Head to Head - Grateful Dead vs The Allman Brothers Band

I would say Phish because they're a lot closer related but I don't think that would be a very good discussion so...

I'm going to go with the Grateful Dead. No matter how good The Allman Brothers Band is, the Grateful Dead are just classic. And Garcia has a bluegrass background so there's some awesome bluegrass influences in the band.

This is quite a strange comparison. While the Dead have a bigger cult following, and some better individual artists (not to say ABB didn't have some mad good ones), I like the Allman Brothers Band here. More widely acknowledged and I really think their music is better. Love deadheads, not a huge Dead fan.

I agree that it's a strange comparison. Southern Rock vs. The Dead is sort of comparing apples to oranges.

Yea. If you were gonna do allman bros band you shoulda done lynyrd skynyrd or charlie daniels band

Lynyrd Skynyrd maybe, not Charlie Daniels. Charlie Daniels (the one with multiple fiddle players) is not comparable to ABB. Maybe a Molly Hatchet type, yeah, but not Charlie Daniels.

They're both southern rock. Charlie Daniels was country, but Charlie Daniels Band was mostly southern rock

I disagree. Charlie Daniels=Charlie Daniels Band.

not even close. Charlie Daniels started performing, writing, and singing in the early 50s. Charlie Daniels Band didn't form til 1975

Ok guys here we go.

Dead. Bluegrass influences. Therefore similar sound. I would say ABB is the closest thing to compare except for Phish and bands the broke off from Dead (e.g. Phil Lesh and Friends). Both played very similar stuff. But just for you guys I'll look it up. Off to last.fm.

Bands Similar to Dead as according to last.fm:
1. Jerry Garcia
2. Jerry Garcia Band
3. Phish
4. Phil Lesh and Friends
5. The String Cheese Incident
6. moe.
7. Jerry Garcia & David Grisman
8. Keller Williams
9. New Riders of the Purple Sage
10. The Allman Brothers Band

In the top ten and the first band other than Phish or any break off band that we would really know and be able to talk about.

Plus ABB doesn't really have strong southern roots in it. They are classified as southern rock but they're about as little southern as you can have while still be classified as that. Anyone who has listened to the Dead can tell you that their stuff is quite similar.

I see what you're saying, but I'm saying that they're still really not that close. You should have picked a band similar in a different way. Such as with a cult following. Or you shouldn't have done a head to head.

Actually, the Allman Brothers had a really big following due to their cheap/free concerts and variety. So, in that sense, they're similar. I just don't think their music is similar enough.

I didn't say big following. I said cult following. They're way different.

GRATEFUL DEAD DID NOT NOR DO THEY HAVE A CULT FOLLOWING! YOU SAY IT ONE MORE TIME AND I'M GOING TO GET PISSED ENOUGH TO ABUSE MY ADMIN POWER! I'm half kidding half not... so I can't decide whether to put a smilie here...

Wikipedia Definition of Cult Following

Just to prove my point. I googled "Grateful Dead Cult Following" and this is the first thing that came up.

Cult following (be it true or not AKA trying not to piss off Luke here) can be and was a big following. Therefore, they are similar in that sense.

Dohn, did you read down in the definition to the definition of cult band?

No, and I don't really care.

It uses Grateful Dead in the definition...So that might have been a good one to read

cult
  /kʌlt/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [kuhlt] Show IPA
Use cult in a Sentence
–noun
1. a particular system of religious worship, esp. with reference to its rites and ceremonies.

The deadheads were not a cult.

That's why I'm not saying cult. (Hence, that's the NOUN defitinition)

I'm saying cult band and cult following.

Just check my other post.

then in that case, they have a cult, plus everyone else who listens to them. its not just deadheads. I listen to the dead. I can't identify too much, and I only really know garcia, and I have a tie marketed under his name. me no cult follower