The Top 35 Best Live Bands Of All Time
The Beach Boys were Hawaiian-short wearing, beach bums from California in the early 60s. Or at least that’s the design aesthetic they used a lot. They represented the lighter side of rock and roll. While they started as a garage band, they eventually reached critical acclaim in the 80s, having produced quite a few hit songs. Their jovial sound can still be heard at many celebrations.
An alternative, grunge-rock band from Seattle, they became quite popular in the early 90s. While they received much mainstream success, unfortunately, their time in the sun was short-lived. Band leader Kurt Cobain took his own life in 1994. But the legacy of their band has continued to live on. The smiley face logo the band popularized is still a pop culture icon today.
The Kinks were another English band formed in London. The Kinks came about in 1963, focusing on rock. Their work was considered emblematic of English culture and very popular in their home country. Unfortunately, due to their onstage antics, the band ended up being banned from performing in the United States. Although that didn’t stop people from enjoying their music.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers toured the world right up until lead singer Tom Petty died suddenly in 2017, at the age of 66. The band’s final tour, which celebrated their 40th anniversary, concluded with three nights at the Hollywood Bowl. The set list included rarely played tracks such as “Rockin’ Around (With You),” which was the first track on their 1976 debut album, “Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers,” and which hadn’t been performed live since 1983.
Elvis Presley was known as “The King,” and he was certainly the king of performing. Starting with his first Memphis show in 1954, he toured constantly, entertaining millions of people all over the world.
His final gig was in Indianapolis on June 26, 1977, only six weeks before he died. As he often did, he closed the show with his 1961 hit “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” Presley’s gigs also made history — one of his most notable concerts, “Elvis-Aloha from Hawaii,” was the first live show by a solo artist to be beamed worldwide by satellite.
Not only one of the best live bands of all time, Deep Purple is also up there with the loudest. They were even listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as “the globe’s loudest band” for a 1972 concert at London’s Rainbow Theatre, which reportedly rendered three fans unconscious. Since their formation in 1968, Deep Purple have toured the world in various lineups. To promote their twentieth studio album, “Infinite,” the band embarked upon the 2017 Long Goodbye Tour, which drummer Ian Paice suggested would be their last.
The Eagles disbanded in 1980 but reunited in 1994 for the album “Hell Freezes Over” and have toured consistently since then. After singer and guitarist Glenn Frey died in January 2016, drummer Don Henley said he didn’t think the band would perform again, but in 2017 and 2018 they played sell-out gigs with musicians Vince Gill and Frey’s son, Deacon, to rave reviews.
In addition to several global stadium tours, Foo Fighters have headlined music festivals, played intimate gigs and even played a crowd-funded concert in Richmond, Virginia. The band members themselves consider their 2008 gig at London’s Wembley Arena to be one of their most memorable. Lead singer Dave Grohl told NME, “that was huge for me because we never imagined we would get to the point we could do something like that.”
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