This is probably the hardest question I’ll ever try to answer…
Mostly because you’re saying “music” and not limiting it to a form of music, while at the same time you want only 10 examples. I’d need 20 just to do justice to rock and roll and another 50 or 60 to get us to rock and roll and beyond. But if 10 is all I have, then 10 is all I have, so I have to reluctantly fail to mention Nirvana, Prince, Bob Dylan, Pantera, Queen, Led Zeppelin and countless others without whom rock music would be a pale shadow of it’s current self. Oh well, here’s the best I can do with these limitations!
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Music comes in many forms, and is played in many ways. It can consist of many different elements such as melody, harmony, rhythm, etc. Music began as a form of communication and a means of social interaction. As time progressed, music began to be viewed as an art form and people began to compose musical pieces, recording the progression, timing, pitch and timbre of the notes via a series of musical notations, though at the time when the great musical composers were composing their masterworks, there was no mechanical way to record the actual sound, so this form of musical shorthand became necessary. Many great composers have become known throughout the centuries as Masters, and there were many great discoveries during the time before recorded music. Of the great masters, Ludwig Van Beethoven and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart stand out as the most recognizable. Every man, woman and child on earth is familiar with their work, even if they are not aware of whose work it is they know. What made these musicians legendary was their ability to create a musical piece which had an underlying melody, but to orchestrate it for the purposes of being played by a full ensemble orchestra, composing the arrangements for many different types of instruments which when all pieces were played in unison would create a full, grand sound, and which would become integrated in the consciousness of the listener as one grand piece of music, rather than the tandem efforts of dozens of musicians. These composers were brilliant in their melodic underpinnings as well as in their ability to see the broad scope of the composition, and to lead a piece through several stages, often creating a vision without ever speaking a word. By all accounts, these composers were able to attain a mechanical mastery of various instruments as well, and it was this understanding of the various sounds which each instrument was capable of producing, and the ability to bring the various elements together into a coherent piece which makes them stand as immortals in the field of music.
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At the dawn of the 20th century, Classical music, that is the music composed by the great masters, which was by an large devoid of human vocalization, was the only truly legitimate form of “composed” music, though humans had vocalized their music for some time. Certain forms of composed music began to incorporate vocals, composers began to play with rhythm and tempo and forms of music from ragtime, to big band to jazz were created. Of the more contemporary composers who began to incorporate lyrics into their compositions, while slightly de-emphasizing the role of various forms of instrumentation, none was as highly regarded as Irving Berlin. His contributions led to the eventual branching off of music into several sub-genres which would not have existed without his span of influence, and his lyrical and musical abilities inspired songwriters and composers for generations to come.
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At the same time, lyrical forms of music which had been used as tools of communication for centuries were beginning to be adopted and adapted to modern forms of composition, tools of music making, and tastes of the public, which were beginning to be offered recorded versions of compositions which could be enjoyed in the home rather than simply in a concert hall. One form of music in particular known as Blues or Rhythm and Blues, focused on more rhythmic aspects of music, and this form had been derived from the vocal based music performed by those who had been or who were descended from slaves, persons who had been oppressed, and used the music as both a way to lift their spirits and a form of communication which could be passed down. Though there were many great blues masters, none accomplished as much, or cast a shadow as long as Robert Johnson, a man who had nothing more than a guitar and a story burning a hole inside him dying to get out. Johnson mastered the guitar, managed to write very deep and poignant lyrics, and created the blueprint for much of the music which would come after him.
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The blues had 3 main descendents, the first of which was country and western music which was pioneered by two masters of their profession, Hank Williams and Johnny Cash. Hank reached backwards and forwards in the creation of his brand of music, which would lay the blueprint for traditional country music. Hank’s brand of country told stories of both the depths of evil and the good of redemption…a dichotomy which led to a dark persona, and made him perhaps the first personality in music. He was an innovator in both country music and it’s R&B influenced cousin, Rock and Roll, which would come by shortly thereafter. Hank mastered both the guitar and his voice, at times incorporating elements of gospel and even yodeling in his lyrical delivery. He was a master songwriter as well, and his influence would continue to be felt in many genres to follow. Johnny Cash was perhaps the missing link between country music and rock and roll. Cash was again heavily influenced by the blues, and much like Hank, he had two faces…the vengeful dark man in black and the god fearing gospel influenced straight shooter. In the lyrics he wrote was an underlying truth about what it really meant to be human, and he not only became a personality and a megastar, but unlike contemporaries like Hank and influences like Robert Johnson, he lived a long life, and was able to move seamlessly among ever changing genres of music and even between country and rock, two forms of music which have continued to diverge at a rapid pace. Cash was a man not only of conflicts, but of re-invention, never fearing to innovate. He was part of the legacy of Sun Records, a Memphis based recording house which launched the careers of those who would launch rock and roll…a contemporary of his also recording for Sun Records was Elvis Presley.
