The career of Lou Reed defies capsule summarization. Like David Bowie (whom Reed directly inspired in many ways), he has made over his image many times, mutating from theatrical glam rocker to scary-looking junkie to avant-garde noiseman to straight rock & roller to your average guy. A firmer grasp of rock’s earthier qualities has ensured a more consistent career path than Bowie’s, particularly in his latter years. Yet his catalog is extremely inconsistent, in both quality and stylistic orientation. Liking one Lou Reed LP, or several, or all of the ones he did in a particular era, is no guarantee that you’ll like all of them, or even most of them. Few would deny Reed’s immense importance and considerable achievements, however. As has often been written, he expanded the vocabulary of rock & roll lyrics into the previously forbidden territory of kinky sex, drug use (and abuse), decadence, transvestites, homosexuality, and suicidal depression. As has been pointed out less often, he remained (and remains) committed to using rock & roll as a forum for literary, mature expression well into middle age, without growing lyrically soft or musically complacent. By and large, he’s taken on these challenging duties with uncompromising honesty and a high degree of realism. For these reasons, he’s often cited as punk’s most important ancestor. It’s often overlooked, though, that he’s equally skilled at celebrating romantic joy, and rock & roll itself, as he is at depicting harrowing urban realities.
Bono
Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), most commonly known by his stage name Bono, is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his future wife, Alison Stewart, and the future members of U2. Bono writes almost all U2 lyrics, often using political, social, and religious themes. During their early years, Bono’s lyrics contributed to U2′s rebellious and spiritual tone. As the band matured, his lyrics became inspired more by personal experiences shared with members of U2. Outside the band, he has collaborated and recorded with numerous artists, sits on the board of Elevation Partners, and has refurbished and owns The Clarence Hotel in Dublin with The Edge.
Dr. John
Malcolm John “Mac” Rebennack, Jr. (born November 21, 1940), better known by the stage name Dr. John (also Dr. John Creaux), is an American singer/songwriter, pianist and guitarist, whose music combines blues, pop, jazz as well as Zydeco, boogie woogie and rock and roll. Active as a session musician since the late 1950s, he came to wider prominence in the early 1970s with a wildly theatrical stage show inspired by medicine shows, Mardi Gras costumes and voodoo ceremonies. Rebennack has recorded over 20 albums and in 1973 scored a top-20 hit with the jaunty funk-flavored “Right Place, Wrong Time,” still perhaps his best-known song. The winner of five Grammy awards, Rebennack was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by singer John Legend on Monday, March 14, 2011.
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is an English singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor. He has worked with lyricist Bernie Taupin as his songwriter partner since 1967; they have collaborated on more than 30 albums to date. In his four-decade career John has sold more than 250 million records, making him one of the most successful artists of all time. His single “Candle in the Wind 1997″ has sold over 33 million copies worldwide, and is the best selling single in Billboard history. He has more than 50 Top 40 hits, including seven consecutive No. 1 US albums, 56 Top 40 singles, 16 Top 10, four No. 2 hits, and nine No. 1 hits. He has won six Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Tony Award. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him Number 49 on its list of the 100 greatest artists of all time.
David Bowie
The cliché about David Bowie says he’s a musical chameleon, adapting himself according to fashion and trends. While such a criticism is too glib, there’s no denying that Bowie demonstrated remarkable skill for perceiving musical trends at his peak in the ’70s. After spending several years in the late ’60s as a mod and as an all-around music-hall entertainer, Bowie reinvented himself as a hippie singer/songwriter. Prior to his breakthrough in 1972, he recorded a proto-metal record and a pop/rock album, eventually redefining glam rock with his ambiguously sexy Ziggy Stardust persona. Ziggy made Bowie an international star, yet he wasn’t content to continue to churn out glitter rock. By the mid-’70s, he developed an effete, sophisticated version of Philly soul that he dubbed “plastic soul,” which eventually morphed into the eerie avant-pop of 1976′s Station to Station. Shortly afterward, he relocated to Berlin, where he recorded three experimental electronic albums with Brian Eno. At the dawn of the ’80s, Bowie was still at the height of his powers, yet following his blockbuster dance-pop album Let’s Dance in 1983, he slowly sank into mediocrity before salvaging his career in the early ’90s. Even when he was out of fashion in the ’80s and ’90s, it was clear that Bowie was one of the most influential musicians in rock, for better and for worse. Each one of his phases in the ’70s sparked a number of subgenres, including punk, new wave, goth rock, the new romantics, and electronica. Few rockers ever had such lasting impact.
Duran Duran
Duran Duran personified new wave for much of the mainstream audience. And for good reason, too. Duran Duran’s reputation was built through music videos, which accentuated their fashion-model looks and glamorous sense of style. Without music videos, it’s likely that their pop-funk — described by the group as the Sex Pistols meets Chic — would never have made them international pop stars. While Duran Duran did have sharper pop sensibilities than their new romantic contemporaries like Spandau Ballet and Ultravox, none of their peers exploited MTV and music video like the Birmingham-based quintet. Each video the group made was distinctive, incorporating a number of cinematic styles to showcase the band as either part of the jet-setting elite (“Rio”) or as worldly adventurers (“Hungry Like the Wolf”). While early videos like “Girls on Film” and “The Chauffeur” sparked controversy in England over their sexual content, their best-known clips were often based on hit contemporary movies. “Hungry Like the Wolf” uncannily recalled Raiders of the Lost Ark, while “Union of the Snake” and “The Wild Boys” brought to mind The Road Warrior. The clever videos helped make Duran Duran’s rise to popularity remarkably swift. Between 1982 and 1984, they rocketed from underground British post-punk sensations to teen idols. But their fall from grace was equally fast. By the late ’80s, the group’s lineup had fragmented, and the remaining members had trouble landing hit singles. Nevertheless, the group pulled off a surprising, if short-lived, comeback in the early ’90s as a sophisticated soft rock trio.
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