For fifty years, Daryl Hall and John Oates worked together in a career for the ages. They churned out plenty of hits, including “Out of Touch” and “Kiss On My List,” and managed to remain close friends throughout – a relative rarity.

When asked how they were able to stay professional together for so long in a 1983 interview, Oates replied that they knew they had creative differences and still had to work hard to get past them. Their friendship has paid off in a big way, being the third best-selling musical duo of all time. They’ve sold more than forty million albums globally.

This outstanding musical duo made it into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003 and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. In 2016 they earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and a year later, they announced they would be touring the United States for almost the entire summer.

Of all things, John Oates has related that neither of them has ever liked being called “Hall & Oates,” saying it’s not anything they’ve ever wanted or liked. On all of their albums, they’re credited as “Daryl Hall John Oates. The duo embarked on their very first Latin American tour in 2019 and later performed in Spain for the first time.”

With piercing blue eyes and a charming persona, Leto was destined for musical stardom. His band, Thirty Seconds to Mars, has sold fifteen million albums worldwide and has won a healthy number of awards.

Leto went on record about wanting to create music that had cohesiveness and a kind of atmospheric musical story to it. Leto also directed all of the band’s music videos, including “The Kill,” “Kings and Queens,” and “Up in the Air.” It wasn’t the only entertainment venue where Leto would make a name for himself.

Leto has turned into a classic Hollywood triple threat. Due to his role in “Dallas Buyers Club,” he won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award for best supporting actor. He’s been in “Fight Club” and famously dripped a mess out of his bright green trousers as The Joker in “Suicide Squad.”

He’s a method actor and researches his roles down to the finest details. He stays complete in character during the shooting process, which must be great for everybody else that works on the films. Somehow, he’s also in his mid-forties.

He has one of the most impressive rock resumes in history, and he’s been instrumental in the development of three important bands. He got his start with the band Nirvana, which set the stage for the grunge genre early in the nineties.

After Nirvana came apart, he went on to form his own band, the Foo Fighters, which are classic examples of new rock, with nine studio albums to their names. Grohl has also been heavily involved with The Queens of the Stone Age, another famous rock band, and he shows no signs of stopping.

In 2012 it was estimated that Grohl was the third-wealthiest drummer in the entire world, behind only unstoppable names like Ringo Starr and Phil Collins. He’s one of the most influential in the world today, but his skills aren’t just behind the kit – he adds his voice and skills on the guitar to the bands he works with, too.

Off-stage, Grohl is an advocate for LGBT rights and also writes frequently about the dangers of substance abuse, stating he keeps as clean as possible. No doubt, the loss of his friend Kurt Cobain so early in life is part of his reasoning.

In 1979, when Pat Benatar’s first album came out, it reached number 12 in the U.S. Her next output was the EP that contained “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” which broke up the US Top Ten, selling more than a million copies and getting to gold status.

Benatar was a lady of the eighties. She saw further success with songs such as “Shadows of the Night” and “Love is a Battlefield.” Thanks to these songs and plenty more, which you’ll still hear on the radio if you take the time to search, helped turn Benatar into one of the best female rock stars ever.

She’s had four Grammys and two RIAA-certified multi-platinum albums, but Pat Benatar has only released one album of new material since her 1997 output, “Innamorata.” In 2003 she released the album “Go,” but it didn’t have nearly as much success as much of her other material.

She released a holiday song in 2015 entitled “One December Night” and recorded a song in 2017 called “Shine” in support of the Women’s March, though it wasn’t even as successful as the march, and that’s saying something. In 2017 she also released “Dancing Through the Wreckage,” which was the lead single for the documentary “Served Like a Girl.”

Billy Idol’s first claim to fame was as part of the punk rock band Generation X. He quickly moved on to a solo career, finding huge success with singles such as “Dancing with Myself” and “White Wedding.” He was part of the MTV-driven “Second British Invasion” in the United States, which saw the popularity of punk rockers grow quickly.

