Tag Archives: 100 Greatest Artists of all time

Tina Turner

On May 24, 2023, Anna Mae Bullock aka Tina Turner died aged 83. She was singer, author, dancer and actress, referred to as the “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll”, began her career with Ike Turner’s Kings of Rhythm in 1957. In 1958, under the name Little Ann, she released her first record, “Boxtop”. In 1960, she debuted as Tina Turner with the duet single “A Fool in Love”. The duo Ike & Tina Turner became “one of the most formidable live acts in history”. In the 1980s, Turner made a great comeback, and in the decades that followed she sold over 100 million records worldwide, and became one of  the best-selling recording artists of all time. She won twelve “Grammy Awards”, three “Grammy Hall of Fame” awards and a “Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award”. Magazine “Rolling Stone” ranked her among the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time” and the “100 Greatest Singers of All Time”. She was twice inducted into the “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame”, with Ike Turner in 1991 and as a solo artist in 2021. In 2005, she was recipient of the “Kennedy Center Honors” and “Women of the Year” award. As leader Tina Turner released nine albums.

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Jerry Lee Lewis

On October 28, 2022, Jerry Lee Lewis died aged 87. He was musician (piano), singer and songwriter, nicknamed “the Killer”, He was a pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, described as “Rock and roll’s first great wild man and one of the most influential pianists of the 20th century. Lewis won four “Grammy Awards”, including a “Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award” and two “Grammy Hall of Fame Awards”. He was inducted into the “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame”, the “Rockabilly Hall of Fame”, “Memphis Music Hall of Fame” and “Country Music Hall of Fame”. In 2003, “Rolling Stone” magazine ranked his box set “All Killer, No Filler: The Anthology”, at number 242 on its list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time”, in 2004, the same magazine ranked him at number 24 of its list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time”. A movie about his life, “Great Balls of Fire”, was released in 1989, starring Dennis Quaid. As leader, Lewis released 40 studio and 8 live albums.

Howlin’ Wolf

On January 1976, Chester Arthur Burnett aka Howlin’ Wolf died aged 65. He was musician (guitar, harmonica), singer, and songwriter, one of best known Chicago blues artists. Some of his songs have like “Spoonful”, “Smokestack Lightnin’”, and “Killing Floor”, become standards, and have been recorded and performed by many blues and rock musicians. In 2011, “Rolling Stone” magazine ranked Wolf at number 54 on its list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time”. As a leader he released 22 albums.

Chuck Berry

On March 18, 2017, Charles Edward Anderson “Chuck” Berry died aged 90.  He was musician (guitar), singer and songwriter, one of the pioneers and most important figures of rock and roll music. His songs “Maybellene” (1955), “Roll Over Beethoven” (1956), “Rock and Roll Music” (1957) and “Johnny B. Goode” (1958), defined the contours of rock and roll music, and changed the face of popular music. His unique guitar solos and stage appearance made lasting influence on subsequent rock artists, including names like The Beatles or The Rolling Stones. In 1984, Berry was awarded “Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award”. He was among the first musicians to be inducted into the “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame” on its opening in 1986. In 2004, “Rolling Stone” magazine ranked him at number 5 on its list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time”. The same magazine ranked his compilation album “The Great Twenty-Eight” at number 21 on its list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time”. His songs “Johnny B. Goode,” “Maybellene,” and “Rock and Roll Music”, are included in the “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll”. “Johnny B. Goode” is the only rock-and-roll song included on the “Voyager Golden Record”. In 2014, Berry was made a laureate of the “Polar Music Prize”.

James Brown

On December 25, 2006, James Joseph Brown died aged 73.  He was singer, songwriter, producer and bandleader, regarded as the creator of funk music, and one of the most important artists in the history of the modern music. Named the “Godfather of Soul” and the “Hardest Working Man in the Show Business”, for all the achievements in his six decades long career, Brown received many honors including” inductions into the “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame”; “Songwriters Hall of Fame”; “Lifetime Achievement Award” at the 34th annual “Grammy Awards”; “Lifetime Achievement Award” at the 4th annual “Rhythm & Blues Foundation Pioneer Awards”; a star on the “Hollywood Walk of Fame”; inductee to the “New York Songwriters Hall of Fame”; honored as the first “BMI Urban Icon” at the “BMI Urban Awards”, “Lifetime Achievement Award” at the “BET Awards”, and induction into the “UK Music Hall of Fame”.Magazine “Rolling Stone” ranked him at number seven on its list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time”; in Joel Whitburn’s analysis of the “Billboard R&B” charts from 1942 to 2010, Brown was ranked as number one in “The Top 500 Artists”.list, magazine “Rolling Stone” cited him as the most sampled artist of all time, and In an article for the same magazine, critic Robert Christgau cited Brown as “The Greatest Musician of the Rock Era”. Brown is also one of the best sold artist of all times.

Prince

On April 21, 2016,  Prince Roger Nelson died aged 57. He was singer, musician, composer, arranger, producer and actor,  one of the most successful and influential artists of the modern music. He recorded thirty-nine studio albums, four live albums, eight compilation albums, seventeen video albums, thirteen extended plays and one posthumous album. Prince won seven “Grammy Awards, six “American Music Awards”, a “Golden Globe Award”, and “Academy Award” for the 1984 film “Purple Rain”. In 2004, he was inducted into the “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame”. Magazine “Rolling Stone” ranked him at number 27 on their list of “100 Greatest Artists of All Time”.

Frank Zappa

On December 4, 1993, Frank Vincent Zappa died aged 52.  He was musician (guitar, various instruments), composer, bandleader, producer, actor and filmmaker. In a career spanning more than 30 years, with The Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist, Zappa released  more than 60 albums, working most of the time as an independent artist. His work gained critical acclaim worldwide; magazine “Rolling Stone” ranked him at No. 71 on its list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time”, and in 2011 at No. 22 on its list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”. In 1995, Zappa was posthumously inducted into the “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame” and in 1997 he was posthumously awarded with the “Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award”.