An Influence Chain is a playlist that starts with any band. In this case we start with the band The Alarm. Select any song by the band to be first in the playlist. I have chosen The Alarm song, "The Stand". For the next selection choose a song by a band that is known to have influenced the previous band. In this case I selected a song by The Clash who were a big influence on The Alarm. Continue with the playlist until you cannot come up with any more influences.
You can listen to the playlist here.
Create your own or expand on the following list in the comments.
Influence Chain Playlist: The Alarm To Guy Lombardo
1.
The Stand - The Alarm - Declaration (1984)
The Alarm were directly influenced by The Clash, therefore The Clash will be the next selection in our influence chain playlist. The Alarm were formed after seeing the electric way that The Clash delivered their political messages on stage. During their heyday in the 1980's, The Alarm were compared more to U2 than any other band, but I would say that besides the big hair and spiritual fuzziness they shared, U2 was more of a contemporary of The Alarm than an influence on them.
2.
Rock The Casbah - The Clash - Combat Rock (1982)
The politically charged songwriting of Joe Strummer and Mick Jones combined with the in-your-face punk sensibility and mix of rock, reggae and rockabilly made The Clash one of the most influential and intelligent punk rock bands in history. Who inspired them? Well, Joe Strummer once told Musician magazine that the only influence the Clash ever had was Bo Diddley. So he would be a good choice for the next track. However, that choice would make for a short list since Bo Diddley is a large root in the Rock and Roll family tree. And even more than that, Bo Diddley surely could not have directly inspired the raw energy and destructive style of the Clash. However, The Who certainly would have. I have no doubt that Pete Townshend and company left an big impression and inspired many a Clash performance. Therefore, I have chosen The Who for our next selection in this influence chain.
Article comments
1 - BG
I almost crapped my pants when I stumbled across a superb 3-CD set of Guy Lombardo's music last year at a Tower in Philadelphia. I'd been looking for a good collection of his stuff for ages and had almost given up, but this set had everything I wanted and it was only something like $18. A European import, I believe. Anyway, the music is all wonderful and he deserves a lot more respect than he gets.
2 - godoggo
Johnny Otis on Lombardo from his old radio show (actually, he may still be doing it up in No. Cal, but not here any more: "It's corny, but it's good!"
I'd say any early electric blues musicicians would trace back to Charlie Christian, best known for his work for Benny Goodman. I'm too lazy to try and trace that to Lombardo, but I can't imagin it would be that hard.
3 - Canamber
Is there a website that you know of that has chain of influences listed for bands????