Key Figures in Pop Music

As the world of pop music evolves, so do the key figures who help shape it. In this blog, we take a look at some of the most influential pop music figures of our time.

Pre-1950s

The history of pop music goes back to the late 19th century, when a form of popular music called Tin Pan Alley emerged. This music was characterized by its catchy melodies and simple lyrics, and it quickly became popular among the working class. Some of the most famous Tin Pan Alley songwriters include Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, and Cole Porter.

Bill Haley

Bill Haley (1925 – 1981) was an American rock and roll musician who is credited with helping to popularize the genre in the 1950s with his hit song “Rock Around the Clock”. Haley was born in Highland Park, Michigan, and began playing the guitar in high school. He found success as a country music artist in the early 1950s with songs like “Crazy Man, Crazy” and “Rudy’s Rock”. By 1954, he had switched to a more rock and roll-influenced sound and had his first major hit with “Shake, Rattle, and Roll”.

Haley’s biggest hit came in 1955 with “Rock Around the Clock”, which reached number one on the Billboard charts and sold over a million copies. The song helped to make rock and roll mainstream, and Haley became one of its first superstars. He continued to score hits throughout the rest of the 1950s with songs like “See You Later, Alligator” and “Skinny Minnie”, but by the early 1960s his career had begun to decline. Haley retired from music in 1963 but made a comeback in the 1970s with a new generation of fans. He died of a heart attack in 1981 at the age of 55.

Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley was one of the most popular singers of the 20th century. He is often referred to as the “King of Rock and Roll” or simply “the King”. Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, and began his career as a musician in 1954, when he signed with Sam Phillips’ Sun Records. His recordings with Sun, including “That’s All Right”, “Blue Moon of Kentucky”, and “Good Rockin’ Tonight”, brought him regional fame. He then signed a contract with RCA Victor in 1955 and moved to Memphis, Tennessee. His first RCA single, “Heartbreak Hotel”, was a number-one hit on the Billboard charts.

1950s-1960s

One of the most influential genre of music, pop music originated in its modern form in the United States and United Kingdom during the mid-1950s. The exact origins of the genre are unclear but it is generally accepted that it drew its influences from a mix of music styles such as jazz, rock and roll and rhythm and blues. The earliest pop music performers were known as teen idols and some of the most iconic figures of the genre emerged during the 1950s and 1960s. These include Elvis Presley, The Beatles and The Beach Boys.

The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. With a line-up comprising John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, they are commonly regarded as the most influential band of all time.[1][2] The group were integral to the development of 1960s counterculture and popular music’s recognition as an art form.

Rooted in skiffle, beat and 1950s rock and roll, their sound incorporated elements of classical music and traditional pop in innovative ways; the band later experimented with several musical styles that led to their incorporation of Indian instrumentation and progressive skinhead contrabass. They also explored film and animation techniques during their career. Releasing twelve studio albums (thirteen worldwide), spawning dozens of spin-off side projects and producing more than forty video albums, the Beatles became less active as musicians in 1970 but continued to co-write songs until 1974. By then, tension had mounted within the group leading to recriminations; Lennon quit the band in 1969 for personal reasons, dying five years later from gunshots fired by a deranged fan. McCartney subsequently became the de facto leader of Wings.[3] Starr quit Wings in 1981; Harrison died from lung cancer in November 2001.

After the group’s break-up, Lennon was shot dead by Mark David Chapman on December 8 1980; Harrison died from cancer on November 29 2001;[4] Starr continues to tour with his All-Starr Band while McCartney has pursued a successful solo career as a writer, recording artist and producer that has seen him win numerous awards – including eighteen Grammy Awards – both as a solo artist and with Wings.[5][6][7][8] In 2002 Chapman pleaded guilty to second degree murder and was sentenced to 20 years–to–life imprisonment.[9]

The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London, England, in 1962. The first stable line-up consisted of Brian Jones (guitar, harmonica), Mick Jagger (lead vocals,, harmonica), Keith Richards (guitar, vocals), Bill Wyman (bass), Charlie Watts (drums), and Ian Stewart (piano). Stewart was removed from the official line-up in 1963 but continued to work with the band as a contracted musician until his death in 1985. The band’s primary songwriters, Jagger and Richards, assumed leadership after Andrew Loog Oldham became the group’s manager. Jones left the band less than a month prior to his death in 1969, having already been replaced by Mick Taylor, who remained until 1974. After Taylor left the band, Ronnie Wood stepped into the breach until 1986 when he too was replaced by former Faces guitarist Chuck Leavell.

The Rolling Stones were at the forefront of the British Invasion of bands that became popular in the US in 1964. Identified with the youthful and rebellious counterculture of the 1960s, they were hailed as one of the most influential bands of their era. The Rolling Stones have released 25 studio albums in a career spanning over 50 years. They have tapped into various musical genres including blues rock, psychedelic rock, Hard rock and punk rock. Many of their songs like “Paint It Black”, “Satisfaction” or “Start Me Up” have been covered by many artists and have become standards among music lovers worldwide.”(Wikipedia)

1970s-1980s

The 1970s and 1980s saw the rise of some of the most iconic figures in pop music. Artists like Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Prince became household names and their music continues to be popular today. These artists changed the sound and look of pop music and paved the way for future artists.

