Yussef Dayes　

Yes　

Far and away the longest lasting and the most successful of the ’70s progressive rock groups, Yes proved to be one of the lingering success stories from that musical genre. The band, founded in 196 ..more

Yardbirds　

The Yardbirds are mostly known to the casual rock fan as the starting point for three of the greatest British rock guitarists： Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page. Undoubtedly, t ..more

Wishbone Ash　

During the early and mid-’70s, Wishbone Ash were among England’s most popular hard rock acts. The group’s roots dated to the summer of 1966, when drummer Steve Upton formed a band called Empty ..more

The Who　

Few rock ＆ roll bands were riddled with as many contradictions as the Who. All four members had wildly different personalities, as their notorious live performances demonstrated： Keith Moon fell ..more

Wham　

Wham! sparked something of a pop revival in the mid-’80s and could arguably be held responsible for sparking off the boy band trend of the ’90s. They were unashamedly pop, to the point of ..more

Waysted　

Waysted was a short-lived and rather obscure British heavy metal outfit from the mid-’80s. Led by former UFO bassist Pete Way (hence the spelling of the group’s name), the band’s original ..more

Warhorse　

Formed in 1970 around ex-Deep Purple bassist Nick Simper, Warhorse were understandably close to early Deep Purple in their blend of keyboard-colored progressive rock and early heavy metal. ..more

The Velvet Underground　

Few rock groups can claim to have broken so much new territory, and maintain such consistent brilliance on record, as the Velvet Underground during their brief lifespan. It was the group’s lot to b ..more

Van Morrison　

Equal parts blue-eyed soul shouter and wild-eyed poet-sorcerer, Van Morrison is among popular music’s true innovators, a restless seeker whose incantatory vocals and alchemical fusion of R＆B, jazz, ..more

Van Der Graaf Generator　

An eye-opening trip to San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury during the summer of 1967 inspired British-born drummer Chris Judge Smith to compose a list of possible names for the rock group he wished to f ..more

Valerie Carter / Faragher Bros.　

Utopia (Rock)　

Stardom was handed to him with Something/Anything?, but Todd Rundgren rejected it. He wanted to explore new musical territory instead, and his adventures led him to form Utopia in 1974. Initi ..more

UK　

Featuring members of Yes, King Crimson, Roxy Music, and Soft Machine, U.K. was one of the most prominent progressive rock supergroups of the late ’70s. Various members of U.K. -- ..more

U2　

Through a combination of zealous righteousness and post-punk experimentalism, U2 became one of the most popular rock ＆ roll bands in the world -- equally known for their sweeping sound as for thei ..more

Transatlantic　

Drummer Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater, Liquid Tension Experiment) had a brainstorm that gave birth to the band Transatlantic. He envisioned a band of himself, Neal Morse (Spock’s Beard ..more

TOTO　

Tom Waits　

In the 1970s, Tom Waits combined a lyrical focus on desperate, low-life characters with a persona that seemed to embody the same lifestyle, which he sang about in a raspy, gravelly voice. From the ..more

Tom Petty　

Upon the release of their first album in the late ’70s, Tom Petty ＆ the Heartbreakers were shoehorned into the punk/new wave movement by some observers who picked up on the tough, vibrant energy of ..more

Todd Rundgren　

Todd Rundgren’s best-known songs -- the Carole King pastiche I Saw the Light, the ballads Hello, It’s Me and Can We Still Be Friends, and the goofy novelty Bang on the Drum All Day -- su ..more