The Most “Classic Rock” artists post-classic rock, of each generation

What is classic rock? Well, it means different things to different people, but for me the core of classic rock is 60s and 70s rock music. Because it’s an era of the past, there can be no new classic rock music, or can there be? As a classic rock devotee, I’m always on the lookout for songs that remind me of classic rock that are not from the classic rock era, which is why I’ve been curating a mega-playlist called “This isn’t classic rock?” for the past few years. This playlist combines mainstream music that sounds very classic rock alongside independently released music that sounds like classic rock. Over 900 songs are on this playlist, showing that the spirit of classic rock is still very much alive.

The time of rock and roll being the dominant genre has long since passed. It’s sad but tastes change and art evolves as it always has. I admire artists who stay true to themselves and create what they want to create on their own terms, the opinions of mainstream audiences be damned! As Bobbie Gentry once sang in “Fancy”, “to thine own self be true”. Those are words I live by. I dress in mostly vintage clothing and faithful reproductions of it and I still listen to classic rock most of the time. That’s how I’ve been since I was a teenager and I don’t see that ending anytime soon. I’m well beyond the age of caring what others think. But I know that there are others just like me out there.

Who is the most “classic rock” artist of each post-classic rock era/generation?

One question that has popped in my head is who is the most “classic rock” artist of their generation? This is a question that might make absolutely no sense to you, but hear me out. Classic rock is the music of the boomer generation, people born in the 1940s and early 1950s. You’ll see this core classic rock generation amongst the lineups of these bands, although there are some musicians who got famous quite early in life as teenagers and quite late in life, in their late 20s and beyond. One fact that blows my mind is that Marty Wilde and Ian Hunter were both born in the same year, 1939. Marty seems like he’d be much older than Ian, but the truth is because Marty (one of the OG British rock and roll stars) got famous as a teenager in the late 50s and Ian Hunter (of Mott The Hoople) got famous in the early 70s when he was in his 30s, one seems way older than the other. For another example, Brenda Lee and Ric Ocasek were both born in 1944. Brenda Lee was famous ever since she was a child. Her music career started in the 1950s. Ric Ocasek’s band The Cars released their first album in 1978. Want one more? Ritchie Valens was born only 11 days before Bob Dylan. Ringo Starr and John Lennon were born before Ritchie Valens.

When I’m talking about who was the most “classic rock”, I really mean who not only took inspiration from classic rock, but really stayed true to it when writing and performing. Bonus points for adopting the aesthetic of classic rock.

There have been quite a few generations since classic rock’s heyday and that means looking at a lot of bands. For the purposes of this blog post I want to focus on well-known, high profile acts. There are many smaller bands who embody classic rock, but when you’re indie you have a lot more freedom to do what you want. Meanwhile with bands signed to major labels, there’s pressures. Plus I think these artists have the potential to really be considered classic rock too. You don’t have to agree with me on my choices, but hear me out. Of course, you can have your say in the comments section below. I love reading your thoughts and reflecting and learning from them!

The Most “Classic Rock” Late Boomer band: The Jam

Who’s a late boomer?

Late boomers are those born in the mid-late 50s to early 60s. The late boomer cohort is also known as Generation Jones. They would have come of age in the mid-late 70s and early 80s. They were a little too young to properly appreciate Beatlemania, but might have some memories of it. They’ll definitely know late 60s and early 70s music. They typically would have started their careers in the late 70s. Some groups from this generation are definitely classic rock, but I just wanted an excuse to talk about one of my favourite bands, The Jam.

What makes The Jam classic rock?

They’re considered mod revival and the OG mods were from the mid 60s, so at least a decade has passed since the mod subculture’s prime. There have been many rock subgenres in between the OG mods and mod revival: blues rock, psychedelic rock, prog rock, glam rock, jazz fusion, and punk rock to name a few.

