VH1 100 Greatest Artists

[Tigerman1975]

Did anyone see this? It came on here in the southern US yesterday. Elvis ranked at #8. #8!!! He came behind the likes of the Beatles, Michael Jackson, Prince, Led Zeppelin and so on. All killer artists but none as great as Elvis. I yelled in my wife's direction," If it wasnt for Elvis, none of the bands on this top 100 would even be here". The only 2 who I saw that should have been up there with Elvis are Chuck Berry and Little Richard. Elvis and those 2 set the standard for what we call rock today. The fact that an artist as relevant as Elvis Presley rated at #8 is sacrilage. Any thoughts on this?

Their list.....


100 Alicia Keys
99 Hall & Oates
98 Depeche Mode
97 Pretenders
96 Journey
95 OutKast
94 Mariah Carey
93 Pearl Jam
92 LL Cool J
91 Green Day
90 Elvis Costello
89 Beastie Boys
88 Bee Gees
87 George Michael
86 N.W.A.
85 The Band
84 Curtis Mayfield
83 Earth, Wind and Fire
82 Steely Dan
81 ABBA
80 Mary J. Blige
79 Eminem
78 Judas Priest
77 Lynyrd Skynyrd
76 Run-D.M.C.
75 Rush
74 The Cure
73 Van Morrison
72 Janis Joplin
71 R.E.M.
70 Def Leppard
69 Tupac Shakur
68 Otis Redding
67 Coldplay
66 Justin Timberlake
65 The Doors
64 Talking Heads
63 Notorious B.I.G.
62 Genesis
61 Cream
60 Whitney Houston
59 Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
58 Cheap Trick
57 Iggy & The Stooges
56 KISS
55 Peter Gabriel
54 Public Enemy
53 Little Richard
52 Beyoncé
51 Billy Joel
50 Sade
49 Parliament-Funkadelic
48 Rage Against The Machine
47 Jay-Z
46 Ramones
45 Al Green
44 Joni Mitchell
43 Ray Charles
42 Metallica
41 Van Halen
40 The Police
39 The Kinks
38 Sly & The Family Stone
37 Fleetwood Mac
36 Paul McCartney
35 Johnny Cash
34 Tina Turner
33 Guns N’ Roses
32 Black Sabbath
31 John Lennon
30 Aerosmith
29 Radiohead
28 Elton John
27 Aretha Franklin
26 Neil Young
25 Chuck Berry
24 The Velvet Underground
23 AC/DC
22 The Clash
21 Bruce Springsteen
20 Marvin Gaye
19 U2
18 Pink Floyd
17 Queen
16 Madonna
15 The Beach Boys
14 Nirvana
13 The Who
12 David Bowie
11 Bob Marley
10 Stevie Wonder
09 James Brown
08 Elvis Presley
07 Prince
06 Jimi Hendrix
05 Bob Dylan
04 Rolling Stones
03 Led Zeppelin
02 Michael Jackson
01 The Beatles



Read more: VH1 100 Greatest Artists of All Time - Worst List of All Time? - Bloginity.com

[_Elvis_]

Elvis is for me number one .That list is not good. Elvis is the best of the whole list.
He,s just the greatest performer off al time.

[Tigerman1975]

Dont get me wrong. I dig alot of the artists on this list. Just not the order they are in. Certainly not Elvis' position.

[Brian Quinn]

Just for the record, this List goes back to September, 2010. One of the main problems for Elvis is the lack of concert film footage showing him in his prime. The 68 TV Special is really the only one as far as teenagers are concerned. His early TV appearances were in black and white and the performances watered down compared to his actual stage shows. The other stars on the list have much more visual material to back up their 'fans' claims of being No.1.

Brian

[Billy Budd]

This list is b....... Come on! And John Lennon at #31 in front of Madonna at #16 is juts rubbish. Madonna shouldn't be at 50 best at all.

