Greatest Figures in Rock

[Tim]

I'd probably give popularity and acclaim to McCartney, influence to Lennon though I guess all three are debatable.

[Fido]

Also I think Freddie Mercury should be ahead of Plant for sure.

Not so sure about that, I'd even have Plant over Page.

[Tim]

I'd say Page's production work plus guitar acclaim justifies keeping him ahead of Plant. As for Plant vs Freddie, I'd say influence Plant, acclaim close (Zep are clearly more acclaimed than Queen, while Freddie I'd say is a bit more acclaimed as a vocalist/frontmen), popularity Freddie.

[ManPerson]

Zep are more acclaimed than Queen overall but I think that Jimmy Page's advantage over Brian May and John Bonham's over Roger Taylor accounts for that. As an individual I think Freddie has the edge in terms of acclaim though I guess the argument could be made that Plant's influence still gives him the win.

[Brian]

A question that I have is that it appears that the list is intended to honor individuals, but then there are at least 2 exceptions: Leiber & Stoller and Dozier with one of the Hollands. Maybe the idea there is to also recognize combinations of people if their importance is completely tied to the work of another, but then the Everly Brothers are listed separately. I think the best thing for the sake of consistency to do would be to just list individuals. I'd say that the next best thing is that if Leiber & Stoller are included as a single entry, then I'd combine the Everlys too.

[Tim]

1. Elvis Presley (recording artist)
2. James Brown (recording artist; songwriter; producer)
3. Bob Dylan (recording artist; songwriter)
4. Chuck Berry (recording artist; songwriter)
5. Alan Freed (deejay)
6. Berry Gordy (Motown) (label executive; producer; songwriter)
7. Paul McCartney (Beatles) (recording artist; songwriter; producer)
8. John Lennon (Beatles) (recording artist; songwriter; producer)
9. Sam Phillips (Sun Records) (label executive; producer)
10. Brian Wilson (Beach Boys) (recording artist; songwriter; producer)
11. Ahmet Ertegun (Atlantic) (label executive; producer)
12. Phil Spector (Philles) (producer; songwriter; label executive)
13. Leonard Chess (Chess Records) (label executive; producer)
14. Michael Jackson (Jackson Five) (recording artist; songwriter)
15. Madonna (recording artist; songwriter)
16. Smokey Robinson (Miracles; Motown) (recording artist; songwriter; producer)
17. Jimi Hendrix (Jimi Hendrix Experience) (recording artist; songwriter)
18. Leo Fender (electric guitar inventor; manufacturer)
19. Les Paul (electric guitar inventor; manufacturer)
20. Little Richard (recording artist; songwriter)
21. Stevie Wonder (recording artist; songwriter; producer)
22. Ray Charles (recording artist; songwriter)
23. Fats Domino (recording artist; songwriter)
24. Prince (recording artist; songwriter; producer)
25. Aretha Franklin (recording artist; songwriter)
26. Mick Jagger (Rolling Stones) (recording artist; songwriter)
27. Keith Richards (Rolling Stones) (recording artist; songwriter)
28. Buddy Holly (Crickets) (recording artist; songwriter)
29. Clyde McPhatter (Dominoes; Drifters) (recording artist)
30. Tom Dowd (Atlantic) (Sound engineer, producer)
31. Carole King (King & Goffin) (songwriter; recording artist)
32. Bob Marley (Bob Marley & the Wailers) (recording artist; songwriter)
33. Bill Haley (Bill Haley & His Comets) (recording artist)
34. Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller (songwriters; producers)
35. Dr. Dre (N.W.A) (producer; songwriter; recording artist)
36. Lamont Dozier & Brian Holland (Motown; H–D–H) (songwriters; producers)
37. Sam Cooke (recording artist; songwriter)
38. Jim Stewart (& Estelle Axton) (Stax) (label executive; producer)
39. Marvin Gaye (recording artist; songwriter)
40. Pete Townshend (Who) (recording artist; songwriter)
41. Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin) (recording artist; songwriter; producer)
42. Eric Clapton (Yardbirds; John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers; Cream) (recording artist; songwriter)
43. David Bowie (recording artist; songwriter)
44. Kanye West (recording artist; songwriter; producer)
45. Jay-Z (recording artist; songwriter)
46. Bruce Springsteen (recording artist; songwriter)
47. Roger Waters (Pink Floyd) (recording artist; songwriter; producer)
48. Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin) (recording artist; songwriter)
49. Freddie Mercury (Queen) (recording artist; songwriter)
50. Grandmaster Flash (Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five) (hip-hop deejay; recording artist)
51. Kurt Cobain (Nirvana) (recording artist; songwriter)
52. Tupac Shakur (2Pac) (recording artist; songwriter)
53. Paul Simon (Simon & Garfunkel) (recording artist; songwriter)
54. Afrika Bambaataa (Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force) (hip-hop deejay; recording artist)
55. James Jamerson (Motown; Funk Brothers) (bass player)
56. DJ Kool Herc (hip-hop deejay)
57. Neil Young (Buffalo Springfield; CSNY) (recording artist; songwriter)
58. Chuck D (Public Enemy) (recording artist; songwriter)
59. Rev Run (Run-D.M.C.) (recording artist; songwriter)
60. John Peel (BBC Radio 1) (deejay)
61. Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath) (recording artist; songwriter)
62. Lou Reed (Velvet Underground) (recording artist; songwriter)
63. Paul Ackerman (Billboard) (music journalist)
64. Brian Eno (Roxy Music) (producer; recording artist; songwriter)
65. Robert Fripp (King Crimson) (producer; recording artist; songwriter)
66. Frank Zappa (Mothers of Invention) (producer; recording artist; songwriter)
67. Taylor Swift (recording artist; songwriter)
68. Elton John (recording artist; songwriter)
69. Eminem (recording artist; songwriter)
70. Mariah Carey (recording artist; songwriter)
71. Wolfman Jack (deejay)
72. Whitney Houston (recording artist)
73. David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) (recording artist; songwriter; producer)
74. Don & Phil Everly (Everly Brothers) (recording artist)
75. George Harrison (Beatles) (recording artist; songwriter; producer)
76. George Martin (Beatles) (record producer)
77. Otis Redding (recording artist; songwriter)
78. Sly Stone (Sly & the Family Stone) (recording artist; songwriter; producer)
79. Rick Rubin (Def Jam Recordings) (record executive; producer)
80. Russell Simmons (Def Jam Recordings) (record executive)
81. Bono (U2) (recording artist; songwriter)
82. Joni Mitchell (recording artist; songwriter)
83. George Clinton (Parliament-Funkadelic)(recording artist; songwriter)
84. Beyoncé (Destiny's Child) (recording artist; songwriter)
85. Janet Jackson (recording artist; songwriter)
86. Curtis Mayfield (Impressions) (recording artist; songwriter; producer)
87. John Fogerty (Creedance Clearwater Revival) (recording artist; songwriter; producer)
88. Stevie Nicks (Fleetwood Mac) (recording artist; songwriter; producer)
89. Don Henley (Eagles) (recording artist; songwriter; producer)
90. Roy Brown (recording artist; songwriter)
91. Dave Bartholomew (Imperial Records)(songwriter; producer)
92. Wynonie Harris (recording artist)
93. Diana Ross (Supremes) (recording artist)
94. Tina Turner (Ike & Tina Turner) (recording artist)
95. Eddie Holland (Motown; H–D–H) (lyricist)
96. Nile Rodgers (Chic) (recording artist; songwriter; producer)
97. Michael Stipe (REM) (recording artist; songwriter)
98. Bernard Edwards (Chic) (recording artist; songwriter; producer)
99. Eddie Van Halen (Van Halen) (recording artist; songwriter)
100. Jeff Beck (Yardbirds; Jeff Beck Group)(recording artist)

