It’s official. These are the artists who made the cut and will be admitted into the RRHOF in 2018.
- Bon Jovi
- Dire Straits
- Moody Blues
- The Cars
- Nina Simone
Mostly bands. Remember bands? Sure you do.
While most of what we have today are solo artists, Taylor Swift, Post Malone, and Ed Sheeran there are a few bands. Imagine Dragons and Coldplay come to mind. But it’s hard not to think of both bands as something other than a vehicle for Chris Martin and Dan Reynolds (their respected leaders).
The Beatles, the Stones, and U2 are all bands that succeeded from the specific collection of people who made up the band. Hard to imagine any of these bands succeeding and having the influence they did without an intact lineup. Plus, you don’t think of any of them as simply vehicles for their frontman.
It’s John and Paul, Mick and Keith, Bone and The Edge. But, more broadly, hard to imagine the Stones with Charlie Watts, or U2 without Larry Mullins Jr. They wouldn’t be themselves without those drummers.
So, that’s the litmus test for a band, a gestalt – where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Today, however, music is all Taylor Swift, Post Malone, Ed Sheeran, and Katy Perry. Individuals. Stars. Behind the scenes are dozens of collaborators. Songwriters, musicians, publicists.
With the exception of the Moody Blues, I’m not sure about the four bands. Each member wrote songs and made significant and individual contributions their s ound. overall sound. And they made more than one or two albums together.
The rest, however, are more solo vehicles than bands. Bon Jovi has more in common with Ed She
Many of today’s superstars exist on their own, sans band. For every Imagine Dragons U2 and Coldplay, there are a dozen of the likes of Ed Sheeran, Post Malone, and Taylor Swift. Solo artists.
And when you look at this list of bands, what do you find? More solo artists.