[el gerry]

Lets get real here . What planet are the compilers of this list on . Although their are ones i agree with on the list , lets put things in perspective here by looking at a few of these other so called greats put a ahead of Elvis . Prince had a career of hits that lasted roughly 10 years from 1983 to 1993 . After that nothing , he couldnt get arrested and was releasing his albums on the internet . He had 19 top tens + 5 No ones in the U.S singles charts and 11 Top 10s + No 1 Album in the album charts . He released his first album in 1978 giving him a recording career of 33 years to Elvis 21 years . Next Jimi Hendrix , taik about an insult , his career lasted all of three years in which he had 2 no 1s and a no 3 album and no top 10 singles . The Rolling Stones who i admire and like greatly have had a career of 47 years compared to Elvis 21 and yet they still havent mathched his chart acheivments or sales figures , the same can be said of Bob Dylan . I could go on all night but the only acts that can come near Elvis in terms of success , sales , legnth of career in this top 10 are The Beatles & Jackson the rest is a joke . Elvis Had 104 Top 40 hits , 36 of them top ten , 18 No 1s , 17 Top 10 & 10 No 1 albums in the U.S and holds every conceivible chart and sales record in dozens of countries around the globe and is adored by huge amounts of fans in every corner of the world . Not to mention he could sing rock , blues , ballads , country , pop and power ballads with equal ease and brillence , making him the most versatile vocalist in pop history . These people are more interested in seeming cool than acknowledging the truth .

[Albert]

Where did they base this list on?

The top 3 should have been
1) Elvis (Icon of Icons)
2) The Beatles
3) Michael Jackson

Of course it's popular music, so Frank and Bing Crosby shouldn't be in this list. Neither anyone else who influenced Elvis or helped pave the way for Rock'n Roll. But mine top 3 should have been the top 3. They have influenced the music the most, along with having sold the most and set many records.

But at least it's good to see that Rock dominates this charts

[debtdbruno]

total c*ap..............................

[janice mcclelland]

This list means very little, poll a different set of people and you'll end up with a very different list!

[Jimmy1966]

It's Complete and utter nonesense ELVIS IS KING

[Tigerman1975]

This list means very little, poll a different set of people and you'll end up with a very different list!

I agree 100%, but when its viewed by a million or so viewers, people tend to pay attention.

[Tigerman1975]

Where did they base this list on?

The top 3 should have been
1) Elvis (Icon of Icons)
2) The Beatles
3) Michael Jackson

Of course it's popular music, so Frank and Bing Crosby shouldn't be in this list. Neither anyone else who influenced Elvis or helped pave the way for Rock'n Roll. But mine top 3 should have been the top 3. They have influenced the music the most, along with having sold the most and set many records.

But at least it's good to see that Rock dominates this charts

From what I could tell they polled contemporary musicians of different genres. Unfortunately, America has become largely a hip hop nation and alot of rappers and so forth dont seem to think much of Elvis. One that comes to mind is Chuck D from Public Enemy. It seems like that guy bad mouths E every chance he gets. I guess Elvis' placing on the list got me angry and I was looking to vent about it. There are alot of artists I would have ranked differently on there and some that I would have not included at all. But you are right, it was nice to rock n roll still strong in a big way.

[Tigerman1975]

Just for the record, this List goes back to September, 2010. Brian

I didnt know that. That was my first time seeing that. I hate reality tv and that seems to be all that dominates VH1 and Mtv

[ilovethebigE]

I don't know who came up with that list but they MUST be crazy.Elvis influenced EVERYBODY in music from the beatles dylan to springsteen and james brown.Who did prince or michael jackson influenced?The only reason jackson ranked that high is because vh1 makes its living airing videos.There are a lot of great quotes about Elvis and i gaurentee you they will never say these things about anyone else on that list.

No one will ever touch Elvis.
Garth Brooks

I'm sitting in the drive-through and I've got my three girls in the back and this station comes on and it's playing "Jailhouse Rock," the original version, and my girls are jumping up and down, going nuts. I'm looking around at them and they've heard Dad's music all the time and I don't see that out of them.
Garth Brooks

I think he maybe just got a little tired of repairing all the broken hearts in the world.
Tom Waits

Elvis was the only man from Northeast Mississippi who could shake his hips and still be loved by rednecks, cops, and hippies.
Jimmy Buffett

I wasn't just a fan, I was his brother. He said I was good and I said he was good; we never argued about that. Elvis was a hard worker, dedicated, and God loved him. Last time I saw him was at Graceland. We sang Old Blind Barnabus together, a gospel song. I love him and hope to see him in heaven. There'll never be another like that soul brother.
James Brown

If life was fair, Elvis would be alive and all the impersonators would be dead.
Johnny Carson

Elvis Presley's death deprives our country of a part of itself. He was unique, irreplaceable. More than twenty years ago, he burst upon the scene with an impact that was unprecedented and will probably never be equaled. His music and his personality, fusing the styles of white country and black rhythm and blues, permanently changed the face of American popular culture. His following was immense. And he was a symbol to people the world over of the vitality, rebelliousness and good humor of this country.
Jimmy Carter, 1977

The first concert I attended was an Elvis concert when I was eleven. Even at that age he made me realize the tremendous effect a performer could have on an audience.
Cher

It's rare when an artist's talent can touch an entire generation of people. It's even rarer when that same influence affects several generations. Elvis made an imprint on the world of pop music unequaled by any other single performer.
Dick Clark

He helped to kill off the influence of me and my contemporaries, but I respect him for that. Because music always has to progress, and no-one could have opened the door to the future like he did.
Bing Crosby

You know, Bush is always comparing me to Elvis in sort of unflattering ways. I don't think Bush would have liked Elvis very much, and that's just another thing that's wrong with him.
Bill Clinton during the 1992 presidential campaign.

