Narrowing down the greatest band of all time feels like a fool's errand. If I really had to grit my teeth and pick a couple of options, I would probably relent with the Isley Brothers and the Beach Boys. In rock specifically, I often go back to the grunge era and look at Nirvana or a shoegaze act like my bloody valentine. But Sheryl Crow has one band in mind that is clear cut above the rest.
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Rolling Stone cobbled together a list of the 100 greatest artists of all time back in 2010. However, it's no ordinary list with journalists' analysis and criticism. Rather, the publication assembles different artists to talk about greats of the past and their own contemporaries and where they rank in history. For Sheryl Crow, there was only ever one band in mind for this consideration: the Eagles.
"The Eagles forever changed country and rock, but I just think of what they did as being great American music. It's amazing how one band could take all those influences — country and rock, of course, but also soul, R&B and folk — and still sound so distinctive," Crow says.
Sheryl Crow Lauds The Eagles as The Greatest Band for Rolling Stone
Sheryl recalls a pretty powerful memory that colors her affinity for the Eagles. "I also remember being on a long cross-country family road trip as a kid, driving across the Texas desert at night. The only radio station we could get was a scratchy AM station from who knows where. The haunting opening strains of "Hotel California" came on the radio," Crow recalls. "My father thought that all of us kids were asleep; I immediately assumed that he would shut the radio off. But he didn't. He couldn't resist it any more than I could."
"The Eagles provided the soundtrack to so many of my summers, and likely many of yours, too. Their melodies and harmonies have always been instantly familiar," Crow continues. "'Desperado,' 'Take It to the Limit,' 'Tequila Sunrise' and 'Best of My Love' are some of the best pop songs ever written. To this day, it simply doesn't get any better than that guitar riff from 'Life in the Fast Lane.'"
One of the crowning moments in Sheryl's life was singing backup for the band. It was there where the magic really sealed in her head and she knew the band's impact was truly eternal. "When I sang backup for Don Henley in the early Nineties, it was a surreal experience, supplying vocals every night to Eagles songs. The audience's reaction to those classics cemented their value in my head. In my own way, I got to experience the power of the Eagles' music. But then again, we all have," Crow concludes.
