Bands/Musicians List of Famous Bands from San Francisco Bay Area

Reference

10.3k views 386 items

1

Green Day Pop punk, Rock music, Alternative rock Green Day is an American rock band formed in 1986. Green Day's members include Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool. Green Day was originally part of the punk scene at the DIY ...more

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Grateful Dead Blues-rock, Rock music, Folk rock The Grateful Dead is an American rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, ...more

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Journey Rock music, Jazz fusion, Pop rock Journey is an American rock band that formed in San Francisco in 1973, composed of former members of Santana and Frumious Bandersnatch. The band has gone through several phases; its strongest ...more

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John Fogerty Americana, Blues-rock, Swamp pop John Cameron Fogerty is an American musician, songwriter, and guitarist, early in his career best known as the lead singer and lead guitarist for the band Creedence Clearwater Revival and later ...more

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Creedence Clearwater Revival Blues-rock, Blue-eyed soul, Swamp pop Creedence Clearwater Revival was an American rock band active in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The band consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty, rhythm ...more

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Jerry Garcia Blues-rock, Rock music, Folk rock Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician who was best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead, which came to prominence ...more

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Faith No More Nu metal, Rock music, Heavy metal Faith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1981. The band was originally named Faith No Man. Billy Gould, Roddy Bottum and Mike Bordin are the longest ...more

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Jefferson Airplane Blues-rock, Psychedelic folk, Rock music Jefferson Airplane is a musical band. The members have included Marty Balin, Paul Kantner, Spencer Dryden, Jack Casady, Grace Slick, Jorma Kaukonen and Skip Spence.

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Dead Kennedys Psychobilly, Anarcho-punk, Skate punk Dead Kennedys is an American hardcore punk band formed in San Francisco, California in 1978. The band became part of the American hardcore punk movement of the early 1980s. They gained a large ...more

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Sly & the Family Stone Psychedelic soul, Rock music, Rhythm and blues Sly and the Family Stone was an American band from San Francisco. Active from 1967 to 1983, the band was pivotal in the development of soul, funk, and psychedelic music. Headed by singer, ...more

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Steve Miller Band Classic rock, Heartland rock, Rock music The Steve Miller Band is an American rock band formed in 1966 in San Francisco, California. The band is managed by Steve Miller on guitar and lead vocals, and is best known today for a string of ...more

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Rancid Pop punk, Ska punk, Street punk Rancid is an American punk rock band formed in Berkeley, California, in 1991. Founded by 80s punk veterans Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman, who previously played in the highly influential ska ...more

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Papa Roach Nu metal, Rock music, Emo Papa Roach is an American rock band from Vacaville, California. Their first major-label release was the triple-platinum album Infest. The group's success continued with their gold album ...more

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Counting Crows Pop music, Rock music, Folk rock Counting Crows is an American rock band from Berkeley, California, formed in 1991. The band consists of Adam Duritz, David Bryson, Charlie Gillingham, Dan Vickrey, David Immerglück, Jim ...more

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Bassnectar Hip hop music, Electro hop, Electronic dance music Lorin Ashton, better known under his stage name Bassnectar, is an American DJ and record producer. He is best known for his live performances, light shows, and community engagement.

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Train Adult album alternative, Blues-rock, Rock music Train is an American pop rock band from San Francisco, formed in 1993. The band currently consists of Pat Monahan, Jimmy Stafford, Jerry Becker, Hector Maldonado, and Drew Shoals. With a lineup ...more

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Lindsey Buckingham New Wave, Pop music, Rock music Lindsey Adams Buckingham is an American musician, singer and songwriter, best known as guitarist and male vocalist of the musical group Fleetwood Mac from 1975 to 1987, and 1997 to the present ...more

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Huey Lewis & the News Doo-wop, Blues-rock, Blue-eyed soul Huey Lewis and the News is an American pop rock band based in San Francisco, California. They had a run of hit singles during the 1980s and early 1990s, eventually scoring a total of 19 top ten ...more

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Testament Thrash metal, Groove metal, Heavy metal Testament is an American thrash metal band from Berkeley, California. Formed in 1983 under the name Legacy, they are often credited as one of the most popular bands of the 1980s thrash metal ...more

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Phil Lesh and Friends Rock music, Folk rock, Jam band Phil Lesh and Friends is an American rock band formed and led by Phil Lesh, former bassist of the Grateful Dead. Phil & Friends is not a traditional group in that several different lineups ...more

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Sly Stone Rock music, Rhythm and blues, Soul music Sly Stone is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, most famous for his role as frontman for Sly and the Family Stone, a band which played a critical role in the development of ...more

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4 Non Blondes Blues-rock, Rock music, Grunge 4 Non Blondes was an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1989. The group was formed by bassist Christa Hillhouse, guitarist Shaunna Hall, drummer Wanda Day, and vocalist ...more

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E-40 Hip hop music, Mobb Music, Hyphy Earl Stevens better known by his stage name E-40, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, and investor from Vallejo, California. He is a founding member of the rap group The Click, and the founder ...more

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Third Eye Blind Rock music, Pop rock, Power pop Third Eye Blind is an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1993. The songwriting duo of Stephan Jenkins and Kevin Cadogan signed the band's first major label recording contract with ...more

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Huey Lewis Doo-wop, Blue-eyed soul, Pop music Hugh Anthony Cregg III, better known by his professional name of Huey Lewis, is an American musician, songwriter, and actor. Lewis sings lead and plays harmonica for his band, Huey Lewis and the ...more

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Moby Grape Rock music, Garage rock, Folk rock Moby Grape is an American rock group from the 1960s, known for having all five members contribute to singing and songwriting and that collectively merged elements of folk music, blues, country, ...more

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Tim Armstrong Pop punk, Ska punk, Street punk Timothy Lockwood Armstrong, is an American musician, songwriter, and producer. He is best known as the singer/guitarist for the punk rock band Rancid and hip hop/punk rock supergroup the ...more

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Exodus Thrash metal, Groove metal, Heavy metal Exodus is an American thrash metal band formed in 1980 in Richmond, California. Spanning a career of 35 years, Exodus has gone through numerous lineup changes, two extended hiatuses, and the ...more

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The Call New Wave, Rock music The Call was an American rock band from Santa Cruz, California active from 1980 to 2000.