It isn't enough to say that Elvis is kind to his parents, sends money home, and is the same unspoiled kid he was before all the commotion began. That still isn't a free ticket to behave like a sex maniac in public.
Eddie Condon in Cosmopolitan (December 1956)

When I first heard Elvis' voice, I just knew that I wasn't going to work for anybody, and nobody was going to be my boss. He is the deity supreme of rock and roll religion as it exists in today's form. Hearing him for the first time was like busting out of jail. I thank God for Elvis Presley.
Bob Dylan

Don't blame it on Elvis, for shakin' his pelvis
Shakin' the pelvis been in style way back since the River Nile
The Fabulous McClevertys, calypso singers (1957)

I learned music listening to Elvis' records. His measurable effect on culture and music was even greater in England than in the States.
Mick Fleetwood

At Sun Studio in Memphis Elvis Presley called to life what would soon be known as rock and roll with a voice that bore strains of the Grand Ole Opry and Beale Street, of country and the blues. At that moment, he ensured — instinctively, unknowingly — that pop music would never again be as simple as black and white.
David Fricke in Rolling Stone (1986)

Elvis had an influence on everybody with his musical approach. He broke the ice for all of us.
Al Green

It's always been my dream to come to Madison Square Garden and be the warm-up act for Elvis.
Senator Al Gore, Accepting the nomination for Vice-President at the 1992 Democratic National Convention, prior to Bill Clinton's (aka "Elvis" by his security staff) acceptance of the Presidential nomination.

Elvis was a giant and influenced everyone in the business.
Isaac Hayes

Without Elvis, none of us could have made it.
Buddy Holly

So what it boils down to was Elvis produced his own records. He came to the session, picked the songs, and if something in the arrangement was changed, he was the one to change it. Everything was worked out spontaneously. Nothing was really rehearsed. Many of the important decisions normally made previous to a recording session were made during the session. What it was was a look to the future. Today everybody makes records this way. Back then Elvis was the only one. He was the forerunner of everything that's record production these days. Consciously or unconsciously, everyone imitated him. People started doing what Elvis did.
Bones Howe. recording engineer, as quoted in Elvis, A Biography (1971) by Jerry Hopkins.

He was a unique artist — an original in an era of imitators.
Mick Jagger

Ask anyone. If it hadn't been for Elvis, I don't know where popular music would be. He was the one that started it all off, and he was definitely the start of it for me.
Elton John

It was Elvis that got me interested in music. I've been an Elvis fan since I was a kid.
Elton John

There is something magical about watching a man who has lost himself find his way back home... He sang with the kind of power people no longer expect from rock 'n' roll singers.
John Landau, review of the TV Special Elvis (1968).

He had total love in his eyes when he performed. He was the total androgynous beauty. I would practice Elvis in front of the mirror when I was twelve or thirteen years old.
k.d. lang

Before Elvis, there was nothing.
John Lennon

A lot has been written and said about why he was so great, but I think the best way to appreciate his greatness is just to go back and play some of the old records... Time has a way of being very unkind to old records, but Elvis' keep getting better and better.
Huey Lewis

If any individual of our time can be said to have changed the world, Elvis Presley is the one. In his wake more than music is different. Nothing and no one looks or sounds the same. His music was the most liberating event of our era because it taught us new possibilities of feeling and perception, new modes of action and appearance, and because it reminded us not only of his greatness, but of our own potential.
Greil Marcus in Mystery Train

It was the finest music of his life. If ever there was music that bleeds, this was it.
Greil Marcus on the 1968 TV Special, in his book Mystery Train.

Elvis Presley was an explorer of vast new landscapes of dream and illusion. He was a man who refused to be told that the best of his dreams would not come true, who refused to be defined by anyone else's perceptions. This is the goal of democracy, the journey on which every American hero sets out. That Elvis made so much of the journey on his own is reason enough to remember him with the honor and love we reserve for the bravest among us. Such men made the only maps we can trust.
Dave Marsh in Elvis.

