I was (pleasantly) surprised by the extent of the reaction to David Bowie’s death. I didn’t expect his death to resonate so much with younger people. I speculate the reaction to a star’s passing may not reflect so much on the breadth of their work, but on the depth of their biggest hits, cross-over into other mediums, and personality.
For the biggest splash in the general population and across age groups:
McCartney would top the list and Jagger would beat out Dylan
Add Keith Richards and Stevie Wonder
Clapton is higher and Wilson is lower
However, I think Wilson and Wonder would see the biggest gain in renewed interest. In other words, the Beatles and Stones are somewhat saturated across age groups, but the Beach Boys and Stevie Wonder would find new audiences.
I know the OP ruled-out Elton John, but if he were permitted he would make McCartney work for the top spot.
Anecdote =/= data, but my niece, who was 23 when Bowie died, developed developed eclectic tastes in music when she was in her late teens, and Bowie had become one of her favorite artists, though I suspect that, for her, it’s as much for his personality and aesthetics as for the music itself.
Regardless, she had Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust lightning bolt tattooed on her wrist a year or two before he died, and she was definitely saddened by his passing.
Well said – aesthetics and personality captures it. Fifty years later and we’ve finally caught up to him. Labyrinth and the Under Pressure collaboration helped too.
My kids listen to a wider range of music than I did thanks to streaming. Their playlists include the Beatles, Elton John, ABBA, Queen, and Billy Joel, but they don’t see them the same way we do. They know them from a few hits, not the constant stream of airplay during their heyday. Maybe that’s how I viewed Elvis compared to my parents.
Speaking of ABBA, they might be a few candidates for the international list if the clock starts with their pre-ABBA days.
My understanding is that all four of them were active in the Swedish music scene in the 1960s, with hit songs in that country, though it doesn’t sound like they had much, if any, exposure outside of Sweden until '72 or '73.
I thought I’d throw out a hypothetical. Suppose it was July 2010 and we were discussing a similar question and had gotten down to a dozen names shown below (I tried to select candidates, who actually died between 2010 and 2020, with characteristics similar to those we’ve been discussing, using In Memoriam 2010-2019: Rockers We Lost This Decade (ultimateclassicrock.com)).
Who would you be advocating for “the biggest splash”? I don’t think I would have picked Bowie. (I know most made some sort of splash, but Bowie’s death seems to have had legs).
Ravi Shankar
Davy Jones
B.B. King
George Michael
Leonard Cohen
Prince
David Bowie
Glenn Frey
Tom Petty
Glen Campbell
Chuck Berry
Aretha Franklin
I was quite surprised/amused the other day to see a Facebook post from a friend’s wife whose son just graduated high school. She had to borrow his car because hers broke down, and she posts a picture of a Pet Sounds cassette tape (yeah, it’s an old beater of a car) she removed from the tape player, along with a smiling and laughing emoji (I mean, she posted the emoji, not that she removed it from the tape player ). I don’t recall either her or my friend being the type to listen to Pet Sounds, but I commented that it was another sign they have a very good kid there.
You’ve inspired me to give Pet Sounds another listen. I don’t think I ever gave it an unbiased chance. My first Beach Boys memories are of my brother playing Surfing Safari over and over on a portable tape recorder in the back of the family station wagon. I associated that song with the novelty songs we were playing at the same time, such as; “The Purple People Eater” and “Snoopy vs. the Red Baron”.
Aretha Franklin
David Bowie
George Michael
Prince
Chuck Berry
Glenn Campbell
Tom Petty
Glenn Frey
BB King
Chuck Berry
Leonard Cohen
Ravi Shankar
Davy Jones
Hard to believe that the Beach Boys were a major competitor to the Beatles, but they were. Brian Wilson came up with Pet Sounds because he was blown away by Revolver. The Beatles in turn were motivated to make Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band after hearing Pet Sounds.
I have to admit that while I like Pet Sounds and think it’s a great album, I don’t think it really competes with either Revolver or Sgt. Pepper. YMMV.