[Fido]

I'd say Page's production work plus guitar acclaim justifies keeping him ahead of Plant. As for Plant vs Freddie, I'd say influence Plant, acclaim close (Zep are clearly more acclaimed than Queen, while Freddie I'd say is a bit more acclaimed as a vocalist/frontmen), popularity Freddie.

Plant is as important as a vocalist as Page is as a guitarist, and vocals are a more important element of rock music if we were to make such a distinction. Then there's also Plant as an overall frontman, and Plant as a lyricist (Page made the music, but let's not forget that a bunch of that was plagiarized, and Page is justly criticized for that). I don't think Page's production tops that, but nevertheless the main thing imo is that both are equally as important for Led Zeppelin, but after that Plant continued to make great music, while Page simply stopped, and the few things he has done are footnotes in his career.

On Plant vs Mercury, I'd also say that Plant is a more important member for his band, since he was a writer in most of the songs, while Mercury was not, or at least there are big chunks of Queen's music which he didn't write, including some of their greatest songs. We have Plant as a top 100 lyricist and Mercury not even on the list. I don't think we should focus that much on singer vs singer, drummer vs drummer, etc, when bands are usually more complex than that.

[Tim]

I'd still say Page is more acclaimed as a composer than Plant as a lyricist despite the plagiarism. Plus while I agree Plant has more notable post-Zep career than Page, it's a bit of afterthought for both.

[Fido]

You can't seriously put both solo careers at the same level. Plant has released almost twice as much albums after Zep than with them, some of those very acclaimed, including Grammys for Record of the Year and Album of the Year, as high as top 20 for the year on AM and on our very own lists. Page did a couple of albums in the 80s, mediocre at best, and hasn't made any music in 30 years. Of course it's an afterthought compared to Led Zeppelin, but not when comparing both individuals.

[Bruno]

I prefer the concept of "individuals" rather than "figures." I believe this category should have a separate list; it would make things easier to manage.

Just a thought.

[Tim]

Guess I am not sure what that changes for sake of this list.

[ManPerson]

You can't seriously put both solo careers at the same level. Plant has released almost twice as much albums after Zep than with them, some of those very acclaimed, including Grammys for Record of the Year and Album of the Year, as high as top 20 for the year on AM and on our very own lists. Page did a couple of albums in the 80s, mediocre at best, and hasn't made any music in 30 years. Of course it's an afterthought compared to Led Zeppelin, but not when comparing both individuals.

That's still like a drop of water in the ocean compared to Lex Zeppelin's music so I think each person's contribution to the band should be the primary concern here. Not necessarily against Plant > Page, though.