David Bowie

David Bowie rose to fame during the pop and glam rock era of the early 1970s with hits such as “Space Oddity” and “The Jean Genie”. He later reinvented himself as the Thin White Duke and sparked a transformation in mainstream rock music with his influential album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. Bowie’s other notable albums include Hunky Dory, Heroes, Low and station to station. He also appeared in several films throughout his career, including The Man Who Fell to Earth, Labyrinth and The Last Temptation of Christ. Bowie passed away in 2016 at the age of 69.

Madonna

Madonna is one of the most successful pop singers of all time. Her debut album, released in 1983, topped the charts and launched a career that would span decades. Madonna is known for her catchy songs, her provocaative stage persona, and her ability to reinvent herself. She has sold over 300 million records and has won numerous awards, including Grammy Awards and Golden Globe Awards.

1990s-2000s

The 1990s and 2000s were an interesting time for pop music. We saw the rise of popular boy bands and girl groups, as well as the popularity of solo artists. Some key figures in pop music during this time include the Spice Girls, NSYNC, Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera. Let’s take a closer look at each of these artists and what made them so popular.

Nirvana

Nirvana was an American rock band formed in Aberdeen, Washington, in 1987. It was founded by singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic. Nirvana went through a succession of drummers, the longest-lasting and best-known being Dave Grohl, who joined the band in 1990. Though the band dissolved in 1994 after the death of Cobain, their music maintains a popular following and continues to influence modern rock and roll culture.

Britney Spears

Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer and actress. Born in McComb, Mississippi and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, she appeared in stage productions and television series, before signing with Jive Records in 1997. Spears’s first and second studio albums,…

2010s

In the 2010s, we saw the rise of some of the most iconic figures in pop music. Artists like Lady Gaga, Beyonce, and Drake dominated the charts and the airwaves. But who are the key figures in pop music from this decade? Let’s take a look.

Lady Gaga

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She is known for her unconventionality, provocative work and visual experimentation. Gaga began performing as a teenager, singing at open mic nights and acting in school plays. She studied at Collaborative Arts Project 21, through New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, before dropping out to pursue a music career. When Def Jam Recordings canceled her contract, she worked as a songwriter for Sony/ATV Music Publishing, where Akon helped her sign a joint deal with Interscope Records and his label KonLive Distribution in 2007. She rose to prominence the following year with her debut album, the electropop record The Fame, and its chart-topping singles “Just Dance” and “Poker Face”. A follow-up EP, The Fame Monster (2009), featuring the singles “Bad Romance”, “Telephone” and “Alejandro”, was also successful.

Gaga’s second full-length album, Born This Way (2011), explored electronic rock and techno-pop. It peaked atop the US Billboard 200 and sold more than one million copies in the country in its first week. Its title track became the fastest selling song on the iTunes Store with over a million downloads in less than a week. Gaga experimented with EDM on her third studio album Artpop (2013). It reached number one in the US and included the single “Applause”. Her collaborative jazz album Cheek to Cheek (2014) with Tony Bennett debuted at number one on the Billboard 200; it won Dempsey a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.

During this era gaga ventured into acting when casted as Ally Maine in A Star Is Born which earned critical acclaim from fans around the globe . Other films roles also include Robert Rodriguez’s Machete Kills , Terry Gilliam’s The Zero Theorem , Muppets Most Wanted , Sin City: A Dame to Kill For & Ridley Scott’s Ridley Scott directed HBO series Vinyl .

After taking hiatus to focus on her mental health , she returned to release fifth studio album Joanne peaking ghost #2 on billboard 200 . Gaga was featured on Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut remake of “ A Star Is Born “ playing Ally Maine . “ Shallow “ Gaga’s collaboration tune with Cooper , off of Soundtrack won an Academy Award , Golden Globe Award & BAFTA Award for best original song

five Grammy Awards , three Brit Awards

Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. One of the leading contemporary recording artists, she is known for narrative songs about her personal life, which has received widespread media coverage.

Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Swift moved to Nashville, Tennessee at age 14 to pursue a career in country music. She signed with the independent label Big Machine Records and became the youngest songwriter ever hired by the Sony/ATV Music publishing house. The release of her eponymous debut album in 2006 marked the start of her career as a country music star. Her third single, “Our Song”, made her the youngest person to single-handedly write and perform a number-one song on the Hot Country Songs chart. Swift’s second album, Fearless, was released in 2008. Buoyed by the pop crossover success of the singles “Love Story” and “You Belong with Me”, Fearless became the best-selling album of 2009 in the US. The album won four Grammy Awards, with Swift becoming the youngest ever Album of the Year winner.

Swift was the sole writer of her 2010 album, Speak Now. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart and features two chart-toppers: “Mine” and “Back to December”. She collaborated with producers Max Martin and Shellback on Red (2012), drawing inspiration from Britpop and alternative rock while writing 16 out of its 18 tracks alone. Its opening US sales were ARIA Music Award for Album of Year; underlining Germany; Best International Artist, iTunes Germany; Best International Artist; YouTube Music Award for Artist Of The Year; shattering numerous all-time Spotify streaming records among others around 350 awards till date