Who was the quintessential rock star?

Probably Patti Smith, and that's not entirely to her credit.

 

Mick JAGGER.....!

 

Marc Bolan comes immediately to my mind.

 

prince.

 

Jobriath

 

Bob Dylan around 1966

 

You might need to explain this one. I bet 99.9% of the U.S population don't even know who Brian Eno is.
I have every Roxy Music cd, plus some Eno solo cd's, and I would be hard pressed to pick him out of a lineup.

 

Keef, Mick and Moon all come to mind at once.

 

...and in that recent Hear My Train A’ Comin’ documentary, Paul McCartney came across as a giddy fanboy as he recalled seeing Hendrix perform.

 

Peter Cook in Bedazzled:

 

First to pop in my head was Keith Richards, but Keith Moon probably better fits the bill.

 

Bono, Plant, Freddie, Diamond Dave, Page, Daltrey...

 

<- This guy

 

Mick Jagger

 

I really had to think about that a bit, much to my surprise. The front runner in all of those categories and overall is clearly Mick Jagger IMO. Elvis certainly was some kind of first in this discussion. The Beatles were all this to some degree but Mick has been and somehow continues to be it all. The only category he fails in, much to his credit was an early and untimely demise. I think there is a certain 'badboy' criterium for this honor and Mick meets it. He's not my most favorite, though I definitely like the bulk of his work. Another 'not favorite' who deserves an honorable mention is Steven Tyler.

 

Jimmy Page.

 

What's quintessential about Patti Smith? And is she even a star? (I don't think she is.)

 

Yep...first person I thought of.

 

He is the single most charismatic performer I have seen.

I think it's hard to argue against Keef being the textbook definition of a rock star

 

Rod Stewart

 

i suppose it would be hendrix.

as far as who looked the part of a rock star?
jimi
bon scott
lemmy
keef.