First off, I don't believe I put CCR up there with country, I simply mentioned them after the influence country music has on music as a whole; sorry if you misunderstood that.
An artist, in my estimation, is someone who creates something, makes a statement and an entertainer is someone who takes someone else's creation and puts it out there to the world and I believe the people who should be in the Top 100 should be the true artists. (And even some people who create and put their message out there do so in such a way as to entertain more than anything else.) People have mentioned Garth Brooks and, to be fair, Garth Brooks is an entertainer - a very good one, but still an entertainer. John Fogerty is an artist and I don't think there's anyone who can deny that he's had a sizable influence on music.
I'm not entirely sure what this list was based on, but I don't see how Aretha Franklin can be put ahead of Sly and the Family Stone, Elton John or Otis Redding - the latter was responsible for some of her most notable hits, by the way. Or Smokey Robinson for that matter, who was, at one point in time, the writer of most all of Motown's biggest hits! A true soul music icon even if his voice isn't particularly my cup of tea and he didn't even make the list. (Seriously just who in the world comes up with this stuff?)
Sly was a musical genius back in the day, creating and writing music that made a statement, made people sit up and take notice and he and the Family Stone changed funk forever in their execution. Elvis brought black artists to the forefront despite being white because of his sound and crossed many a boundary and I don't believe music today would be quite the same without his influence. The same goes for Buddy Holly; the man changed rock and roll forever in such a short amount of time and, I could be wrong, but I don't think the rock movement of the 60's would have been the same without his previous influence. Janis Joplin is another notable figure as she put herself out there and paved a way for women in a previously male dominated genre, proving to the world that a woman can rock out just as hard as a man and while I'm not entirely the biggest fan, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath were the fathers of metal. (I don't think I even need to start on how Michael Jackson changed not only music, but music videos and the world as I'm sure even a deaf man could tell you all about that.)
Now, as a fan of the groups I'm about to mention, I don't believe Def Leppard, Guns N Roses, Nirvana or Aerosmith should be on this list. The Top 100 is a very exclusive list and while I appreciate and love the music, Def Leppard and Guns N Roses were very much 80's groups, staying in that category and moving no further with any great impact; same goes for Nirvana and the 90's. Even though they did have a huge impact on 90's music, I don't believe they would have made it much further than that had Kurt Cobain lived. And Aerosmith, while amazing, didn't have as much impact on the music industry as some others left off this list. (And I'm still not entirely sure just how Beyonce, Mariah Carey or Alicia Keyes even managed to make this list along with a few others... {and I say that with no disrespect meant to any of their music})
I could go on and on forever about my opinions and how I believe The Beatles and their hype need to be knocked down a few pegs as they hit the shores doing what was popular, singing bubble gum hits like: "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" and that their revolutionary works came after they made a name for themselves. Or how being the Queen of Soul can only get you so far and it shouldn't be ahead of the likes of Ray Charles, who started quite the controversy with certain musical preferences of his but I don't think it would do any good. You and I have always seen things differently and I see this as being much the same as those past discussions. Drawing upon experience, I don't believe my female mind could say anything you would see as credible, and I just don't believe you have an argument to change my mind in this particular area in which I grew up listening to most, if not all of these musicians, and have formed my own set opinions of who is, was and will never be as influential as people say over the span of twenty one years. I think I'll save us both some headache and cramped fingers on this one by just leaving it at this.
Oh how I love your style Flora...First off, my apologies for the misunderstanding about Credence...I can actually tell you what this list is based on...This is a list created by artists(entertainers) such as Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Idol, and Barenaked Ladies...Yes it's VH1's, but that's cause that's who produced it...The artists/entertainers on said list were actually the ones choosing who goes on this list...
I can actually tell you why, at least the way i see it, some of these people made the list...
Aretha Franklin-Because she was black, a woman, and fat...At the time it was more or less unheard of to be a famous musician and be one, let alone all three of these...Yes it happend...but was rare...So a women whose both big and black comes up and starts scoring hits...People take notice...Even by todays standards...
Nirvana-First off, let me start by saying I HATE Nirvana...But nonetheless, I believe they deserve to be on the list...They created an entire genre and did it with just three members...They made rock music incredibly simple...Loud distored power chords and simple solos...Before, rock was ALL ABOUT complex guitar...Punk and Grunge broke ground when they made it simple...
Aerosmith-I LOVE Aerosmith...Whether they deserve to be on the list or not...Is debatable...Granted, they started off big, then had two different BIG comebacks...Also, made the title "Biggest Band In the World" twice...That's an accomplishment...Plus, we can not forget, this list came out last year...In this day and age, media and video games are EVERYWHERE, and Guitar Hero and Rock Band are hugely popular...They were the first to have a game based ENTIRELY off their music, paving the way for other installments by bands like Green Day, Metallica, and the NO. 1 band on the list the Beatles...So, they've many accomplishments...But not a whole lot that any other band on the list couldn't have done...
Guns n' Roses-Didn't deserve to be on the list...Were on it just because of their popularity...The one thing that made them deserving is Slash, but HE should've been on the list, not the band he was with for just a few years, considering he's gone on to be featured in other works, have a solo career, be featured in a Guitar Hero game, and have two other successful bands following GnR, Slash's Snakepit and Velvet Revolver...
Def Leppard-Deserved it, just because while I agree...TOTAL 80's band, when Hair Metal died out in the 90's, they were still making successful records...They stood out among other hair bands like Twisted Sister and Motley Crue...Plus...A one armed drummer...What's up with THAT!! If I had to give em one more reason...They got big in America almost immediately, but it wasn't till their THIRD studio album that they made it in their native Britain...I'm not sure, but I believe they were the first band to make it in the U.S. BEFORE making it on their own soil...
And as stated before, it's OBVIOUS why Elvis deserved to be higher, and Buddy Holly deserved to be on the list...
