Rock Legends: A list of the best bands of all time

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Today, there are a huge number of performers and groups that continue the traditions of the last century and create something new. But there are special names that are forever inscribed in the history of music - these are rock legends. The list of the best representatives of this musical direction includes those performers whose songs excite the minds and hearts of listeners so far.

Where to look for the origins?

Rock music took its beginnings from such a direction as rock and roll, the origins of which stem from the blues. During its development, this direction has undergone many changes and combinations with a variety of areas: jazz, symphonic, Latin, Indian music. But, one way or another, all these directions were developed precisely in the West, from where rock began to conquer the planet with leaps and bounds. So it is worth paying attention to foreign artists.

Rolling Stone magazine named the British group The Beatles the greatest musicians of all time, and thisno wonder, given their enormous popularity around the world. Many people think that The Beatles are rock legends, but this statement is not entirely true. The group stood at the origins of this direction, their music combined several genres, but you can’t call it typically fatal.

The Rolling Stones, from the 60s, are the greatest rock and roll band in the world to this day. Initially created as a rebellious alternative to the Beatles, the band got its own style, which also includes rhythm and blues and psychedelic rock. The Rolling Stones and The Beatles were the beginning of the so-called "British Invasion" in the music world of the United States.

Three pillars of heavy music

Led Zeppelin are British rock legends with a sound of their own featuring deafening rhythms, heavy guitar drive and piercing vocals. They enriched their music with elements of country, folk, soul, reggae and other genres. This band at one time gave impetus to the development of heavy metal, to this day it is one of the best in the style of hard rock.

Black Sabbath are another Brits who have developed and enriched the rock direction. In particular, they are the founders of heavy metal. Their music also gave rise to doom metal.

Deep Purple is a British group of virtuoso instrumentalists who captivate with their playing. Their contribution to the development of music is difficult to overestimate.

Natives of Foggy Albion

The Who - rock legends fromof the English capital, one of the first representatives of "hard" music, who launched the tradition of breaking musical instruments on stage after the performance. Not only extraordinary performances, but also great songs have written them into history as one of the greatest rock bands.

Pink Floyd is a band from London that has taken the world by storm with their acoustic experiments and philosophical lyrics. Grandiose shows also ensured their commercial success. They are one of the top 10 rock bands of all time and their music has had a major influence on many famous artists.

Other legends of foreign rock, whose homeland was Great Britain, who gave the world many great and eternal songs, are: Queen, Nazareth, UFO and many others. The countries of the United Kingdom are truly rich in talented people, not only musicians, but also other creative people.

Around the world

The legends of foreign rock are not only the British, although they own the palm, and they have made a significant contribution to the development of this direction. Americans, Canadians, Australians and Germans brought new touches and sounds to the current, creating new directions and enriching the music.

AC/DC is the only band from Australia to achieve such tremendous popularity in this direction. And although the band stands at the origins of the founding of heavy metal and hard rock, the musicians themselves classify their genre as rhythm and blues, distorted by hard rhythm and solo guitars. Their songs are still incredibly popular.

Kiss - Americans,standing at the origins of glam rock and captivating the audience with unusual stage make-up and a grandiose pyrotechnic show at their concerts.

The Doors - Los Angeles guys in a short period of time managed to become an incredibly popular, but at the same time controversial group of the 60s. The merit of their uniqueness is in the mysterious and mystical lyrics, as well as the figure of vocalist Jim Morrison.

Among the legendary musicians and bands, it is simply impossible not to mention Van Halen, Scorpions, Guns N`Roses, Bon Jovi and Aerosmith.

A unique phenomenon

Russian rock was born a little later. It has existed for a little over forty years and appeared in the expanses of the Soviet Union as a protest movement. He set fashion, divided society and united like-minded people. This cultural phenomenon marked a whole era in the history of our country, which was unique in its own way. And, of course, we have our own rock music legends, which are not much inferior to foreign ones. Modern bands in our country are trying to be more like their foreign counterparts, but meanwhile the rock of the end of the last century was incredibly original.

To preserve this cultural heritage, music collections on cassettes and CDs were released, as well as a series of books with rare photographs and stories, which was called “Legends of Russian Rock”.

The best of the best

Representatives of a full-fledged rock movement that took shape in the 80sof the last century, these are groups on the songs of which several generations of our fellow citizens grew up:

"Kino" - a deep text and an unusual manner of performance, as well as the charismatic figure of Viktor Tsoi - and now half of the country sings the songs of this team. And the tragic death of the vocalist elevated Kino to the rank of cult groups

• "Alisa" are the legends of Russian rock who successfully perform to this day. Over the years of its existence, the band has managed to try out many genres: post-punk, heavy metal, hard rock, new wave and others.
• "Nautilus Pompilius" - amazing lyrics and the bewitching figure of Vyacheslav Butusov - that's the secret of the team's great success.
• Picnic is an 80s rock band that has changed over time, trying new genres, and eventually formed its own unique style, which includes keyboards, symphonic and folk musical instruments.

Unformatted artists in the late 80s of the last century were subjected to pressure, persecution and censure for their views and the semantic content of the lyrics, but at the same time managed to create amazing music. There are not so few cult groups of that time. "Auktyon", "Bravo", "Aquarium", "Sunday", "Black Coffee", "Secret", "Civil Defense", "Aria" - they are all legends of rock in our country. Their memory will forever remain in the hearts of many fans.