He was an instinctive actor... He was quite bright... he was very intelligent... He was not a punk. He was very elegant, sedate, and refined, and sophisticated.
Walter Matthau in 1987; he worked with Elvis in King Creole (1958)

That's my idol, Elvis Presley. If you went to my house, you'd see pictures all over of Elvis. He's just the greatest entertainer that ever lived. And I think it's because he had such presence. When Elvis walked into a room, Elvis Presley was in the ****ing room. I don't give a **** who was in the room with him, Bogart, Marilyn Monroe...
Eddie Murphy

There are several unbelievable things about Elvis, but the most incredible is his staying power in a world where meteoric careers fade like shooting stars.
Newsweek (11 August 1969)


This boy had everything. He had the looks, the moves, the manager, and the talent. And he didn't look like Mr. Ed like a lot of the rest of us did. In the way he looked, way he talked, way he acted — he really was different.
Carl Perkins

Before Elvis, everything was in black and white. Then came Elvis. Zoom, glorious Technicolor.
Keith Richards

If there was no Elvis Presley, they're would have been no Cliff Richard. I'm sure of that.
Cliff Richard

I don't think there is a musician today that hasn't been affected by Elvis' music. His definitive years — 1954-57 — can only be described as rock's cornerstone. He was the original cool.
Brian Setzer

There have been many accolades uttered about Elvis' talent and performances through the years, all of which I agree with wholeheartedly. I shall miss him dearly as a friend. He was a warm, considerate and generous man.
Frank Sinatra (1977) this long after an initial hostility to his style in the 50s, before knowing him.

The Postal Service is being wasteful in spending nearly $300,000 to promote its Elvis Presley stamp. To break even, they would have to sell more than one million stamps to collectors who do not then use them.
Ralph Nader, a few months before the US Postal Service announced it had made a record breaking US$31 million on the strength of some 120 million unused Elvis stamps, out of the 500 million which were sold, the most for any commemorative stamp in US postal history.

That Elvis, man, he is all there is. There ain't no more. Everything starts and ends with him. He wrote the book.
Bruce Springsteen

There have been a lotta tough guys. There have been pretenders. And there have been contenders. But there is only one king.
Bruce Springsteen

It was like he came along and whispered some dream in everybody's ear, and somehow we all dreamed it.
Bruce Springsteen

Elvis was the king. No doubt about it. People like myself, Mick Jagger and all the others only followed in his footsteps.
Rod Stewart

I wanted to say to Elvis Presley and the country that this is a real decent, fine boy.
Ed Sullivan, during Elvis' third appearance on his show (6 January 1957)

There has never ever been anybody who has matched the phenomenon that Elvis had. The Beatles sort of matched it, but there was four of them. No one person has ever done what Elvis Presley did and he was the first. He had everything! He had the talent, he had the charisma, he had the sexuality, he had the looks. And it was all natural.
Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Who had portrayed Elvis in a television miniseries Elvis.

“Guitar Man” is definitely my favorite song by Elvis. It’s semi-autobiographical and it’s just such a great rock n’ roll song…not to mention the fact that I love singing it.
Jonathan Rhys Meyers

A lot of people have accused Elvis of stealing the black man's music, when in fact, almost every black solo entertainer copied his stage mannerisms from Elvis.
Jackie Wilson R&B singer

Elvis is my God. My house is covered with pictures of Elvis.
Rachel Weisz Elvis is the greatest cultural force in the twentieth century. He introduced the beat to everything, music, language, clothes, it's a whole new social revolution — the 60's comes from it.
Leonard Bernstein

[marijaep]

It's just a list.

[Raised on Rock]

Dont get me wrong. I dig alot of the artists on this list. Just not the order they are in. Certainly not Elvis' position.

In a positive light, Elvis is still there, no matter what. People like Micheal Jackson is there only because all the hype of his recent dead, 10 from now, he won't be ranked that high on any list. People like Prince is there only cause yes, he was crusial back in the 80's when VH1 was conosolidatin itself, beyond that he's not much, lets not forget, this might only reflect what artists are important in terms of which artists made of VH1 what it is (in other words, he is only there cause he's or shoud I say It, has always been VH1 favourite *****). So the fact that Elvis is in the top 10 with virtually minimum expousure in that channel, its actually remarkable.

My point is, names come and go of the top 10 in this kind of lists, but no matter how fair or not this kind of lists treat him, Elvis is ALWAYS there, so that's big deal no matter what position he is. SURE, don't get me wrong, Elvis for sure had to be at least in the top 5; to me for sure in the No.1 Spot.

