The Best Bands to Come Out of Iowa and the Midwest

The Midwest has been home to some GREAT bands!

The website Thrillist recently put together a list of the best bands from all 50 states based on a few pieces of criteria. First of all, only bands were looked at, not individual artists. Secondly, those bands had to rise to prominence AFTER World War II. Then there's location. Each chosen band had to be "formed in or primarily based" in their given state. And finally, Thrillist considered "historical significance, influence, popularity, and the nebulous 'quality' factor."

Based on those factors, the best band to come out of Iowa is the Everly Brothers. You thought I was going to say Slipknot, didn't you? Nope, the Everly Brothers were chosen as the top band in Iowa. The band initially got its start in Shenandoah, Iowa in the 1940s, where Wikipedia says they sang with their parents as "The Everly Family." Thrillist wrote that "the family band serenaded locals on the radio station KMA, where their father Ike Everly hosted his own show." The brothers ended up writing and recording their own music in 1956, and they scored their first hit with "Bye, Bye Love" just one year later. Some of their other hit songs include "Wake Up Little Susie," "All I Have to Do Is Dream," and "Cathy's Clown," which was their best-selling single.

The Everly Brothers officially broke up in 1973, but got back together in 1983 and ended up playing music throughout the rest of their lives. Not only did they influence other big artists in the 60s like the Beatles and the Bee Gees, but they were also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame. You can read more about Don & Phil's careers HERE.

Here are some of the other "best bands" to come out of other Midwest states, according to Thrillist:

• Indiana - The Jackson 5
• Illinois - Earth, Wind & Fire
• Minnesota - Prince and the Revolution
• Missouri - The Rainmakers
• Nebraska - Icky Blossoms
• South Dakota - Scatter Their Own

You can check out the rest of the list from Thrillist HERE.