San Francisco Area Rocks with East Bay Musicians T
he 1960s brought a lot of rock and roll bands out of the East Bay in the San Francisco area. Later in the decade, many of those went on to be stars at Woodstock. You can still hear them regularly on the classic rock radio stations. The East Bay seems to be a hotspot for musicians to gather and create.
The styles of music that evolved during this time encompassed everything from country rock bands like Country Joe and the Fish and Creedence Clearwater Revival to soul and funk from bands like Sly and the Family Stone and Tower of Power. Blues rock bands such as Big Brother and the holding company also became popular. They went on to back up Janis Joplin. Since that time, new acts have hit the scene, and they are doing equally well. Later, in the 70s, you had musicians from Oakland like The Pointer Sisters who became popular with a completely different kind of sound that included a rhythm and blues influence. Also notable from the 70s are Eddie Money and The Greg Kihn Band
The East Bay also brought us a lot of bands and solo acts in the 1980s. Green Day, MC Hammer and Metallica are perhaps the most popular of those. Also widely known are Joe Satriani and Primus. Considered to be from the San Francisco Bay Area but originally from Los Angeles is Metallica. The 90s had its contribution, too, and the big acts from this era included Counting Crows, En Vogue and the hard rock band Machine Head. It didn’t end there, though, as new bands are still forming and hitting the big time in Oakland, San Francisco and the East Bay area. Because that locale seems to breed creativity, it will probably always be melting pot for musicians.