Nevermind}}'' album is adrenaline-pumping {{Grunge}}, the release of which arguably ended the "classic rock" era and put the final nail in the coffin of hair metal. Overplayed [[HypeBacklash at the time]]; now it can be enjoyed again.

** Her protégée, Bessie Smith, the Empress of the Blues, was ''the'' first. She even eclipsed Rainey in popularity, with a strong, passionate vocal of her own.

* Music/{{Blondie}} was one of the first bands to be called {{New Wave|Music}} (a term invented by their record label to differentiate the group from the punk scene) and were also one of many bands to play at the now legendary CBGB club. "Heart of Glass" was their breakthrough single, cashing in on the disco craze of the era, and "Rapture" was one of the first songs to introduce rap to a wider audience.

* The success of Music/MatchboxTwenty - who were blessed with Rob Thomas' strong baritone and a solid batch of radio favorites - was probably the point where the willful eclecticism of the 90s began funnelling into post-grunge, a slicker, more {{Everyman}}, blue-collar approach to radio rock. Which, of course, lead to the success of bands like Music/{{Creed}}, Music/{{Nickelback}}, Music/ThreeDaysGrace, Music/ThreeDoorsDown and [[FollowTheLeader a hell of a lot more.]]

* Music/JohnWilliams has composed some of the most memorable film scores in the last 40 years, including ''Franchise/StarWars'', ''Franchise/IndianaJones'', and ''Film/{{Superman}}''.

* Let's not forget the late-Seventies and early-Eighties bands of the 2-Tone movement, like the Specials and the Beat, who revived ska in the U.K. Not to mention Music/{{Madness}}, who helped to bring it to mainstream attention.

* Music/TheBand: Used timeless lyrics and a rootsy sensibility to introduce Americana to rock music. Which is kind of ironic, considering that all but one of them is Canadian (although in fairness, the one American ''was'' the FaceOfTheBand) and they met in UsefulNotes/{{Toronto}}. They got their name from being Music/{{Bob Dylan}}'s backing band for a while in the late 60s and early 70s.

* Speaking of New Wave, Music/{{Devo}} are the godfathers of the scene. Built around the idea of "deevolution" - man is in many ways regressing rather than evolving - they reflected their cynical, subversive views with tense, tightly-structured (and often flat-out bizarre) rock music, and became one of the first bands ''not'' playing ProgressiveRock to integrate the synthesizer (many of theirs were ''intentionally'' wired incorrectly), not just inspiring New Wavers but [[TropeCodifier giving rise to the]] SynthPop era. Briefly became a sensation in the 80s based off the hit "{{Whip It|Good}}" from ''Music/FreedomOfChoice'' and conceived the idea of music videos as short films (a concept Music/MichaelJackson later ran with).

* Music/{{Rush}}, which took Zeppelin-esque hard rock and added philosophical lyrics, science fiction themes, and a level of musical virtuosity rarely seen in popular music. It's no surprise that drummer/songwriter Neil Peart is often called one of the greatest musicians of all time, and Geddy Lee is one of the most influential bassists of all time. Generally, one of the most influential Canadian bands ever.

** From Wiki/TheOtherWiki: "Over time, his hearing loss became profound: there is a well-attested story that, at the end of the premiere of his Ninth Symphony, he had to be turned around to see the tumultuous applause of the audience; hearing nothing, he wept."

* Music/MuddyWaters. With the help of a strong band behind him, he helped move the music out of the deep South and up north. While T-Bone founded the electric blues, Muddy perfected it. He also discovered Chuck Berry (see the Rock & Pop section for more on him), and set some of the groundwork for rock & roll in his own right - hell, he wrote a song called "[[Magazine/RollingStone Rollin']] [[Music/TheRollingStones Stone]]".

* Music/TheRollingStones, arguably the UrExample, if not the TropeMaker, of HardRock, elevated the three-minute riff-oriented rock song to an art form, and were a major part of blues roots becoming such a prominent part of the classic rock lexicon. Threw blues and pop in a blender, and everyone knows what came out - "Satisfaction." Counterculture icons of the 1960s, they were proudly bad boys during an age of the Beatles' more clean-cut image. Fronted by the archetypical rock & roll vocalist, Mick Jagger.

* Music/TheGerms, who were primitive even for punk rock. Take the rudimentary attack of the Stooges and turn it UpToEleven, then add Darby Crash, the most haphazard frontman in the history of rock. ThreeChordsAndTheTruth doesn't get much more belligerent than this band, but they are considered the godfathers of the [[UsefulNotes/LosAngeles L.A.]] punk scene.

** Music/{{Blink 182}} are worthy of note in their own right. They brought Green Day's mainstream breakthrough to its logical conclusion: they turned the "pop" in PopPunk basically UpToEleven (with catchy singles like "Dammit" and "What's My Age Again?"), became {{Teen Idol}}s - possibly the first proper teen idols in PunkRock - and with the success of their downtrodden "Adam's Song," laid the groundwork for the second wave of {{Emo}} to hit the airwaves. They further cemented their legacy by expanding their song structures past their usual ThreeChordsAndTheTruth (nearly a year before Green Day did).

