Duke Ellington said that there are only two kinds of music: good and bad. My belief is that the difference lies in the honesty of the music making. Does the composer or performer really mean it, or are they just showing off? Does he or she want to communicate genuine feeling or just make a pretense of doing so?

But in order to determine “greatness,” I suggest expanding the criteria to include three things: musical interest, originality, and integrity. And this applies to all music: classical music, jazz, popular music – all kinds of music making.

This paper will attempt to show that there was one American rock band that fulfills these criteria in the years around 1967-1972, when there were a large number of contenders for the title.

I shall start by soliciting a vote from audience members as to their choice for “greatest American rock band,” and then discuss my own choice and attempt to justify it by playing and discussing examples of this band’s work.

At the end we shall tally the audience’s votes.