In 1994 his rocker lifestyle got the better of him, causing him to collapse outside a club. In 1998 Idol made a cameo appearance in the Adam Sandler movie “The Wedding Singer.” As for his music career, it had pretty much been on the decline since the 90s.

Billy Idol’s first album in twelve years came in 2005, jumping him back into the music scene. In 2006 he returned to performing and collaborated with other artists on their records. His eighth studio album came in October 2014. He’d been working on it for four years, and “Kings & Queens of the Underground” ended up performing well.

Idol still shows no signs of slowing down to either his music or his life. In early 2020 he starred in a public service campaign called “Billy Never Idles” about air pollution caused by idling vehicles in New York City.

Unlike many of the rock bands and teen music heartthrobs from the eighties, Jon Bon Jovi never went off the rails. When his band Bon Jovi started in 1983, his band’s success boomed from the word go. They started recording albums and performing worldwide sold-out tours, and their list of hits is spectacular, including “Livin’ On A Prayer” and “It’s My Life.”

To date, the band has sold more than a hundred million records worldwide. Jon was a standout musician, able to create both soulful rhythms and blistering solos from his guitar. He’s been called one of the most powerful and influential people in the music business and the sexiest rock star in the world.

Jon Bon Jovi still tours around the world, happy to perform for his millions of adoring fans. Aside from his music, Bon Jovi has also become big in the philanthropy world. He often makes public appearances for the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, and his own charity, The Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, which works to address hunger and homelessness in the United States.

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018 after winning the 2017 fan ballot with over eleven million votes. He has been married to his wife Dorothea since 1989 and has three sons.

Consistent problems with certain substances tended to overshadow Aerosmith’s output in the seventies, but they still made hit after hit. Frontman Steven Tyler, in particular, had big problems keeping himself in check.

He had to enter rehab in the eighties, which helped reignite the band. Their 1989 album “Pump” sold over five million copies in the U.S. alone and also produced three top-ten hits. Tyler’s performance, in particular, was award-winning, earning the band its first Grammy award. Of course, the band had a good number of hits before this, but it shot the band into the upper level of rock musicians.

Tensions in the band had always been there, and between 2009 and 2010, they reached an all-time high. Tyler relapsed into his bad habits, fell off the stage during a performance, and then joined “American Idol” as a judge without telling them. Thankfully, after more treatment, the band came back together to make more music.

Tyler and his songwriting partner Joe Perry won the ASCAP Founders Award and joined the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Tyler wasn’t done, releasing his first solo album in 2016, “We’re All Somebody from Somewhere.” While the album was nothing mind-blowing, it got generally favorable reviews. It got to number one on the US Top Country Albums list.

Surprising as it might be, Stefani got her start as part of the rock band No Doubt, which released the hits “Don’t Speak” and “Just a Girl” to great acclaim in the mid-nineties. Gwen’s difficult relationship with fellow band member Tony Kanal was big tabloid news.

The band is still active, but Gwen ventured into a solo career in pop music, releasing her first studio album, “Love. Angel. Music. Baby.” in 2004. The album included the hits “Hollaback Girl” and “Rich Girl.” It was number seventy-two on the US Billboard 200 for the entire decade.

Stefani has now ventured outside of music. She created her own clothing line, which was heavily inspired by Japanese culture. She was with the British musician Gavin Rossdale between 2002 and 2016, and the two had three sons together. Stefani’s solo career has won her numerous awards.

Among the number include a World Music Award, an American Music Award, a Brit Award, and two “Billboard” Music Awards. Recently Gwen has joined the TV reality series “The Voice” as a judge, and she has been dating co-judge Blake Shelton since then. She’s been in TV shows and movies, most famously in “The Aviator.”

Few are luckier when it comes to the consequences of their dangerous habits than Keith Richards. As a founding member of The Rolling Stones, he was one of the rock legends that still inspires young musicians. The band produced unforgettable hits like “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” and “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” as well as plenty more.

Richards often said that two writers on a song are better than one, and so he regularly worked with others, most often Steve Jordan. It must have worked since he joined the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1993. But his bad habits came back to bite him.

