VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Rock & Roll

1. Paul Simon

Born on October 13, 1941, in Newark New Jersey, Paul Simon is one of the greatest singer/songwriters ever. In 1957, he and high school pal, Art Garfunkel, wrote and recorded the single, "Hey Schoolgirl", under the name "Tom and Jerry". After some failures, they broke up. Simon still wrote and ...

2. Parliament Syndicate

3. Traffic

Soundtrack | Spider-Man: Homecoming

Traffic is known for Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Avengers: Endgame (2019) and Masters of the Universe (1987).

4. Fats Domino

Soundtrack | The Blues Brothers

Antoine Dominique Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 - October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American pianist and singer-songwriter. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New Orleans to a French Creole family, Domino signed to Imperial ...

5. Lynyrd Skynyrd

Soundtrack | Kingsman: The Secret Service

Lynyrd Skynyrd is an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida. The group originally formed as My Backyard in 1964 and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocalist), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom (bass guitar) and Bob Burns (drums). The band spent five years ...

6. Robert Johnson

Soundtrack | The Skeleton Key

Robert Johnson was born on May 8, 1911 in Hazlehurst, Mississippi, USA. He was a writer, known for The Skeleton Key (2005), Chocolat (2000) and Holes (2003). He was married to Calleta "Callie" Craft and Virginia Travis. He died on August 13, 1938 in Greenwood, Mississippi, USA.

7. Diana Ross

Soundtrack | The Wiz

Best known as the the lead singer of the popular 1960s singing group The Supremes, Diana Ernestine Earle Ross was born on March 26, 1944, in Detroit, Michigan, the second of six children of African-American parents Ernestine Lillian (Moten), a schoolteacher, and Fred Earl Ross, who served in the ...

8. The Supremes

Soundtrack | The Sixth Sense

The greatest girl group ever had its origins in the late 1950s in Detroit's Brewster Projects. At the beginning the girls formed a quartet and named themselves "The Primettes", achieving mild success locally and recording a single for the Lupine record label. They ended up being a trio in 1960 ...

9. The Four Tops

Soundtrack | Four Brothers

The Four Tops is known for Four Brothers (2005), Fantastic Four (2015) and Don't Look Up (2021).

10. The Temptations

Soundtrack | Ready Player One

The Temptations is known for Ready Player One (2018), Hardcore Henry (2015) and Four Brothers (2005).

11. Gladys Knight & The Pips

Soundtrack | The Equalizer

Gladys Knight & The Pips is known for The Equalizer (2014), Forrest Gump (1994) and Friday (1995).

12. Tom Waits

Actor | Seven Psychopaths

Thomas Alan Waits was born in Pomona, California, to schoolteachers Alma Fern (Johnson) and Jesse Frank Waits. Described as one of the last beatniks of the contemporary music, Waits in fact has two separate careers. From 1973 (LP "Closing Time") to 1983 ("One From The Heart" soundtrack), he ...

13. Johnny Cash

Soundtrack | The Johnny Cash Show

Johnny Cash was born February 26, 1932, in Kingsland, Arkansas, to Carrie Cash (Rivers) and Raymond Cash. He made his first single, "Hey Porter", for Sun Records in 1955. In 1958 he moved to Columbia Records. He had long periods of drug abuse during the 1960s, but later that decade he successfully ...

14. Ramones

Soundtrack | Spider-Man: Homecoming

Punk Rock band formed in Forest Hills, Queens, New York City, USA, in 1974. They are known as one of the pioneers of the punk rock sound. All the band members have adopted the fake surname "Ramone" alongside their stage name. School friends John Cummings (Johnny Ramone ) and Thomas Erdelyi (Tommy ...

15. Santana

Soundtrack | The Long Kiss Goodnight

Santana is known for The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996), The Fast and the Furious (2001) and Zodiac (2007).

16. Madonna

Soundtrack | A League of Their Own

The remarkable, hyper-ambitious Material Girl who never stops reinventing herself, Madonna is a seven-time Grammy Award-winner who has sold over three hundred million records and CDs to adoring fans worldwide. Her film career, however, is another story. Her performances have consistently drawn ...

17. Carole King

Soundtrack | A League of Their Own

Carole King is an American composer and singer-songwriter.

She is the most successful female songwriter of the latter half of the 20th century in the USA, having written or co-written 118 pop hits on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1955 and 1999. King also wrote 61 hits that charted in the UK, making ...

