Famous American Bands T to Z 🎸🎹 Rock & Pop International Bands List
There are numerous famous American bands and international music groups of all time. At least subjectively – because everyone has their own taste in music. While some consider Nirvana to be one of the famous American Bands ever, others rave over R.E.M. Although these two famous American bands are worlds apart they are now connected in this ADDucation list.
- Famous American bands list compiled by Robert Junker and last updated 18 Aug 2024
ADDucation Tips: Click column headings with arrows to sort famous American bands. Reload page for original sort order. Resize your browser to full screen and/or zoom out to display as many columns as possible. Click the ➕ icon to reveal any hidden columns.
Key: 🎤Vocals | 🥁Drums / Percussion | 🎸Guitar | 🎹Keyboard | 🎷Saxophone | ⌨️Synthesizer | T=Trombone | B🎸Bass Guitar | † Died
| Band (formed / active) | Current band line up | Ex-members | Best Albums and Hits (first release date) |
|---|---|---|---|
| T. Rex 🇬🇧 UK 1967-1977 |
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Albums: My people were fair (1968), Unicorn (1969), A beard of stars (1970), T. Rex (1970), Electric Warrior (1971), The slider (1972), Tanx (1973), Zinc Alloy (1974), Dandy in the underworld (1977).
Greatest Hits: Hot love (1971), Get it on (1971), Jeepster (1971), Telegram Sam (1972), Metal Guru (1972), Children of the revolution (1972), Solid gold (1973), 20th Century Boy (1973), The Groover (1973). |
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| Take That 🇬🇧 UK 1990 |
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Robbie Williams 🎤 | Albums: Take That & Party (1992), Everything changes (1993), Nobody else (1995), Beautiful world (2006), The circus (2008), Progress (2010).
Greatest Hits: Could it be magic (1993), Back for good (1995), Patience (2006), Greatest day (2008), The Flood (2010). |
| Talking Heads 🇺🇸 USA 1975-1991 |
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Albums: 77 (1977), More songs about buildings and food (1978), Fear of music (1979), Remain in light (1980), Speaking in tongues (1983), Stop making sense (1984), Little creatures (1985), True stories (1986), Naked (1988). One of the most famous American bands.
Greatest Hits: Psycho killer (1977), Burning down the house (1983), Road to nowhere (1985). |
| The Stranglers 🇬🇧 UK 1974 |
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Albums: Rattus Norvegicus (1977), No More Heroes (1977), Black and White (1978), Live (X Cert) (1979), The Raven (1979), The Gospel According to the Meninblack (1981), La Folie (1981), Feline (1983), Aural Sculpture (1984), Dreamtime (1986), 10 (1990), Stranglers in the Night (1992), About Time (1995), Written in Red (1997), Coup de Grace (1998), Norfolk Coast (2004), Suite XVI (2006), Giants (2012).
Greatest Hits: No More Heroes (1977), Peaches (1977), Golden Brown (1982), Always the Sun (1986), Skin Deep (1984), Big Thing Coming (1984). |
| The Temptations 🇺🇸 USA 1961 |
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Albums: Meet the Temptations (1964); The Temptations Sing Smokey (1965), Gettin’ Ready (1966), With a Lot o’ Soul (1967), In a Mellow Mood (1968); Diana Ross & the Supremes (1968), Wish it Would Rain (1968); TCB Takin’ Care of Business (1968), Cloud Nine (1969); The Temptations Show (1969); Puzzle People (1969); Together (1969; Psychedelic Shack (1970); Sky’s the Limit (1971), Solid Rock (1972); All Directions (1972); Masterpiece (1973); 1990 (1974), A Song for You (1975), House Party (1976); Wings of Love (1976); Do The Temptations (1976); Power (1980); Reunion (1982), Surface Thrills (1983), Back to Basics (1983), Give Love at Christmas (1983), Truly for You (1984); To Be Continued (1986), Phoenix Rising (1998), Ear-Resistible (2000); Awesome (2001), Reflections (2006), Back to Front (2007), Still Here (2010). One of the most famous American bands.
