Rolling Stone's list of the 10 greatest dead musicians of all time

[LynneSin]

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/photos/rolling-stone-readers-name-top-10-greatest-dead-rock-stars-of-all-time-20110202

Some legends on that list

[pintobean]

1. Your subject line misled me

Rock stars, not musicians.
This was interesting, but I would have preferred top musicians.

[hobbit709]

3. Define musician

[orleans]

23. same here--i went looking for zappa and for a minute there i couldn't

figure out why he wasn't on the list. then i noticed: "rock stars" (gag)

[dawg]

2. Pretty predictable list.

Made me think of some more obscure ones like Kevin Gilbert. Ever heard of him? If not, I would recommend any fan of complex pop music to check him out.

[TZ]

4. Is that a list of overrated dead rock stars?

Cause to me thats the only fucking way that goddamned Kurt Cobain finishes ahead of both Elvis Presley AND Freddy Mercury.

[dawg]

5. Since I started trying to play guitar, I've ...

become much more appreciative of Kurt Cobain. Not for his guitar abilities - most of his stuff is pretty easy to play. But for his songwriting. His vocal lines seem to snake around his chord sequences in an interesting and non-typical fashion. To me, his songwriting was unique. I didn't think so until I started playing and singing some Nirvana songs, though.

Well, that's just my perception. YMMV.

[TZ]

7. Oh he had talent, no doubt

but come on. Freddy Mercury was waaay more talented, all around than Cobain. And Elvis vocal abilities were much better than Cobain.
That list should have been Lennon, Mercury, Presley, 1,2,3.

[Bake]

17. Can't argue with that.

Well, I **could** but I won't.

Freddie was an amazing performer. You GOTTA have the King on the list. Hendrix, Harrison, Lennon ... all gotta be there.

I'd probably leave the drummers off (I mean, the list IS supposed to be about MUSICIANS) and make room for STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN, one of the three greatest guitarslingers of all time. I'd also include Django Rheinhart, but the typical RS reader likely doesn't know who Django was.

:hi:

Bake

[LynneSin]

6. Bonham came ahead of Moon - that's all that counts

:woohoo:

Personally, I think the fact that LZ refuses to do an actual true reunion tour (although after 30 years I think it's about time) whereas what's left of The Who is planning another tour in 2011 is the reason that Bonham is always ahead of Moon even though both are equally as talented. LZ kept the legend intact whereas The Who made Keith Moon seem replaceable.

[dawg]

9. Best rock drummers are still alive.

[Iggo]

10. Nice place you got there, Meg.

Know'm say'n?

[LynneSin]

11. Sorry, she's basement kid drummer compared to this living drummer...

[Joe Fields]

24. he's junior varsity compared to Carl Palmer.

[NoGOPZone]

25. Carl is highly underrated

as are Bill Bruford, Stewart Copeland and Simon Phillips

[Odin2005]

22. I don't get why it's so fucking popular to hate on Cobain.

It was Nirvana that thrust the Alt-Rock scene of the 80s into the sunlight.

[CBGLuthier]

27. Because he was an idiot douche who killed himself?

The greatest crime he committed was leaving a child to be raised by Courtney Love. For that alone he deserves an eternity's worth of derision.

[JitterbugPerfume]

28. my thought exactly,

especially Freddy Mercury.

I nexer could see why Cobain was so popular.

[Swede]

8. Pretty good list.

[jmowreader]

12. Oh, come on...

Kurt Cobain is on this list and neither Randy Rhodes nor Ronnie James Dio are?

Bonham and Moon are on it, but neither Elvin Jones nor Buddy Rich are? Shit, Louie Bellson, who invented the double bass drum that is rock and roll personified, isn't on here.

[LynneSin]

13. the fact that this poll was of RS readers help clarify things

:shrug:

[rurallib]

14. surprised they couldn't find a spot for Buddy Holly

[WinkyDink]

15. Okay, if #1 isn't Classical, this list is a farce. Oh, ROCK musicians? Yeah, way not the same.

[madinmaryland]

16. +1000

[nolabear]

18. What, no Jerry? I like Bonham and Keith Moon, but no Jerry?

[Bennyboy]

31. Jerry influence is still being felt today...

I see kids all the time wearing GD gear. And tehy know all the songs etc... they could cre less about janis or any of those guys but jerry, just like he did for us all, inhabits theri hearts.

Think aobut how many WORLD FAMOUS musicians that started playing Jerry Licks or wwere in dead cover bands. DMB< PHISH< Panic et all of them....

[Amerigo Vespucci]

19. Shocked...and kind of disappointed...that R.S. would leave Jerry off a list like that

Their coverage of The Dead, and Garcia in particular, was pretty exhaustive over the years.

I can see a different magazine excluding him, but not R.S.

[rbnyc]

20. Fuck Morrison...

...I'd replace him with Nick Drake.

Fun list tho, thanks for posting.

:toast:

:hi:

[Odin2005]

21. The deaths of Joplin, Hendrix, Cobain, and Morrison are especially sad.

All were pretty damn young. IMO 90s music would have been a bit different had Cobain not killed himself.

[CBGLuthier]

26. Are they great BECAUSE they are dead?

Because most of them were actually fairly mediocre "musicians."

[Mad_Dem_X]

29. Kurt Cobain over Freddie Mercury???

:shrug:

[KamaAina]

30. I'd swap out Bonham and Moon for Jerry and Stevie Ray Vaughan

:(