* Music/{{Suicide}} were pretty much considered an abomination in their day (the late 1970s) for their confrontational live performances, which have occasionally incited ''riots,'' but their minimalist electronic grooves wound up inspiring countless musicians that came afterward in {{Industrial}}, PostPunk and SynthPop. They also created "Frankie Teardrop," possibly the most terrifying song ever recorded.

* Music/{{Journey}}, who emerged out of the prog-rock scene of the 1970s to put out some of rock's greatest anthems, such as the now-legendary "Don't Stop Believin'".

* Music/{{Aerosmith}}: The Boys from Boston. Hard rock, considered to be the all-American rock band by many. Really, they were America's answer to the Rolling Stones, right down to Steven Tyler's bluesy vocal leanings and showmanship. Aerosmith were one of the first bands to come up with the power ballad, with the immortal "Dream On" from 1973, which paved the way for more to come later, such as [[Music/{{Kiss}} "Beth"]], [[Music/{{Poison}} "Every Rose Has Its Thorn"]], "Love Hurts", [[Music/{{Foreigner}} "I Want to Know What Love Is"]], and many, many, many more. They also had one more notable achievement: see Music/RunDMC's entry.

* Music/{{Air}}, a curious outgrowth of French electronica, weave together old 60s pop, 70s electronics, prog-rock and a real knack for atmosphere, and carved out a unique place for themselves in pop music as a result. ''Music/MoonSafari'' functions as a [[SugarWiki/SweetDreamsFuel chillout record]], a makeout record, or an intoxicating exploration of a rich new sound.

* Music/{{Pendulum}} codified drum and bass with their critically acclaimed debut album ''Hold Your Colour'', and kept on going strong with their later releases. Their second album, ''In Silico'', received mixed reception amongst their older fans, but its clever mix of drum and bass and AlternativeRock opened them to a much wider audience.

* Music/{{Underworld}}. Unleashed a dark, progressive sound of long-winded, exhilarating trance/rave workouts, with heavy breakbeats and scattered, surreal lyricism. Signature track: "Born Slippy (Nuxx)."

* Music/TheHumanLeague have been judged by history to be an important stepping stone for SynthPop to become the sound of early 80s MTV. They solidified the cold, nigh-emotionless aesthetic with Philip Oakley's detached vocals, but more importantly, they kept that approach accessible with naggingly catchy synth hooks, such as on their signature hit "Don't You Want Me."

* Missy Elliot/Timbaland.

* Music/{{Skyclad}}: Although only moderately successful in themselves, their first album, ''The Wayward Sons of Mother Earth'', was the earliest attempt to combine folk music and heavy metal, laying the foundations for the now-popular genre of FolkMetal.

* Music/{{Nightwish}}: Symphonic metal band from Finland. Led the pack of its genre for several years and is still going - and still the biggest band in its genre.

* Music/TheCure, who emerged out of post-punk and new wave to become perhaps the most beloved goth icons of their time.

* Stompin' Tom Connors. There are few musicians as fiercely proud of their heritage as Stompin' Tom, and he was a Canadian institution for decades, inspiring politicians, blue-collar workers and athletes, all across the country.

* Music/RayCharles. He laid down the foundation for Rock and Roll by mixing gospel and Rhythm & Blues. Without him, there would be no Rock and Roll. He was also one of the earliest singers of {{Soul}} music.

* Music/TheBeatles redefined pop music with ''Music/RubberSoul'', ''Music/{{Revolver|Beatles Album}}'', ''Music/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand'', ''The Beatles'' (commonly known as "Music/TheWhiteAlbum") and ''Music/AbbeyRoad''. They also redefined pop music with every single other album they released, just not as much. Until the album ''Music/PleasePleaseMe,'' there'd been no British group that had recorded a set of music so sonically powerful, and their arrival more or less marked the end of the vocal music era, and cemented rock as ''the'' dominant style of music. After the Beatles, rock bands also had to be self-contained, as they wrote, performed and sang their own material, when usually this was a more collaborative effort with people behind the scenes. Also responsible for a unique fandom phenomenon: what other band has ever been so popular that they had to ''stop touring'' for fear of widespread riots? Their music went from '50s-influenced rock to [[Music/BobDylan Dylan]]-inspired folk-rock (see the Folk section for him) to swirly psychedelia to acoustic pieces to blues, soul, jazz, pop, music-hall, country, rockabilly, the avant-garde, reggae/ska, Music/TheBeachBoys influences, proto-punk, proto-metal, proto-prog, proto-funk... and yet, they developed their own distinctive style(s), and distinctive slant on the styles they tackled.

[[TropeMakers Influential]] and [[Administrivia/ThereIsNoSuchThingAsNotability notable]] music [[JustForPun of note]], [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment usually with notes, in successive order]]. See also MusicTropes.