100 Greatest Artists of Rock N' Roll

The 100 Greatest Artists of Rock & Roll was the first episode of "The Greatest", an ongoing series aired on the American music channel, VH1. The countdown aired in the Spring of 1998 and featured Kevin Bacon as it's host. The list was made by VH1. VH1 consulted with over 600 musicians in making the list. Artists were asked to select their top 100 artists in the history of Rock N' Roll. The votes by the artists were then tallied, and the list was then made. This was the first countdown by VH1, and led to the creation of one of VH1's most enduring and popular shows, "The Greatest". Many lists covering music, celebrities, and pop culture in general have been made since.

Information About the List and Countdown

The list featured artists representing all genres of the last 50 years that were related to Rock N' Roll music. Artists from the genres of Blues, Jazz, Country, Rock and Roll, Soul/R&B, Folk, Hard Rock, Funk, Punk Rock, and Pop were all featured.

The earliest artist featured on the list was legendary Blues musician Robert Johnson, and the newest act to appear on the list were 90's "Alternative Rock" icons, Nirvana.

7 artists were featured on the list twice: Eric Clapton, David Crosby, Michael Jackson, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, and Sting.

The list featured 6 female solo artists, 1 group with all female members, and 7 groups with female artists in the lineup.

20 of the 100 artists on the list were later featured on VH1's 2001 countdown of the The 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.

90 of the 100 artists on the list are current Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees.

The countdown aired in the early Spring of 1998, with Kevin Bacon as it's host. In what became a tradition on future episodes of "The Greatest", the countdown originally aired over a five-night period. The countdown aired in reverse order in a countdown-like fashion counting down the artists from #100-#1. Each episode highlighted 20 artists with profiles on each artist. The profiles ran for about 2-3 minutes each, briefly highlighting the history and legacy of the specific artist, and featuring commentary from musicians and artists whom admired the specific artist.

Artists such as Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Annie Lennox, Eric Clapton, Elton John, Garth Brooks, Jerry Cantrell (of Alice in Chains), Alice Cooper, Neil Young, Keith Richards (of The Rolling Stones), and many more artists were featured discussing and praising their peers.

The Actual List

100. Paul Simon
99. Parliament-Funkadelic
98. Traffic
97. Fats Domino
96. Lynyrd Skynyrd
95. Robert Johnson
94. Diana Ross and the Supremes
93. The Four Tops
92. The Temptations
91. Gladys Knight and the Pips
90. Tom Waits
89. Johnny Cash
88. The Ramones
87. Santana
86. Madonna
85. Carole King
84. T. Rex
83. Iggy Pop
82. Devo
81. The Band
80. Tina Turner
79. Aerosmith
78. Billy Joel
77. John Coltrane
76. The Bee Gees
75. Curtis Mayfield
74. The Velvet Underground
73. Muddy Waters
72. Simon and Garfunkel
71. Rod Stewart
70. Stevie Ray Vaughan
69. The Pretenders
68. The Allman Brothers Band
67. KISS
66. Talking Heads
65. James Taylor
64. Frank Zappa
63. Sting
62. Paul McCartney
61. Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
60. Earth, Wind, & Fire
59. Bo Diddley
58. Sam Cooke
57. Steely Dan
56. The Kinks
55. The Byrds
54. The Grateful Dead
53. Peter Gabriel
52. Cream
51. B.B. King
50. R.E.M.
49. Roy Orbison
48. Van Halen
47. Creedence Clearwater Revival
46. The Sex Pistols
45. Crosby, Stills, & Nash
44. The Jackson Five
43. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
42. Nirvana
41. Janis Joplin
40. Michael Jackson
39. Miles Davis
38. Elvis Costello
37. Al Green
36. Little Richard
35. Otis Redding
34. Buddy Holly
33. Queen
32. Joni Mitchell
31. The Clash
30. Neil Young
29. U2
28. Sly & the Family Stone
27. Bruce Springsteen
26. Chuck Berry
25. Van Morrison
24. Bob Marley
23. The Eagles
22. Fleetwood Mac
21. Aretha Franklin
20. The Doors
19. Pink Floyd
18. Prince
17. Elton John
16. John Lennon
15. Eric Clapton
14. Marvin Gaye
13. The Beach Boys
12. Ray Charles
11. Stevie Wonder
10. The Police
9. The Who
8. Elvis Presley
7. David Bowie
6. James Brown
5. Bob Dylan
4. Led Zeppelin
3. Jimi Hendrix
2. The Rolling Stones
1. The Beatles

References

[http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/the_greatest/62301/episode_wildcard.jhtml?wildcard=/shows/dynamic/includes/wildcards/the_greatest/rnr_list_full.jhtml&event_id=862738&start=1 100 Greatest Artists of Rock & Roll(100-81)]
[http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/the_greatest/62302/episode_wildcard.jhtml?wildcard=/shows/dynamic/includes/wildcards/the_greatest/rnr_list_full.jhtml&event_id=862778&start=21 100 Greatest Artists of Rock & Roll (80-61)]
[http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/the_greatest/62303/episode_wildcard.jhtml?wildcard=/shows/dynamic/includes/wildcards/the_greatest/rnr_list_full.jhtml&event_id=862779&start=41 100 Greatest Artists of Rock & Roll (60-41)]
[http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/the_greatest/62304/episode_wildcard.jhtml?wildcard=/shows/dynamic/includes/wildcards/the_greatest/rnr_list_full.jhtml&event_id=862780&start=61 100 Greatest Artists of Rock & Roll (40-21)]
[http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/the_greatest/62305/episode_wildcard.jhtml?wildcard=/shows/dynamic/includes/wildcards/the_greatest/rnr_list_full.jhtml&event_id=862781&start=81 100 Greatest Artists of Rock & Roll (20-1)]