All-Star Rock and Roll Band

I woke up this morning thinking of music as usual.  It's a Sunday, Christmas Eve, not to much to do today so I just laid in my bed for awhile.    I started thinking of the best rock and roll musicians I could think of.  Who is the best lead singer?  Who is the best lead guitarist?, etc., etc.  I decided to put together an all-star rock and roll band.     Being that Led Zeppelin is my all time favorite band,  I easily could have used all 4 of them for my all-star band.   That's too easy though.  To make it more challenging each member of the all-star band has to be from different groups.  So, this is the topic I will discuss this morning.  I'll put out the instrument, the musician, and my rationale.  Here goes:


Drummer:   There is no doubt here.  John Bonham is the best rock and roll drummer of all time.  Certainly an argument could be made for Neal Peart, but I'll still take Bonzo.  His beats are so original and the sound is so heavy.  Bonham to me is the perfect rock and roll drummer.

Lead Guitarist:  You can make a lot of arguments on this one, however, I think there is one man who stands above the rest, Jimi Hendrix.  Eddie Van Halen and Ritchie Blackmore crossed my mind but I'm pretty well satisfied that Jimi Hendrix is the man.

Keyboards:   I have to go with Ray Manzarek.   I thought of other keyboardists (namely Rick Wakefield) but I could not think of another keyboardist whose playing was as important to the band they were in other than Manzarek.  In every song by The Doors the keyboards are critical.   And of course, Mazarek's playing is excellent.  

Bassist:   I'm sure a lot of people will go with Paul McCartney here.  Hey, it makes sense - McCartney is a great bassist.  I had to think long and hard about this one.   I'm going to go with Geddy Lee.  His bass work is just fantastic.  "Free Will" and "The Spirit of Radio" immediately come to mind.   He's just a great bass player.

Lead Singer:   Certainly, under different parameters and with no doubt my favorite rock and roll lead singer is Robert Plant.  But, the catch here is no duplicate band members.  I already have John Bonham in my all star band so I can't use Plant.   Who else is there to use?   You can make an argument for Ronnie James Dio.  Mick Jagger. Roger Daltrey.   This may come as a bit of a shock but I will go with John Lennon.   And when I say Lennon I mean his work with the Beatles (I'm not too much of a fan of his solo work).  Some examples: "Twist and Shout", "She's So Heavy", "I'm So Tired", "A Day in the Life", "Rain".  I could go on and on.   Lennon had a great voice no doubt so he will be the lead singer of my all star band. 

And there you have it, my All-Star Rock and Roll Band.  I welcome other opinions.......   

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