Second Greatest Rock Star of All Time?

[Chicago Jake]

On another board I frequent, the question was posed, "Who is the second greatest rock star of all time?"

Of course this begs the question of who was the greatest, which is just as subjective as the original question. But the poster in question pretty much assumed that Elvis would be hands-down the winner as greatest rock star ever.

So: Do you agreed with Elvis as Numero Uno? And if not, who is? And if he is, who is second?

Also - do you distinguish between Rock Stars and Pop Stars? And I'd recommend we focus on individual artists rather than bands, unless the band member has serious name recognition on his own.......Jake

[Merlot Joe]

Paul McCartney #1 in my book, John Lennon #2. They both qualify a individual artists.

Elvis is way, way, way down my list.

Joe

[Chicago Jake]

There are two ways to view the question, in my opinion: one, with regards to your own personal favorites. And two, objectively, who has the most fans, most hits, most influence on the world of rock. I'm trying to take the second view, but both are worth discussing.

For example, I like Elvis, but wouldn't put him in my top ten favorites. But I still agree that he is the greatest rock star of all time, from an objective viewpoint and in terms of influence.

[Ardbeg... innit]

Artist versus showman... always a tough question. As artists I would rank Lennon-McCartney quite high up also, but the show, together or as individuals, not so great by current standards. Which brings about the "times they worked in" factor. Do you judge on current standards or how they compare to contemporaries of their day?

That being said, Elton John

[♥ COVID-19♥]

As specifically a rock star, I'd have to say Elvis is #1 for the following reasons:

1. His influence on all rock stars that came later (e.g., The Beatles et al)

2. The fact that during the '50's, he threatened the popularity of the then-king, Sinatra, deeply cutting into his record sales.

Again, as Gordon says, factoring in the individual's era (as is also inevitably done in sports comparisons), objectively, I'd have to say Elvis.

Who is #2? Everyone else.

[Merlot Joe]

I always go buy the assumption that whom ever you like is #1. There is no real test or contest to choose the #1 or #10 rock star.

If you ask 100 people you will get 100 different answers.

Personally I can not stand Elvis, so no way would I ever agree he is #1, no matter what he has done in the past. The only influence he had on me was to ch-ch-change the dial on the radio if he came on.

I stand for both McCartney as #1 (he did win a Oscar for "Live and Let Die") and John Lennon as # 2 as individual artist. They both did very well in the lives after the Beatles.

Joe

[♥ COVID-19♥]

I'll take Lennon over Elvis any day as far as music is concerned, but another measuring stick would be their premature deaths: Elvis' has probably been more lucrative than Lennon's.

[Chicago Jake]

Elvis still tops the list most years of "dead celebrities with highest earnings."