Who is more influential Kate Bush or Stevie Nicks.
Was reading the FM thread. And they were discussing the impact Nicks had on women in reock and the Singer-songwriter movement during the 90's. But to my mind there is no female musician more influential than Bush. So i thought i'd put it to the forum ans see what everyone else thought.
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Plus Kate was not successful in the US so I would guess a large proportion of musicians would not have heard of her over there.
kate bush by a mile.... stevie nicks isnt even a close second... in fact i wouldnt place her in the top ten and other then fans i dont think anyone else would either.
Calm down. The OP did say that in their opinion KB was the most influential female so it makes sense to talk about other ones we deem as influential as well. We don't have to keep the discussion about two artists only.
Especially since Stevie Nicks is most remembered as a group member and not a solo artist unlike Kate.
Stevie Nick's influence in female rock singers is clear, if nothing else from the artists who either sang with her or recorded one of her songs, like the Dixie Chicks did with 'Landslide' for instance, and I think there are definite similarities in the sound and style of the music between Stevie Nicks and these artists.
I don't really see a similar line of influence with Kate Bush, I mean Tori Amos is only superficially compared because she's autonomous and experimental, but she sounds nothing like Kate. The thing with Kate Bush is she is unique and I don't really see many people copying her or using her to the same extent as Stevie Nicks.
So I guess over all in answer to this thread I would probably say Stevie, even though i love Kate just as much.
It's surprising though the line of influence Kate has. There is an asumption it begins and ends with the likes of Amos. But bands as far ranging as coldplay to Placebo have great respect and influence from here. Speed Of sound for instance was based on trying to pay homage to the percussion in RUTH. Plus there is a reverance and comparabilty to even pop acts like gaga who derive alot of their act from the 70's alt rock movement like Bush and Bowie. So even if it is not as overt as Nicks there is a definite link back to her in alot of todays music. And it's interesting that even now any experimental female is always inevitabilty compared unfairly or not to Bush. Plus her impac as a solo female performer doing it on her own in a male domianted era must not go unnoticed.
If it wasn't for kate bush, there would be no Toris amos, so whoever said Tori amos is more influential needs to think again
It's the same for other artists
If there was no Madonna, we would have no Britney or Katy perry
If there was no Dusty, we would have no Adele
Evidence? They are very different artists - plus Tori has more than enough talent, determination and hard work ethic to have made it anyway.
Kate is fantastic but as someone stated earlier she is kind of unique and if she hadn't existed there would still be loads of female artists out there today.
But Kate made it more accessible to artists like Tori. Kate wasn't your typical popstar. She was weird. Her songwriting was deep, dark and mystical and gave you so many images. She had this whole mime thing going on and her videos were out there. There was only really Bowie doing it at the time (in sense of the kooky weirdness alternative thing going in) and then Kate came along.
http://www.virginmedia.com/music/features/kate-bush-influential.php?page=3.
One reason KB was not so successful in the US is her refusal to tour.there or anywhere else. In the States you have to prove yourself live to stand any chance of recognition as it should be.for any artist. How many people have covered KB's songs compared to JM though? Not too many I suspect apart from TA.
Joni Mitchell is the far greater female musician and writer who has done it all in the genres of folk, rock and jazz, whether in the studio or live..Kate Bush isn't in the same league,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StugAUy7hsc
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=f_pX0rcEuIs
Isn't it time to accept that Kate is now a studio artist and live appearances just aren't her thing any more? I've read your posts slating her for not performing and it's like you take it as a personal insult. Very strange.
Kate Bush didn't come on the scene until years after Janis Joplin, Grace Slick, Patti Smith, etc. did, are you going to disregard and question her influence on rock music because of this? That's exactly what you've done with Stevie Nicks.
Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham actually released the acclaimed "Buckingham Nicks" album in 1973, two years before Patti Smith even recorded and released her debut album in 1975, the same year Stevie became well-known due to Fleetwood Mac's new-found popularity which Stevie Nicks was partly responsible for. Stevie had actually been around on the west coast music scene since the 1960s when she was a member of the band Fritz, a popular act in the San Francisco Bay area who toured and opened for the likes of Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix. While I'm a fan of Patti Smith and her music, she has never written the classic songs that Stevie has (Landslide, Rhiannon, Dreams, Gold Dust Woman, Sara, Gypsy, Edge of Seventeen, Leather and Lace, Stand Back, Rooms on Fire, etc). Like Stevie, Grace Slick became famous due to being a member of a successful rock band. What Grace failed to do, however, was launch a successful solo career away from the band she fronted. Stevie forged her own identity away from Fleetwood Mac as far back as the early 1980s. Stevie and Linda Ronstadt were the only female rock stars who were successfully selling out arenas as solo artists in the early 1980s (Tina Turner's comeback didn't occur until 1984).
You obviously know nothing about Stevie Nicks or her music if you have to question her influence on rock music. Courtney Love, Hole, The Smashing Pumpkins, Dave Grohl, Sheryl Crow, Tori Amos, Florence Welch, Chris Issak and Belinda Carlisle are just some of the people who have name-checked Stevie as an influence on their music. Other artists from dance to country to soul to R&B music have also named Stevie as a source of inspiration. Plus there's the fact that Stevie's backup band has included the likes of Roy Bittan (E Street Band), Russ Kunkel and Bob Glaub (Jackson Browne), Benmont Tench (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers), Waddy Wachtel and Bobbye Hal, all well-respected and highly regarded musicians in the rock community. Then there's Stevie's duets and collaborations with artists such as Tom Petty, Don Henley, Bob Welch, Todd Rundgren, John Stewart, B.B. King, Ringo Starr, Sheryl Crow, Sound City Players, etc.
Your distaste for the Buckingham Nicks period of Fleetwood Mac is stopping you seeing things objectively. You might not like Stevie Nicks but her influence on rock is undeniable. Like Kate Bush, Stevie is unique. She has the movements on stage, the outfits, the storytelling in her songwriting, the voice, the dramatics. Stevie does her own thing, always has. Plus she has one of most recognisable voices in music.
I really like Kate though and it does seem that US would say Stevie whilst the UK would say Kate
I do agree with those who have mentioned Joni Mitchell though, her legacy will be one of the greatest
It comes across that way when you are constantly bringing it up and acting as though she "owes" anyone anything more than what she already gives via her albums.
I think it's a shame she doesn't tour or perform live either but I also respect her right to live how she wants. If that includes no public appearances then so be it, however disappointing it can be to know I'll never get to see her in person.
I'm just kidding. Surprised nobody has said that, though. But in the UK probably Kate. In the US, definitely Stevie without question.