***

On the other hand, this list is ridicuolous not just because of Elvis, I mean: Bob Dylan below, Micheal Jackson??? give me a freakin breake!!! Dylan below the Stones? Without Dylan, Jagger would have never though of lyrics like Satisfaction or well, half of their catalogue. An Im tellin' this as a huge Rolling Stones fan.

David Bowie below Prince? James Brown below Prince? I mean Prince? is anything more overated than Prince in that list? or its only me that I actually find him well... I'll just say boring to avoid ranting.

Ray Charles at 44? wow somebody forgot music history 101 That one was even worst than Elvis position, If any could be above Elvis that would be Ray, errr not really but if.... Now I worship Led Zeppelin, and for sure they had to be at the top 10, but never that high and above so many more important people. Been totally fair, and aside being a L.Z. fan myself, they probably wont make the top 10 actually.

Pink Floyd below the Beach Boys? lol, aww forget it, Chuck Berry below the Beach boys? repeated lol until choke. I could keep going forever mockin on this list: yes, no list can be 100% fair, but this one is plain stupid.

[Raised on Rock]

I think he maybe just got a little tired of repairing all the broken hearts in the world.
Tom Waits

Thanks so much "IlovetheBigE" for sharing all those quotes, there where some I have never heard.

LOVE the Tom Waits one. Wonder when Mr. Waits will treat us doing his rendition of an Elvis song.

[Tigerman1975]

In a positive light, Elvis is still there, no matter what. People like Micheal Jackson is there only because all the hype of his recent dead, 10 from now, he won't be ranked that high on any list. People like Prince is there only cause yes, he was crusial back in the 80's when VH1 was conosolidatin itself, beyond that he's not much, lets not forget, this might only reflect what artists are important in terms of which artists made of VH1 what it is (in other words, he is only there cause he's or shoud I say It, has always been VH1 favourite *****). So the fact that Elvis is in the top 10 with virtually minimum expousure in that channel, its actually remarkable.

My point is, names come and go of the top 10 in this kind of lists, but no matter how fair or not this kind of lists treat him, Elvis is ALWAYS there, so that's big deal no matter what position he is. SURE, don't get me wrong, Elvis for sure had to be at least in the top 5; to me for sure in the No.1 Spot.

***

On the other hand, this list is ridicuolous not just because of Elvis, I mean: Bob Dylan below, Micheal Jackson??? give me a freakin breake!!! Dylan below the Stones? Without Dylan, Jagger would have never though of lyrics like Satisfaction or well, half of their catalogue. An Im tellin' this as a huge Rolling Stones fan.

David Bowie below Prince? James Brown below Prince? I mean Prince? is anything more overated than Prince in that list? or its only me that I actually find him well... I'll just say boring to avoid ranting.

Ray Charles at 44? wow somebody forgot music history 101 That one was even worst than Elvis position, If any could be above Elvis that would be Ray, errr not really but if.... Now I worship Led Zeppelin, and for sure they had to be at the top 10, but never that high and above so many more important people. Been totally fair, and aside being a L.Z. fan myself, they probably wont make the top 10 actually.

Pink Floyd below the Beach Boys? lol, aww forget it, Chuck Berry below the Beach boys? repeated lol until choke. I could keep going forever mockin on this list: yes, no list can be 100% fair, but this one is plain stupid.

I guess in my eyes and alot of others he should have been number one. As far as Led Zeppelin goes, to me they are THE rock band. When my little girl was born just a few years ago she had a Sun studios onesy and a Led Zeppelin US 77 Tour onesy lol. So I am a fan. You are right ROR. They positioned alot of these artists in the wrong position.

[debtdbruno]

The important thing is.............we all know as his fans, he IS and ALWAYS will be no 1............no question about it..............

[KPM]

As I have said for a while the younger generation of critics, rock music writers, editors etc....have begun a rewriting of rock history and of artists importance in that history. They are "cerebral" in their nature of judging artists and music. They have no real understanding of the explosion and uproar of Elvis because they have no real understanding of the world culture before Elvis.
They dismiss him as the "stage act artist" who did not write.............instead of giving him credit for creating a style and selling that style to the rest of the world, which in the process altered all forms of dress, attitudes, and culture....by the power of rock and roll.
They do not see the huge sharp differences in life before and after-so they downplay his accomplishments and talents.
Elvis should at the least be in the top 5 IMO but the further from the "bigbang" you get the less you feel the huge initial explosion (or understand it)