Thousands and thousands of music artists have rose to fame and quickly vanished throughout time. However, which were able to make it to the top while staying relevant throughout the decades?
Music, as does many forms of art, can take on an entire persona and exist as though it is its own being. Many are gifted with an ear for music, while some take it upon themselves to create their own. As for some, a select few have risen to the top of the charts and successfully dominated the music industry. Popular artists of the 21st century are Ariana Grande, Beyoncé, and Harry Styles. While it is agreeable that these artists have defined this generation of music, some have managed to dominate the industry and redefine what it means to be a worldwide superstar.
Billboard, which prominently reports music news and is one of the biggest music media companies in the world, has been broadcasting the human entertainment industry since 1894. According to their list “Greatest of All Time Artists,” there are 125 musicians that have changed the world with their songs.
At the very bottom of the list – spot 125 – is Alan Jackson, whose top hit was ‘Chattahoochee,’ which peaked at spot forty-six in 1993 and spent twenty weeks on the chart. He has a few other charting songs, like ‘It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere,’ ‘Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning),’ and ‘Drive (For Daddy Gene)’ (at spots seventeen, twenty-eight, and twenty-nine, respectively).
Reaching roughly the middle tier is Miley Cyrus, in spot 62. Her recent song ‘Midnight Sky’ peaked at spot twenty this year for about five weeks. Some of her other hits include ‘Prisoner,’ ft. Dua Lipa (peaking at spot number ten) as well as a few other songs off of her most recent album ‘Plastic Hearts.’ All of these songs have were placed above or on the 100 lists at least once.
Coming in the first place is arguably one of the most popular bands of all time, The Beatles. The four manage to top the chart twenty times, with songs such as ‘Hey Jude,’ ‘Come Together/Something,’ and ‘A Hard Day’s Night.’ While these are not all, they also have thirty-four other top ten hits that placed on the chart throughout their fame. Almost every popular, nameable song by The Beatles has ranked relatively high (if not the highest), and they hold the title for the most number one hits in all of Billboard’s history.
While these hugely popular artists did define their generations and influenced music for the rest of the time, it does not mean that there were not plenty of other artists that changed the music scene as well. Musicians like Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones, or Stevie Wonder are not to be forgotten on this list, as they all contributed massively to the growth of their genres and the rise of popular culture.
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