Paul Weller has been really vocal about who his influences are: The Small Faces, The Who, and The Kinks. Those groups are the basis of The Jam’s sound and image. Paul Weller had a haircut like Steve Marriott’s. Paul Weller’s outfits look like they’re straight outta 60s Carnaby Street. Paul Weller loves his influences’ influences. You’ll see in this article from Far Out Magazine that alongside The Kinks, he cites Little Richard, Charles Mingus, John Coltrane, and Marvin Gaye as influences. Classic rockers often love jazz and R&B. In this list, he says his favourites are The Beatles, The Kinks, and Motown. I can only imagine Paul Weller was so excited to meet Pete Townshend, one of his biggest influences and there’s a story behind that photo in front of The Marquee Club. Come on, The Jam’s logo copies The Who’s! He and Bruce Foxton made it a point to get Rickenbacker guitars just like The Beatles and The Who.

Looking through their discography, they’ve covered:

• Larry Williams’ “Slow Down” (a favourite of The Beatles)
• Wilson Pickett’s “In The Midnight Hour”
• The Kinks’ “David Watts” (one of those times where I’d argue the cover is better than the original), “Waterloo Sunset”, and “Dead End Street”
• Martha and the Vandellas “Heat Wave” (The Who covered this in 1966)
• The Who’s “So Sad About Us” and “Disguises”
• The Small Faces’ “Get Yourself Together”
• The Beatles’ “Rain” and “And Your Bird Can Sing”

I don’t think I need to say any more.

The Most “Classic Rock” Gen X band: Oasis

Who’s a Gen X?

Gen X are the generation after the Boomers. They would have been born around the mid 60s to 1980. They came of age in the 80s and 90s. They’re also known as the MTV generation or latchkey kid generation. The latter because divorce and both parents working became much more common. They often feel like an ignored middle child because they’re stuck between the Boomers and the Millennials.

What makes Oasis classic rock?

Does this really need to be asked? Oasis were like The Beatles but with Kinks characteristics. What I mean by that is musically, their roots are The Beatles and the Kinks characteristics are the sibling rivalry. Noel and Liam Gallagher were the Ray and Dave Davies of the 90s. There was a whole rivalry in the music press: Oasis vs Blur, kind of Gen X’s Beatles vs Stones (although Blur are more like The Kinks sound wise). Boomers were having deja vu looking at that. While Oasis don’t have the longest discography and they kinda fell off after a couple of albums, their first two albums were incredible and massive successes. People were wondering when Noel and Liam would reunite and this year, Oasis fans’ wishes finally came true. We got an Oasis reunion before GTA 6!

Liam Gallagher’s obsession with John Lennon is a meme in the Oasis fandom. Just look at the video below. You can even see that his look is very casual mod and takes some inspiration from The Beatles and Paul Weller.

You look at the Gallaghers’ influences, it’s pretty much exactly the same as Paul Weller’s, except add The Smiths and The Stone Roses (two other groups that really do take inspiration from the 60s).

If you’re not convinced, here are classic rock references in Oasis’ discography:

• The outro of “Rock ‘n’ Roll Star” lowkey references The Rolling Stones’ “It’s Only Rock and Roll (But I Like It)”
• “Shakermaker” references “Mr Clean” by The Jam
• “Supersonic” references “Yellow Submarine”
• “Cigarettes and Alcohol” uses the riff from T. Rex’s “Get It On”
• “Take Me Away” quotes “I’d like to be under the sea” from The Beatles’ “Octopus’s Garden”
• “Hello” quotes Gary Glitter’s “Hello! Hello! I’m Back Again”
• “Roll With It” references the lyric “It’s all too much for me to take” from The Beatles’ “It’s All Too Much”
• “Wonderwall” takes its name from a 1968 film that George Harrison did the soundtrack for. It was also the first Beatles solo album.
• The lyric “gonna start a revolution from my bed” from “Don’t Look Back in Anger” is a reference to John and Yoko’s bed-in protests
• The lyric “I’ll be you and you’ll be me” from “She’s Electric” is (in my opinion) a reference to the lyric “I’ll see you and you’ll see me” from The Kinks’ “Wonderboy”
• “Morning Glory” name drops The Kinks’ “Sunny Afternoon” and The Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows”
• “D’You Know What I Mean?” name drops: Bob Dylan’s “Blood On The Tracks”, The Beatles’ “Fool On The Hill” and “I Feel Fine”, and The Small Faces “My Mind’s Eye”.
• “My Big Mouth” references The Beatles’ “The Long and Winding Road”
• “Fade In-Out” references The Beatles’ “Helter Skelter”. Bruce Springsteen’s “Blinded By The Light” is namedropped too.
• “Be Here Now” references The Beatles’ Let It Be