18. T. Rex

Soundtrack | Hot Fuzz

T. Rex is known for Hot Fuzz (2007), Baby Driver (2017) and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010).

19. Iggy Pop

Actor | Cry-Baby

Iggy Pop was born on April 21, 1947 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. He is a music artist and actor, known for Cry-Baby (1990), Coffee and Cigarettes (2003) and Dead Man (1995). He has been married to Nina Alu since November 22, 2008. He was previously married to Suchi Asano and Wendy Weissberg.

20. Devo

Soundtrack | The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

Devo is known for The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), Tank Girl (1995) and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1995).

21. The Band

Soundtrack | Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

The Band was a Canadian-American rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, in 1967. It consisted of four Canadians and one American: Rick Danko (bass guitar, vocals, fiddle), Garth Hudson (keyboards, accordion, saxophone), Richard Manuel (keyboards, drums, lap steel guitar, vocals), Robbie Robertson (...

22. Tina Turner

Soundtrack | Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome

With almost fifty years in the music business, Tina Turner became one of the most commercially successful international female rock stars. Her sultry, powerful voice, her incredible legs, her time-tested beauty and her unforgettable story all contributed to her legendary status.

Born to a ...

23. Aerosmith

Soundtrack | Armageddon

Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "the Bad Boys from Boston" since they were formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1970. Aerosmith is the best-selling American hard rock band of all time, having sold more than 150 million records worldwide, including over 70 million records ...

24. Billy Joel

Soundtrack | Oliver & Company

William Martin Joel is an American singer, pianist, composer and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man" after his single and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo artist since the 1970s, having released 12 pop and rock studio albums from 1971...

25. John Coltrane

Soundtrack | Adrift

John Coltrane was born on September 23, 1926 in Hamlet, North Carolina, USA. He was a music artist and composer, known for Adrift (2018), Vanilla Sky (2001) and Zodiac (2007). He was married to Alice Macleod and Juanita Grubbs. He died on July 17, 1967 in Huntington, Long Island, New York, USA.

26. The Bee Gees

Soundtrack | Ready Player One

The Bee Gees were a music group formed in 1958, featuring brothers Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful as a popular music act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers of the disco music era in the mid- to late 1970s. The group sang ...

27. Curtis Mayfield

Soundtrack | Armageddon

Rhythm and blues performer/songwriter credited with defining 1960's Chicago sound in hits like "It's All Right" and "Gypsy Woman." His style influenced other artists from pop to hip hop. Has been a quadriplegic ever since he was struck by lighting rig during outdoor concert in New York, 1990. ...

28. The Velvet Underground

Soundtrack | Men in Black³

The Velvet Underground had its origins, oddly enough, in the world of manufactured pop music, around 1965. Long Island native songwriter/singer/guitarist Lou Reed had gone from college at Syracuse University to a day job as a staff composer and musician for Pickwick Records, whose specialities (...

29. Muddy Waters

Soundtrack | Adventures in Babysitting

Muddy Waters (born McKinley Morganfield) was one of the major forces in contemporary blues. He was instrumental in bringing the sound of the Mississippi Delta to Chicago in the 1940s, where his recordings for the Chess label exerted an enormous influence on both blues and rock musicians from the ...

30. Simon & Garfunkel

Soundtrack | Watchmen

Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of singer-songwriter Paul Simon and singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits-including "The Sound of Silence" (1965), "Mrs. Robinson" (1968), "The Boxer" (1969), and "Bridge ...

31. Rod Stewart

Soundtrack | Innerspace

Rod Stewart was born on January 10, 1945 in Highgate, London, England, UK. He is a music artist and actor, known for Innerspace (1987), The Three Musketeers (1993) and No Way Out (1987). He has been married to Penny Lancaster since June 16, 2007. They have two children. He was previously married to ...

32. Stevie Ray Vaughan

Soundtrack | Unbreakable

Stevie Ray Vaughan was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Dallas, Texas. He was the main guitarist and frontman for the musical trio "Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble" from 1978 to his death in 1990. Vaughan and his band-mates specialized in blues rock, and Vaughan was a key ...

33. The Pretenders

Soundtrack | In Bruges

The Pretenders are an English-American rock band formed in Hereford, England, in March 1978. The original band consisted of initiator and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Farndon (bass guitar, backing ...

34. The Allman Brothers Band

Soundtrack | The Bodyguard

The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman (founder, slide guitar and lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, keyboards, songwriting), as well as Dickey Betts (lead guitar, vocals, songwriting), Berry Oakley (bass guitar), ...

