-
Sibling acts ranked
The Twins compared to other siblings
I would rank the Twins 5th as the greatest sibling combination in rock and roll history. And despite all the love you see from me here at this forum, they still only rank as my 3rd favorite sibling combo.
Although I personally like the Twins more than I do either the Everly Brothers or Heart, my sense of fair play forces me to rank the Everly Brothers at number 2 and Heart at number 3. The really sad thing about Heart is how the Wilson sisters- after decades of being very close- don’t speak to each other anymore. Apparently, Ann’s husband assaulted Nancy’s children after they carelessly let his dog off the tour bus and predictably- they stopped speaking and working together. That forces us to make a hard, fast rule for the Twins- no husbands, no dogs, no fussing and fighting- ever!
My second favorite sibling act ever are the Carpenters. I have to tell you that I was in love with Karen Carpenter’s voice. I think the song, Superstar is my favorite female vocal performance ever by anybody. Sadly, I can’t listen to them anymore. Her early death and the realization that she spent most of her life in various stages of depression hits me in a bad way.
I like the Carpenters more than Heart but would rank Heart above them in greatness. For most people that might seem pretty obvious but the Carpenters were amazingly popular at one time. Although they were made fun of by virtually everyone, they had more hit songs than all the other sibling combinations combined. I just don’t think their influence on rock/pop music was as great. The Everlys influenced everybody from Simon and Garfunkel to the Beatles to the MonaLisa Twins. You can really tell how much the Twins were influenced in their beautiful song, Dreams. And Heart completely changed the way women were viewed in rock music
So who is number 1? This guy named Michael McCartney recorded under the name Mike McGear and between him and his brother, had more than 30 #1 songs and sold close to a billion records. If you want to include them- and by what criteria can they not be included- you have to rank them at #1.
Nancy Wilson of Heart vs Lisa Wagner on guitar: the opening riff on Crazy on You is legendary and almost highhandedly makes Nancy a greater guitarist based on how much influence that had on the way female guitar players are viewed. With that said, I think Lisa is a far better guitar player and her Crazy on You moment may still lie ahead.These are my opinions and also, I am probably leaving out somebody- just thought of Michael and Janet Jackson. Might have to move them to #2. The Osmond Bothers- Donny and Marie- wouldn’t crack my top 6- but incredibly successful. Eddie and Alex van Halen- not especially a fan but boy were they successful.
Any thoughts or comments?
-
8 Replies
-
Ah now Tim. Very American orientated. But of course that’s to be expected from a young lad from North Carolina!
I’m going to have to disagree with you to an extent but will have to do some research before making a final call. Couldn’t help noticing though that you completely missed out the Bee Gees and a group of three sisters known for a time as ‘Holland’s BGs’. They had a massive hit in 1975, everywhere except America, and there’s a reason for that.
They were also the first Dutch group to have a number one hit in the UK, which was amazing as they were mainly a country style band and it was during the height of disco and the beginnings of Punk in the UK at the time.
There’s is an interesting story. Their father died just after the birth of the third daughter, who was born in 1953. Later their mother married a Polish immigrant who moved to Holland from the post war German army of reconstruction (Bundeswehr).
One of the first things he did was buy them each a guitar and got them a guitar teacher. When this teacher took them as far as he could he handed them over to another coach who eventually became their main songwriter/composer and wrote their major hits. His brother joined the band on guitar.
When they signed their record contract they stipulated two things. They wouldn’t work more than three days a week and wouldn’t tour America. Their families came first. This is why they never made it in America.
In the 70s being a fanatical Rolling Stones fan, my mates would have been among those who dissed The Carpenters. However, I agree with you that she was very talented and had a great voice. However, I can’t put the Carpenters above the MonaLisa Twins for reasons I’ll elaborate on in my next post.
As always Tim, another great topic. You do have a lot of time on your hands!
-
What about the Kinks……the Davies brothers.
-
Good one Mike. And MLT have a cover of ‘You Really Got Me’ in the bag that I’m looking forward to hearing. Would also like to see them cover ‘Waterloo Sunset’.
-
Ray and Dave Davies were a bit like the Everly Brothers in that they fought a lot. Their fighting wrecked their first tour of America and they didn’t get back in for about five years!
-
In Canada there was The Rankins…Leahy….Family Brown…though not rock but still..awesome family bands…There are more ???????? family acts …but these came to mind off the top of my head ????????✌️????
-
To make things fair Tim I think we need to set some sort of criteria so that we are comparing apples with apples and not apples with oranges. You did mention siblings so that means any number from two up. Not that there would be too many bands of note including three or more siblings. The Jackson Five being a notable exception I guess.
As good as Karen Carpenter may have been as a singer, and also as a more than competent drummer, she was not a lyricist or composer so loses points there for mine. Yes the Carpenters were very successfull commercially but I think you’d agree with me that commercial success doesn’t necessarily equate with quality in the music industry. I don’t think we need to bore everyone with examples.
As for Heart, yes, they were a decent rock group. Nancy was an excellent guitarist and probably one of the best ever female guitarists. The band was also very successful commercially.
Now to the Everly Brothers. Great harmonising brothers who had massive hits with other people’s songs and influenced others. End of their story for me.
Mike and Paul McCartney. Not a sibling combo. They were members of separate bands and that’s the criteria I rule them out. Same for Michael and Janet Jackson.
Now to the MonaLisa Twins:
They are a sibling combo
They co write (with Papa Rudi) all the material on their original albums.
They play all instruments on their albums, with some help from dad (and the occasional guest musicians).
The original material they record is all of a very high standard in terms of the writing, instrumentation and vocals (in particular the harmonising) and the production values (take a bow Rudi).
They are both cute and adorable.Looking at that criteria, the only group I think might be ahead of them at the moment is the Bee Gees who also write their own material and have some brilliant harmonising going on and an extensive back catalogue of hits. However, they aren’t multi-instrumentalists and aren’t as cute and adorable as MLT.
The MonaLisa Twins are only 24 and given time, I believe they will overtake the Bee Gees if they can manage to keep their dream alive and avoid all of the potential pitfalls ahead of them. Many of which you have already flagged Tim. I think Rudolf and Michaela will assist here, along with many of their passionate supporters. However, the twins have shown just how focused and passionate they are about their dreams for over ten years now so I’m confident nothing is beyond their potential.
I rest my case!
The reason I left the Kinks out is that Ray Davies was the sole writer/composer (with the exception of Dave’s ‘Death of a Clown’) and the sole lead singer. Personally I’d put them ahead of the Bee Gees but have to concede the Bee Gees were more popular and score points for their beautiful harmonising.
Just my opinion Tim. Others of course, like you, will have their own!
-
Hey Howard- we’ve gotta keep meeting like this!
I’m going to go with everything you said except one thing- if you’re going to move the Twins to #2, let’s go for the gold and move them up to #1. Their covers of the Beatles have been exceptional and while many people like Robin Gibb’s version of Oh Darling, their overall inability to cover the Beatles on the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band Soundtrack sends the Twins ahead of them.
Mona & Lisa also gain the advantage by making quality albums. I’m not sure I can name a single album by the Bee Gees (well, Saturday Night Fever but that had other artists on it so I’ll conveniently eliminate it). Orange and When We’re Together are loaded with exceptional songs but they also work together as more than just a collection of songs.
-
You won’t get any arguments from me there Tim. #1 it is for Mona and Lisa.
I agree with you about the quality of their albums and I have a feeling another one is in gestation. Can’t wait!
Log in to reply.