Which classic rockers have Oasis covered?

• “Heroes” by David Bowie
• “Within You Without You” by The Beatles
• “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” by The Beatles
• “Helter Skelter” by The Beatles
• “I Am The Walrus” by The Beatles
• Liam and Noel have joined forces with Ocean Colour Scene to cover “Day Tripper”
• Noel and Paul Weller have covered “All You Need is Love”
• Noel and Stereophonics have covered “I’m Only Sleeping”
• “Help!” by The Beatles
• “Merry Christmas Everybody” by Slade
• “Cum On Feel The Noize” by Slade
• “My Generation” by The Who
• “Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black)” by Neil Young
• “Street Fighting Man” by The Rolling Stones
• Noel joined Paul Weller, Kenney Jones, and Ian McLagan to cover The Small Faces’ “All Or Nothing” and “Become Like You”
• Noel has covered “Love Will Tear Us Apart” by Joy Division

Need I say any more?

The Most “Classic Rock” Millennial Musician: Lana Del Rey

Who’s a millennial?

People born between 1981-1995. We grew up in the golden age of Nickelodeon and the Disney Renaissance. We’re the last generation to have played outside and know a life before always being connected to the internet. We’re digital natives, seeing the evolution of the internet before our eyes and navigating computers and smartphones like a boss! We grew up being the IT guys of the house. We’re the Peter Pan generation, always being infantilised by the older generations. We’re the generation of killing all the industries. The most educated generation and arguably the most screwed over, our whole lives being unprecedented times. For millennials the “ball and chain” is student loan debt, not their spouse! If you’re a 90s kid who remembers 9/11 and dial-up internet, you’re a millennial!

What makes Lana Del Rey classic rock?

While her music isn’t quite classic rock in sound, the aesthetic and the lyrics is where you’ll find the spirit of classic rock. Lana Del Rey is a classic rock fan and gets the era.

Lana Del Rey’s brand is mid 20th century Americana mixed with Old Hollywood, and truly she takes inspiration from across the country from Miami to LA to Las Vegas to New York to the Louisana Bayou. Her style takes inspiration from icons like Priscilla Presley, Nancy Sinatra, Bobbie Gentry, and Jackie Kennedy. Her lyrics reference literature and classic rock, perfect for the vintage bookworm. The tragic, sad girl nature of her music is straight outta 1968. The lyrics are sensual and emotional. She shares a birthday with Ray Davies. Musically she’s influenced by Elvis Presley, The Beach Boys, Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed, The Eagles, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Jim Morrison, and The Moody Blues. She’s also a big jazz and R&B fan, citing Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, and Amy Winehouse (another great millennial musician who really understood the classic rock era) as influences.

Not only has she taken a lot of inspiration from classic rock, but she is an inspiration to the current generation of musicians. She is easily one of the top musicians of the 2010s.