35. KISS

Soundtrack | The Nice Guys

KISS is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973 by Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Peter Criss, and Ace Frehley. Well known for its members' face paint and stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid-to-late 1970s with their elaborate live performances, which featured ...

36. James Taylor

Soundtrack | Funny People

James Vernon Taylor is an American country-gospel-rock fusion musician, songwriter and performer. Among some of his hits are "You've Got a Friend"; "Carolina in My Mind"; "Sweet Baby James"; "Fire and Rain"; "Mexico"; "Shower the People"; "How Sweet It Is"; and "Only a Dream in Rio". In ...

37. Frank Zappa

Soundtrack | Baby Snakes

Of all the qualities that typified Frank Zappa, perhaps the most striking is that he was a paradox. A workaholic perfectionist rock star who eschewed the hippie culture of the 1960s, deploring its conformism, spurious ideals and drug use, Zappa was not only a brilliant rock guitarist but an ...

38. Sting

Actor | Dune

Sting was born Gordon Matthew Sumner on 2 October, 1951 in Wallsend, North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England, the eldest of four children of Audrey (Cowell), a hairdresser, and Ernest Matthew Sumner, an engineer and milkman. He received his name from a striped sweater he wore which looked like a bee...

39. Paul McCartney

Soundtrack | Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Sir Paul McCartney is a key figure in contemporary culture as a singer, composer, poet, writer, artist, humanitarian, entrepreneur, and holder of more than 3 thousand copyrights. He is in the "Guinness Book of World Records" for most records sold, most #1s (shared), most covered song, "Yesterday," ...

40. Smokey Robinson

Soundtrack | Big Time

Multi-talented performer/writer/producer Smokey Robinson's career, and life, is inextricably tied up with Motown Records' founder Berry Gordy (his first two children are named Tamla, for the Gordy-owned label Smokey recorded for, and Berry, for Gordy himself). He and Gordy have had a professional ...

41. Earth Wind & Fire

Soundtrack | Ready Player One

Earth Wind & Fire is known for Ready Player One (2018), Doctor Strange (2016) and Polar (2019).

42. Bo Diddley

Actor | Blues Brothers 2000

Ever heard "I Want Candy" or "Not Fade Away" or "Willie & The Hand Jive", Shirley & Company's "Shame, Shame, Shame" or U2's "Desire" or George Michael's "Faith"? If you have, then you've heard the "Bo Diddley beat", the most famous beat in the world! One of the founding fathers of rock 'n' roll, Bo ...

43. Sam Cooke

Soundtrack | Innerspace

Sam Cooke was born January 22, 1931 in Clarksdale, Mississippi. He was one of eight children of Charles Cook Sr., a Baptist minister. When Sam sang as a little boy in church, everyone made note that his voice had "something special". He sang in church and in local gospel choirs until a group called...

44. Steely Dan

Soundtrack | R.I.P.D.

Steely Dan is an American rock band founded in 1971 in New York by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Initially the band had a stable lineup, but in 1974, Becker and Fagen retired from live performances to become a studio-only band, opting to ...

45. The Kinks

Soundtrack | Pirate Radio

The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm and blues and Merseybeat, and were briefly part of the ...

46. The Byrds

Soundtrack | Ford v Ferrari

The Byrds were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964.The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole consistent member. Although their time as one of the most popular...

47. Grateful Dead

Soundtrack | The Box

The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, country, jazz, bluegrass, blues, rock and roll, gospel, reggae, world music, and psychedelia; for live performances of lengthy ...

48. Peter Gabriel

Soundtrack | WALL·E

Peter Gabriel was educated at Charterhouse School, Surrey, England. He was the lead singer of leading progressive rock band Genesis from its inception until he left in 1975 for a successful solo career as a singer-songwriter, soundtrack composer and innovator in visual presentation of music, music ...

49. Cream

Soundtrack | Snowpiercer

British rock band Cream formed in 1966. Its members had come from other bands and had backgrounds in blues. Drummer Ginger Baker and bass guitarist Jack Bruce had both played with The Graham Bond Organization, an early British blues band, while lead guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton had come from The...

50. B.B. King

Actor | Blues Brothers 2000

Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 - May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shimmering vibrato and staccato picking that influenced many ...

51. R.E.M.

Soundtrack | Man on the Moon

R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, that was formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist/backing vocalist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe. R.E.M. was pivotal in the creation and development of the alternative rock genre. In 2007, the band was ...

