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...I took your subject line literally, and while I agree that they were a part of it and contributed to it, I wouldn't say they invented it.
Basically, any musician alive at the time of Bob Dylan's ascent, and all musicians who followed, were influenced in one way or another, whether they'll admit it or not. For some, it might have been the songwriting, for others, the whole package.
And the Clapton anecdote is the best example I have of the Band's influence...although it's certainly not limited to E.C.
The whole "country rock" thing got out of hand and diluted, just like everything else. The Eagles started out in the same realm as The Byrds & Flying Burrito Brothers, but they wanted to sell truckloads of records, so little by little the "country" and "rock" got squeezed out in favor of "pop."
In the modern era, I'd say the closest thing we have to legitimate "country rockers" would be guys like Dwight Yoakam and Steve Earle, although since his release from prison, Earle has dropped a lot of the "rock" from his act in favor of country, folk, and bluegrass.
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