Where Have All The Rock Stars Gone?

Long-time readers of this blog know that I like music.  I have done several previous blog posts about my favorite lyrics and favorite songs.  I enjoy a variety of music, from rock and heavy metal to country and bluegrass.  My playlist includes everything from The Beatles and Beach Boys to AC/DC and Metallica to George Strait and Randy Travis.  However, in looking at the world of music over the past 15 years, it's become obvious to me that there is a huge hole in the music world: a complete dearth of rock stars.

From the initial days of rock 'n roll's infancy in the 1950s, up through the late 1990s, every decade and every generation featured rock stars.  Just think about it:

- The 1950s gave us Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis.  Each of these guys put rock 'n roll on the map and blazed a new trail on the musical landscape.  Decades later, their names and music are still well known.

- The 1960s gave us The Beatles and Rolling Stones, as well as The Beach Boys and countless other rock stars.

- The 1970s gave us Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, Eagles and Aerosmith.

- In the 1980s, it was AC/DC, U2, The Police, Bon Jovi and Guns 'n Roses, while the '90s gave us the Seattle Sound with bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, as well bands like Stone Temple Pilots.

What did almost all of the bands listed feature?  Genuine rock stars.  Say any of those band's names and most people can instantly give you the names of the band's lead singer and guitarist.

Rolling Stones? Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Led Zeppelin? Robert Plant and Jimmy Page.  Van Halen? David Lee Roth/Sammy Hagar and Eddie Van Halen. U2? Bono and The Edge.  Guns 'n Roses? Axl Rose and Slash.  Nirvana had Kurt Cobain, Pearl Jam had Eddie Vedder and Soundgarden had Chris Cornell.  The list goes on and on, but all had something in common - seemingly larger than life rock stars.  People who had voices or riffs that were instantly recognizable.

Now, think about music today.  Aside from Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters, who are the great rock stars of the 2000s?  There are some bands out there with some good songs, but most of the bands are faceless entities.  Imagine Dragons.  Can you name their lead singer or lead guitarist?  Same thing with a band like The Killers.  They have some good songs, but can anybody name anyone in the band?

Over the past 15 or 20 years, rock music has been harder to harder to find, falling out of favor and replaced by overproduced pop music and hip hop.  I think some of that can be attributed to the fact that there aren't any real rock stars out there.  As a long-time fan or rock 'n roll, I hope that there are some rock stars who can burst onto the scene and we will see a rock revival.  Until then, you can find me jamming out to those good old rock songs from the '60s, '70s, '80s and '90s, back when the guitars were loud and we all bowed down at the altar of rock gods.

Thanks for reading!