This is such an often asked yet ridiculous question. Answers are completely subjective and the funny thing is most people don't realize that, they really do think they know who is the best.
If you are strictly talking about influence on other artists, then I would agree that the Beatles probably hold top rank.
If you are talking about record sales, then who cares, because 90% of the people who buy music don't know s%#t about music anyway.
If you are talking about strict musical talent, than its probably some band no one knows that plays every Friday in a hole in the wall bar in the middle of nowhere Alabama...and The Eagles probably couldn't hold a candle to them.
And just because you don't like Bob Dylan, don't assume it is because he can't sing...do us all a favor and just assume it's because you don't get it. We all know he isn't an opera singer, but that's not why people like him.
Who Was The Number One Musical Group or Singer Of All Time?
by minimus 48 Replies latest jw friends
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amac
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MerryMagdalene
I'll go ahead and say the first thing that popped in my head: Queen...Freddie Mercury
*smiles and waves across the room at sad emo*
Acknowledges *with a friendly nod to fleaman* that tijkmo WILL BE number one...but isn't quite there yet
~Merry
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willyloman
Based on sheer impact:
In rock 'n roll: Beatles, Elvis.
Overall: Eagles, Sinatra.
This is highly subjective.
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minimus
Hey amac, are you really Hillary?........Amac, I bet you think I don't get the Monkees either.
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Jordan
This is such an often asked yet ridiculous question. Answers are completely subjective and the funny thing is most people don't realize that, they really do think they know who is the best.
I don't think. I know! Coheed and Cambria...But, OMG, how could I forget Queen?!?
(EDIT: It's amazing the difference a little punctuation makes to a sentence... lol)
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undercover
What's the criteria for deciding who was number one? Record sales? Concert tickets? Number One hits? Influence on future generations of bands/artists?
Every generation is going to have its own influential bands/artists. For me it would be The Beatles, The Stones, Zep, The Who, Dylan, The Doors. Bands from my youth. But notice those are all "rock" acts. During that same time period, there were many great Motown groups and "pop" groups. I was influenced more by "rock" than other genres.
Even in the artists that I mentioned, there are slip-ups. Dylan was great as a folk singer and as an electric boogaloo bandleader with great stories to tell. After hibernation and motorcycle accident, his "art" suffered. He had some good albums, but he had some real stinkers too. The Stones were great up until about 78 or 79, then they too were no longer significant. The Doors, as great as they were, were over-rated by most. Was Morrison a shaman or a sham? Zep was great, but its hard to take a band willing to sell their "cock rock" to a company that sells cars to rich people as nothing more than a show biz band instead of pioneers of hard rock.
Some people consider Elvis as number one...period. He was cool, no doubt about it, he was somewhat influential, but I never took him seriously. He was almost a parady of himself by the time I was old enough to know who he was.
Sinatra was cool. But he was just a crooner.
What it boils down to is how a certain genre of music or a certain band/artist affects us personally. They may not be number one to anyone but ourselves, but if it makes us happy, who cares? The two best albums I have bought in the last five years are by obscure bands that no one knows except those who are dedicated fans. They've never been in concert in my area, no one who ever sees the CD case laying around recognizes them, but to me, the music on those CDs is the best thing I've heard in years. To me, they are number one.
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AuldSoul
If we are talking about sheer impacts, I think you guys are forgetting the powerful influences that formed the basis for the Beatles, Elvis, Buddy Holly, The Doors, Rolling Stones, Dylan, and all the other "great white" hopes.
BTW, I am white, but I know tributes to great black artists when I hear them. Rock and roll was built on a foundation much older than mainstream pop rock. The influences of the best known artists are rarely ever played.
From this basis, I would have to say the next most powerful musical shift was caused by Led Zeppelin, they took music down a completely new path. From blending these two sources, you get punk, grunge, and all the modern "alternatives."
There are very rarely ever any truly new kinds of music.
AuldSoul
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Mary
ELVIS of course.............
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undercover
If we are talking about sheer impacts, I think you guys are forgetting the powerful influences that formed the basis for the Beatles, Elvis, Buddy Holly, The Doors, Rolling Stones, Dylan, and all the other "great white" hopes.
That's why I was saying every generation has its influential bands. Ask members of the above mentioned bands who was number one in their esitmation and I'm sure they would name the influences that you are talking about.
Dylan was a big, big fan of Woody Guthrie and many other folk singers of Guthries time. If you read Dylan's book "Chronicles" you'll see a ton of names that the average music fan has never heard of. But Dylan took those influences and gave us a newer version of the same thing with lyrics that were appealing to our generation and our concerns.
Clapton, Richards and others were influenced by the black blues of Amercia. They took it to a new level and it connected with an entirely new generation and race. Ask them who is number one and we'll get an education in the early black blues of America.
I don't think we're forgetting those influences as much as they did not influence us as much as they did the musicians that influenced us.
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gaiagirl
I heard on a radio quiz show that the number one selling single of all time was "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby, from the soundtrack of a film in which he starred. According to the DJ, no song by ANY performer of any genre has ever even come near to equalling the sales of that one. Does that make Bing #1? Not particularly to me, but he influenced an earlier generation in much the same way, and to much the same extent, that Elvis or the Beatles did later ones.