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Elvis was the man who legitimized the black music (blues) in the eyes of the white audience at a time when racial separatism was the norm. He incorporated into his delivery of blues based music an energy that had never existed before, and helped to create the genre known as Rock and Roll, which is very much the basis of much of the popular culture on our planet over the past 50 years. Elvis combined an ability to sing and play guitar, with an undeniable sex appeal, and a sense of danger. Though he was perhaps not as strong of a songwriter as many who came before him, often singing music that had been written for him, he was certainly accomplished in this area, and his shadow of influence is one that has never reached its end. Without Elvis, rock and roll would never have begun. But it was up to another group of 4 men to legitimize this form of music a few years after it began. Rock and Roll was thought to be a fad, and critics were constantly deriding it as being “dead” for about 7 or 8 years after Elvis brought the youth to its knees with his electrifying vocals and second to none performances. His music inspired the Beatles who became perhaps the single most influential group of musicians not only in rock and roll but in all of music history.
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The Beatles were 4 young men, all of whom could write, sing, and play multiple instruments very well. They had a repertoire of hundreds of songs which had inspired them, and they had an uncanny knack for creating not only melodies which would stick in the listeners head for an eternity, but an ability to harmonize with each other and to bring it all together with their instruments. Each man was a master of his craft and each was versatile in his musical abilities. They had an impeccable sense of timing and delivery, and a fun sense of fashion and humor, which along with their undeniable sex appeal, led them to be accepted into places where this previously illegitimate form of music had never seen the light of day. Throughout their 8 year career, they composed nearly 200 original songs, and became the single most popular group of musicians ever to walk the planet. Their recordings have collectively sold over 1 billion copies, far outshining anyone in the history of recorded music. One advantage which led to this enormous success was their ability not only to collaborate, but to innovate. They were incredibly prolific, turning out 10s of songs every year, and in a very short period of time, their songs began to become more complex, new instruments were introduced, new sounds and production techniques were employed. Their lyrics became more meaningful and full of depth, and the scope of their sound expanded. They were the ultimate in personalities, and as their fashion sense changed, their power was such that they were able to change the culture’s fashion sense. As their political views deepened, people began to listen to them and their words helped spark a near revolution in global politics. Their later records sound like blueprints for almost everything to come in rock and roll. They were the ultimate in musicians, having mastered every concept there is to master within music, and being able to create a catalogue of recordings which was vast, and inspired absolutely everyone to come within the genre either directly or indirectly.
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There have been many great masters in rock and roll since the Beatles, however in terms of influence, none has cast a greater shadow than another group of 4 musicians known as Black Sabbath. Sabbath created a much darker sound, and was able to produce a sound which was “heavier” than anything that had ever been played previously. Each of the 4 members mastered his instrument in a unique way, producing a sound which to many was “scary”. This form of music became known as heavy metal, a genre of music which has since branched off in countless ways, but the dark, slowed down tempo, combined with the virtuoso vocals, the varying tempo guitars and the hard hitting drums laid down the blueprints for the music of rebellion. Their incorporation of the bent note, also known as the devil’s note, in their music led to an association of the genre of heavy metal with dark, some times satanic forces, which in turn led to the more theatrical elements of hard rock and heavy metal music as it has been known since. Though they never sacrificed on melody, they created the deep, bombastic sound which is still evolving, and which has ultimately produced some of the most exciting music every created.
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Over a decade later, or nearly 3 decades after Rhythm and Blues spawned Country and Rock music, it spawned yet another form of music known as hip hop or alternately rap. Rap was essentially a term used to denote a spoken word delivery of words, which still retained a particular rhythm and rhyme scheme. Often, rap music in its early days was derivative of the music which had come before it, the main instrumentation being simply a phonograph on which previously recorded music was played back at various speeds in small pieces, heavily incorporating repetition, and the “scratching” sound made when a record was manipulated. Many pioneers in this form of music came forth, but none made the form as vital, appealing to the youth culture, and as dangerous as did a group of men known as NWA (niggaz with attitude). They brought to rap music a social conscience, along with the violence and thug persona which has made the art form what it is for better or for worse. Their lyrics were ultra sexual, ultra violent, and laid down the blueprint for what rap music would become. Their influence on urban culture can not be overestimated, with their personas, their look, their abilities to manipulate words and rhyme scheme and to create beats which defined the music itself, they were unrivaled in their artistry and their circle of future influence.
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In summary, to be truly important as a musician, you must be an integral part of its evolution. Technical prowess is definitely a plus. Ability to compose in a big picture way is essential. Ability to create a melody which is not only memorable, but unforgettable and to be able to do so repeatedly is crucial. But the single most important element in being an all time great musician is the ability to do all these things in a way that is so coherent and masterful that it has the ability to reach out not only to present audiences but to future audiences and music makers. It is the ability to influence future generations, thereby making your musical footprint and indelible, irreplaceable cornerstone of musical history…the ability to create something within music that did not predate you, even if you had to assemble it from various pieces of music which did. If you can try something new and it becomes a standard way of doing something, you become immortal in your ability to make your voice heard long after you die, perhaps forever. I think the musicians mentioned if you listen to a representation of their works will give you a small taste for how music has evolved and how it is continuing to evolve, and you will see that these among the thousands who have attempted their hand at the creation of music have managed to master the art in a way that no one before or sense them could ever replicate. However, one would have to incorporate the contributions of well over 100 other masters within several genres and sub genres of music to really get up to speed as to where we are today and what is possible tomorrow. This grouping of 10 artists:
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…this grouping will show you the most major jumps in the evolution of music, but it ignores 99.99% of the brilliant music ever made, so use this as a jumping off point in your understanding, not as a definitive explanation of musical exploration. But do consider these to be the masters, the ones who will be looked to forever as those who have shown us the way.
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