52. Roy Orbison

Soundtrack | Love and Monsters

Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 - December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as operatic, earning him the nicknames "The Caruso of Rock" and "...

53. Van Halen

Soundtrack | Spaceballs

Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band went on to become major stars, and by the early 1980s they were one of the most successful rock acts of the time. 1984 was their most successful album. The lead single, "Jump", became an international hit and ...

54. Creedence Clearwater Revival

Soundtrack | Battleship

Creedence Clearwater Revival, also referred to as Creedence and CCR, was an American rock band formed in El Cerrito, California. The band initially consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty; his brother, rhythm guitarist Tom Fogerty; bassist Stu Cook; and ...

55. Sex Pistols

Soundtrack | The A-Team

The Sex Pistols originally comprised vocalist Johnny Rotten (John Lydon), guitarist Steve Jones, drummer Paul Cook, and bassist Glen Matlock; Matlock was replaced by Sid Vicious in early 1977. Under the management of Malcolm McLaren, the band attracted some controversies that both captivated and ...

56. Crosby Stills & Nash

Soundtrack | Annihilation

Crosby Stills & Nash is known for Annihilation (2018), The Art of Racing in the Rain (2019) and We Are Marshall (2006).

57. Jackson 5

Soundtrack | Guardians of the Galaxy

Jackson 5 is known for Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Four Brothers (2005) and The Italian Job (2003).

58. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Soundtrack | The Silence of the Lambs

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers were an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida formed in 1976. The band was part of Southern rock but also at the forefront of the heartland rock movement, alongside artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Bob Seger, and John Mellencamp who arose in the late 1970s and...

59. Nirvana

Soundtrack | The Batman

Nirvana was an American rock band formed by lead singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington, in 1987. Nirvana went through a succession of drummers, the longest-lasting and best-known being Dave Grohl, who joined in 1990. Despite releasing only three ...

60. Janis Joplin

Soundtrack | Watchmen

Janis Lyn Joplin was born at St. Mary's Hospital in the oil-refining town of Port Arthur, Texas, near the border with Louisiana. Her father was a cannery worker and her mother was a registrar for a business college. As an overweight teenager, she was a folk-music devotee (especially Odetta, ...

61. Michael Jackson

Soundtrack | Michael Jackson: Thriller

Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana, and entertained audiences nearly his entire life. His father, Joe Jackson (no relation to Joe Jackson, also a musician), had been a guitarist, but was forced to give up his musical ambitions following his marriage to Michael's ...

62. Miles Davis

Soundtrack | Adrift

Miles Davis, famous jazz trumpeter, composer and bandleader, was born 26 May 1926 in Alton, Illinois. He moved to New York in 1944 and studied at Juilliard. He left school and entered the jazz society of New York, meeting such famous musicians as Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker and Charles Mingus. ...

63. Elvis Costello

Soundtrack | Cold Mountain

Elvis Costello was born Declan Patrick MacManus in London, England and raised in Liverpool. The son of British band leader Ross McManus, Costello took his pseudonym from Elvis Presley and his father's stage name (Day Costello). He began performing professionally in 1969 and was a musician and/or ...

64. Al Green

Soundtrack | Scrooged

Al Green was born on April 13, 1946 in Forrest City, Arkansas, USA. He is a music artist and actor, known for Scrooged (1988), Hellboy (2004) and He's Just Not That Into You (2009). He was previously married to Shirley Kyles.

65. Little Richard

Actor | Last Action Hero

Richard Wayne Penniman, better known as Little Richard, the self-proclaimed "Architect of Rock 'n' Roll", traveled in his early days with the legendary vaudeville star Spencer "Snake" Anthony. One of Richard's early bands had the young, then unknown singer James Brown (the Godfather of Soul), a ...

66. Otis Redding

Soundtrack | Top Gun

Otis Redding was born on September 9, 1941 in Dawson, Georgia, USA. He was a music artist and composer, known for Top Gun (1986), Hamburger Hill (1987) and Road House (1989). He was married to Zelma Redding. He died on December 10, 1967 in Madison, Wisconsin, USA.

67. Buddy Holly

Soundtrack | Big Fish

Charles Hardin Holley, known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born in Lubbock, Texas, to a musical family during the Great Depression, and learned to play guitar and sing alongside his siblings. His ...

