They are known for leading their bands towards staggering levels of success. The entire scenery of music wouldn’t be that pretty if their contributions were removed. Who among these musicians is worthy to be called, the greatest band leader?
Billie Joe Armstrong/Green Day
His role to modern rock is undeniable for he is one of the most distinguished, if not the real father of the punk-rock revolution. Unlike other rock songwriters who greatly rely on complex guitar riffs and solos, Billie Joe is more fond of just strumming power chords albeit speedily, which gives out a fresh take on rock during the mid 90s.
Now in the rocking business for almost 30 years already, he still actively educates the world with his musical poetry that is hard to ignore, but easy to digest.
Axl Rose/Guns N’ Roses
Guns N’ Roses has been credited with reviving the mainstream popularity of rock ‘n’ roll, at a time when popular music was dominated by dance music and glam metal. With the assistance and cooperation of Slash, his lead guitarist, the band has been cited as one of the most important names in the history of rock music.
Though Axl has been labeled with many negative taglines throughout his career, it is still undeniable that he is one of the most recognized rock band frontmen there ever was.
Syd Barret/Pink Floyd
While most songwriters rely only on poetry and melody, Syd employs one element that is simply indispensable to performing arts: electronic audio projection. His innovative guitar work and exploration of experimental sonic techniques influenced many musicians.
Add it up with his use of philosophical lyrics, his band achieved international acclaim with their progressive and psychedelic music. But this is not his most important contribution to music though – it his ingenuity as a natural sound engineer.
Glenn Frey/Eagles
He led his band as its frontman and wrote most of their music. The Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s, and remains to be one of the most unforgettable bands in the annals of rock music.
When his band decided to call it quits, he embarked on a solo career in the 80s which maintained his popularity. A true leader can still achieve great work alone, and that’s what Glenn Frey proved to the world and to each and everyone of his followers.
Pete Townshend/The Who
He is one heck of a songwriter, having written well over 100 songs for his band’s 11 studio albums including concept albums and some rock operas which were critically and commercially acclaimed. Townshend has also contributed and authored many newspaper and magazine articles, essays, books, and scripts, and has collaborated as a lyricist and composer for many other famous artists.
These can make us conclude that even rockstars can be taken seriously in other forms of literature as well.
Steven Tyler/Aerosmith
In the wake of this success, Tyler emerged as one of the most enduring rock icons. Since the late 1980s, he has embarked on several solo endeavors including guest appearances on other artists’ music. But his love for his own band remains unflagging reason that they still work actively these days even though he has already achieved legendary status.
Outside of his band, he serves as a reality TV judge which gives him ample time to hand out golden advice to other aspiring artists.
Kurt Cobain/Nirvana
If you think that being a great songwriter means having to learn various complex chords, you may want to dispel such belief once you get to delve a little deeper into Cobain’s music. Leading a band of only 3 members and employing only very simple musical embellishments have made him deliver a very unique brand of music.
It is this style that cemented his name as the true father of alternative rock music.
Freddie Mercury/Queen
He is known for his flamboyant stage persona and four-octave vocal range. He constantly projects a different kind of energy while onstage and is never reluctant to receive crowd participation in all of his band’s performances.
His renown as a singer compliments his inventive musicianship that remains unparalleled in the UK as well as in other parts of the world. Because of that, Freddie is, and always will be, one of the most important figures in British music history.
John Lennon/The Beatles
He is just one quarter of a 4-member English rock band, but since wrote more than half of the songs that comprise the albums of that band, then it’s fair to say that this guy is more than half the men that his co-members were. The Beatles was more than just a name, for it is a legacy, a trademark, and a word that’s synonymous for “musical greatness” and melodic superiority.
It was Lennon who led that band to the unfathomable success it got. Therefore, he is a bandleader that you must never, ever undermine.
Bono/U2
Leading a band that sold more than 170 million records already, U2 is among the best-selling music artists in history. He was granted an honorary knighthood by Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom for “his services to the music industry and for his humanitarian work.”
He also received great admiration from other organizations for his activism and involvement with his band, as well as with other artists. This proves that Bono is not just a leader of a great rock band, but of great bodies of work also that has brought a lot of good to mankind and of mother Earth itself.
Who do you think among them should be ranked as number 1?
Good one