The much-maligned 1980s still had some great music and the early-1990s was a bright spot. A preponderance of the greatest musicians ever did their best work during that period. In rock’s case, the high point was the 1960s to 1970s. It was inevitable and indeed has occurred to every art form as innovation is exhausted. Rock is not dead as is often claimed, but it has been on the decline for 40+ years. Therefore, when compiling all of the components, subjectivity is minimal. Additionally, originality and influence are measurable.
It is also feasible to objectively critique a band as technical skill (musicianship) can be readily determined. What an artist says (songwriting) may be meaningful to some but not to others, although it is easy enough to separate great writing from the not-so-great. There is, to be sure, an element of subjectivity in these selections, as there is with any art. And while lists such as these abound on the Internet, there don’t appear to be any standout ones and many are downright poor. See their 2011 “100 Greatest Artists of All Time” and 2021 “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time” for proof. Similar criticism can be leveled at the associated Rolling Stone. Some of the acts they let in and some they do not are questionable to say the least. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, despite the name, is not the definitive source for the best rock musicians ever. Commercial success is not taken into account. Longevity is not considered as it’s better to be around for a few years, produce great music, and have a lasting impact, than make music for 30 years that is mediocre and inconsequential. Others who were active in multiple genres but whose rock output was significant are included, like Fats Domino and Bo Diddley, but their non-rock work is excluded.īesides songwriting and musicianship, originality and influence carry weight, yet to a lesser extent. King (blues), Miles Davis (jazz), Ray Charles (rhythm and blues/soul), Aretha Franklin (soul), and James Brown (funk) are out. In an effort to keep the article centered on rock, songs which are clearly of a different genre are eliminated. The hits of each band are listed and are the primary factor in selection and placement. Pop fans may not like “Stairway to Heaven,” but it doesn’t matter. You may not like it, but that’s irrelevant. Even the most diehard rock fans, if they are honest and understand music, will have to admit that “Stayin’ Alive” is a hit. Rather, a hit is a masterpiece, a perfect or near-perfect amalgamation of songwriting and musicianship. In that spirit and for the purpose of this article, a hit is not necessarily a song which made the Billboard Hot 100, nor is it necessarily not a hit if it didn’t. “A hit is a hit,” music producer Hesh once said on The Sopranos. Seven of the top 10 best rock acts are from in and around London, including #5 to #1. Americans invented rock but the British perfected it. Rock was born in New Orleans in the late 1940s, moved up the Mississippi to Memphis in the 1950s, and by the 1960s had spread like wildfire to hotbeds of creativity New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and, of course, London, England. And any combination of rock with folk, classical, blues, jazz, country, rhythm and blues (rock’s closest relative), pop, soul, and funk works nicely, too. Rockabilly, rock and roll (a genre of rock and one of its earliest forms, from which the umbrella term “rock and roll” originates), beat, surf, garage, psychedelic, progressive, hard, metal, Southern, electronic, glam, heartland, punk, new wave, alternative - it’s all great. The sound, the lyrics, the dress, the attitude, the live performances, forever changed the world.
0 kommentar(er)
