Which band IS really America's Greatest (rock & roll band)?


When I consider my priorities for this category, I cannot come up with any other than CCR.

Their output as a band was short compared to others, yes..

When I say America's greatest rock & roll band, this = the output or even the basis on which a band formed, had in their DNA, America's roots! It doesn't even matter that we now know CCR formed in California, their DNA as a band transformed their birthplace but it more importantly brought forth the (soul) of get down and dirty) Rock & Roll in it's raw form!

HELL YEAH!
128x128slaw
Aerosmith is my favorite. I am a millennial but I grew up listening to it thanks to my grandpa. 
Several have mentioned The Doors. I love The Doors, I just don't consider them to be a true R&R band.
Jesus is this thread all over the place but America and allot aren't even true " Rock " bands , we need to set some parameters of what " an American rock band " represents to the era of Rock .

#1 They must be American ,the Brits smoke fags & nothing is less cool than smoking a fag " British term for ciggerette " not sexual idenity .
#2 The band must be hard partiers & can't go back to the hotel & play dungeons & dragons & eat bean sprouts like Rush who are Canadian progressive Rock .
#3 At least 3 of their songs should be known by name by every music fan .
#4 The band can't have easy listening or balads that killed rock ,if I want to hear a ballad it'll be from Frank Sinatra not Bruce Springsteen .

With that said why are we even discussing past the Jimi Hendrix Experience ,they weren't a solo act with backing bands ,they were hard partiers ,every person on the planet can name at least 3 of their songs , and which band had even an equal impact on the direction of Rock music as the Hendrix Experience .

A close 2nd would be Grand Funk , they played great rock n roll tunes that everybody can name 3 songs ,they partied hard and ran through groupies like a snow plow ,and their songs were based on topics uniquely American .

If we're going for technical ability and extreme musicianship then it's a no brainier with the Mothers of Invention ,with master musicians with years studying at conservatories like George Duke ,Jean Luc-Ponty , Vinnie Coliuta ,Chester Thompson ,Warren Cucurillo & Steve Vai just to list a small portion of world class level players ,and everybody here can name 3 songs even if they are just some of the comedy songs like Yellow Snow ,Stink Foot and Valley Girl .

For me it's the Hendrix Experience .

All right slaw, I didn't want to be the one to say it, but now that you have ;-). I too saw the doors (they made a point of using all lower case in their name, perhaps as a conceit a la e.e. cummings ;-), twice. Not only were they not a Rock 'n' Roll band (if the term Rock 'n' Roll is to have ANY meaning), they weren't a very good band in whatever genre you want to name. Of course, that's just my opinion, and as they, everyone's got one.

John Densmore was an okay drummer, and some like Robby Krieger's guitar playing; I just don't happen to be one of them. But Ray Manzarek was a lame organist, really bad. Listen to him back-to-back with Garth Hudson (The Band, of course), Booker T. Jones, Matthew Fisher (Procol Harum), Lee Michaels, Al Kooper, Greg Allman, Felix Cavaliere (The Rascals), or Steve Winwood. The sound of his Farfisa organ was so cheesy, just laughably bad. No soul, no feel, no expression, no swing---really "white". The notes in his solos don't stray far from the tonic, those solos being what musicians call pedestrian. Boring. And since the organ was so integral to the doors sound and style, that's a fatal flaw. And then there is the matter of Jim Morrison's voice and lyrics, but I won't go there.

Now, for a real Rock 'n' Roll band with a very interesting keyboardist (Terry Adams on piano and clavinet), great guitarist/songwriter (Al Anderson), superb bassist (Joey Spampinato. Invited by Keith Richards to replace Bill Wyman in The Stones, he declined, preferring to remain in this band), and drummer (the late Tom Ardolino, a drummer with as big a sense of humor as Keith Moon), give a listen to NRBQ. And my gawd did they rock live!