Not only did Richards struggle through his hardy rocker lifestyle, but a freak accident while in Fiji in 2006 almost took his life. It happened during The Rolling Stones’ 2006 European tour, forcing them to reschedule a big number of shows.

Richards suffered a head injury when he climbed a tree to gather coconuts and fell out. At first, it was just a concussion, but it was later found to be far more serious, with him needing life-saving surgery. Thankfully, he made it. As for his relationship with Mick Jagger, he thinks the man is a snob but still loves him dearly.

Crazy face paint, outrageous antics, and wild, energetic music made KISS an unforgettable band for anybody who loved rock. They ruled the rock charts for most of the seventies, and if you’re a fan of classic rock, you could probably belt out some of their hits (like “I Was Made For Loving You” and “Crazy Nights”) without having to look the lyrics up.

They’ve sold an astounding one hundred million records since they first hit the stage. Their wide mass appeal and fun music are just a few of the things that attracted fans to them.

KISS joined the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in December 2013 and shortly after advertised a joint tour with Def Leppard. Gene Simmons, frontman for the band, has also become an entrepreneur, an actor, and a television personality.

He started his own magazine – “Gene Simmons Tongue Magazine” – his own label, Simmons Records, and even an animated series, “My Dad the Rock Star.” Thanks to these ventures, as well as the band, of course, it’s estimated that Simmons has a net worth of three hundred million, making him one of the wealthiest rockers in the world.

Slipknot had a lot more than just their unique brand of metal music going for them. Their wild costumes, bizarre performances, and unforgettable videos grew a huge fanbase, and despite most record labels considering them unsignable, they became one of the heralds of the evolving music scene.

Behind the masks, however, frontman Corey Taylor was riding the wrong kind of high. He turned to drink to try to get away from the problems plaguing his life. It resulted in low spirits for Taylor. His ex-wife Scarlett helped talk him down both times.

Taylor knew he had no choice but to address his life’s issues head-on or risk hurting the people he loved. The Slipknot frontman bid farewell to the drink before launching a new brand of alternative metal, Stone Sour, in 2006. The band’s first album in that same year, “Come What(ever) May,” got the group a Grammy Award nomination for Best Metal Performance with the single “30/30-150.”

Taylor himself has been ranked at number eighty-six in “Hit Parader’s Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time” list and has also been listed the seventh greatest heavy metal frontman by “NME.” We’re all glad you’re still around, Corey.

Through the beginning of the new millennium, Joel and Benji Madden had incredible popularity thanks to their band Good Charlotte. They broke through into the mainstream with their album “The Young and the Hopeless” thanks to the hit song “Lifestyles of The Rich and the Famous.”

They represented a hard-charging skate-punk aesthetic but combined it with a melodious pop sound and the spooky mascara sensibilities of 80s goth music. The band went on for a bit and then announced a hiatus in 2011 via an interview with “Rolling Stone.”

While the band was on hiatus, the Madden brothers still put out some music. The band came back together in 2015, and soon after, they made the announcement that they had put out the single “Makeshift Love,” and they would perform the song at their first concert since the hiatus in November 2015.

Their sixth studio album came out in 2016, “Youth Authority.” The brothers have grown up a little and are now family men. Joel married TV personality, fashion designer (and daughter of Lionel Richie) Nicole Richie, while Benji is married to actress Cameron Diaz. Both marriages are still going strong, which is always nice to see.

As the lead singer of the new wave band Blondie, Debbie Harry was a constant part of the music charts during the seventies and eighties. The band and Harry saw great success with hits such as “Call Me,” “The Tide Is High,” “Atomic,” and “Rapture.”

The band took a hiatus, and the time gave Debbie a chance to work on her first solo album. “KooKoo” came out in the same year, and it also saw Harry starting an acting career. The band regrouped the following year, but the band split up for good in 1982, after which Harry was able to put all of her focus on her solo career.

As a tried-and-true punk icon, Debbie Harry is still one of those names that fans of the era will talk at length about. She released a total of five solo albums. She seems to love touring since she not only tours with her own material, but she also is ready to join Blondie whenever they get back together for a few shows.

