Do you remember being in school and there is always that one student who just says “fuck-it” and does all the work himself? Than the rest of the group just smiles and gets to pretend that they contributed anything when everyone gets an A.
Of course you do.
Did you know that some of the greatest bands in classic rock were just like that?
This is a tribute to the bands that were at their essence a true “one man show”. This is not to say that they were the exclusive performer on an album or that they didn’t have help once in a while. But, when it came to song writing, musical direction, and composition it all came back to just one guy. These bands were all great but they did not and could not exist without their respective mad geniuses.
BOSTON (Tom Scholz)
Tom Scholz is Boston and Boston is Tom Scholz.
In fact, the only two “members” of the band that were signed to a record contract (with Epic records) were Scholz and singer Brad Delp. With the exception of vocals, Scholz played basically every instrument on the bands 1976 debut album. An album which sold over 17 million copies making it one of the most successful debut albums of all time.
Tom was a pretty smart guy apart from music as well.
He had studied mechanical engineering at MIT and was working as a product-design engineer for Polaroid full time while recording music ( much of it that would go on to be a part of Boston’s debut album) at home. He played a lot of instruments including the guitar, drums, bass, and all types of keyboards, however, his guitar work (especially the solos) are what stands out most.
He has a tone that can’t be mistaken. A large part of that comes down to the arsenal of effects pedals that he built himself. These let him create sounds that you will only hear on Boston songs.
If it is a Boston song, Tom Scholz wrote it: every word and every note.
The next time you hear “More Than A Feeling” or “Peace Of Mind” on the radio, just think how that all began with one (really smart) dude.
PINK FLOYD – (ROGER WATERS)
I am going to piss some, or a lot, of people off with this one but the truth hurts.
Roger Waters was definitely not the most visible bandleader, on stage at least, but more times than not he was the driving force creatively for Pink Floyd. This was increasingly the case as his tenure with the band came to a close following “The Final Cut” in 1983.
Of course a big part of the Pink Floyd sound, and what established them as progressive (psychedelic) rock pioneers was the lush “spacey” soundscapes created by guitarist David Gilmour and keyboard player Richard Wright. Yet the impetus was always Waters.
Roger Waters wrote the lyrics for every track on “Dark Side Of The Moon” which to me says that he always valued control over musical direction. Even on this early masterpiece of an album he was only making a compromise in some respects. He demanded full control over the story (created by the lyrics) but was willing to make some concessions when it came to the soundscape (the music’s non-lyrical components). Eventually, Rogers would take full control over every aspect of the band’s music. If you look at the song writing credits over time (between 1973 and 1980), Rogers was always writing all the lyrics but eventually he started doing all the music as well and taking over duties on lead vocals. Earlier on, the role of lead vocalist more often fell to David Gilmour.
In 1978 “Animals he wrote 4/5 songs all on his own and performed lead vocals on every track. For “The Wall” in 1979, he wrote every single song save for a few shared credits with Gilmour. By 1983 with “The Cut”, his final album with the band, he wrote and sang lead on every song. He even took over keyboard duties.
It seems like he grew into his own as a musician along with the bands success.
NIRVANA (KURT COBAIN)
As far as I can tell, the only reason Nirvana remains relevant in pop culture today (primarily on graphic tee-shirts) has more to do with their image than it does the music. That image was Kurt Cobain, and the band died with him.
Seriously can you picture the band existing with literally anyone (regardless of talent) as the lead singer?
No …
JIMMY PAGE (LED ZEPPELIN) .. SORT OF
This one will definitely piss some people off which is why I attach an asterisk of sorts to it. I get it: Jimmy Page was not the sole songwriter of the band, John Bonham is the greatest rock drummer of all time, Robert Plant one of the greatest rock singers, and John Paul Jones was the quiet but versatile musician who was a “secret weapon” of sorts.
Yet, there can be no doubt that it was Jimmy’s band.
He wrote nearly all the music, was the primary composer, and generally the one with the vision or direction for the band. The band was put together because Page had to fill contractual obligations after the disbanding of his previous group: “The Yardbirds”. He needed to perform a series of concerts in Scandinavia and went about building a new band in roughly the same format.
He is best known as a guitar player but Page was so much more than that. He was a musical visionary whose pioneering work in hard rock and heavy metal can’t be overstated.