68. Queen

Soundtrack | Flash Gordon

Queen were one of the longest-lasting and most commercially successful bands to emerge from the British heavy rock scene of the early 1970s, but unlike their contemporaries such as Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath, they soon became just as popular with pop fans as fans of hard rock and ...

69. Joni Mitchell

Soundtrack | Two Weeks Notice

Joni Mitchell is one of the most highly regarded and influential songwriters of the 20th century. Her melodious tunes support her poetic and often very personal lyrics to make her one of the most authentic artists of her time. As a performer she is widely hailed for her unique style of playing ...

70. The Clash

Soundtrack | Grosse Pointe Blank

The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 as a key player in the original wave of British punk rock. The Clash achieved commercial success in the United Kingdom with the release of their self-titled debut album, The Clash, in 1977. Their third album, London Calling, released in ...

71. Neil Young

Composer | Dead Man

Neil Young is one of the most respected and prolific rock/folk guitarists of the late 20th century. Raised in Canada, he first became well-known as a guitarist and occasional vocalist for the band Buffalo Springfield. After the band's breakup, Young became a solo performer. However, he also has ...

72. Sly and the Family Stone

Soundtrack | Stealth

Sly and the Family Stone was an American band from San Francisco. Active from 1966 to 1983, it was pivotal in the development of funk, soul, rock, and psychedelic music. Its core line-up was led by singer-songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist Sly Stone, and included Stone's brother...

73. Bruce Springsteen

Soundtrack | Blinded by the Light

Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen was born September 23, 1949 in Long Branch, New Jersey, USA. His father, Douglas Frederick Springsteen, worked as a bus driver, and was of Irish and Dutch ancestry. His mother, Adele Ann (Zerilli), worked as a legal secretary, and was of Italian descent. He has an...

74. Chuck Berry

Soundtrack | Men in Black

Charles Edward Anderson Berry was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into the major elements that made rock and roll distinctive with songs such as "Maybellene" (1955), "Roll ...

75. Van Morrison

Soundtrack | Belfast

Sir George Ivan Morrison OBE known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans six decades. He has won two Grammy Awards.

As a teenager in the late 1950s, he played a variety of instruments such as guitar, harmonica, ...

76. Bob Marley

Soundtrack | I Am Legend

Bob Marley was born on February 6, 1945, in Nine Miles, Saint Ann, Jamaica, to Norval Marley and Cedella Booker. His father was a Jamaican of English descent. His mother was a black teenager. The couple were married in 1944 but Norval left for Kingston immediately after. Norval died in 1957, seeing...

77. Eagles

Soundtrack | Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles and six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s in North America.

Founding members-were recruited by ...

78. Fleetwood Mac

Soundtrack | Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. The band has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, making them one of the world's best-selling bands. In 1998, select members of Fleetwood Mac were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and received the Brit ...

79. Aretha Franklin

Actress | The Blues Brothers

Grammy-winning Queen of Soul and the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Aretha Louise Franklin was born in Memphis, Tennessee, to Barbara Vernice (Siggers) and C. L. Franklin, a Baptist minister, who preached at the New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit for over thirty ...

80. The Doors

Soundtrack | The Doors

The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and John Densmore on drums. The band got its name, at Morrison's suggestion from the title of Aldous Huxley's book The Doors of Perception. They were ...

81. Pink Floyd

Soundtrack | Tang shan da xiong

Syd Barrett: vocals, guitar (born: Roger Keith Barrett; 6 January, 1946; Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, UK). In 1968, Syd Barrett left the band. Syd died in July, 2006 at aged 60 from pancreatic cancer.

David Gilmour: vocals, guitar (born: David John Gilmour; 6 March, 1946; Cambridge, ...

82. Prince

Soundtrack | Under the Cherry Moon

Prince Rogers Nelson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Mattie Shaw, a jazz singer and social worker, and John L. Nelson, a lyricist and pianist. His father's stage name was "Prince Rogers". His parents were both from African-American families from Louisiana. They separated during his youth, ...

83. Elton John

Soundtrack | Kingsman: The Golden Circle

Sir Elton John is one of pop music's great survivors. Born 25 March, 1947, as Reginald Kenneth Dwight, he started to play the piano at the early age of four. At the age of 11, he won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. His first band was called Bluesology. He later auditioned (...

84. John Lennon

Actor | A Hard Day's Night

John Winston (later Ono) Lennon was born on October 9, 1940, in Liverpool, England, to Julia Lennon (née Stanley) and Alfred Lennon, a merchant seaman. He was raised by his mother's older sister Mimi Smith. In the mid-1950s, he formed his first band, The Quarrymen (after Quarry Bank High School, ...