Harry worked with the band Arcade Fire while they performed at Coachella, and then she started a residency for several weeks at the Cafe Carlyle in New York in 2015. Thanks to the length and output of her career, she was able to join VH1’s “100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll.”

Joined by his brother Malcolm, Angus Young formed a little band you might find familiar: AC/DC. Their first album in 1975, “High Voltage,” got them started, and then four more followed in short order. In 1979, however, they released “Highway to Hell,” which was their springboard to international fame – before, they really only had much of a fanbase in their home country of Australia.

Their lead singer Bon Scott died in 1979, and then the band released “Back in Black” in his honor. No doubt you’ve heard of this album since it’s only the second highest-selling album of all time. EVER. The only song that tops it is Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”

AC/DC joined the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003, and their success has continued ever since. In 2010 they released an album of songs that were part of the soundtrack for the Marvel movie “Iron Man 2,” and it became a huge success worldwide thanks to the movie.

In 2014 Young’s brother Malcolm had to pull out of the band due to health issues, which meant Angus was the only remaining member. When Angus joined Axl Rose for their dual world tour, Angus’s nephew was able to join and help out. He’s still rocking that schoolboy outfit to the delight of fans around the world.

As the lead singer of, and one of the founding members of, The Rolling Stones, Mick Jagger’s spot in rock history is assured. We could list hits like “Paint It Black” and “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” until we’re blue in the face, and they have as many awards as you can count.

Jagger joined the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. His unprecedented career has also seen him get into the UK Music Hall of Fame with the rest of the Stones, and he’s even been made a knight – Sir Mick Jagger. He earned it in 2003 after decades of musical achievement.

With an estimated net worth of $360 million, Mick Jagger has been described as one of the popular and influential rock and rollers the music world has yet to produce. He, with the Stones or through his solo career, has had millions of record sales worldwide, and he has plenty of other ventures. He’s known in the tabloids as a man who keeps getting married, even though the marriages don’t tend to hold out for very long.

The most famous of his relationships was with American model and actress Jerry Hall. Currently, he is married to Melanie Hamrick, and the two have two children together.

Go to any list of greatest guitarists of all time, and you’re going to see Eddie Van Halen. There’s a pretty good chance he’ll be up near the top if not in the number one spot. His big, bright smile, undeniable chops, and fun guitar design elements have made him an icon in the guitar world specifically, but also in the music world as a whole.

He was one of the co-founders of the wonderful band Van Halen, which was born in 1972, and they’ve released more than ten albums, each one featuring Eddie Van Halen and his brother Alex. The debate still rages: David Lee Roth or Sammy Hagar?

There’s no understating how big Eddie Van Halen’s influence was in the rock and roll world. In 2012 he was voted as number one in a “Guitar World” magazine reader’s poll for “The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.” That very same year, Eddie underwent surgery that forced him to delay a tour by six whole months as he recovered.

During his lifetime, Eddie donated more than seventy-five guitars to The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation, which provides guitars to young musicians who can’t afford them. Sadly, Eddie died in 2020 due to complications from a stroke, and his son Wolfgang, a member of the band once he was old enough, announced there was no Van Halen with Eddie.

He was one of the most controversial and outrageous rock performers of all time. From his legendary substance use to the time he bit off a bat’s head (he didn’t know it was a real bat), he garnered both international condemnation and international acclaim thanks to his writing and singing talents.

Thanks to the success of Black Sabbath, Ozzy was able to start a solo career marked with hits like “Crazy Train” and “Mr. Crowley,” but his career has always been marked with a few too many trips to rehab.

While he’s had plenty of medical issues due to his dependencies to the classic rock and roll favorites, he’s still around and kicking. He’s in a well-known relationship with his wife Sharon, and their three children (Aimee, Kelly, and Jack) are glad to still have their dad around and are always there to give him the stability he needs.

The family (minus Aimee) had a reality TV show titled “The Osbournes,” which let people see into their wild personal lives. Ozzy is still putting out music every once in a while, and he also appears in a few movies, though mostly as himself.

