90 bull said:

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Would Bono be considered a rock star? I am mixed

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How would he not?

I guess he doesn't live what I consider the "rock star" lifestyle. To me, rock star implies excess. The Zeppelin trashing the hotel room idea.

I think the reason Bono and Vedder give people pause is they are as likely to give you a lecture as they are to give you drugs. That doesn't feel very rock starry.

Eddie Van Halen

Bruce Springsteen
Freddie Mercury
David Lee Roth

All three could have an audience eating out of their hands. All three are rock icons. All three impacted popular culture.

There are others but these are the first that came to mind.

some underdogs i didnt see:
david bowie
pete Townsend
jim Morrison
joe Walsh
ted Nugent
Clapton

those come to mind because the singular personality of each was so strong. though david lee Roth feels like the quintessential rock star.

To be a rock Star you have to be in a band who headlined a stadium, or the equivalent during your time. I'm not sure Hendrix ever headlined a stadium, but he gets credit for his role at Woodstock and several other legendary gigs.

There are some great rock musicians with great music who don't qualify for rock Star status. Jack White had that video with Jimmy Page and the Edge, but he was out of his league Star-wise. Jack White may be a better blues rock musician than those two, but they toured the world with longstanding rock bands while he got some post-Napster fame for a two-person gig with his wife who everyone thought was his sister. I wish he was a rock star, but I can't agree with that.

I agree with these (among others):
Bono
David Lee Roth
James Hetfield
Mick Jagger
Tommy Lee
Vince Neil
Eddie Van Halen
Neil Peart
Jimmy Page
Freddie Mercury
Keith Richards
Axl Rose
Steven Tyler
Ozzy Osborne

Some guys who haven't been mentioned:

Joe Perry
Dave Mustaine
Dimebag Darrell
Vinnie Paul
Philip Anselmo
Flea
Bruce Dickinson
Rob Halford
Angus Young

Paul Stanley / Gene Simmons

I can't believe we haven't mentioned Brian Johnson. He doesn't seem like a stereotypical rock star, but have you ever seen a list of greatest rock bands that didn't include AC/DC?

And from the other side of the alphabet, how about Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top? He checks every box, including long hair. It just happens to be on his face instead of his head.

90 bull said:

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Would Bono be considered a rock star? I am mixed

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Leader of the pack. By far.

Only recently has the band dropped off.

62strat said:

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C@LAg said:

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for the most part, you really can only be a rock star if you are the lead singer or the guitarist.

drummers and bass guitarists can have the attitude and the skillz, but "rock star" really best describes the guitarists and singers since they are the ones that really get to showboat the most.

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duff, Nikki sixx, Jeff ament, Steve Harris, Lars, Danny Carrey, Neil peart, etc.

Incorrect assessment of a rockstar.

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I like rock music, but I'm not a connoisseur by any means. I've heard of four of those guys; and of those four, none of them are the first one I think of from their band (two would be the third name I came up with).

So I think they very much do not meet the assessment of rock star: immediate recognition by casual listeners as the name/face of the band.

TP Ag '87 said:

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Rush is my favorite band but I don't view any of those guys as rock stars.

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This is a good example of a great rock band with some of the greatest musicians of the genre, yet none of them is really a rock star. That's cool in itself that three nerdy talented musicians can be so much stronger as a group and create a monster of sound.

Rush had everything cool about a rock band. Mystery, deep songs, awesome riffs and music, posters, dedicated fans, big tours, association with the late 70s / early 80s. They just didn't have a David Lee Roth on stage.

Bruce Almighty said:

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90 bull said:

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Would Bono be considered a rock star? I am mixed

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How would he not?

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Because U2 sucks.

And I'll have to throw Ozzy in for consideration.

no Elvis mentions?

LSCSN said:

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no Elvis mentions?

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mom...is that you?

Josh Homme is the red headed Elvis.


Seriously though, I don't think it's about name recognition as much as attitude and swagger.

Grohl, Homme, and Alex Turner are the three that pop to my head.

Dave Grohl

ruddyduck said:

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DrEvazanPhD said:

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Because U2 sucks.

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I'm glad nobody has chimed in with McCartney or Lennon, because that would have cued the super-edgy "The Beatles sucked!" takes.

Aust Ag said:

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ruddyduck said:

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DrEvazanPhD said:

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Because U2 sucks.

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I'm glad nobody has chimed in with McCartney or Lennon, because that would have cued the super-edgy "The Beatles sucked!" takes.

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Ringo was the most talented Beatle.

The movie with Mark Wahlberg in Steel Dragon. Oh, Jennifer Aniston is nice to look at in the movie.

Anonymous Source said:

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Robert Plant has to be up there

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That was a big miss. I give Elvis credit for being the "first rock star", but the modern definition and template for what we're talking about was really created by The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin. That's Robert, Jimmy, Mick, and Keith.

Then it was honed, tweaked, and perfected by most of these other guys we've mentioned.

Thread about instantly recognizable quintessential rock stars.

Texags lists 2 pages of obscure names most people have never heard before, and a handfup of frontmen from 40 years ago that are probably on Covid lockdown in their nursing homes right now.

And your pick is....?

Aust Ag said:

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And your pick is....?

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I don't think there is one today. I was primarily laughing at the people listing obscure names that only die hard fans would even recognize.

The second part of my post is my own realtime stream of conciousness realization as I was typing that the concept of a rock star is basically dead. If anyone comes close today it's probably a Kpop singer or something. Otherwise, Rock Stars gave way to hip hop stars 20+ years ago.

Anonymous Source said:

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Robert Plant has to be up there

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That was mine.

Yoda said:

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C@LAg said:

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for the most part, you really can only be a rock star if you are the lead singer or the guitarist.

drummers and bass guitarists can have the attitude and the skillz, but "rock star" really best describes the guitarists and singers since they are the ones that really get to showboat the most.

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Tommy Lee would be an exception.

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same with Flea