Who is the greatest rock ‘n’ roll star of all time and why?

Question

We’re honouring the great musicians of Memphis - the undisputed home of rock ‘n’ roll, soul and blues – in Sunrise Presents: Your Song, a special television event on Tuesday Dec 4 at 7:30pm on Seven.

Australia’s soul man Guy Sebastian will perform the five most popular songs – as voted by Australia - in front of live studio audience. I’ll be hosting along with Mel, Nat, Beretts and Monique. We’ll be joined by some of the biggest names in showbiz and I’m sure the debate about which song is number one will be heated!

I’m interested to know which band or person you consider the best ever rock ‘n’ roll star? New or old, band or single person, it’s up to you.
Sunrise Presenter David Koch

More information:

http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/b/sunrise/245/sunrise-presents-your-song

New Sunrise website: http://www.yahoo7.com.au/sunrise

Answer 1

It's Elvis Presley. I know there are some of you that think he is so outdated. But that isn't the question here. He changed the way music was presented to the youth of this country and the world. Yes there were others before him that were great stars too but so many musicians looked up to him and wanted to be like him and do what he did, his presence and influence was fantastic. Has there been great stars since, of course. The Beatles, The Stones, The Doors, Hendrix, Aerosmith, Led Zepplin, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, The Police, Dave Matthews... Just way to many to name so don't be offended if your pick isn't included. Every decade has their shining star or several for that matter. But no group or individual star still draws the attention that Elvis Presley does. If you're young or old, he continues to be the break out star who really began the real rock and roll style that has evolved into to todays music.

Answer 2

RE:
Who is the greatest rock ‘n’ roll star of all time and why?
We’re honouring the great musicians of Memphis - the undisputed home of rock ‘n’ roll, soul and blues – in Sunrise Presents: Your Song, a special television event on Tuesday Dec 4 at 7:30pm on Seven.

Australia’s soul man Guy Sebastian will perform the five most popular songs – as voted by...

Answer 3

Then came Hendrix who tought the world, and I mean everybody that was in the business how to play guitar. Hendrix became popular in the UK before really hitting it big in the States... everyone went to see him and everyone from the who, to clapton, to the beatles... were simply stunned at what this guy did with his guitar. With Hendrix a different type of stage presence came to be... an act that was then put together by the Rolling Stones, hard rock, flamboyant clothing, sexual ambiguity etc... Then came the punk generation, new wave, grunge etc... each one haveing their own developments, and in this list I have not even mentioned the progressive movement with groups like pink floyd, genesis, alan parson etc... The list is endless and boiling it down just one is not possibile as "Rock" is just too big a field to find one. The best however are the ones that I mentioned above. ... where do we put james brown the greatest soul man on the planet... this is exaclty what I mean.

Answer 4

The best Rock and Roll Star would have to be Elvis Presley, as He is still talked about and they still play some of songs as well on Radio. Running a close second would have to be Bill Haley and the Comets as they started the whole Rock and Roll era,a little before Elvis came on the scene as Elvis was driving trucks at the time.

Lenny.

Answer 5

In my opinion there simply cant be a single greatest. There are many "greatest". The reason being is that Rock as we know it is in continuous evolution. Let me explain, form its roots of R&B every artist in one way or the other contributed to the development of rock and roll, be it with a particular playing tecnique, or with a way of moving on stage (which I would like to remind you that in the late 50's and 60's was considered obscene) to the way of singing etc... so we reach the turning point with Elvis, who was able to condense in his act the best of what had been developing until that time. The next big step is not The Beatles... its Dylan. Finally lyrics became a serious issue, and folk became Rock. He was the one who amped his guitar and blasted the volume, to the extent that in the concert where this took place he was booed... then came The Beatles, but had they continued to play love me do's and please please mes they would have not gone very fare had it not been for external inspiration. What I mean by this is, for example an encounter that they had with Dylan where he basically told Lennon, "hey your sound are cool, but your songs don't say anything... " so that the point where the beatles lyrics started changing... then came another external influnce... the sounds of another band.. which was not the Rolling Stones, but were the Beach Boys... there was a certain competition between them... musically speacking the Beach boys were better than the beatles to the point that their album "pet sounds" is one of Paul's favorite, so from there the Beatles started making more intricte music in in the span of just about six years went from three chorded songs to complex music with all sorts of instruments and arrangements.
Then came Hendrix who tought the world, and I mean everybody that was in the business how to play guitar. Hendrix became popular in the UK before really hitting it big in the States... everyone went to see him and everyone from the who, to clapton, to the beatles... were simply stunned at what this guy did with his guitar. With Hendrix a different type of stage presence came to be... an act that was then put together by the Rolling Stones, hard rock, flamboyant clothing, sexual ambiguity etc... Then came the punk generation, new wave, grunge etc... each one haveing their own developments, and in this list I have not even mentioned the progressive movement with groups like pink floyd, genesis, alan parson etc... The list is endless and boiling it down just one is not possibile as "Rock" is just too big a field to find one. The best however are the ones that I mentioned above. ... where do we put james brown the greatest soul man on the planet... this is exaclty what I mean.

