" Never Made the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame "

[Roger Smith]

I don't want to go to far down this road 'cuz it may be...endless.
The song, " I'm a Man " by CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) is one of the great
musical rock masterpieces of all time and is worth a deeper look.
These guys were extraordinary vocalists and musicians for their time.
No one has dared to imitate nor duplicate
their music because it cannot be done. Period.
http://youtu.be/yOvGa-8-Lns

I challenge anyone to beat my entry to the " Never Made the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame " list.

2nd on my list would be Quicksilver Messenger Service, " Fresh Air "
.http://youtu.be/1EacQEhrbBQ

 

[The Guilds of Grot]

I always liked the original I'm A Man by the Spencer Davis Group.

 

[capnjuan]

The Yardbirds said they were mens too ...

 

[adorshki]

The song, " I'm a Man " [/color]by CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) is one of the great
musical rock masterpieces of all time and is worth a deeper look.
I challenge anyone to beat my entry to the " Never Made the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame " list.
2nd on my list would be Quicksilver Messenger Service, " Fresh Air "
.http://youtu.be/1EacQEhrbBQ

I like both those bands and I bought the first chicago album specifically to get that cut of "I'm a Man" but I think "25 or 6 to 4" is a better candidate to get 'em in to "the Hall".
Trivia for you: I have a very early issue of Guitar Player, with a short interview with Jimi Hendrix, in which he mentions, when asked, 2 guitarists he really likes: one of 'em is "that kid who plays for Chicago" (or something close to that, I remembered it 'cause I knew who Kath was but it sounded like Jimi maybe didn't know his name yet, just the band)
AS for Quicksilver, I'd actually put 'em ahead of Chicago in my personal favorites but I think "Gold And Silver" on the first album far outclasses "Fresh Air". And "Pride of Man" features some great horn backups even though they didn't write the tune.

 

[fronobulax]

Chicago never impressed me although their longevity sort of makes my opinion meaningless. What I remember them for most is that I had this bizarre idea that any band with horns was not a rock and roll band and as a consequence I pestered my classically trained middle school music teacher to listen to them. It took me a while to realize why she was not impressed.

Speaking of foolish youth I also recall a friend from those days whose father played jazz piano, something I was not aware of at the time and something he didn't appreciate. The Allman Brothers finally made an impression in our part of the world and the friend was so taken with "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" that he played it for everyone. His dad carefully listened and then expounded on the form, progression, vamps and all the things you might want to know if you had to play the song in about three minutes after first hearing it. We were flabbergasted both because we had no idea that what seemed so innovative to us followed a form and structure that was well known and obvious to others, and because we had no idea his dad could "do" that.

Still off topic but Guild content nevertheless - the same friend spent several years playing bass professionally and he borrowed my JS for his first successful audition for a paying gig.

 

[adorshki]

Speaking of foolish youth I also recall a friend from those days whose father played jazz piano, something I was not aware of at the time and something he didn't appreciate. The Allman Brothers finally made an impression in our part of the world and the friend was so taken with "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" that he played it for everyone.

I could swear I sent a message to you recently with a link to the Wikipedia article about Miles Davis' landmark album "Kind of Blue", which contains a reference Duane Allman claiming that album was a significant influence on his improv structures in " 'Lizbeth Reed".
Sounds like your friend's father was hip to Miles too. :wink:
Now THERE'S someone who'll likely never make it into the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame. But he sure gave John McLaughlin a great springboard on Bitches Brew.
In fact there's another candidate: Mahavishnu Orchestra. :wink: