[Cerek the Barbaric]

Originally posted by Night Stalker: If the criteria are longevity and $$$, Aerosmith cannot be left out. Unlike The Beatles and The Stones, which are great in their own right, Aerosmith is still playing, still relevent, and topping charts.

Uh....Nightstalker....the Rolling Stones are still touring also - and still selling out the venues they go to. They've alse been around about a decade longer than Aerosmith.

So the longevity award would have to go to the Rolling Stones...and that should definitely put them in the running for greatest band ever. Some of the kids in the audience of their concerts are the GRANDCHILDREN of kids who USED to go see them. Covering 3 generations is a hard record to beat. (BTW Rokenn, Keith Richards plays for the Rolling Stones, NOT Aerosmith [img]graemlins/doh.gif[/img] )

Aerosmith deserves almost equal credit though - because they are one of the few bands (if not the ONLY band) to EVER have a successful "comeback" tour WITHOUT releasing a new album (the "Back in the Saddle" tour of the early 80's).

What can one say about the Beatle's that hasn't already been said. McCartney and Lennon are the greatest songwriting team in the history of Rock & Roll. More #1 songs than any other group or performer ever (and not likely to be topped).

Other extremely influential artists (in more recent history) are:

1) Michael Jackson - In the 1980's, he WAS the "King of Pop" and had a tremendous influence on almost every other artist at that time.

2) Prince - Not only is he a consummate performer in his own right, but he is an incredibly successful songwriter. He wrote several hit songs for other artists during the 80's also(Bangles, Sheena Easton, Sinead O'Connor, Chaka Khan to name a few).

3) Madonna - Opened the door for ALL the female performers that are successful today. Before Madonna came along, there was Pat Benetar and....and....well, that was about it (maybe Stevie Nicks too...can't remember when she left Fleetwood Mac).