Coldplay

10 Famous Bands In History

There have been fair shares of successful music bands in the world, starting in the ’60s to present. Compiling a list of 10 most famous bands in history can surely and deservedly result in a monsoon of disagreement because every person has their own idea of what is the greatest band of all time. Nevertheless, below are 10 of the most famous bands in history.

10. Coldplay

Coldplay

This British boys band has been making hit tunes since 1996. The band members are Chris Martin (the lead vocalist and pianist), Jonny Buckland (the lead guitarist), Guy Berryman (the bassist), and Will Champion (the drummer as also backing vocalist). Phil Harvey has always been considered as the fifth member of the band, who is the band manager.

Music is life, and Coldplay knows exactly how to bring charisma to the life of music lovers. The band has inspired many artists with tunes such as Magic, Sky Full of Stars, Viva La Vida, and Speed of Sound.

Coldplay is also still very popular, even with the generation Z fans.

9. Queen

Queen

Queen is a rock band from the land of the queen – England. The band was formed in 1970, and it consisted of Freddie Mercury (the vocalist and pianist), Brian May (the vocalist as well as a guitarist), Roger Taylor (vocalists and drummer), and John Deacon (Bass guitarist as well as a vocalist). Brian May and Roger Taylor used to play together in a band called Smile before forming the Queen.

The popular song Bohemian Rhapsody is still selling like hot cake, and their movie of the same name received massive success and was the number one movie in cinemas worldwide. The movie also became the second highest-grossing movie in history for its type at the box office. The success of the movie also propelled the sale of their albums.

8. Backstreet Boys

Backstreet Boys

The BSN is a vocal group from Orlando, Florida, United States, and consists of AJ McLean, Howie Dorough, Nick Carter, Kevin Richardson, and Brian Littrell.

Their debut international album titled Backstreet Boys in 1996 put the band on the international map. The band went ahead to sell over 100 million records worldwide and become the best-selling boy band of all times as well as one of the best-selling music arts.

The Backstreet Boys are among the few boy bands to have sustained success for a long time after their peak. The band received a recognition started in 2013 on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The band has received eight Grammy Award nominations, two American Music Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards, seven Billboard Music Awards, a Juno Award, and many others.

7. Metallica

Metallica Band Performed on All Continents

Metallica was formed in Los Angeles, California in 1981, by Lars Ulrich (the drummer) and James Hetfield (guitarist and vocalist). Later, the band moved to San Francisco.

Currently, the band members consist of longtime members Ulrich and Hetfield, guitarist Kirk Hammett, and bass guitarist Robert Trujillo.

Metallica attracted a huge fan base in the underground music community, and their first five albums won numerous critical acclaims.

Their 1986 album titled Master of Puppets was labelled as one of the most influential and heaviest thrash metal albums.

The band’s songs also managed to appeal more to the mainstream audience especially, their fifth album Eponymous leading for their commercial success and selling more than 16 million copies in the United States. It became the bestselling album of the SoundScan era.

6. Aerosmith

Aerosmith

This American rock band has sometimes been referred to as “America’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band” and “the Bad Boys from Boston.”  Their blues-based style of music fuses elements of heavy metal, pop-rock, as well as rhythm and blues, inspiring numerous subsequent rock artists.

The band was formed in Boston, Massachusetts, by guitarist Joe Perry, bassist Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, Brad Whitford, and Steven Tyler. Past members include Jimmy Crespo, Ray Tabano, and Rick Dufay.

Aerosmith released numerous gold and platinum albums after being signed under the Columbia Records, including the 1973 debut album Eponymous and Get Your Wings in 1974. The band is also famous for an onstage mishap.

5. AC/DC

AC DC

AC/DC is a hard rock Australian band, consisting of brothers Angus Young and Malcolm. The band was formed in 1973. In 2014, Malcolm left the band due to illness. The band sold a massive 50 million records to date.

The band exuded pure power, charisma as well as energy in their entire career that spans over 40 years.

AC/DC was managed by Ben Scot until his untimely death from alcohol poisoning. His place was taken by Brian Johnson.

4. Led Zeppelin

 Led Zeppelin

During their short time, 1969-79, Led Zeppelin was the greatest and popular rock band in the world. During that time, the band released nine albums and sold more than 50 million records in the United States alone and more than 200 million records worldwide.

Their music style incorporated mystical English folk-rock, quirky pop, Middle Eastern-influenced exotica, and much more. They also adopted the Dionysian rock lifestyle.

Many critics dismissed the rock band as overrated due to the band’s ubiquity on classic radio formats rock, and the symbolization of Dionysian excesses.

Nevertheless, the band’s success proved the critics wrong and cemented their legacy as one of the greatest and most famous bands in history. Their musical prowess is still celebrated to this day.

Their albums Led Zeppelin 1 and Led Zeppelin 2 are one of the greatest rock albums. The albums consisted of songs such as Good Times Bad Times, Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You, Whole Lotta Love, and The Lemon Song.

The band also had a great vocalist, and their vocals sometimes reached levels of mad ecstasy. Their live two-DVD titled Led Zeppelin was released on May 2013 sold over 600,000 copies, proving Led Zeppelin enduring popularity.

3. Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd

There has never been a more eccentric and experimental rock band than Pink Floyd. The band released many multi-platinum albums that sold millions of copies worldwide.

In the year 1965, in London, the famous Pink Floyd English rock band took birth. The band consisted of five members, namely David Gilmour (the vocalist and guitarist), Syd Barrett (vocalist and guitarist), Nick Mason (drummer), Roger Waters (bassist and vocalist) and Richard Wright (keyboard).

The band’s most successful works include Meddle, Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, and The Wall.

The Wall was their most successful piece, and during performances, a literal was constructed, which would collapse at the end of each performance neatly foretold the group’s fate. In the early ’80s, Waters left the group and went solo. Though that group periodically reunited without him, neither he nor the group experience the same level of success as before.

2. The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones took over from The Beatles as the “World’s Greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll Band” in the ’70s, and they did so with very little dispute from Rock ‘n’ Roll fans. When The Beatles disintegrated, The Rolling Stones were in the middle of the astounding creative peak that no rock band could have challenged them for the title.

For more than 30 years, The Rolling Stones have been the most famous rock band in the world and a functioning rock ‘n’ roll group for over 40 years, the longest run in the history of bands.

The early version of the band (1962) comprised of childhood friends Keith Richards and Mick Jagger, together with guitarist Brian Jones and Ian Stewart, the pianist. Later, Charlie Watts (drums) and Bill Wyman (bass) joined the group.

Some of their hit records include Satisfaction released in 1965 and compilation of hit songs called Flowers in 1967.

1. The Beatles

Beatles

The Beatles are the greatest and the most influential band in history. The band consisted of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison. In the year 1960, in Liverpool, England, the famous band took birth.

The Beatles sold millions of records worldwide, and are still celebrated to this day. They were the foremost and most influential unit of rock ‘n’ roll era.

The band is known to experiment and blend different styles in their music. They brought life to the popular skiffle beat, and the 50s rock and roll.

The Beatles opened the door for the new contemporary music, with their magnificent songwriting and exemplary vocals.

The Beatles constantly generated an intensity of joy that touched millions of people, creating awareness in them that happiness and enthusiasm were possible and inevitable in their presence. Some of their sophisticated and accomplished albums include Rubber Soul, comprising of hit songs such as Drive My Car, You Won’t See Me, and Nowhere Man, Revolver, the 1966 album that contained songs like And, Your Bird Can Sing, Good Day Sunshine, and Here, There and Everywhere.