Here are some examples of Lana Del Rey’s classic rock and oldies influences in her lyrics:

In playlist format:

• “Born to Die” mentions Lou Reed’s “Walk On The Wild Side” and sampled “Long Red” by Mountain
• “Off to the Races” mentions Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone”
• “Blue Jeans” mentions The Grass Roots’ “I’d Wait A Million Years”
• “Video Games” mentions Belinda Carlisle’s “Heaven is a Place On Earth”
• In “Million Dollar Man” she quotes “one for the money, and two for the show” from “Blue Suede Shoes”, written by Carl Perkins and popularised by Elvis Presley
• “Summertime Sadness” mentions Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark”
• “Lucky Ones” has a lyric that goes “Higher and Higher”, which is both a Jackie Wilson song and a Moody Blues song
• “American” opens with the lyrics “Play House”. Elvis had a song called “Baby Let’s Play House”. She quotes Tom Petty’s “Mary Jane’s Last Dance”. Maybe this one’s a stretch but “Golden Brown” is the title of a Stranglers song. She also name drops Springsteen and Elvis.
• “Cola” references The Beatles’ “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds”. Perhaps the lyric “we made it out to the other side” is a reference to The Doors’ “Break On Through To The Other Side”
• “Body Electric” opens with the lyric “Elvis is my daddy”
• “Bel Air” references Guns n Roses’ “Sweet Child o’ Mine”
• “Gods & Monsters” mentions Jim Morrison
• “Ultraviolence” quotes the line “he hit me and it felt like a kiss” from The Crystals song of the same name and she name drops Woodstock
• “Brooklyn Baby” has retro all over it with mentions of the 70s, beat poetry, and jazz music. She name drops The Who’s “My Generation”. She wrote it with Lou Reed in mind and name dropped him in the song. She wanted to record it with him, but he died before it could happen.
• “West Coast” has a bit that is just like The Beatles’ “And I Love Her”
• “Guns and Roses” is clearly a reference to “Guns N’ Roses”
• “Flipside” name drops Springsteen.
• “Honeymoon” mentions a “Mr Born to Lose”. “Born to Lose” is the name of a Johnny Thunders song.
• “Music to Watch Boys To” is a reference to a Bob Crewe song “Music to Watch Girls By”
• “Terrence Loves You” quotes the famous line from David Bowie’s “Space Oddity”, “Ground control to Major Tom”
• “God Knows I Tried” references The Eagles’ “Hotel California” and “Tequila Sunrise”
• Maybe a bit of a stretch but “Freak” has a lyric that goes “you’re cold as ice, baby” and “Cold As Ice” is the name of a Foreigner song.
• “Art Deco” has a lyric “Born to Be Wild”, the name of a Steppenwolf song
• “Religion” mentions Bob Dylan’s “Lay Lady Lay”
• The Blackest Day” mentions Billie Holiday
• “Swan Song”, while it is an expression, that’s the name of the record label Led Zeppelin founded
• Her 2017 album Lust For Life is named after the 1977 Iggy Pop album and song of the same name
• “Lust For Life” references The Angels’ “My Boyfriend’s Back”
• “Cherry” has a lyric that goes “I Fall To Pieces”, which is the title of a Patsy Cline song and some lyrics are reminiscent of “Summer Wine” and “Scarborough Fair”
• “Summer Bummer” reminds me a bit of “Bummer in the Summer” by Love. It also references Bob Marley’s “Is This Love”
• “Groupie Love” references Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” and Billy Joel’s “My Life”
• “Coachella – Woodstock On My Mind” references Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven”. Maybe this is a stretch, but I could see “what about these children, and all their children’s children” being a reference to the legendary Moody Blues album To Our Children’s Children’s Children.
• “God Bless America – and All The Beautiful Women In It” references Martha and the Vandellas’ “Nowhere To Run”
• A bit of a stretch but there’s a line “Do It Again” from “When the World Was At War, We Kept Dancing”, that’s the title of a Beach Boys song, Steely Dan song, and a Kinks song
• “Beautiful People Beautiful Problems” features guest vocals from Stevie Nicks and the lyrics remind me of Donovan’s “Colours”
