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- David Bowie. Nobody changed music as much as art rock chameleon David Bowie. A master provocateur confronting sexual conformity with his androgynous looks, Bowie’s ingenious personas (glam rock alien Ziggy Stardust, the steely nobility of the Thin White Duke) led the way in inspiring others to meld fashion, theatre and performance art with popular music.
- The Beatles. The Beatles have always been, and remain, a phenomenon. The timeless songwriting of Lennon-McCartney (Strawberry Fields Forever, A Day In The Life) and impeccable musicianship of George Harrison and Ringo Starr continues to inspire millions.
- Jimi Hendrix. When Jimi Hendrix arrived in the UK in 1966, no one could have predicted the earth-scorching impact he would have. Leaving other virtuosos like Eric Clapton in the dust, Hendrix’s bluesy proficiency on guitar and his exemplary use of riffs and shredding (Voodoo Child) was truly jaw-dropping.
- Led Zeppelin. In their respective fields, each Led Zeppelin member sits in the pantheon of most influential musicians of all time; together, as the greatest rock band of all time, their majestic hard rock sound is unlikely to be dethroned any time soon.
- Blink-182. Don't let their toilet humor fool you — this irreverent SoCal trio is the real deal. Their hooks are infectious. Whether it's Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge or Mark Hoppus and Matt Skiba, that twin lead-singer attack is something else.
- Van Halen. Heavy music wasn't doing well at the end of the '70s. Lots of legacy hard rock bands were losing members or "entering the last phases of their career," according to Loude.
- Guns N' Roses. The speed with which people abandoned the lipstick and cheesy, over-processed ballads of hair metal for the grittier sounds of Guns N' Rose s, as per Revolver, indicates folks were ready for a change when "Appetite for Destruction" — still the biggest debut ever (via WRAT) — took the world by storm.
- The Ramones. The Sex Pistols might have given punk rock its iconic look and attitude, and the Clash maybe carried the torch from there, as per Esthetic Lens, but as Live About notes, the genre was started by four mop-haired, leather jacket-wearing Americans playing an entire set's worth of songs in 20 minutes flat at CBGB in New York.
Oct 4, 2021 · To kick off our 25th anniversary retrospective, we’ve collected some of the best writing Pitchfork has published on a set of 200 of the most important artists to the publication’s history.
- Pitchfork
- Talking Heads. By Dave Sitek. When I was a kid, I was really into hardcore punk. Hardcore was very rigid. Talking Heads was the first band I remember telling my punk friends about, saying, "Yo, check this out!
- Carl Perkins. By Tom Petty. Carl Perkins' songs will outlive us all. On tracks like "Blue Suede Shoes" and "Honey Don't!" he took that country-picking thing into the rock world.
- Curtis Mayfield. By Boz Scaggs. If, in the late Fifties and early Sixties, you were drawn to that place on the AM radio dial where the rhythms, the grooves and the beautiful sounds of African-American soul were playing, you would have found Curtis Mayfield.
- R.E.M. By Colin Meloy. I first heard R.E.M. in 1986, a song tacked on to the end of a demos collection of a Eugene, Oregon, band that my uncle, then in school at U of O, sent to me for Christmas.
People also ask
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Who has shaped the music industry & popular culture?
- The Rolling Stones
- Pink Floyd
- Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Queen
- The Beatles
- AC/DC
- Aerosmith
- Fleetwood Mac
- Linkin Park
- Nirvana
Back in 1962, a group of music-minded friends got together, formed the Rolling Stones, and have made rock and blues music since. After multiple changes in members—due to death or mutual separation—this band is still together and continues to tour and sell out massive stadiums worldwide. The Rolling Stones were hailed as the greatest rock and roll b...
Another enormous rock band that formed in the 1960s is English rock band Pink Floyd. With their music, they became deeply inspirational to other rising artists. The band drew in an audience from the psychedelic music scene, composing music for elaborately planned live performances. One of their biggest, and probably most well-known, album is 1973’s...
Formed in 1983 in Los Angeles, California, Red Hot Chili Pepperswent on to become one of the most successful rock groups of all time. This band didn’t stay in one genre, although they always had elements of hard rock. Red Hot Chili Peppers are masters of fusing elements of rock, alternative, funk, punk, pop, and psychedelic genres into their work, ...
British rock band Queenis one of legendary rock bands of all time, most notably due to iconic frontman Freddie Mercury and the alluring music they played. Everyone has heard of “We Will Rock You” and “Bohemian Rhapsody.” songs featured in dozens of movies and television programs. Queen rose to fame in the 1970s. The release of Sheer Heart Attack in...
Since its inception, the Beatleshad an otherworldly effect on rock music and paved the way for many other bands who took inspiration from their work. Comprising of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, they formed in 1960 and was instrumental in the countercultural movement during that decade. The Beatles only made music fo...
Australian brothers Malcolm and Angus Young formed AC/DCin 1973 with Larry Van Kriedt, Dave Evans, and Colin Burgess. Their music is often a mix of hard rock, blues, and heavy metal style. The band had great success, especially with the release of “Highway to Hell” in 1979 with the phenomenal guitar riff performed by Angus. Then their album Back in...
Hailing from Boston, Aerosmithwas formed in 1970 when Joe Perry and Steven Tyler decided to come together to create blues-inspired hard rock music. The band broke through commercial success with their 1975 album Toys in the Attic, selling over nine million copies. Get a Grip, in 1993, however, became their top-grossing album to date, with more than...
British rock band Fleetwood Macformed in London during the late 1970s founded by Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood, and Jeremy Spencer. They initially focused on British blues music, but the tone and genre of the music slowly began to change as the band continued to make music. They had moderate success from the onset; however, the release of 1977’s Rumo...
In 1996, Californians Mike Shinoda, Rob Bourdon, and Brad Delso came together to form Linkin Park. Their unique way of weaving different sounds—incorporating features of rock, rap, heavy metal, and, then later, electronic and pop—became influential and appealed to a wide range of listeners. The band’s debut studio album in 2000, Hybrid Theory, laun...
Next we have another famous but tumultuous rock band, Nirvana, mostly due to the group’s rapid fame and troublesome history. The band was formed in 1987 but didn’t entirely settle into the grunge scene until the late 1980s. Nirvana dropped their first hit album Nevermindcontaining the massively successful single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” in 1991. T...
In the immediate, 411 inspired the likes of Mariah Carey and Madonna to incorporate more hip-hop sensibilities into their brands of pop; but even two decades later, tracks like Ariana Grande's ...
May 17, 2024 · 1. Ludwig van Beethoven. 21,348 votes. Heralded as one of the most influential composers in Western classical music, this German maestro was born in 1770 and showcased an extraordinary talent early in life.