85. Eric Clapton

Soundtrack | Lethal Weapon 3

Eric Clapton was born in Ripley, Surrey, England, on March 30, 1945. His real father was a Canadian pilot but he didn't find that out until he was 53. When he was 2 his mother felt she was unable to look after him, so Eric then went to live with his grandparents. When he was 14 he took up the ...

86. Marvin Gaye

Soundtrack | High Fidelity

Marvin Pentz Gay Jr. (known professionally as Marvin Gaye; April 2, 1939 - April 1, 1984) was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo artist with a string of successes, earning him the nicknames ...

87. The Beach Boys

Soundtrack | Pirate Radio

The Beach Boys is an American rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Dennis Wilson, and Carl Wilson; their cousin Mike Love; and their friend Al Jardine. The Beach Boys are one of the most critically acclaimed, ...

88. Ray Charles

Actor | The Blues Brothers

A tragic fate may have given this visionary a heightened sensitivity, perception, awareness, even expansion to his obvious musical gifts that he may have never touched upon had he not suffered from his physical affliction. Whatever it was, Ray Charles revolutionized American music and was ...

89. Stevie Wonder

Soundtrack | Wild Wild West

Born Stevland Hardaway Judkins in Saginaw, Michigan, United States, to Calvin Judkins and Lula Mae Hardaway. Due to being born six weeks premature, Stevie Wonder was born with a condition called retinopathy of prematurity, which made him blind. Stevie Wonder, even with this disability, made his ...

90. The Police

Soundtrack | Red Planet

The Police were a British rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the band consisted of Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar, primary songwriter), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Police became globally popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s ...

91. The Who

Soundtrack | The Who : The Kids Are Alright

Roger Daltrey formed the Detours in 1962, with several member changes and role swaps abound, John Entwistle joined. Sometime later, on John's recommendation, Pete Townshend was added to the line up. In the meantime, The Detours had become a four-piece band; the drummer was changed with Keith Moon ...

92. Elvis Presley

Soundtrack | Girls! Girls! Girls!

Elvis Aaron Presley was born on January 8, 1935 in East Tupelo, Mississippi, to Gladys Presley (née Gladys Love Smith) and Vernon Presley (Vernon Elvis Presley). He had a twin brother who was stillborn. In 1948, Elvis and his parents moved to Memphis, Tennessee where he attended Humes High School. ...

93. David Bowie

Soundtrack | Labyrinth

David Bowie was one of the most influential and prolific writers and performers of popular music, but he was much more than that; he was also an accomplished actor, a mime and an intellectual, as well as an art lover whose appreciation and knowledge of it had led to him amassing one of the biggest ...

94. James Brown

Actor | The Blues Brothers

James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 - December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer, and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honorific nicknames "Godfather of Soul", "Mr. Dynamite", and ...

95. Bob Dylan

Soundtrack | Renaldo and Clara

Robert Allen Zimmerman was born 24 May 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota; his father Abe worked for the Standard Oil Co. Six years later the family moved to Hibbing, often the coldest place in the US, where he taught himself piano and guitar and formed several high school rock bands. In 1959 he entered the...

96. Led Zeppelin

Soundtrack | The Song Remains the Same

Led Zeppelin are a popular British band best known for their iconic "Stairway to Heaven" as well as for co-creating the music genre of heavy metal. Since their nine albums were recorded between 1968 and 1979, Led Zeppelin has been one of the most popular bands of all time, having sold more than 300...

97. Jimi Hendrix

Soundtrack | Woodstock

Widely regarded as the greatest and most influential guitarist in rock history, Jimi Hendrix was born on November 27, 1942 in Seattle, Washington, to African-American parents Lucille (Jeter) and James Allen Hendrix. His mother named him John Allen Hendrix and raised him alone while his father, Al ...

98. The Rolling Stones

Soundtrack | Pirate Radio

The Rolling Stones are the legendary British rock band known for many popular hits, such as Paint it Black, Lady Jane, Ruby Tuesday, and (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction. Almost everyone who attended their shows is quick to comment on their ability to start you up and shake your hips. Their song "...

99. The Beatles

Soundtrack | The Beatles: Get Back

The Beatles were an English rock band that became arguably the most successful act of the 20th century. They contributed to music, film, literature, art, and fashion, made a continuous impact on popular culture and the lifestyle of several generations. Their songs and images carrying powerful ideas...