The “Lemonade” thread was kind of drifting to this question - so , a thread of its own…
Actually had this conversation with my 19, 23 and 27 year old kids in the last week as we talked about Prince.
For the sake of setting a standard, I’m going to say that Bowie, Prince, Michael Jackson were “legends”. Others too - name your own that have died recently. How about Elton John - legend?
Thinking about artists of today - perhaps the under 50 crowd of artists…who in your opinion - or based on your kids musical likes or who we see in the media - is destined to be a “legend” of sorts in 25 years - still performing, still respected, likely to be held on a high musical pedestal???
These will all be opinions of course - unless you have a crystal ball!!!
A few we discussed:
Beyonce
Justin Timberlake (20/20 was an amazing CD with many genres of music - he’s much more than “Sexy Back”!)
Coldplay? (only if the group stayed together and keeps evolving)
John Legend? (haha - get it - “legend”)
I would say one of the most influential figures in music today is the record producer T-Bone Burnett. Among a zillion other things, he put together the soundtrack for O Brother Who Art Thou, which had a tremendously important influence on the giant resurgence of roots music. That’s just one of his important influences.
Kanye West has 21 Grammys. That’s top ten all time. Despite his antics or any problems you may have with his personality, the man is an incredible artist and producer.
Call me a skeptic, but I don’t think most modern artists (under age 50, e.g.) will become “legends.” Beyonce? Forgettable in a few years. Adele? Same. Kanye? Same. Modern day success does not equal legend status. In my humble opinion, most modern day artists will not be remembered 5-10 years after they’ve stopped performing. They and the music they are creating have a short shelf life.
But to be a legend, the artist’s appeal has to go beyond a particular generation. Let’s take Prince for example. I grew up on his music. I introduced my D to his music. She will likely introduce her kids to his music and so on. The Beetles…same. Michael Jackson…same. Beyonce, Taylor Swift, and the like, I just don’t see that being the case.
One thing that is different is that kids don’t listen to the radio like we did. Their listening experience is much more customized and individualized, and there are so many more niches as a result. I wonder how that affects things, in terms of who will turn out to be the true legends.
“Well, most artists from 40 years ago aren’t legends either.”
Correct. Only a few artists are lucky enough to be considered legends. But the potential is there based on the ability to keep an audience over the years.
I love music documentaries/biopics, esp about the 60s - I’m currently watching Let It Be on Dailymotion and this Fri I am watching No Direction Home (Bob Dylan) with my mother as we are going to a Dylan concert in June. I adored Love and Mercy (Brian Wilson). I have a shelf of books on various groups, recently finished a Dylan biography and a Jim Morrison/Doors biography and am looking forward to the McCartney and Wilson autobiographies due this fall. I subscribe to various Podbean music podcasts devoted to various groups where experts analyze and discuss their works. So the q is …
20 - 30 years from now, who are the artists who are going to be on those bookshelves, who will have documentaries written about them, who will have experts continuing to dissect their musical and cultural impact on podcasts?
Well, I’m pretty sure that grandparents couldby have predicted what artist from my parents’ geveration I would still be listening to. So I don’t expect I’m a great predictor of the future in that regard either.
I think Beyoncé may very well stand the test of time. She has been around for a while, and as an old out of touch person I think her music is getting more interesting.
I do think that with a more fragmented market it is harder to predict thus kind of thing, and probably harder for an artist to achieve the “legend” status.
How do you all feel about Lady Gaga on this dimension? Her collaboration w Tony Bennett and her “turn” towards a more refined look and sound seem to have upped her game.
