Artists of the Decades
When I was searching for something on the board, I came across the picture of the Eagles when they were named RIAA Artist of the Century and it gave me the idea for this thread.
Who would you name as your top musical artist for each decade? Since the birth of rock and roll as we know it was in the 50's, we can start there and go through the first decade of this century. Wow - I can hardly believe that we have already completed more than a decade in this millennium, but I digress. I based my choices not on who my favorites are, but primarily on the artists’ influence and longevity. Some were easy choices, and others were a bit more challenging. When I get more time, I may even try to come up with my top 5 or 10 artists for each decade. Anyway, I know my list may be controversial in some cases, but here's what I came up with ...
1950's - Elvis Presley
Who else can it be, really? I'm sure you could make a good case for a few other very influential rockers like Chuck Berry or Buddy Holly. But, if you can only pick one, for me, it has to be the King of Rock and Roll where it all started.
1960's - The Beatles
Pretty much the same comments as above. Who else can it be, really? You also have to give honorable mention to The Rolling Stones for their longevity if nothing else, and there were quite a few other very influential artists in this decade. But, The Beatles are probably the most influential rock and rock artists of all time. It's hard to imagine anyone coming along that will bump them from their pedestal for a pretty long while.
1970’s – Eagles
This was a decade of incredible, influential music of many variations and genres of rock and roll, which makes the choice not quite as clearcut. The 70’s were when artists took the foundation laid by Elvis and The Beatles and really experimented with many musical styles. The music of 70’s may have had a larger collective impact than any one act. To pick a single artist, you have to consider Led Zeppelin, Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, Aerosmith, The Bee Gees, and Bruce Springsteen. I’m sure I’m leaving out some others, but these are the ones I thought of off the top of my head. So, while I admit that I’m biased, my choice is for the band that sold more records than any other artist of the decade, the band that gave country/California rock mass appeal, the band that most successfully melded all the musical genres together, the band that had the most influence on the country/pop music of today, and, yes, the RIAA Artist of the 20th Century – America’s greatest band … the Eagles.
1980’s – Michael Jackson
Again, this decade had a lot of great artist, including Madonna, U2, Bon Jovi, Journey, and Def Leppard to name a few off the top of my head. However, the King of Pop gets my vote simply because he is simply the biggest of many amazing acts that Motown produced. He also helped pioneer the music video age.
1990’s – Madonna
I know that Madonna is closely associated with the 80’s, but she is my choice for the 1990’s because she was a close runner up to M.J. in the 80’s, but her much of her influence and popularity carried over in to the 90’s. She has also proven herself to be very multi-talented. Plus, who in the 90’s was bigger – Nirvana, R.E.M., Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson?
2000’s – Beyonce Knowles
It may be too soon to try to select a single artist from this decade because maybe the dust hasn’t settled yet. Some of the candidates that come to mind off the top of my head are Green Day, Eminem, Lady Gaga, and Cold Play. But, I’m not sure we know what the lasting influence of any of these artists is yet. I choose Beyonce because she is a carryover from the 90’s with Destiny’s Child and because she is multi-talented and about the biggest name around right now.
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Originally Posted by Freypower
