Carving a Steak from the Sacred Cow

Within the tapestry of modern American culture, "conventional wisdom" holds Athens, GA to be THE most influential college town incubator of musical talent; spawning such widely known bands as R.E.M., the B-52's and Widespread Panic, as well as the lesser known, but some would argue equally talented acts, Pylon and Love Tractor.

Indeed, this "conventional wisdom" has become so pervasive and entrenched as fact that it has become a proverbial Sacred Cow, the mother of all "conventional wisdoms."

Recall, however, that the term "conventional wisdom" describes widely held beliefs that are not general truths, but rather inaccuracies that are so accepted as true that they pose a cultural obstacle to the acceptance of accurate information.

Athens, Ga is not THE fountainhead of Southern musical creativity and cannot be honestly mentioned in the same breath as Gainesville, FL in terms of artistic creativity, commercial success or longevity.

While Michael Stipe and Fred Schneider were still questioning their sexuality on the playgrounds of middle America (not that there's anything wrong with it), Gainesvillians were selling records by the millions and redefining the American musical landscape.

Do the names Bernard Leadon, Don Felder, Stephen Stills, Tom Petty and Benmont Tench ring a bell? They should.

Gainesvillian Bernard Leadon was a founding member of The Eagles and was widely considered their most talented and versatile musician until he quit the band by pouring a beer over Glenn Frey's head in 1975. It should be noted that, according to the RIAA, the Eagles Greatest Hits, '71-'75 has sold more copies than ANY other record in the U.S. This includes any record by The Beatles, Michael Jackson or anyone else, having sold 29 Million copies.

Indeed, shortly before Leadon's departure, Gainesvillian Don Felder joined The Eagles and remained a member until 2001. Like Leadon, Felder was considered to be the most versatile musician during his tenure. Felder co-wrote perhaps the most famous of American Songs, Hotel California.

Just considering the Eagles records on the RIAA Top 100 (currently that's any record with domestic sales exceeding 5 Million), the Eagles have 7 entries having sold a total of 83 Million records.

Gainesvillian Stephen Stills founded Buffalo Springfied, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Again referring only to the RIAA Top 100, the album Deja Vu sold 7 Million copies and So Far sold 6 Million. Just below the Top 100, 4 Way St. has sold 4 Million copies as has CSN. Again, not approaching total sales for Mr. Stills' ventures, these tab out at 21 Million.

Gainesvillian Tom Petty, as we know, became the house band at Dub's bar, a landmark Gainesville watering hole for decades, where he honed his skills while residing on the Mudcrutch Farm until his lease was famously terminated for repeatedly using the farm as a concert venue. His band, also known as Mudcrutch, included Gainesvillian Benmont Tench who has been the Heartbreakers keyboard player for the duration.

Again, referring only to the RIAA Top 100, Tom Petty's Greatest Hits has sold 10 Million copies while Full Moon Fever has sold 5 Million. I did not bother to tabulate his multi-platinum sales because it would have taken too long. So, conservatively, we can add another 15M in record sales.

All told, that gives Gainesvillians 11 entries on the RIAA Top 100 with sales exceeding 111 Million.

In contrast, R.E.M., the band now synonymous with Athens, GA, has never cracked the RIAA Top 100. To be sure, they have been commercially successful as Out of Time, Automatic for the People and Monster have each sold 4 Million copies. R.E.M.'s only other multi-platinum seller was Green, at 2 Million. Of course, the argument can be made that these represent R.E.M.'s poorest musical work. In contrast, the early and most creative works of The Eagles; C, S, N & Y and, to a lesser extent, Tom Petty, enjoyed immense commercial success. After all, it is the Eagles Greatest Hits from their first 4 albums that has sold 29 Million copies.

Widespread Panic, a widely regarded live performance specialist or "jam" band, has only a single Platinum record. But to be fair, Widespread Panic focuses on live performance. I've seen them a couple of times, they're quite good...I even own a couple of albums.

The B-52's, a cultural phenomenon to be sure in the early 1980's and again in the 1990's, have certainly added "Rock Lobster," "Private Idaho" and "Love Shack" to our cultural lexicon. Sadly, their records sales, when compared to the heavyweights above, are sparse. Again, to give credit where due, The B-52's first 2 records in the early 1980's were unlike anything then released and were undoubtedly a wellspring of the short-lived New Wave movement.

While I don't really intend to get into a comparison/contrast of songwriting abilities, it is worth mentioning that R.E.M. considers their songwriting to have been influenced by The Velvet Underground and Television. The Velvet Underground and Television were, in turn, heavily influenced by The Byrds. Subsequently, Peter Buck, having been made aware of similarities between the Byrds and R.E.M., has acknowledged the roundabout influence of The Byrds on R.E.M. In fact, R.E.M. included a track on a Byrds tribute album.

As you would expect, Gainesvillians both influenced, and were influenced by, their contemporaries The Byrds. David Crosby of C,S, N & Y and C, S & N, was a member of The Byrds, given his decades long collaboration with Stephen Stills, their mutual impact is obvious. Bernard Leadon played in The Flying Burrito Bros with ex-Byrds Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman prior to founding the Eagles where the country-rock genre, essentially, was created.

So, it can be fairly argued, without Gainesville....no Athens!

Who's your Rock 'n Roll Daddy?

I think I'll have that filet mignon medium rare. Pittsburgh style.