Who are the top 20 solo artists of classic rock?...

[Victor99]

Re: Who are the top 20 solo artists of classic rock?...

Favorites.

Gotcha. I must admit I'm a HUGE Neil Young fan and I did put him in my list. But I think there's no denying he's way up there for classic rock solo artists.

[The_Don]

Re: Who are the top 20 solo artists of classic rock?...

I don't you know if you've heard of a little artist known as Elvis Presley out of Memphis, TN. I think he was pretty popular and influential. Some quotes about him from artists you've named:

John Lennon: “Before Elvis, there was nothing.”
Bob Dylan: “Hearing him for the first time was like busting
out of jail.”
Mick Jagger: “He was a unique artist - an original in an area of imitators.”
Bruce Springsteen: “...it was like he came along and whispered some dream in everybody’s ear, and somehow we all dreamed it.”
James Brown: “There’ll never be another like that soul brother.”
Little Richard: “He was an integrator, Elvis was a blessing. They wouldn't let black music through. He opened the door for black music.”

[Misfit]

Re: Who are the top 20 solo artists of classic rock?...

Elvis was more of a performer than an actual artist. He didn't write any of his songs, just played rhythm guitar and delivered his lines with a lot of boogie and sex appeal. There is no denying his importance in rock's history, but if we're talking artists here he doesn't really qualify.

[Birdsonbat]

Re: Who are the top 20 solo artists of classic rock?...

McCartney's actual solo catalog doesn't quite stand up to Lennon's or Harrison's imho. Can't really count his time with Wings as that's not solo.

[SPTO]

Re: Who are the top 20 solo artists of classic rock?...

Elvis may not have written any of his songs but he did very well with the Gospel genre later in life. It's unfortunate that no one has mentioned Elvis much in this thread. I think another problem is that his music sounds closer to pop then what eventually became Rock N' Roll of the 70s and onward.

Anywho John Lennon is my #1

[aukevin]

Re: Who are the top 20 solo artists of classic rock?...

Of that list, my top 5 would be:


Springsteen
Lennon
Seger
Bowie
Hagar

[Scottdau]

Re: Who are the top 20 solo artists of classic rock?...

I like Joe Walsh.

[The_Don]

Re: Who are the top 20 solo artists of classic rock?...

Elvis was more of a performer than an actual artist. He didn't write any of his songs, just played rhythm guitar and delivered his lines with a lot of boogie and sex appeal. There is no denying his importance in rock's history, but if we're talking artists here he doesn't really qualify.

It's true that Elvis was not a songwriter unlike other artists of his era i.e. Chuck Berry and Eddie Cochran. However he produced the majority if not almost all of his songs (his band and Scotty Moore have stated this fact may times). He also handpicked all of his songs, choosing ones that he liked and often times going against the grain (no one else thought Heartbreak Hotel would be a good single but Elvis chose it nonetheless and it went on to 11 straight weeks at #1) plus he did a lot of covers all of which were very different and most of the time better than the original. Plus he was a skilled guitarist and his dancing was revolutionary and should not be overlooked. Therefore you could consider him an Interpretor rather than a Songwriter but for the reasons I stated he was still a highly skilled artist and therefore should be in this discussion.

My Top 5 (in order):
Elvis Presley
Chuck Berry
James Brown
Elton John
David Bowie
(If Dylan were allowed he'd be #2)

McCartney and Lennon's solo work is very overrated. IMO they needed each other's complementary songwriting styles (Lennon-psychedelic & metaphoric/strong verses, McCartney-romantic & melodic/catchy choruses) to write good songs i.e. A Day In The Life. Of all the Beatles George Harrison's solo work was the best.

[Yosemite Dan]

Re: Who are the top 20 solo artists of classic rock?...

Although he wouldn't be considered near the top in terms of sales because his music was so far from mainstream, No one holds a candle to Frank Zappa in terms of talent and sheer dedication in crossing almost every genre of music so easily. There was no artist who was as creative and his volume of quality work over such a wide range of music puts shows how one dimensional most of those other artists were. He was the kind of musician who could of put out mainstream pop albums with consistent #1 hits for years if he felt like it but loved experimenting and was mostly successful doing it. Rock, Classical, dance, country, jazz, you name it and he did it and did it well. The guy was a musical genius who never got the credit that he was due simply because he marched to his own drummer.

[Victor99]

Re: Who are the top 20 solo artists of classic rock?...

Although he wouldn't be considered near the top in terms of sales because his music was so far from mainstream, No one holds a candle to Frank Zappa in terms of talent and sheer dedication in crossing almost every genre of music so easily. There was no artist who was as creative and his volume of quality work over such a wide range of music puts shows how one dimensional most of those other artists were. He was the kind of musician who could of put out mainstream pop albums with consistent #1 hits for years if he felt like it but loved experimenting and was mostly successful doing it. Rock, Classical, dance, country, jazz, you name it and he did it and did it well. The guy was a musical genius who never got the credit that he was due simply because he marched to his own drummer.

Great post. I probably should have put him in my top 20. Frank Zappa, as well as the Mothers of Invention definently left a big mark on rock history. I agree with you that part of the reason why he didn't get a lot of credit was due to the fact he wasn't "mainstream music". He was definently very original and one of a kind.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: Who are the top 20 solo artists of classic rock?...

Moonunit and...what was the other kid's name? Dweasel?

[Birdsonbat]

Re: Who are the top 20 solo artists of classic rock?...

Moonunit and...what was the other kid's name? Dweasel?

Dweezil and Ahmet. Don't eat the yellow snow.