Most Important People In the Rock and Roll Industry

The Top Ten
1 Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara, 5th September 1946 - 24th November 1991) was a Zanzibari-born British singer of Indian descent, songwriter and record producer, known as the lead vocalist and songwriter of the British rock band Queen. He also became known for his flamboyant stage persona and four-octave ...read more.

He is the most important man in the music industry, it's sure. He was an extremely talented musical artist. His vocal range was amazing, it surprises me again and again. There could never be another Freddie. We are lucky that we had him. RIP Freddie. You'll be always in my heart.

The most important people in rock and roll industry is Freddie, because there will be never ever a singer like him. He was so special, so talented with such a recognizable and unique voice. Amazing singer and musician!

Massive talent. There could never be another Freddie Mercury.

I think that he is quite good but I'm better

2 Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century. His energized interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style, combined with a singularly potent mix of influences across color lines during a transformative era in race relations, led him to both great success and initial controversy. ...read more.

40 years after his dead about 50.000 people have paid hommage at Graceland and you think that he is less important for the rockindustry than Freddie Mercury, Richie Blackmore, John Lennon, Chuck Berry and Jim Marchall? His impact on a social cultural level and in rock's history is so important that this rank on this list is just ridiculous. None of the above would be there playing important roles in rock's industry if Elvis would never have existed.

He was the first really big teen idol

3 John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (9 October 1940 - 8 December 1980) was an English singer and songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as a co-founder of the Beatles, the most commercially successful band in the history of popular music. He was assassinated by Mark David Chapman on December 8, 1980 at age 40. Lennon was characterised by the rebellious nature and acerbic wit in his music, writing and drawings, on film, and in interviews. His songwriting partnership with Paul McCartney remains the most successful in history.

I'm not sure that the top-selling music acts are (necessarily) the most important people in the industry. The top-selling music acts should be on a different list (Top-selling music acts). Just saying.

The most important people in the industry are those musicians who did something revolutionary. There are also inventors, producers, and so on. How about Jim Marshall? Can you imagine contemporary rock music without amps?

Lennon/McCartney are the only names that should be at the top of this list, as the Beatles are by far the top-selling music act of all time.
Elvis Presley should be #2, since he is in second place for all-time sales.
MJ is in third place for sales, but has sold less than half of what Elvis and The Beatles have each sold.
There is some argument about who is in 4th place, with Led Zeppelin, Madonna, and Elton John the most likely contenders.

A brilliant, amazing, cutting edge, other worldly musician and composer who imbued his work with the importance of peace, honesty and brotherhood. John Lennon...you'r the greatest!

John Lennon changed the face of music. He did it with his tremendous heart, searing brilliance, boundless compassion and unstoppable courage!

4 Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. He died on 18 March 2017.

Chuck is the single most influential rock artist that has ever lived

He should be number 1 on this list

Chuck is the uncrowned king

5 Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Led Zeppelin.
6 Michael Jackson Michael Jackson (Michael Joseph Jackson; August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, dancer, and songwriter. He passed away from cardiac arrest caused by a propofol and benzodiazepine overdose on June 25, 2009. He donated (at least) a remarkable 500,000,000 dollars to charity. Michael is also known as The King of Pop (a title given to him by Elizabeth Taylor) or under the initials MJ. Dubbed the King of Pop, he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. ...read more.

Better than anyone

7 Dave Davies David Russell Gordon "Dave" Davies is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist. He was the guitarist for the British Invasion band, The Kinks.

The guy from The Kinks who famously split the speaker cone of his amplifier with a single-sided Gillette razorblade and invented a louder and more biting guitar sound.

8 Jimi Hendrix Jimi Hendrix (born November 27, 1942 - September 18, 1970) was an American rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most influential electric guitarists in the history of popular music, and one of the most celebrated musicians of the 20th century. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame describes him as "arguably the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music". Hendrix is consistently ranked on lists of musicians who died too soon.

What he did is not really that difficult; high-school kids can play all of his solos these days.
How he thought of it is absolutely impossible, Hendrix has been gone for over 40 years, and nobody has caught up with him yet.

9 Ritchie Blackmore Richard Hugh "Ritchie" Blackmore is an English guitarist and songwriter, best known for his work in the hard rock/metal bands Deep Purple and Rainbow. He was ranked number 16 on Guitar World's "100 Greatest Metal Guitarists of All Time" in 2004, and number 50 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the ...read more.

