Immortals

[Godz Illa]

Rolling Stone magazine has compiled 50 Immortals, the greatest artists of the rock n roll era, to commemorate 50 years. Its a very interesting piece, with a tribute article on each Immortal written by a famous artist (The Beatles by Elvis Costello, Elvis Presley by Bono etc), and I recommend very highly that you check it out.
Here are the 50 Immortals.
1. The Beatles . . . . 2. Bob Dylan . . . . 3. Elvis Presley
4. Rolling Stones . . .5. Chuck Berry . . . .6. Jimi Hendrix
7. James Brown . . . 8. Little Richard . . . 9. Aretha Franklin
10. Ray Charles . . .11. Bob Marley . . . . 12. The Beach Boys
13. Buddy Holly. . . 14. Led Zeppelin. . . 15. Stevie Wonder
16. Sam Cooke. . . 17. Muddy Waters. . 18. Marvin Gaye
19. Velvet Underground. . 20. Bo Diddley. . 21. Otis Redding
22. U2 . . . . . . . . 23. Bruce Springsteen. . 24. Jerry Lee Lewis
25. Fats Domino . . .26. The Ramones . . 27. Nirvana
28. Prince . . . . . . . 29. The Who. . . . . . 30. The Clash
31. Johnny Cash. . . 32. Smokey Robinson . 33. Everley Brothers
34. Neil Young. . . . .35. Michael Jackson . 36. Madonna
37. Roy Orbison . . 38. John Lennon . . . . 39. David Bowie
40. Simon & Garfunkel . 41. The Doors . . 42. Van Morrison
43. Sly & The Family Stone . 44. Public Enemy . 45. The Byrds
46. Janis Joplin . . . .47. Patti Smith . . . . .48. Run-DMC
49. Elton John . . . . 50. The Band

 

[Anonymous]

Its a fair list, although IMO Marley was unlucky to miss the top 10.

 

[knights04]

Fair list

 

[Anonymous]

As much as I don't like his music, I think Michael Jackson could probably feel hard done by... and I know John Lennon was a fine artist as an individual, but perhaps a bit much letting him be recognised twice.

 

[wittyfan]

Grrr, no Ace of Base.

 

[Chicken_Hunter]

hmm what about neil diamond?

 

[Southernsaint]

Dexy's Midnight Runners??

Cheers,
Ben S.

 

[Weasels Ripped My Flesh]

looks pretty acurate. the absence of ace of base and dexy's midnight runners is a big let down though.

 

[Anonymous]

Ace of Base??! They wouldn't even come close!

For a modern artist to be recognized they'd have to be a bit of a cultural phenomenon... like Nirvana were.

 

[wittyfan]

Ace of Base??! They wouldn't even come close!

For a modern artist to be recognized they'd have to be a bit of a cultural phenomenon... like Nirvana were.

Ace of Base sold 20 million copies of their debut album in the US. Not many have done that with their first release. 8)

 

[Anonymous]

Not true. According to official RIAA sales figures, Ace of Base's 'The Sign' has sold 9 million copies in the US.

To put that in perspective... *NSync's debut album sold more copies. Should they be in amongst the immortals too?

 

[wittyfan]

Not true. According to official RIAA sales figures, Ace of Base's 'The Sign' has sold 9 million copies in the US.

To put that in perspective... *NSync's debut album sold more copies. Should they be in amongst the immortals too?

Only 9 million? :? It's sold over 25 million worldwide anyway. No, *NSync shouldn't be in the Immortals. Too many cheesy songs. :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys also outsold Ace of Base with their debut albums.

I think the key here is that record sales shouldn't dictate which artists are legends and which aren't. Some talentless goons have massive sales, while some legends of the industry - especially those early pioneers - have sold practically nothing in comparison.

I think influence on later artists would be a major factor in determining an immortal.

 

[dragonfly]

Not disagreeing with the list but AC/DC and Aerosmith have been dominant for 30 years. they could have easily been mentioned.

"ACE OF BASE" struth!!! 9 million copies and then what. The craft of being a great band is backing it up 2, 3, or more greats as all or most on the list have.

 

[Red Bear]

Metallica and Black Sabbath are unlucky to miss out...

 

[Anonymous]

Metallica and Black Sabbath are unlucky to miss out...

Agreed. Too much of an early blues influence, while the pioneers of one of rock's biggest genres miss out.

 

[wittyfan]

"ACE OF BASE" struth!!! 9 million copies and then what. The craft of being a great band is backing it up 2, 3, or more greats as all or most on the list have.

Their second album, "The Bridge" sold 5 million copies worldwide, and their third album "Flowers" sold 2 million worldwide. Not too shabby for a group which tired of touring after the huge success of the first album.

 

[Evilgrowler]

Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and Ronnie James Dio have been filling stadiums for over 3 decades.

 

[Red Bear]

Agree with Growler especially with Iron Maiden.

 

[dragonfly]

Their second album, "The Bridge" sold 5 million copies worldwide, and their third album "Flowers" sold 2 million worldwide. Not too shabby for a group which tired of touring after the huge success of the first album.

Sully Fan

really shows what sad times we live in!!