THE MOST INFLUENTIAL ROCK ACTS OF ALL TIME

According to a statistical analysis, The Beatles have ended well ahead of The Rolling Stones to claim the unofficial title of Most Influential Rock Act of All Time up to 2008.

The analysis took into account the total number of times that bands and artists appeared on 40 International Top 500 Internet Rock Charts and the positions in which their songs were ranked. It produced some interesting results, which included Pop greats Michael Jackson and Madonna ending in the lowly positions of 37 and 90 in the rankings respectively. Another point of interest was that the band Derek & The Dominos securing 39th position overall despite only having one song, "Layla", included in any of the charts. The lowest ranked artist was the swing master Glenn Miller who managed a single point in the rankings for 430th position.

Bands
The Beatles finished well above their traditional rivals, The Rolling Stones; ending over 8000 points ahead with a total of 21563 points compared to The Rolling Stones’ 13409 in 2nd place. Led Zeppelin clinched 3rd position with a total of 10274 points whilst 4th best were British rock outfit Pink Floyd with Queen ending in 5th position.

The top 20 bands were:

1.The Beatles
2.The Rolling Stones
3.Led Zeppelin
4.Pink Floyd
5.Queen
6.The Who
7.The Eagles
8.U2
9.The Doors
10.Aerosmith
11.AC/DC
12.The Beach Boys
13.R.E.M
14.ABBA
15.Lynyrd Skynyrd
16.Fleetwood Mac
17.Dire Straits
18.Creedence Clearwater Revival
19.Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
20.The Police
Male Solo Artists
The top male solo artist was, not surprisingly, Elvis Presley who amassed 6635 points for 6th position overall whilst Bruce Springsteen ended 2nd in this category with 6463 points for an overall position of 8th. Bob Dylan was next in line with 5642 points and 10th place overall, with Jimi Hendrix and David Bowie completing the top 5.

The top 20 Male Artists were:

1.Elvis Presley
2.Bruce Springsteen
3.Bob Dylan
4.Jimi Hendrix
5.David Bowie
6.Billy Joel
7.John Lennon
8.Elton John
9.Van Morrison
10.Eric Clapton
11.Prince
12.Marvin Gaye
13.Don McLean
14.Michael Jackson
15.Frank Sinatra
16.Bob Marley
17.Bryan Adams
18.Neil Young
19.Roy Orbison
20.Paul McCartney
Female Solo Artists
The top female solo artist was Tina Turner, with her total of 1438 points securing her 65th position in the overall rankings. She was followed by Aretha Franklin who ended up in 70th position overall with 1229 points. Barbra Streisand, Madonna and Dusty Springfield filled the remaining spots in the top five.

The top 20 Female Artists were:

1.Tina Turner
2.Aretha Franklin
3.Barbra Streisand
4.Madonna
5.Dusty Springfield
6.Alanis Morrisette
7.Bette Midler
8.Carly Simon
9.Kate Bush
10.Janis Joplin
11.Anouk
12.Celine Dion
13.Joni Mitchell
14.Sinead O’Connor
15.Whitney Houston
16.Dionne Warwick
17.Dolly Parton
18.Patsy Cline
19.Gloria Gaynor
20.Diana Ross
Although the number of websites included in the analysis allows for a well-rounded indicator, the results shown are purely unofficial and are not necessarily the opinion of this writer, with certain artists or bands arguably not warranting inclusion in the Rock genre. In most cases though, their indirect influence on the genre still has bearing and hence inclusion may be justified.