Who will be the true classics? Meaning people will remember 200/300 years from now?

Question

Assuming the world doesn't end by then of course.

What bands/artists will be the next Mozart, Vivaldi and Bach? Who will really go down in history for generations as music to remember?

My personal guess would have to be Yes. Close to the Edge will certainly stand the test of time. That's just one example, I'm not going to say the rest of mine.

What do you think?

Nice twist eh conie? Nice to see what happens when you simply add a zero.

Buffster: Nice to wonder though, isn't it?

How Soon Is Now?: I think it's impossible to forget Bowie!

Aww.... poor Jake..... go away little trollies!

How Soon Is Now?: I would be upset if Bon Jovi and Greenday is remembered over Pink Floyd and the Beatles...

Master C: What can I say? I'm a dreamer. And I can't believe you were the first one to mention Elvis!

Master C: *whimpers in fear* not THEM

How Soon Is Now?: LOL, AWESOME!!!! The ultimate political band!

William: Great choices, and the first to say Dylan!

Chunga: Zappa's in my government textbook. Even Dylan and the Beatles couldn't make that!

Sarah N: LOL, isn't that a bit too evil?

darkwood: Owner of A Lonely Heart is just about the worse Yes song ever, try Close to the Edge, now that's a sweepg progressive epic! And no... Yes isn't that popular in the States either, that's just my hopeful thinking.

Answer 1

Most definitely The Beatles. Whether your a fan or not, you can't argue that they'll have the staying power, where many of todays current music (if you can even call it music) will be long forgotten. To this day, people are still asking those "Beatles vs. Stones" questions. Not bad for a band that was really only together for 7 or 8 years, and broke up nearly 40 years ago!
Somehow I just can't see 'The London Symphony Orchestra' using MCR, Nickelback, Smashing Pumkins, NOFX, or The Black Eyed Peas as a source of musical inspiration or material in 200 years, as they have with The Beatles and The Who in recent years.

I think that bands like Yes and ELP will be remembered, but not on the same scale as The Beatles, The Stones, The Who, etc.
It seems as the decades pass, only a had full of groups from each decade really achieves legendary status, while the rest are simply forgotten. Take the 70's for example, there were thousands of great bands, but only the "Classic Rock" bands seem to be remembered by most. Record labels, MTV and mainstream brainwashing by the aforementioned can be thanked for that.
Oh, and how could I forget Mr. Frank Zappa! Now THAT'S timeless music. How anyone could refer to 'Smashing Pumpkins' as "timeless" makes me laugh, and only shows the limitations with regards to their own musical history/knowledge/vocabulary.

I also think that the bands that will be remembered in 200 years will pretty much be left in the hands of the same people that promote the music that many feel is mainstream garbage today. It's a big money game.
But thanks to the internet, email blasts, blogs etc, many great bands have seen a resurgence in popularity over the last few years. There will always be a market for mainstream crap, and each generation has seen their share. I only hope that as time passes, there will be more young people such as yourself that are able to think outside the box!

Answer 2

I think it will be artists who leave behind a large "Body" of work, meaning someone who just releases a couple of albums and then offers no more will probably be forgotten. That being said, it would be artists who compose their own music and are extremely talented and proficient at their instrument (or voice) of choice. For instance, Frank Zappa is an easy choice. 80 albums and crossed so many musical boundaries...Then you have your ground breakers like Hendrix, who only left a small body of work, but permanently changed the world. Certainly the Beatles. The Rolling Stones. Queen. Zep. Floyd. The Who. and Yes. You can't forget Edward Van Halen. He single-handedly spawned a new generation of neo-classical shredders who will also probably be remembered: Malmsteen, Vai, etc. If you then look at bands who have consistently released quality material over a long amount of time you can't leave out Rush. Then you have Bowie, Kraftwerk, Dylan, Springsteen, Elvis, Clapton, Jeff Beck, ... I could go on. The thing is, everything is so well documented now. Think about all the lost compositions of the Great Masters. (Bach. Beethoven, Mozart, etc.) There was no way to record them, only a paper trail. We have become so adept at conserving for historical purposes that I am sad to say that in 200 years, some people may think that Britney Spears might well be remembered alongside Fiona Apple, but we here in the present know that you can't utter those two names in the same sentence without laughing! I hope that trusts known today like "Rock N Roll Hall of Fame" will carry on to make sure that the list is culled and selected to honor only those who are just and deserving of being remembered. Personally, I think Close to the Edge is a Masterpiece, as well. Cheers!

