Sunday, May 24, 2009

Another Bracket in My Battle of the Bands

As I mentioned in a post yesterday, I'm constructing a Battle of the Bands (American, 1954-1974) to be played out on my radio show starting next fall. I'm posting the brackets here to solicit any feedback, mainly to make sure I don't have any truly egregious omissions in the field (I figure there will always be disputes about the seedings), or any other comments you might like to share. I'm also looking for volunteers to serve as judges for the individual contests. I wanted to mention that one of the "rules" I've adopted for this competition is that a group cannot coast on one great song-- each round will involve a new tune. This way, I hope that some of the more modest bands will have a chance at an upset in the early rounds, based on one classic single (like the Knickerbockers with "Lies"), but will inevitibly struggle when they get down to their less familiar material (if they should advance). By the same token, bands with a richer catalog may decide (that is, I may decide) to keep the really big guns in reserve for later rounds whernh they're up against stiffer competition (but this too makes them somewhat vulnerable to the upset in the first round). The idea is to create a high level of competitiveness throughout, and I think it's coming together nicely.

Here's the Midwest Bracket:
1. Chicago
16. The Cryan Shames

2. Grand Funk Railroad
15. The Gants

3. Lynyrd Skynyrd
14. The Knickerbockers

4. The Buckinghams
13. The Shadows of Kight

5. The Crickets
12. Big Star

6. The Stooges
11. The Rock and Roll Trio

7. The Box Tops
10. Rare Earth

8. New Colony Six
9. The Outsiders

I should have the the Southwest and Northwest Brackets up sometime later today or tomorrow.
Please let me know what you think.

5 comments:

Lil' Sis said...

Dr John,
So are the Crickets from Buddy Holly and the Crickets? I have a suggestion for a judge too.. better half Richard. I think he would enjoy it and he does have a variety of interest in the rock form of music.
Lil' Sis

Lil' Sis said...

Dr John,
Better half wants to make sure you don't forget the Eagles, Steve Miller Band, Monkeys (ok I threw that one in =), Blue Oyster Cult, Areosmith, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Greatful Dead, 10cc, Mama's and Papa's, Boston, Peter Paul & Mary. If he thinks of any others, will let you know =)
Lil' Sis

John Hajduk said...

Lil Sis,
Some of these are in the next brackets. Some are post 1974 (at least in their successful period), others (like ELP and 10cc) are British. I left the Mamas and Papas out because they are more of a vocal group, usually employing backing musicians; Peter, Paul & Mary are more folk than rock. Steve Miller could've made it, but I don't think his work pre-1974 would displace anyone on my list. In any case, almost all of those will qualify when we use different criteria for the next rounds (though each one will take about a year to complete, figuring two pairings per week on the radio show). Thank Richard for his suggestions-- and I'd be happy to have him be a judge. I'll bring some discs with the selected songs when I come out in August. Oh yes-- the Crickets are Buddy Holly's group-- I was struggling to find bands from the fifties, and since most of their hits actually were issued under the band name, I figured I'd slip them in (one of the starting criteria is that it could not be a band whose name focused on the leader, like Bill Haley & the Comets).
Dr. John

Lil' Sis said...

Ok if you are looking for 50's groups how about the Coasters, Mystics, Chordettes, Platters, Drifters? and then for a late entry CCR or Crosby, Stills, Nash (and Young)?
Lil' Sis

John Hajduk said...

Lil Sis,
All vocal groups (except CCR who is in the Northwest Bracket I haven't posted yet). I know the criteria is a little arbitrary, but it had to be to make this manageable (and to make a solid 64 without everyone being a ringer). So again, they'll all probably make another tournament once we move on to different criteria. With any luck, this will be a feature of the show for the next several years.
Dr. John