Thirty greatest sibling acts in rock and roll history

24. CAGE THE ELEPHANT – MATT AND BRAD SCHULTZ

Matt’s voice instantly captivates you from the opening bars of “In One Ear,” the first track on Cage the Elephant’s first album. Or it drives you crazy and you switch to another channel. Fortunately, for the boys from Kentucky, the former happened more than the latter.

They came on strong right from the start with several singles topping the alt charts in 2008/09. They maintained that alt pedigree throughout the next decade though they never had a major mainstream breakthrough. Then came a five-year gap that corresponded with COVID and several life-changing events. They returned this year with Neon Pill. I think it’s a decent effort, but does not match the excitement and energy of their earlier work. We’ll see where they go from here.

23. GRETA VAN FLEET – JOSH, JAKE, AND SAM KISZKA

Did the Kiszka brothers save rock and roll? Or did they yank it back forty years? Maybe both. It seems unfair to complain that a modern band sounds too much like Led Zeppelin, because if that’s your standard, every band is going to come up short.

Greta Van Fleet is an excellent rock & roll band, and I know they have plenty of fans who would put them at the top of this list. Why do I have them relatively low at 23? Well, GVF’s best song is “Safari Song,” which was the first track on the debut album. They have put out other good music in the interim, but I don’t think they have progressed.

22. THE LINDA LINDAS – LUCIA AND MILA DE LA GARZA

A third member of the quartet, Eloise Wong, is a cousin of the de la Garza sisters. They only have one full-length album out but have released enough singles and EPs to critical acclaim to score a spot opening for Green Day this Summer, along with Rancid and Smashing Pumpkins. Not bad for a group whose oldest member hasn’t reached 20 yet. One day not too far down the road, the Linda Lindas will be a lot higher on this list.

21. THE PLEASURE SEEKERS – SUZI, PATTI, AND ARLENE QUATRO

The Pleasure Seekers were the Linda Lindas about sixty years earlier. Sadly, there was no avenue for teenage girls to play hard rock in the 1960s. Had they been able to record more than a few singles, The Pleasure Seekers (or Cradle, which they morphed into late in the ‘60s) would be considered seminal punk, garage, and psychedelic forces. Suzi gained more fame playing a fake rock & roller on Happy Days a decade later.