Anyone who thinks that three’s a crowd has never toured in a rock band with four or five or more musicians. Some of you reading this know exactly what I mean. Crammed into a 15-passenger van and rolling across the country, hoping you can keep the gig together long enough to sell a few records. But the trio gets it right: fewer bandmates to argue with and certainly fewer mates to split whatever little money your band might earn. Here, we celebrate the mighty trio with three of the best from the 1970s.
Videos by American Songwriter
ZZ Top
Though ZZ Top’s 1983 album Eliminator remains the Texas trio’s most successful release, Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, and Frank Beard had already established that they were one of the planet’s finest three-piece bands ever. Perhaps most recognized for their long beards—except for the drummer whose last name is … Beard—most of us also know that few groups can lay down a dirty boogie or deep blues like the Top. If you disagree, one listen to “La Grange” or “Jesus Just Left Chicago” should be enough to set you straight. ZZ Top perfected the art of showmanship, but the rehearsed on-stage moves wouldn’t have mattered without albums as perfect as Tres Hombres.
The Jam
The Jam wasn’t the first English band to fall in love with the music of Chuck Berry. However, once Paul Weller absorbed The Who’s My Generation, he was on his way to earning the nickname The Modfather. Weller and his bandmates, Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler, became mods and then became regulars on the U.K. charts. They scored a run of hits between 1977 and 1982, and heavily influenced Britpop in the 1990s. The Jam didn’t have much success in the U.S. But they were rock stars in the U.K., and when 60s British guitar music fell out of favor, The Jam continued to wave the (metaphorical) flag. One inherited by The Smiths and later by Oasis.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Because of its stripped-down format, many rock trios rely on simplicity. The trio seems built for bare-bones blues, punk, or straight rock and roll. However, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, a supergroup featuring Keith Emerson from The Nice, Greg Lake from King Crimson, and Carl Palmer from Atomic Rooster, were a progressive rock band. For his part, Emerson became an avatar for progressive rock, with elaborate keyboard displays and early use of the Moog synthesizer. But ELP wrote gorgeous acoustic songs, too. “Lucky Man” begins as a folk tune before Emerson’s Moog synth transforms the track into something cosmic, alien, imminent.
Photo by Fin Costello/Redferns
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.