Greatest Hits: The Way You Do the Things You Do (1964), My Girl (1965); Get Ready (1966), I’m Gonna Make You Love Me (1968), Cloude Nine (1968); I Can’t Get Next to You (1970); Just My Imagination (1971), Ball of Confusion (1970); Papa Was a Rollin Stone (1972), Masterpiece (1973), Treat Her Like a Lady (1984). |
| Thin Lizzy 🇮🇪 Ireland 1969 |
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Albums: Vagabonds of the Western World (1973), Fighting (1975), Jailbreak (1976), Johnny the Fox (1976), Bad Reputation (1977), Live and Dangerous (1978), Chinatown (1980), Renegade (1981), Thunder and Lightning (1983).
Greatest Hits: Whisky in the Jar (1973), The Boys Are Back in Town (1976). |
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| Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers 🇺🇸 USA 1976-2017 |
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Albums: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (1976), You’re Gonna Get It! (1978), Damn the Torpedoes (1979), Hard Promises (1981), Long After Dark (1982), Southern Accents (1985), Let Me Up (I’ve Had Enough) (1987), Into the Great Wide Open (1991), Songs and Music from “She’s the One” (1996), Echo (1999), The Last DJ (2002), Mojo (2010), Hypnotic Eye (2014). Tom Petty Albums in collaboration with other musicians: Full Moon Fever (1989), Wildflowers (1994), Highway Companion (2006).
Greatest Hits: American Girl (1977), Breakdown (1977), The Waiting (1981), Learning to Fly (1991), Refugee (1980), Mary Jane’s Last Dance (1993) and in his own name: Free Fallin’ (1989), I Won’t Back Down (1989). |
| Tool 🇺🇸 USA 1990 |
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Albums: Undertow (1993); Ænima (1996); Lateralus (2001); 10.000 Days (2006). One of many famous American bands that were primarily successful within the USA. | |
| Toto 🇺🇸 USA 1977-2008 |
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Albums: Toto (1978), Hydra (1980), Turn Back (1981), IV (1982), Isolation (1983), Fahrenheit (1986), The Seventh One (1988), Past to Present (1990), Kingdom of Desire (1992), Tambu (1995), Mind Fields (1999), Through the Looking Glass (2002), Falling in Between (2006), Toto XIV (2015). One of the famous American bands that enjoyed international success.
Greatest Hits: Hold the Line (1979), Rosanna (1982), Africa (1982). |
| U2 🇮🇪 Ireland 1976 |
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Albums: Boy (1980), October (1981), War (1983), The Unforgettable Fire (1984), The Joshua Tree (1987), Rattle and Ham (1988), Achtung Baby (1991), Zooropa (1993), All That You Can’t Leave Behind (2000), How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004), No Line on the Horizon (2009), Songs of Innocence (2014), Songs of Experience (2017).
Greatest Hits: Sunday Bloody Sunday (1983); With or Without You (1987); I Still Haven‘t Found What I‘m Looking for (1987); Desire (1988), The Fly (1991); One (1992); Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me (1995), Discothèque (1997), Beautiful Day (2000); Vertigo (2004); The Saints are Coming (2006); Get on Your Boots (2009); Ordinary Love (2013). |
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| UB 40 🇬🇧 UK 1978 |
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Alistaire “Ali” Campbell 🎤🎸 | Albums: Present Arms (1981), Labour of Love (1983), Geffrey Morgan (1984), Rat in the Kitchen (1988), Labour of Love II (1989), Promises and Lies (1993), Love Songs (2009).
Greatest Hits: Red Red Wine (1983), I Got You Babe (1985), Kingston Town (1990);I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight (1990), Falling in Love With You (1993), Higher Ground (1993). |
| Uriah Heep 🇬🇧 UK 1970 |
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Albums: Very´eavy, Very ´umble (1970); Salisbury (1971); Look at Yourself (1971); Demons and Wizards (1972); The Magician‘s Birthday (1972); Sweet Freedom (1973); Wonderworld (1974); Return to Fantasy (1975); High and Mighty (1976); Firefly (1977); Innocent victim (1978); Fallen Angel (1979); Abominog (1982); Head First (1983); Equator (1985); Sea of Light (1995); Wake the Sleeper (2008); Into the Wild (2011), Outsider (2014), Totally Driven (2015).
Greatest Hits: Gypsy (1970); Gypsy (1970), Lady in Black (1971); Spider Woman (1972), Easy Livin‘ (1972); Free Me (1977). |
| Van Halen 🇺🇸 USA 1974 |
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Albums: Van Halen (1978), Van Halen II (1979), Fair Warning (1981), 1984 (1984), 5150 (1986), OU812 (1986), For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991), Balance (1995), Van Halen III (1998), A Different Kind of Truth (2012). One of the famous American bands that enjoyed international success.