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Trapt Nu metal, Rock music, Post-grunge Trapt is an American rock band that formed in Los Gatos, California in 1995, best known for their 2003 hit "Headstrong". The group consists of lead vocalist Chris Taylor Brown, bassist ...more

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Secondhand Serenade Rock music, Emo, Folk rock Secondhand Serenade is a rock band, led by vocalist, pianist and guitarist John Vesely. Vesely has released four studio albums to date under the name Secondhand Serenade: Awake in 2007, A Twist ...more

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The Dodos Psychedelic folk, Noise pop, Indie folk The Dodos are an American indie rock band consisting of Meric Long and Logan Kroeber.

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Mac Dre Hip hop music, Gangsta rap, G-funk Andre Louis Hicks, better known by his stage name Mac Dre, was an American rapper, and the initial founder of Thizz Entertainment, and the now defunct Romp Productions.

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Night Ranger Melodic Rock, Glam metal, Ballad Night Ranger is an American rock band from San Francisco that gained popularity during the 1980s with a series of albums and singles. The band's first five albums sold more than 10 million ...more

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Jello Biafra Industrial metal, Spoken word, Anarcho-punk Jello Biafra is the former lead singer and songwriter for San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys, and is currently a musician and spoken word artist. After he left the Dead Kennedys, he took ...more

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Graham Central Station Rock music, Rhythm and blues, Soul music Graham Central Station was an American funk band named after founder Larry Graham. The name is a pun on New York City's Grand Central Terminal, often colloquially called Grand Central Station. ...more

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Death Angel Nu metal, Thrash metal, Groove metal Death Angel is an American thrash metal band from Concord, California, initially active from 1982 to 1991 and again since 2001. Death Angel has released seven studio albums, two demo tapes, one ...more

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Big Brother and the Holding Company Blues-rock, Punk blues, Rock music Big Brother and the Holding Company is an American rock band that formed in San Francisco in 1965 as part of the same psychedelic music scene that produced the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver ...more

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Flamin' Groovies Blues-rock, Rock music, Rockabilly The Flamin' Groovies is an American rock music band whose peak was in the 1960s and 1970s. They began in San Francisco in 1965, founded by Ron Greco, Cyril Jordan and Roy Loney. They are perhaps ...more

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Spice 1 Hip hop music, Ragga, Gangsta rap Robert L. Green, Jr., better known by his stage name Spice 1, is an American rapper born in Corsicana, Texas. He has consistently been releasing solo and group albums since 1992. Spice 1 was ...more

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Ron "Pigpen" McKernan Rock music, Psychedelic rock, Blues Ronald Charles McKernan, nicknamed "Pigpen", was a founding member of the Grateful Dead. McKernan sang, and played organ and harmonica. He contributed a blues element to the group, ...more

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Jerry Garcia Band Rock music The Jerry Garcia Band was a San Francisco Bay Area rock band led by Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead. Garcia founded the band in 1975; it remained the most important of his various ...more

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Paul Desmond Cool jazz, West Coast jazz Paul Desmond was an American jazz alto saxophonist and composer, best known for the work he did in the Dave Brubeck Quartet and for composing that group's greatest hit, "Take Five". He ...more

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Mike Bordin Grunge, Funk metal, Heavy metal Mike Bordin is an American musician, best known as the drummer for rock band Faith No More. He is also known for playing with Ozzy Osbourne. Though a left-handed drummer, he uses a right-handed ...more

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Operation Ivy Ska punk, Punk rock, Hardcore punk Operation Ivy, sometimes called "Op Ivy," was an American ska punk band, from Berkeley, California formed in May 1987. The band was stylistically important as one of the first bands to ...more

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Mink DeVille Doo-wop, Rock music, Cabaret Mink DeVille was a rock band known for its association with early punk rock bands at New York’s CBGB nightclub and for being a showcase for the music of Willy DeVille. The band recorded six ...more

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Heidi Newfield Country Heidi Newfield is an American country music artist. She was lead singer, rhythm guitarist and harmonica player for the group Trick Pony, alongside Keith Burns and Ira Dean from 1996 until 2006, ...more

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Forbidden Thrash metal, Progressive metal, Groove metal Forbidden was a thrash metal band from the San Francisco Bay Area. Formed in 1985 as Forbidden Evil, the group was founded by Russ Anderson and Craig Locicero, who are both permanent members. ...more

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The Brian Jonestown Massacre Psychedelic folk, Shoegazing, Rock music The Brian Jonestown Massacre is an American neo-psychedelia band formed in San Francisco in 1990. The band's output spans psychedelic rock, folk rock and shoegaze. The Brian Jonestown Massacre ...more

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Bill Kreutzmann Rock music, Folk rock, Psychedelic rock William "Bill" Kreutzmann, Jr. is an American drummer who played with the rock band the Grateful Dead for their entire thirty-year career. He also plays with his own bands BK3, 7 ...more