# Most famous popular music artist, by genre **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 26, 2012, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-popular-music-artist-by-genre/626342 "2012-06-26T13:32:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-popular-music-artist-by-genre/626342/21 "2012-06-27T11:10:36Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > How about classical? The obvious two contenders are Beethoven and Mozart. But who’s Number One? Pachelbel ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-popular-music-artist-by-genre/626342/22 "2012-06-27T11:44:41Z")
**Cowpunk** : Four Barrel Ghost. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-popular-music-artist-by-genre/626342/23 "2012-06-27T12:40:13Z")
> [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](#): > > Before I finished reading other’s input I thought of **Marvin Gaye** for the R&B category. Aretha has an equal right to the title but I think it comes down to those two. Sam Cooke in third. I’d put James Brown over Gaye or Cooke, tied with Aretha. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-popular-music-artist-by-genre/626342/24 "2012-06-27T14:08:51Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > How about classical? The obvious two contenders are Beethoven and Mozart. But who’s Number One? Beethoven, because he broke out of the Classical period, and ushered in the Romantic. But Classical is WAY too broad a category, compared to the others. It really needs to be broken down. But if we’re going in that direction anyway, **Opera** : Verdi **Operetta** : Lehar ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-popular-music-artist-by-genre/626342/25 "2012-06-27T14:15:37Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > **Operetta** : Lehar Not Gilbert & Sullivan? ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-popular-music-artist-by-genre/626342/26 "2012-06-27T14:37:23Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > **Folk** : It would have to be Dylan, no? I think even Dylan would say the folk musician would have to be Woody Guthrie. I’m with the crowd on Johnny Cash for country, with Hank Williams, Sr., as alternate, and Willie Nelson gets honorable mention. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-popular-music-artist-by-genre/626342/27 "2012-06-27T14:39:47Z")
> [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](#): > > Rock needs many more sub-categories to sort out a winner and based on the dialogue, so does jazz. Louis and Miles are important but Benny Goodman was no slouch and you can’t leave Duke off the list. I didn’t. > [@](#): > > I think of Dylan as a blues singer more than a folkie, both at the beginning and end of his career. Those with a strong grasp on Folk, may rank The Weavers first, then Joan Baez. But more people have probably heard a Peter, Paul & Mary song than either of the other two. The only way to solve this is to put Dylan in a category called Dylan. For a few years he was the most important folk singer on the planet, but you’re correct that the top-of-the-charts Peter, Paul & Mary were far more famous among the general public. (So was Harry Belafonte, unless he was Calypso.) When he went electric he wasn’t really rock and wasn’t even folk rock. He was his own genre. Since then he’s experimented with every genre short of classical but nobody thinks of him as the great in any of those. An anomaly. If we’re breaking rock down to folk rock, then it’s probably Simon & Garfunkel over the Byrds. ---
**Author:** ![Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunzio_Tavulari)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-popular-music-artist-by-genre/626342/28 "2012-06-27T16:28:07Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I’d put James Brown over Gaye or Cooke, tied with Aretha. Another excellent choice. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-popular-music-artist-by-genre/626342/29 "2012-06-27T16:28:46Z")
**Texas swing:** Bob Wills. **Polka:** Jimmy Sturr (in the US anyway). ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-popular-music-artist-by-genre/626342/30 "2012-06-27T16:31:23Z")
**Zydeco** : Buckwheat Zydeco? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-popular-music-artist-by-genre/626342/31 "2012-06-27T16:55:19Z")
I’m prepared to argue that we have to define “famous” as performing vs. writing. The memories of Hank Williams as a performer are fading away, but he (and Willie) are probably more famouse for their compositions. Similarly, the Rolling Stones lasted a generation longer than the Beatles as performers. Aretha’s outlasted James Brown, but her best-known song was written by Otis Redding, so where does that get you? **Big Band** personally I like Glenn Miller, but I can see Duke Ellington, as well. And frankly, a lot more people have seen and heard Lawrence Welk. **Stupid Parodies** Stan Freberg, Allan Sherman or Weird Al? ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-popular-music-artist-by-genre/626342/32 "2012-06-27T16:55:36Z")
I’d put Hank Sr. over Cash. Garth Brooks did sell a couple of records though. ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-popular-music-artist-by-genre/626342/33 "2012-06-27T18:09:48Z")
In the “impossible to categorize but a phenomenon all to himself” category, I’d put **Jimmy Buffett**. He started off country, moved into beach/sailing music, and threw in comedy and ballads. Does the Parrothead phenomenon currently have any equal? Even Deadheads don’t compare. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-popular-music-artist-by-genre/626342/34 "2012-06-27T18:49:51Z")
> [@Tad](#): > > You think the most famous? Flatt and Scruggs got way up there in fame and popularity, but you’re probably right given the circles. I think Flatt and Scruggs are more famous in Bluegrass but just because of the Beverly Hillbillies. I think the Beastie Boys are the most famous Hip Hop band. I barely know who Jay-Z is and none of his work. I suspect that is true of lots of people over 30. The Beastie Boys have been around for a long time. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-popular-music-artist-by-genre/626342/35 "2012-06-27T18:57:30Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > **Hip-hop** - I haven’t kept up with hip-hop for years and it’s not a genre where artists tend to have long shelf lives. I’m just going to go with Jay-Z here. As someone who doesn’t listen to the genre (which may be an advantage here, in the sense that “famous” means that _everybody_’s heard of them) I would have said Eminem. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-popular-music-artist-by-genre/626342/36 "2012-06-27T19:10:55Z")
Disco - The BeeGees Latin - Tito Puente World Music - Ladysmith Black Mambazo ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-popular-music-artist-by-genre/626342/37 "2012-06-27T19:13:27Z")
For disco – how about The Village People? ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-popular-music-artist-by-genre/626342/38 "2012-06-27T19:28:48Z")
For disco, Chic have got to be contenders for the definitive disco band, but for the most famous, yeah, that’s probably The Bee Gees. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-popular-music-artist-by-genre/626342/39 "2012-06-27T20:07:09Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > **Folk** : It would have to be Dylan, no? No. Try [Pete Seeger](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Seeger). ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-popular-music-artist-by-genre/626342/40 "2012-06-27T20:34:42Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > No. Try [Pete Seeger](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Seeger). Oh, Bob Dylan has much more name recognition than Seeger. I’d bet about 75% of my co-workers know who Dylan is; I don’t think Seeger would break 20%. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-popular-music-artist-by-genre/626342.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-popular-music-artist-by-genre/626342.md?page=3)