• “Tomorrow Never Came” references Bob Dylan’s “Lay Lady Lay”, Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer”, Morrissey’s “Every Day Is Like Sunday”, and Freddie Mercury’s “Love Me Like There’s No Tomorrow”. It’s a duet with Sean Ono Lennon and she namechecks John and Yoko.
• “Heroin” – There’s a Velvet Underground song with that same title. She also references Mötley Crüe and Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me To The Moon”. There’s also a reference to Charles Manson, who had quite a few classic rock connections. There’s also a mention of “evil ways”, the title of a Santana song.
• The opening lyrics of “Change” remind me a bit of Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” and there’s a reference to Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come”
• “Get Free” references Neil Young’s “Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black)” and “My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)”. Maybe a stretch but the lyric of “chasing rainbows” makes me think of Nirvana’s “Rainbow Chaser”
• “Mariners Apartment Complex” references Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind”. There’s a lyric “I’m Your Man”, the title of a Leonard Cohen song, and in another instance she sings “…baby I’m your man”, which is a lyric from The Pretty Things’ “Come See Me”
• “Venice Bitch” references Tommy James and the Shondells’ “Crimson and Clover” and the “la la la la” bit makes me think of Minnie Riperton’s “Lovin’ You”
• “Fuck It I Love You” references “Dream A Little Dream Of Me”, which Cass Elliot sang in the 60s, and The Mamas and the Papas’ “California Dreamin’”
• “Doin’ Time” is a cover of a Sublime song that references George Gershwin’s “Summertime”
• “Love Song” has a lyric that says “once in a lifetime, which is a common expression, but it’s also a Talking Heads song.
• “Cinnamon Girl” is also the name of a Neil Young song
• “How to Disappear” has a mention of “California Sun”, a song popularised by The Rivieras
• “California” is the name of a Joni Mitchell song. It also references John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s famous billboard “War is Over (If You Want It)”
• “The Next Best American Record” references Led Zeppelin’s Houses of the Holy and The Eagles
• “The Greatest” references The Beach Boys and “Kokomo” and David Bowie’s “Life On Mars?”
• “Bartender” references Joni Mitchell’s Ladies of the Canyon, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, and Heart’s “Love Alive”.
• “White Dress” mentions jazz musician Sun Ra
• “Tulsa Jesus Freak” mentions Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind”
• “Let Me Love You Like A Woman” mentions Prince’s “Purple Rain”
• “Yosemite” mentions Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind”
• “Breaking Up Slowly” references Neil Sedaka’s “Breakin’ Up Is Hard To Do”
• “Dance Till We Die” mentions Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, and Stevie Nicks and references Bob Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone”
• “Text Book” references Hammerstein’s “Ol’ Man River”
• “If You Lie Down With Me” has a part that reminds me of Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Boxer”
• “Violets For Roses” references Thunderclap Newman’s “Something in the Air”
• “Sweet Carolina” has a line about “baby blues” and “Baby Blue” is a Badfinger song and the title is similar to Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline”
• “The Grants” references John Denver’s “Rocky Mountain High”
• “Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd” references The Eagles’ “Hotel California” and Harry Nilsson and John Lennon
• “A&W” references Little Anthony & The Imperials “Shimmy Shimmy Ko-Ko Bop”
• “Jon Batiste Interlude” references Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark”
• “Fingertips” is also the title of Stevie Wonder song
• “Paris, Texas” has a lyric that goes “Summer Breeze”, which is the title of a Seals and Crofts song
• “Let The Light In” mentions The Beatles
• “Fishtail” mentions Ella Fitzgerald
• “Taco Truck x VB” mentions Tommy James and the Shondells’ “Crimson and Clover”
• “Bluebird” is also the name of a Paul McCartney & Wings song