A pioneer of heavy metal and hard rock.

He was the first one who wrote rock songs based on scales typically used in classical music, now known as heavy metal. So sad that people know only Smoke On The Water (killer riff though).

10 Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the lead guitarist and songwriter for the rock band The Who.
The Contenders
11 Jim Marshall

Have you ever heard of Marshall Amplification?

Jim Marshall aka The Father of Loud - pioneer of guitar amplification.

12 Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer. With John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, he gained worldwide fame with the rock band the Beatles, one of the most popular and influential groups in the history of pop and rock ...read more.
13 Robert "Mutt" Lange

Record producer and songwriter - innovations in multitrack recording. He has produced albums for artists such as AC/DC, definitely Leppard, Foreigner, Bryan Adams, Billy Ocean, Shania Twain, Outlaws, The Cars, The Corrs, Maroon 5, Nickelback, Muse.

14 Bob Dylan Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, author, and artist who has been an influential figure in popular music and culture for more than five decades.

"Dylan goes electric", other than the Beatles and Elvis' debuts, probably the most important single event in the history of rock music.

Not the most appreciated but one of the most important and influential songwriters.

15 Desmond Child

A professional songwriter/composer (several Grammy winners). Play these songs and feel his touch - more than 50 great hits of this calibre:

Bon Jovi - Livin' on a Prayer, You Give Love a Bad Name, Bad Medicine, This ain't A Love Song, Keep the Faith, Diamond Ring, and many more.

Aerosmith - Crazy, Dude (Looks Like a Lady), Angel, What it Takes, Hole in My Soul, etc.

KISS - I Was Made for Lovin' You, Heaven's on Fire

Joan Jett - I Hate Myself for Loving You

Alice Cooper - Poison

Cher - Just Like Jesse James, Does Anybody Really Fall In Love Anymore?

Ricky Martin - Livin' la Vida Loca, She Bangs, Nobody Wants to Be Lonely, Shake Your Bon-Bon
… and so on.

16 Jim Morrison James Douglas "Jim" Morrison was an American singer, songwriter, and poet best remembered as the lead singer of the Doors.
17 Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne was born on December 3, 1948. He is also known as ''The Prince of Darkness''. Ozzy is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of the band Black Sabbath. Osbourne was fired from Black Sabbath in 1979 and has since had a successful solo career, releasing 11 studio albums.

He's one of my favorite musicians in the music industry. While many of his songs are hard core and badass, he also sings more mellow and beautiful songs as well. It's understandable that so many people love him. I also love how he doesn't change for anyone and he's a free spirit who does what he wants.

18 Buddy Holly Buddy Holly, born Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959) was an American musician and singer-songwriter who was a central figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was a rising star when a tragic plane crash struck him down at age 22.

During his short career, Holly wrote, recorded, and produced his own material. He is often regarded as the artist who defined the traditional rock-and-roll lineup of two guitars, bass, and drums. Holly was a major influence on later popular music artists, including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, and Elton John. ...read more.

Broke down the barriers against singers writing and arranging their own material.

19 Roger Waters George Roger Waters is an English singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer. He is mostly known for being the secondary lead vocalist and bassist of Pink Floyd.
20 Alice Cooper Alice Cooper is an American singer, songwriter, musician and occasional actor whose career spans over five decades.
21 Johnny Rotten John Joseph Lydon, also known by his former stage name Johnny Rotten, is an English singer, songwriter, and musician.
22 Ahmet Ertegün

If you don't know who he is, then you don't know anything about rock music.

23 Jimmy Page James Patrick Page is an English musician, songwriter, and record producer who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin.

How is he not on the list?

24 Ronnie James Dio Ronnie James Dio (born Ronald James Padavona; July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010) was an American heavy metal singer, songwriter and musician. He fronted and/or founded numerous groups including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and Heaven & Hell. He is credited with popularizing the "metal horns" hand gesture ...read more.
25 Tony Iommi Anthony Frank "Tony" Iommi is an English guitarist, songwriter and producer. Best known as lead guitarist and founding member of the pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, he has been the band's sole continual member and primary composer. At age 17, he accidentally lost the fingertips of his middle ...read more.
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