Originally Posted by
Stormcall
When they say "only one band IS rock and roll", I don't think it's a claim to be the most influential band, just that, if you were going to try to explain "rock and roll" to an alien, or some lost tribal group in the Amazon, or whatever, someone who had no idea what "rock and roll" was, this would be the band you would probably point to.
And honestly, The Stones can make a pretty good case for it. They've basically NEVER been anything but "pure rock and roll"...they never tried to be arty or progressive, they didn't try to do world music or trippy LSD music, they never focused on being neoclassical virtuosos, they've pretty much always been just straight ahead rock and roll. And not just in the music, either, in their whole image and persona, the swagger and machismo, the whole "sex, drugs, and rock and roll" lifestyle, they've done all that and are known for it as well.
The Beatles probably had more influence/impact, but they did pop early on, and got a lot more experimental/progressive later in their career(don't mean this as a negative, either), and were never the stereotypical "rock and roll" band. In terms of influence/importance, I would probably rank them higher, but if I was gonna point to one band off this list as "the definition of rock and roll", it would likely be The Stones(The Who could make a decent case for it too, and I prefer them as a band, but even they don't quite scream "rock and roll" like The Stones do)