Greatest Hits: You Really Got Me (1978), Runnin’ With the Devil (1978); Jump (1984); I‘ll Wait (1984); Why Can‘t This Be Love (1986). |
| Velvet Underground 🇺🇸 USA 1965-1973 |
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Doug Yule 🎤🎸B🎸🥁 | Albums: The Velvet Underground & Nico (Banana-Album, 1967), White Light/White Heat (1968), The Velvet Underground (1969), Loaded (1970), Squeeze (1973), VU (1984), Another View (1985). One of the most famous American bands.
Greatest Hits: Sunday Morning (1967), Who Loves the Sun (1970), Sweet Jane (1970). |
| The Waterboys 🇬🇧 UK 1981 |
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Albums: A Pagan Place (1984), This Is the Sea (1985), Fisherman’s Blues (1988),Room to Roam (1990), Dream Harder (1993), A Rock in the Weary Land (2000), Universal Hall (2003), Book of Lightning (2007), An Appointment with Mr Yeats (2011), Modern Blues (2015), Out of All This Blue (2017).
Greatest Hits: The Whole of the Moon (1981), The Return of Pan (1993), Love Anyway (1997). |
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| Wham! 🇬🇧 UK 1982-1986 |
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Albums: Fantastic (1983), Make it Big (1984), Music from the Edge of Heaven (1986), The Final (1986).
Greatest Hits: Young Guns (1982); Bad Boys (1983), Careless Whisper (1984); Freedom (1984); Wake me Up Before You Go Go (1984); Last X-Mas (1984), I’m your Man (1985), The Edge of Heaven (1986). |
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| The Who 🇬🇧 UK 1964 |
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Albums: My generation (1965), A quick one (1966), The Who sell out (1967), Tommy (1969), Live at Leeds (1970), Who’s next (1971), Quadrophenia (1973), The Who by numbers (1975), Who are you? (1978), Face dances (1981), It’s hard (1982), Endless wire (2006).
Greatest Hits: My Generation (1965); Happy Jack (1966), Pictures of Lily (1967); Magic Bus (1968); Pinball Wizard (1969); I‘m Free (1969); Baba O‘Riley (1971); Join Together (1972); Who are You? (1978); You Better you Bet (1981). |
| Yello 🇨🇭 Switzerland 1978 |
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Albums: Solid Pleasure (1980), Claro que si (1981), You Gotta Say Yes to Another Excess (1983); Stella (1985); One Second (1987); Flag (1988); Baby (1991); Zebra (1994), Pocket Universe (1997); Motion Picture (1999), The Eye (2003); Touch Yello (2009), Toy (2016).
Greatest Hits: Bostich (1980), Lost Again (1983), Desire (1985); Viscious Games (1985); Oh Yeah (1987); The Race (1988). |
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| Yes 🇬🇧 UK 1968 |
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Albums: Yes (1969); Time And A Word (1970); The Yes Album (1971); Fragile (1972); Close to the Edge (1972); Yessongs (Live 1973); Tales from Topographic Oceans (1973); Relayer (1974); Going for the One (1977); Tormato (1978); Paris Session (Live 1979); Drama (1980); 90125 (1983); Big Generator (1987); Union (1991); Talk (1994); Open your Eyes (1997), The Ladder (1999), Magnification (2001), Fly from Here (2011), Heaven & Earth (2014).
Greatest Hits: Wonderous Stories (1977), Owner of a Lonely Heart (1983); Hearts (1983). |
| ZZ Top 🇺🇸 USA 1969 |
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Albums: ZZ Top’s First Album (1970), Rio Grande Mud (1972), Tres Hombres (1973), Tejas (1976), Degüello (1979), El Loco (1981), Eliminator (1983), Afterburner (1985), Recycler (1990), Antenna (1994), XXX (1999), Mescalero (2003), La Futura (2012). One of the most famous American bands.
Greatest Hits: La Grange (1975); Tush (1975); Gimme all Your Lovin (1983); Sharp Dressed Man (1984); Legs (1984), Viva Las Vegas (1992). |
See also: A-D Famous American Bands… | E-K Famous American Bands… | L-Q Famous American Bands… | R-S Famous American Bands…
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