
There is an element of sadness about the Band. It's one of the most beautiful melodies I've ever heard. This guy is saying that his lover has just left him, and he's totally devastated. Any time we sat around singing songs, someone would inevitably pull out a version of "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down." My favorite song was "It Makes No Difference." The sentiment of it is so heart-wrenching. Their songs are uncoverable - who can pull off Richard Manuel's incredible high voice? - but we tried. In his writing, Dylan was getting away from those heavy, metaphorical songs on Blonde on Blonde and writing cool little tunes. The Band let Dylan branch out stylistically. Their work as the Hawks on Bob Dylan's 1966 tour is some of the best rock & roll ever made, with Robbie Robertson playing just amazing guitar. Each member brought something, because they were all consummate musicians. You couldn't categorize the Band's sound, but it was so organic - a little bit country, a little bit roots, a little bit mountain, a little bit rock - and their vocal styles and harmonies totally set them apart. I remember when Music From Big Pink came out, in 1968. But the Band did a little bit of everything.
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When I first tried to get record deals, nobody knew how to market me, because my sound didn't necessarily fit into any stereotypes. I've used the Band as an example for my career. As you read this book, remember: This is what we have to live up to. But at its best, it is still the sound of forward motion. In these fan testimonials, indie rockers pay tribute to world-beating rappers (Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig on Jay-Z), young pop stars honor stylistic godmothers (Britney Spears on Madonna) and Billy Joel admits that Elton John “kicks my ass on piano.” Rock & roll is now a music with a rich past. The essays on these top 100 artists are by their peers: singers, producers and musicians.


The resulting list of 100 artists, published in two issues of Rolling Stone in 20, and updated in 2011, is a broad survey of rock history, spanning Sixties heroes (the Beatles) and modern insurgents (Eminem), and touching on early pioneers (Chuck Berry) and the bluesmen who made it all possible (Howlin’ Wolf). In 2004 - 50 years after Elvis Presley walked into Sun Studios and cut “That’s All Right” - Rolling Stone celebrated rock & roll’s first half-century in grand style, assembling a panel of 55 top musicians, writers and industry executives (everyone from Keith Richards to ?uestlove of the Roots) and asking them to pick the most influential artists of the rock & roll era.