Once the guitarist of the Amboy Dukes, Ted Nugent practiced his skills from 1965 until 1975, but in 1975 he dropped the band name and started putting out music under his own name with the same musicians. He was signed to Epic Records with Derek St. Holmes, Rob Grange, and Clifford Davies, and the foursome released albums “Ted Nugent,” “Free-for-All,” and “Cat Scratch Fever.”

Long before it was a video game, he was a real guitar hero. He joined a few bands in the eighties but went solo again for good in 1995. His lightspeed solos are still melting faces off.

Nugent still performs and releases music, but nowadays, he’s probably more well known for his outspoken beliefs that go against the standard rock line. He’s a strong advocate of hunting and is a major supporter of certain political beliefs that often lands him in public feuds, especially with his fellow musicians.

Even Paul McCartney has been known to clash with rocker, though we doubt that old Nugent feels troubled by any of it.  He has his fanbase. In 2011 he released the song “I Still Believe” for free.

Pete Wentz is the most famous member of the punk rock band Fall Out Boy, but he wasn’t always. He was always a singer, but it’s not often the bassist of the group garners so much acclaim. Still, he’s the one associated the most with the band. Fall Out Boy was the biggest part of the emo rock scene in the new millennium but decided to take a hiatus in 2009.

Wentz created the dub-step group Black Cards, as well as focused on settling into family life with his now ex-wife Ashlee Simpson. Things are a bit of trouble for the Black Cards, with two band members leaving and lots of release delays.

In January of 2013, Fall Out Boy came back. Their hiatus was over, and they were ready to release new music, including a single from their upcoming album. The single came with a new music video and an upcoming tour, and then the album (“Save Rock and Roll”) dropped.

When he isn’t working on his music, Pete is also an active philanthropist. His biggest partnership is with The Jed Foundation’s Half of Us campaign, for which he is a spokesperson. The program is aimed at helping teens at risk.

When you think about crazy rock musicians, you’re thinking about Motley Crue – whether you know it or not. The band’s drummer, Tommy Lee, made a name for himself both as a member as well as for his outrageous lifestyle off the stage. Motley Crue has sold more than a million records worldwide, thanks in part to their hit singles “Dr. Feelgood” and “Girls, Girls, Girls.”

Success is attractive, which may be the most likely explanation for how Tommy Lee married world-famous model and actress Pamela Anderson after an on-and-off relationship. They had a pair of children before later divorcing.

Tommy Lee was ready to try other things. He starred in a reality TV series called “Tommy Lee Goes to College” in 2005 that revealed his wild and “unscripted” behavior to the world, but this time it was in a university instead of on stage. He published a memoir, “Tommyland,” in 2004 that detailed his life up to that point.

In 2014 Motley Crue decided to make their last big push, reuniting for a final tour with all four members. The members all had to sign a contract agreeing they wouldn’t appear for any future performances under the name, and the tour ran until the end of 2015.

Formed in 1989, Hole was Courtney Love’s path to stardom. While her performances, as well as the lyrics she both wrote and sang, turned her into a highly-discussed figure, it was her relationship with fellow musician Kurt Cobain that really made her part of the rumor mill.

The relationship drew plenty of public attention, and it only got worse after the end of Cobain’s life. In 1994 it seemed like Love was starting to spiral out of control. At one show, she even halted her singing and started to cry about her lost relationship with Cobain.

After a tiring series of legal and abuse issues, Love was court-ordered to attend rehab in 2005. She was able to clean up her act and get the help she needed and made a return to music, having written a number of songs while she was in rehab. Between the years of 2012 and 2014, she performed again, even completing a solo tour of the US in mid-2013.

Love has spread herself out a little bit, taking up several different ventures. She’s developed her own fashion line and even picked up some acting roles. Neither of those activities is very out-of-left-field for someone who was in music; she is a performer, after all. After Love cleaned herself up, she was able to reunite with her estranged daughter, Frances Bean.

