The Greatest American Rock Band Bracket!
Second Round, Classic Rock Division

Grateful Dead (3) vs. the Cars (6)

Jam band pioneers versus the New Wave hitmakers
The Grateful Dead:
"The Grateful Dead was... known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, country, jazz, bluegrass, blues, rock & roll, gospel, reggae, world music, and psychadelia for live performances of lengthy instrumental jams; and for its devoted fans base, known as "Deadheads." These various influences were distilled into a diverse and psychedelic whole that made the Grateful Dead the pioneering godfathers of the jam band world."
​​--Wikipedia.com

Popularity
  • Among the highest-grossing American touring acts for multiple decades
  • Second highest-grossing touring act of the 1990s
  • One top-40 single
  • Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, 2007

Influence:
  • Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 1994
  • Ranked #57 in Rolling Stone's "Greatest Artists" list
  • Added to the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress, 2012
  • Invented the jam-band genre of rock
The Cars:
"With their sleek, mechanical sound inspired by proto-punk, garage rock, and bubblegum pop, Boston-based quintet the Cars racked up a string of platinum albums and Top 40 singles, becoming the most successful American new wave band of the late '70s and early '80s. They had enough rock & roll attitude to cross over to album rock radio, while still being heavily influenced by the art rock of artists like Suicide, the Velvet Underground, and Roxy Music. Their first two albums were new wave classics; their fifth album, 1984's Heartbeat City, was a modern pop masterpiece."
--AllMusic.com

Popularity
  • Over 24 million records sold worldwide
  • 13 top-40 singles
  • Four top-ten singles
  • Four Grammy Awards

Influence:
  • Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 2018
  • Best New Artist, 1978 Rolling Stone Readers' Poll

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