Bonus: “Butterflies Pt 2” isn’t on Spotify, but you’ll see that she mentions The Kinks’ “Lola”.

Classic rock fans are totally doing the Leonardo DiCaprio pointing at the TV thing when listening to Lana Del Rey! The breadth of the classic rock references in her discography really shows that she loves classic rock.

Lana Del Rey covered oldies and classic rock too!

• She covered Tony Bennett’s “Blue Velvet”
• She covered Kitty White’s “The Other Woman” (made popular by Nina Simone)
• She covered Nina Simone’s “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” (made popular by The Animals)
• She covered Donovan’s “Season of the Witch”
• She covered Nancy Sinatra’s “Summer Wine”
• She covered John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads”

I rest my case!

The Most “Classic Rock” Gen Z band: The Lemon Twigs

Who’s a Zoomer (Gen Z)?

Gen Z are the culturally dominant generation at the moment, born from the late 90s to the late 2000s. They’re a generation who have grown up with smartphones. They haven’t known a world without the internet. They’re the TikTok generation. They’re the teetotal generation. They’re the most diverse and the queerest generation. They’re socially and politically aware, much like their millennial counterparts. They’re a nostalgic generation who love the 90s and many also love earlier eras. Why is that? If anyone’s been more screwed over than the Millennials, it’s Gen Z.

What makes The Lemon Twigs classic rock?

There are quite a few mainstream Gen Z acts who are clearly classic rock inspired like Greta Van Fleet and Måneskin, but I’m gonna be a bit biased and choose a band with a wider breadth of classic rock references. Classic rock is much more than hard rock and I’m gonna be biased, but I love rock and roll that’s Beatlesque since they are the band that got me into classic rock and in my humble opinion, they’re the band that have shaped classic rock the most. Without The Beatles, the music world would be a very different place.

The Lemon Twigs are made up of brothers Brian and Michael D’Addario, sons of Ronnie D’Addario, who played guitar with Tommy Makem of The Clancy Brothers. Ronnie has also had his music featured in TV shows and has made quite a few TV appearances himself. The Lemon Twigs have appeared on quite a few talk shows and they’ve received praise from classic rockers like Elton John, Iggy Pop, The Zombies, Alice Cooper, and Todd Rundgren. Musically, they’ve been compared to The Wings, Supertramp, Big Star, and The Ramones.

Much like a lot of their classic rock idols, they started their professional career at a young age, with their first album Do Hollywood being released in 2016 when Brian was 19 and Michael was 17. That album was released on the legendary 4AD record label. They’ve shared the bill with great rock acts like Sunflower Bean, The Killers, My Chemical Romance, Arctic Monkeys, and Phoenix. They’ve also had Todd Rundgren join them on the stage at Coachella and they’ve worked with him, Big Star drummer Jody Stephens, Sean Ono Lennon, and Matt Jardine (son of Al Jardine). I’ve talked about them in the past on the blog and it’s good to revisit them again.

In short, their aesthetic is very 70s inspired with their outfits and hairstyles looking like they’re straight out of the decade. Musically, they take inspiration from The Beatles, The Beach Boys, power pop, art rock, and glam rock, but they make it theirs. What a great combination of influences, like the best of mid-20th century pop music! Put their discography on shuffle, you can’t go wrong! Throughout their discography you’ll find classic rock elements: fuzz guitar, harmonies, movements, vintage synthesisers, harpsichords. They give me a lot of hope!

So that’s my take on who is the most classic rock of the post-classic rock generations. What do you think? Who isn’t classic rock, but they’re classic rock coded and embody classic rock? Have your say in the comments section below!

Liked this blog post and want to support independent classic rock journalism? Donate to The Diversity of Classic Rock on Patreon or Paypal or follow me on Facebook, Bluesky, or Instagram, buy my book Crime of the Century, click the follow button on my website, leave a nice comment, send your music or classic rock related books for review, or donate your art and writing talents to the blog.

If you donate any amount to my Patreon or PayPal, you’ll get a Crime of the Century ebook, so it’s pay what you can! The best deal you’ll get on the book and you won’t find this deal anywhere else! I just want to give back to my readers and say thank you for your support.