Take a look at that “Greatest Of All Time Guitarists” list again, and you’re going to see Eric Clapton. He’s also going to be near the top A LOT. He’s also going to be found on lists of best musicians overall, too. This English master of rock and blues jumped between a number of different bands before landing with the Yardbirds in 1963, though he left just a few years later.

He then joined John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers. After Mayall, Clapton, drummer Ginger Baker, and bassist Jack Bruce formed what is widely regarded as the first supergroup, Cream.

Due to tensions between Bruce and Baker, Cream didn’t last all that long, disbanding in 1968, only two years after its formation. Clapton went on to produce a successful solo career, selling more than a hundred million records and becoming one of the best-selling musicians around the world.

He’s garnered plenty of acclaim for his work, too, earning eighteen Grammy Awards. He won a Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. Even though he’s into his seventies now, Clapton isn’t ready to hang it up just yet and has plans to go on tour in Europe in 2021.

With the combination of a powerful voice and electrifying stage presence, Robert Plant became a rocker that every self-respecting fan of music needed to see live at least once. He got his start in professional music back in 1968 when he became the lead singer of Led Zeppelin.

After working his way into Jimmy Page’s good graces, Plant began to write songs for the band, including hits such as “Immigrant Song,” “Thank You,”  and “The Rain Song.” Plant enjoyed success with the band from his time joining until 1980, when Led Zeppelin disbanded following drummer John Bonham’s death.

A few years before the end of the band, Plant’s five-year-old son Karac died while Plant was touring. Plant spent some time questioning his future. After the end of Led, he considered leaving music but eventually decided to try his hand at a solo career and went on to garner quite a bit of success.

Aside from his solo albums, Plant has also had big collaborations with other musicians through the years. His unique style and inventive stage antics not only made him a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, but it also influenced plenty of names you might also be familiar with, including Axl Rose of Guns N’ Roses, Freddie Mercury of Queen,  and Jack White of The White Stripes.

Best known as a founding member and lead vocalist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Anthony Kiedis is a singer-songwriter and rapper. The start of this band was about as serendipitous as you could come up with. A local California band asked Kiedis to be their opening act in 1983, and Kiedis roped in a couple of classmates, Hillel Slovak and Michael Balzary (later known as Flea), as well as drummer Jack Irons to back him up.

After the show, the band decided to try and do something, and that lineup became the first iteration of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, though not the one that went to stardom.

Anthony Kiedis is still performing with the rest of the chili peppers. The band now consists of Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. They’ve produced eleven studio albums, and though Kiedis’s lyrical and performing style has changed over the years, he’s always been a dynamic force on stage.

Along with the rest of the band, Kiedis joined the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012. Like many other members of this list, he had substance problems, but in the year 2000, he cleaned up. He had a few small acting roles before becoming big in music, including in the Keanu Reeves film “Point Break.”

Having an appreciation for Eddie Vedder is pretty easy to come by, even if you aren’t a fan of his band Pearl Jam. If you like Pearl Jam, there’s no doubt you know that Vedder is a big part of what makes the band so good. He’s regarded as one of the top vocalists and singers of all time. He’s the lead vocalist of the band, and he’s one of three guitarists as well as being the primary lyricist.

Calling him a big part of the band almost seems to be doing him a disservice. He was recruited to join Pearl Jam in 1990 after appearing as a guest vocalist in Temple of the Dog, a supergroup that included a few other members of Pearl Jam.

Pearl Jam is still going strong. They’ve released eleven albums, the most recent being 2020’s “Gigaton,” and Vedder has also embarked on a solo career of his own. His first album was in 2007, a soundtrack for the film “Into the Wild.” His second album, “Ukulele Sounds,” came out in 2011, as well as a live DVD of a concert performance called “Water on the Road.”

To the surprise of no one Vedder, as well as the other members of Pearl Jam, joined the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017. fun fact: The original drummer for Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jack Irons, was briefly a member of Pearl Jam.

He was born Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, but the world knows him as English musician Sting. He began as the lead singer, bassist, and even the principal songwriter for the new wave rock band The Police between 1977 and 1984, which soared to the top of the charts, including with the hit “Every Breath You Take.”