Answer 3

Well when I read this question one name popped in my head:
"Led Zeppelin"
then I started reading the answers...
I have the impression that this is a very difficult question to really get it right. The answers are really very much influenced by personal taste... and 300 years is a looong time.
The Beatles are really a very important chapter in rock music and they are mentioned all over, but does anybody really listen to them nowadays (and I mean in really great numbers- a vast audience) it is years since I heard them on the radio, in my country at least.
I'm not from the States and not from the UK, and I really am astonished as to the fact, that YES is concidered as one of the groundbreaking most important etc. groups here on Y!A when the only song I know of them is the "silly" "Owner of a lonely heart" and I never heard anyone (in my country) speak about them.
Now Greece surely isn't the center of the world, and it won't be the country that will be the one that decides who will be rememberd and who not (the rock audience here is a minority after all), but still it is really strange.
I have nothing to say against the a.m. bands (especially the second since I'm am obviously ignorant as to what they have played and therefore achieved) Just some thoughts that popped in my mind after reading all these answers.
May the best be remembered and the rest be forgotten.

Answer 4

Rock and roll has been around for only about 50 or 60 years, and it's a very interesting thought as to what it will be like two or three hundred years from now. Will rock even still be around then? I certainly hope so. And I definitely hope a lot of these artists are still remembered.

These are the ones I think will be remembered the most--

The Beatles, of course
Bob Dylan
Led Zeppelin
Jimi Hendrix
Black Sabbath
Pink Floyd
The Who
The Doors
David Bowie
Nirvana
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Radiohead
The Smashing Pumpkins
The White Stripes

Edit*
Although...now we have the information superhighway so it's very possible that all artists will be remembered and listened to

Answer 5

David Bowie ... he better be remembered
And Morrissey

Every one else has already given good examples ( The Doors, Led Zeppelin...)

It will be a shame if Bon Jovi and Greenday are remembered in 200/300 years

Taylor Hicks?? Hell be forgotten in 7 years

Lol... Al Gore ... I wish He would sing... thatd be a hoot... Clinton can play the saxophone and I'm sure we could get Bush to play the banjo

Edit: Ohh and Iggy Pop and I hope The Cure will be remembered...

Edit:... and Brian Eno... but I think hes been mentioned... people better not forget him!

Edit: Actually... The Beatles and Elvis ARE in my history textbook ... so...dont have to worry about them

Answer 6

Led Zeppelin
The Beatles and the Rolling Stones adn Elvis of course
Bob Dylan
Billy Joel
Janis Joplin

Answer 7

You didn't just compare Yes to Mozart!?!?!
Come on...Classic Rock is good, but not that good. You have to take the biggest bands of the century, and they might be remembered. Case in point, who were the best artists of the 18th and 19th century?
200-300 years from now, Jazz will be remembered more than Rock. As will Blues, Ragtime, Military Marches, and various Traditional styles from around the world. If I were to pick someone from the Rock genre, it would be Elvis and the Beatles. They are so big, that it's hard to not know who they are. Those are the artists that stick around, the ones that you can't escape. And there is good reason for that.

Sarah: I was the first to mention Elvis? I didn't read the other responses, I assumed he would have been brought up. Wow!!! Good question though...I'm waiting to see "you know who" mentioned...

Answer 8

LOL!
Now /this/ is interesting.
My first though was of Radiohead. And the Beatles of course.
Well actually it is really hard for me to conceptulize it. This being known as classical music, of your way way ancestors. Actually I dont know. I dont see anything lasting that long. Back then, there weren't a million other bands (or at least i dont think so), not so much to compare them to. I might be wrong about this, but this is the general impression that I get.

- yes at first i was like ... sarah is only starring the Q now? that was so a few days ago!

Answer 9

In 200-300 years from now there will probably be only very few artists from now that will be considered classics. There will be at least 200 more years of future artists to choose from besides everyone else! Therefore my only picks would have to be artists that actually changed music or were really innovative for their time period.
The Beatles for sure changed music AND culture so they are a definite pick.
The only others that MIGHT be classics could be:
Elvis, BB King, Hendrix, Dylan, Metallica but even all them I doubt.

Answer 10

Frank Zappa, John Zorn, Captain Beefheart, Nick Drake, Bob Dylan, Robert Fripp, Lou Reed, Brian Eno, and maybe Gram Parsons.