Beatles & Nirvana Gone Too Soon

Instrument maker Gibson has compiled a list on its website of the 10 groups they feel "ended too soon." In no particular order they are:

The Beatles -- "No other band has ever come remotely close to producing such an abundance of quality material in as short a period of time (eight years). Still, one can’t help but wonder what twists and turns their music might have taken, had they forged on together into the ‘70s — or even beyond."

Faces -- "There’s a reason why fans continue to pine for a Faces reunion: simply put, the Rod Stewart-led group was one of the most lovable 'bar bands' ever to set foot on stage..."

J. Geils Band -- "America’s answer to the Rolling Stones. Frontman Peter Wolf’s vocal dynamism and charisma, paired with guitarist Seth Justman’s talent for crafting infectious R&B tunes, forged a winning combination on such tracks as “Give It to Me” and “Must of Got Lost.”

Mott the Hoople -- "No band from the '70s British glam era exuded more genuine rock-muscle than Mott the Hoople did."

Velvet Underground -- "Opinions vary about who invented punk rock, but no band brought more musical range and sophistication to the genre than the Velvet Underground did..."

The Doors -- "One can’t help wondering what might have been, had singer Jim Morrison not died in the summer of 1971..."

New York Dolls -- "Invented neither punk nor glam rock, and yet no other band so successfully fused those genres..."

The Clash -- "Joe Strummer and Mick Jones were sometimes called the Lennon & McCartney of punk rock, and rightly so. Gloriously gifted songwriters, the Clash co-leaders expanded the parameters of the genre to include reggae, dub, rockabilly and elements of world music..."

Nirvana -- "Thematically, Kurt Cobain’s bleak songs — rife with alienation -- made him a spokesman for his generation in much the same way John Lennon had been a spokesman for his. The troubled songwriter’s death in 1994 forever consigned the band’s legacy to a small but brilliant body of work."

Alice Cooper (yes, it was a band) -- "Alice Cooper has forged an impressive (and lengthy) career, but nothing in his solo work has ever matched the magic of the original Alice Cooper band. Friends since high school, the original quintet crafted some of the greatest pop-rock anthems of the '70s..."