They pulled off quite the feat with numerous (five) UK chart-topping albums, won six Grammy Awards, and had two Brit Awards as well. The band’s initial sound was heavily punk rock, but they began to blend styles like reggae rock and “minimalist pop.” Most of the reason we remember this band is because of Sting, who had skills in plenty of avenues of music.

While The Police never formally broke up – they had a reunion tour as late as 2008 – the members all started to gravitate to their solo careers, including Sting. The powerhouse proved that he could carry music all on his own without a band behind him.

Whether it was as a solo musician or as a member of The Police, Sting has collected quite a number of awards for music, including seventeen Grammys, three Brit Awards, a Golden Globe – for Best Song in a Motion Picture – and an Emmy. He, and the rest of The Police, became part of music history when they joined the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003.

You know what Paul McCartney is famous for. Go on, sing your favorite. You know you want to. McCartney is a singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and film producer, as well as a completely self-taught musician. He was a founding member, a co-lead vocalist, and a bassist for The Beatles (you have heard of them), a band that was at the heart of the ‘British Invasion’ cultural phenomena.

The records he helped create with his bandmates have stood the test of time, even though the band eventually broke up. His partnership with the late John Lennon is one of the most successful in music history.

When the Beatles split in 1970, McCartney was prepared. He’s one of the most successful composers and performers of all time for a big reason, and his debut solo album, “McCartney,” came not long after the end of the biggest band in the world. He then became the frontman for Wings, which turned into one of the most successful bands of the seventies.

When the eighties hit, McCartney was ready for his own thing again and went back to playing solo. Now almost eighty years old, McCartney has collaborated with musicians like Michael Jackson, Kanye West, and Rihanna. He also puts in a lot of time promoting international charities.

He’s the Boss, as the bumper stickers say. Springsteen became one of the biggest singer-songwriters and musicians during the seventies and even started to attract international fame after “Born to Run” came out in 1975. The next few albums didn’t disappoint either, with “The River,” “Born in the USA,” and “The Rising” all achieving critical acclaim.

The songs he came up with were musically complex, but his straightforward and memorable lyrics helped turn Springsteen into a musical storyteller that still hasn’t been topped. Many of his songs look back on his experiences as a member of the working-class American.

The immense success of Bruce Springsteen’s career has made him into a name that almost nobody can pretend to not know. He’s collected twenty Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes, an Academy Award for Best Original Song, and, of all things, a Tony Award. He’s also joined the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

He starred on Broadway alongside his traditional backing band, the E Street Band, a group of musicians that would frequently have his back when he was on stage or recording. He and the band have also performed on Saturday Night Live as late as December 2020.

Bronx-born and Long-Island raised, Billy Joel has had a huge impact on the musical world as a whole. His standout song “Piano Man” still gets constant play on classic stations and by players who are just learning how to tickle the ivories, but he has plenty of other amazing songs as well. How can we forget “We Didn’t Start the Fire.”

Joel rose to prominence in the late seventies, and between his start in 1993, he released twelve studio albums and put out another in 2001. He’s cemented himself as one of the greats, with a bit of a twist on the classic recipe – instead of wailing on an ax, Joel’s chosen instrument was the piano.

No doubt you’re aware that Billy Joel is one of the most best-selling music artists of all time, but did you know that he’s the number three best-selling solo artist in the United States, ever? He has over a hundred and fifty records sold worldwide, and he’s also the sixth best-selling recording artist, not just among solo artists.

He’s into his seventies now, and this member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame still tours around the world and sells out massive arenas. For music fans who have never seen the piano man live, do yourself a favor and try to find a performance near you.

Bono is without a doubt the most well-known Irish musician performing today. Born Paul David Hewson, Bono is a singer-songwriter, philanthropist, activist, and more, and he’s the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of rock band U2. The band began in 1976, and they rose to worldwide acclaim with the release of their 1987 record “Joshua Tree.”

Bono and U2 as a whole have received a whopping twenty-two Grammy Awards, and the band became a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005. The guy who carries the bass when they play even got in with them.