I do like the beach boys quite well (for happy-peppy moments) … but they def. occupied a certain “Cali niche/mood” in space and time, just like the Sex Pistols did in the late 70ies depressingEngland … and the Eurythmics in the 80ies…
neither of those would have worked outside of their 2-3 years window… (well, except in the oldies but goldies circuit, sharing a stage with Scott McKenzie )
They always struck me as a band that I could not take seriously, just like the Monkees, etc… I think they were a luck accident and found a formula that worked for a few years
(my opinion might be influence by the fact that I once owned a BB record that seemed to be an early streaming from a party where they were having a good time (playing and chatting …) … but not exactly “A day in my Life / Strawberry fields forever / Something” material)
That reminds me of my daughters. I was intrigued and delighted when, as teenagers, they showed interest in many of the musical artists I enjoyed when I was young (Bowie, Beatles, Pink Floyd, and others), even had many songs on their playlists.
…But, I never played my music for them, nor did I ever discuss my youthful taste in music with them. And they certainly didn’t get it from their mother—she just listened to goofy shit.
By the time the girls were born, I’d pretty much transitioned to classical music. I did attempt to turn them onto classical, but that went over like a led balloon (what the hell’s the matter with 7-year-olds not enjoying a nice, long symphony!?!..and a cigar).
So, where did they get this interest in Bowie, et al.? Good taste in music must run in the genes and the older artists seeped into them by osmosis, I supposed. Apples don’t fall far from the tree. Or, perhaps Gen Zs just have better taste in general than the couple generations before them (Gen X, Millennial music? ). So, Gen Zs must actively seek out good music from bygone days. That explains it. Good on 'em for that.
But nooo, the answer turned out to be more pedestrian, and devious. Only recently did my daughters admit to swiping my albums while I was at work, and playing them on their toy record player when they were pre-teens.
I’m still happy they enjoy the music of my youth. But, it also explains why my prized records are all scratched up.
Good point. I think Wilson was also trying to reproduce Phil Spector’s wall-of-sound as well.
That’s funny. I used to play my older brothers’ records when they were out. I got really good at counting the changes I made so I could put everything back again before they got home. My tastes were both influenced and limited by what they liked. Now kids don’t have those limits; they can queue a playlist and hear anything.
It was . . . more than that. He thought “Be My Baby” was the best song ever written, contained the secrets of the universe, and had the chorus formed into a loop that he would play pretty much 24/7 until he went into a trance. His daughter said he would play the tune all day, every day all she ever heard was “boom boom boom WHACK boom boom boom WHACK”.
Elton was releasing singles in the UK as early as 1967 so, personally, I’d include him quite far up the list.
Similarly, Alice Cooper (Vince Furnier) started out in the mid-60s although real success didn’t arrive until the 70s.
For other UK possibilities I know they’ve both been mentioned briefly but Cliff Richard (both with & without The Shadows) was huge in the early 60s and continued having hits, tv shows and name recognition for decades afterwards. Tom Jones also had great sucess (in the US as well, playing Las Vegas every year for decades, unlike Cliff) and sill appears on shows here like The Voice as a judge.
I wouldn’t really expect either of them to appear on a world-wide list, but on a UK based one, below the Beatles & Jagger but above Clapton.
Van Morrison’s too reclusive to have much public name recognition despite still touring and playing reasonably large venues. I’d expect Donovan (because of his Beatles connections) or Ray Davies to be above him.
There’s more than one way to reasonably interpret “60s rock star,” but my own preference would be to limit it to people who were rock stars during the 60s.
Sure, “Be True to Your School” BB is quite removed from “Caroline, No” BB. And if you asked me the greatest love song ever written from that era (if not ever), I’d be hard pressed to pick between “Something” and “God Only Knows.”
“Barbara Ann,” a cover of The Regents from 1961, was released on an album called Beach Boys Party in 1965. The record company insisted on having an album for Christmas, their third that year.
The song was a worldwide hit single, an all-time favorite that you can’t get out of your head.
Also on that album of covers: Dylan’s “The Times They Are a-Changin’.” Froth. Pure froth.
The album additionally included not one but three Beatles covers. Those oh-so-serious Beatles who released the movie Help in 1965 and were still putting out Christmas specials for their own fan base, far sillier than “Barbara Ann.”
Just wanted to thank you for posting Barbara Ann. I do think that having listened to that, I won’t get depressed for the next six months.
It’s been decades since I’d heard it, but it brought back memories of singing a capella doo-wop during lunch hours in school (wish we’d had the guts to sing at parties), and we inevitably devolved into silliness… like the B’ Boys.
). I don’t recall either her or my friend being the type to listen to Pet Sounds, but I commented that it was another sign they have a very good kid there.
). So, Gen Zs must actively seek out good music from bygone days. That explains it. Good on 'em for that.