McKenna Amy - 100 Most Influential Musicians of All Time: 100 Most Influential Musicians of All Time

THE 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL
MUSICIANS
OF ALL TIME

THE BRITANNICA GUIDE TO THE
WORLDS MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE

EDITED BY GINI GORLINSKI, ASSOCIATE EDITOR, MUSIC AND DANCE

Published in 2010 by Britannica Educational Publishing

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

The 100 most influential musicians of all time / edited by Gini Gorlinski.

p. cm.(The Britannica guide to the worlds most influential people)

In association with Britannica Educational Publishing, Rosen Educational Services.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-61530-056-3 (eBook)

1. MusiciansBiography. I. Gorlinski, Gini. II. Title: One hundred most influential musicians of all time.

ML385A15 2010

780.922dc22

[B]

2009029076

Cover credit: Carlos Spottorno/Photonica/Getty Images; p. 8 www.istockphoto.com/Neil Sullivan;

p. 16 www.istockphoto.com.

W hat is influence? Is it the power that one individual holds to change the world? Is it prestigethe glimmering reputation earned by those who have achieved excellence or superiority? Or is it that sense of immortality bestowed on certain people who, through their lives, their actions, and their accomplishments, have climbed pedestals so high and prominent that they are virtually guaranteed a place in the books of history?

Influence can mean so many things and is therefore hard to define. But this much is clear: in a book such as this, where the subject is influential musicians, an exact definition hardly matters. Such artists may exert themselves in all kinds of waysthrough their compositions, lyrics, performances, or even through extracurricular activities such as raising funds for charitable causes and organizations.

Just by taking the stagewhether in a local church or on the 50-yard line during halftime at the Super Bowlmusicians have instant influence. They command the ability to make people stop what they are doingto have them clap, dance, and sing along. If musicians are truly greatbe it composer Igor Stravinsky, classic rocker Eric Clapton, hip-hop rapper Jay-Z, King of Rock and Roll Elvis Presley, or King of Juju King Sunny Adetheir creations have the ability to transcend time and space, culture and nationality.

Simply put, great music is more than just music. It makes us think; it makes us feel. And over twenty, thirty, even hundreds of years, it continues to make us listen. In the world of music, that is influence.

Within these pages readers will also discover how the work of one musician inspired and motivated that of others, sometimes in groundbreaking ways. In 1791, having heard the moving oratorios of George Frideric Handel, Austrian composer Joseph Haydn set to work on his own compositions in this genre, eventually creating a composition believed to be the first musical work written for two languages, in this case, German and English. Haydn also became good friends with musical genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the two composers finding camaraderie in each others company and inspiration in each others work. Mississippi native Robert Johnson, who legend holds acquired his musical genius by way of having made a deal with the devil, is known to have had a major impact on musicians from Muddy Waters to the Rolling Stones.

Some musicians were inspired by influences beyond music. The art of English painter J. M. W. Turner and French painter Claude Monet struck a chord with seminal French composer Claude Debussy, prompting him to create his orchestral seascape La Mer. Visits to Paris prompted a young George Gershwin to create his famous orchestral composition An American in Paris. And it was John Steinbecks The Grapes of Wrath that provided the impetus for Tom Joad, Woody Guthries classic entry in the American songbook.

There are, of course, those musicians who, as childhood prodigies, seem not to have needed outside influence to exert their own. Frdric Chopin began playing piano at age seven, gave his first concert a year later, and at age eleven performed for the Russian tsar Alexander I. Mozart, whose life was all too short although with an extraordinary influence, was composing from the age of five.

Little is known about Johann Sebastian Bachs early musical education, but in his prime he was recognized by his peers as being a talented harpsichordist, organist, violinist, and singer. He is now recognized as being one of the greatest composers of all time. By bringing together the musical traditions that preceded him and then melding those traditions to create music that was all his own, Bach built his legacy around unique innovation. After his death, students of classical music excavated, analyzed, incorporated, and emulated his work. Today Bachs voice is heard everywhere, from big-city symphony halls to high school auditoriums. It is even heard in the music of Beethoven, who is said to have studied Bachs works closely. Musicians the world over have been influenced by, and owe a debt of gratitude to, Bach.