Bono is still rocking late into his career and life. He, along with the rest of the band, has been making guest musical appearances on talk shows such as “The Late Show With James Corden” and others. Bono is almost as well-known for his activism as he is for his music, and he often assists groups such as humanitarian efforts of many various forms.

He’s performed in numerous benefit concerts in order to support these causes. His philanthropic efforts have become so widespread that he’s met with Presidents, Prime Ministers and has even become an honorary knight by Queen Elizabeth II.

As a pop culture icon and unforgettable musician, Elton John got his start in music early in life when he played the piano. He began his musical career at the age of sixteen, and his rise to worldwide fame occurred when he released famous hits like “Tiny Dancer” and “Rocket Man.”

His tribute song to the deceased Princess Diana, “Candle in the Wind 1997,” was originally for something else, but he rewrote it – it went on to sell over thirty-three million copies worldwide. It’s the best-selling single in the history of the United Kingdom and the UK singles charts. His flamboyant style has also helped him stand out.

While Elton John might not be performing as much anymore, he still makes appearances from time to time after his immense, three-year farewell tour that started in 2018. The tour was intended to consist of more than three hundred concerts around the world, but many of the dates had to be canceled or rescheduled in 2020.

John has also reunited with creative partner Tim Rice to create music for the live-action “The Lion King” remake since he also did the music for the original animated film.

Starting in the nineties, brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher found huge success with their band Oasis. They turned out a couple of smash hits, “Wonderwall” and “Don’t Look Back in Anger,” but their contentious relationship began to dominate the news about the band much more than their music.

They finally broke up in 2009, right before they were supposed to perform at the Rock de Seine festival. Noel stated that he simply couldn’t work with Liam a day longer. How bad must it have been for two people – brothers, even – to never want to work together again?

Noel went on to found a new band called Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, finding success away from his brother. Noel announced the band in 2011 at a press conference, and the same year their first album came out. The band’s second album, “Chasing Yesterday,” came out in 2015.

Their third album, “Who Built the Moon?” came out in November of 2017, and that year they also headlined the “We Are Manchester” benefit concert, which helped to raise funds following the terrorist attack that happened there in May. For the last few years, they’ve been releasing EPs with new material.

David Coverdale began his career as the lead singer of Deep Purple, a classic band and one of the pioneers of the heavy metal and modern hard rock genres. He was part of the band from 1973 to 1976, and then he moved on to Whitesnake, which was similarly a pioneer in the hard rock and glam metal genres.

Coverdale was making it to the top of the charts with hits like “Here I Go Again” and “Is This Love.” Coverdale has been the only consistent member of Whitesnake since it was started as a backing band for Coverdale’s solo career.

While he did jump around quite a bit from project to project, David Coverdale still landed on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016. However, it was his part of the history of Deep Purple that got him onto the bill.

The same year, Whitesnake announced that they would be embarking on a “Greatest Hits” tour in both North America and Europe, playing all of their biggest tracks for arena after arena of adoring fans. Coverdale has been married to his wife Cindy since 1997, and the two have one child together, a son.

True passion and talent came together with the frontman for The Smiths, Morrissey, who was born as Steven Patrick Morrissey. He’s released some of the most profound and emotional lyrics since he started releasing music, helping The Smiths produce hits like “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out” and “Bigmouth Strikes Again.”

When The Smiths came to an end, Morrissey didn’t stop putting out music. His solo career started with “Viva Hate” in 1988, and then the albums “Kill Uncle,” “Your Arsenal,” and “Vauxhall and I.” All of them produced hit singles that stayed on the United Kingdom charts for a while.

Morrissey took a lengthy hiatus after moving from his native England to Los Angeles. His solo career continued in 2004 with “You Are the Quarry.” He released his autobiography in 2013 and then a novel in 2015.

He’s had a few albums in the twenty-teens, including “Low in High School” in 2017, a cover album “California Son” in 2019, and “I Am Not a Dog on a Chain” in 2020. His unflinching quality in the music he’s produced has led to him being called one of the greatest lyricists in British history.