Answer 6

There are so many great Solo Singers & Bands out there it is hard to choose, but having to I would pick Elvis Presley for the World & America & Johnny O'Keefe for Australia. Then again we shouldn't forget: Billy Thorpe & The Astecs, Daddy Cool, Lobby Lloyd & The Coloured Balls, Madder Lake, all of these were the start of Rock'n Roll in Australia. The list goes on. I have singles of all these performers
eg: She's So Good, 12Lb Toothbrush, Your Mama Don't Dance, Lollie Pop, Mess Of The Blues & many more, they are all my favorites. Aussie Rock forever.

Answer 7

The reason being is that Rock as we know it is in continuous evolution. Let me explain, form its roots of R&B every artist in one way or the other contributed to the development of rock and roll, be it with a particular playing tecnique, or with a way of moving on stage (which I would like to remind you that in the late 50's and 60's was considered obscene) to the way of singing etc... so we reach the turning point with Elvis, who was able to condense in his act the best of what had been developing until that time. The next big step is not The Beatles... its Dylan. Finally lyrics became a serious issue, and folk became Rock. He was the one who amped his guitar and blasted the volume, to the extent that in the concert where this took place he was booed... then came The Beatles, but had they continued to play love me do's and please please mes they would have not gone very fare had it not been for external inspiration. What I mean by this is, for example an encounter that they had with Dylan where he basically told Lennon, "hey your sound are cool, but your songs don't say anything... " so that the point where the beatles lyrics started changing... then came another external influnce... the sounds of another band.. which was not the Rolling Stones, but were the Beach Boys... there was a certain competition between them... musically speacking the Beach boys were better than the beatles to the point that their album "pet sounds" is one of Paul's favorite, so from there the Beatles started making more intricte music in in the span of just about six years went from three chorded songs to complex music with all sorts of instruments and arrangements.

Answer 8

Everyone knows the answer to this because it is obvious to one and all. The KING is Roy Orbison and the Prince is Michael Jackson. They are undisputed as leaders in their prospective fields and what they have done for the music industry. Even Elvis was a fan of Roy. When Roy toured in England he was the leading act to the Beatles which has to tell you something about the man. And even though Michael has fallen off the rails in the past decade or so, no one can argue to what he has brought to the world of music. He was a pioneer in the use of video clips for his songs and he still holds the record (some would say tied with the Eagles even though theirs was a 'Best of') for most records sold for Thriller. Everyone is going to have their own genre of music and I see that some say ACDC and the like are the greatest. They are very very good, but to say they changed the face of music more than Roy and Michael would be a stretch at best. I look forward to hearing what people have to say about my thoughts. Thanks

Answer 9

I Believe that they are the best Rock n Roll stars of all time. They are Australian. Which is the most important factor of all. There music really gets you rocking and rolling a

Answer 10

The greatest R&R stars have to have longevity. When I was in high school, I would have answered Genisis, yet don't even bother to put them on my iPod nowadays. The Rolling Stones, Who, Eagles, Beatles and Elvis all quickly come to mind. As far as contribution to the genre, Elvis and The Beatles are unmatched, yet on a personal level The Eagles are it for me. Separated or together, they still make my long drives short.

Answer 11

Elvis Presley