Who were the "king" and "queen" of Pop before Michael Jackson and Madonna?

They both are considered "king" and "queen" of Pop, whatever those terms really mean. The question is what solo artists held that title before them. Or did Pop just start in earnest in the eighties? And if you want to take this further, what is Pop really? What is the dividing line between Pop and Rock?

 

The Beatles

 

The Carpenters

 

Diana Ross possibly

Paul McCartney / The Beatles

ABBA perhaps, though they seem more lauded now than when they were going.

 

Officially? Nobody.

There will be 59372819 pages full of arists names but in fact there was no court in pop music before the 80s.







Well, maybe the Crimson King...

 

I seem to recall Michael Jackson proclaiming himself the King of Pop. Not that he wasn't, but his people sent a memo to MTV back in the day asking that they refer to him as such when playing one of his new videos. He crowned himself and everyone followed suit. Everyone wanted to be king or queen, but there was only one Prince.

 

Prince

 

Nat King Cole, maybe.

 

It's hard to think of any female pop star before Madonna who had a similar impact.

 

of Pop, in the US, for parts of the 70s

Linda Ronstadt, Barbara Streisand

Kenny Rogers, Neil Diamond

the worldwide machinery really didn’t kick into gear until MTV and the 80s, prior to that every country’s scene was pretty unique, regional

 

ELVIS!!!!

Elvis Presley was called the King of Rock'n'Roll for a reason. His rise to fame turned popular music on its head. He also set the template for what a "rock star" was, and influenced too many people to mention.

In the 1990 edition of Joel Whitburn's "Top Pop Singles" (which charts all the Billboard Hot 100 hits from 1955-1990), Presley is listed at the #1 artist of all time, having placed 149 hits in the Hot 100.

I think it's hard for people now to understand Elvis' impact. Heck, I have a hard time understanding it. He was of my parents' generation. I was never a big fan. Yet he made pre-rock'n'roll music almost outdated overnight among teens and brought sexuality into the mainstream of pop music with his hip-shaking and gyrating.

I'd recommend Greil Marcus' book "Mystery Train" for a good rundown of why he was so imporant.

 

Elvis and Karen Carpenter. Still are.

 

In the 70’s I’d say Elton John and Diana Ross ruled the Pop charts.

 

My first thought too!!!

 

Yeah but he wasn't female.

 

Gotta go with Elvis and Diana

 

Gary

 

Bing Crosby and Patti Page

 

King Crimson & Queen

 

There was no "King of Pop" before Michael Jackson, simply because no matter who was the biggest this or that before MJ, none of them even approached the sales of Thriller. Even now, that album is far and away the best selling album of all time. There's probably many well-known and influential artists who never sold as many albums in their entire career as he did with that one album. Sales certainly aren't the most important thing, but when your album makes that big a dent in the market, it's worth crowning yourself over.

 

Nana Mouskouri & Demis Roussos of course

 

Elvis and Madonna, looking at big picture, talkng tectonics here

 

Diana didn’t have the sales, a few singles, but no real album sales till 1980. Aretha fared a little better but not much. Donna Summer was more dominant upon her arrival than Aretha or Diana ever was as a solo act. Carole King dominated the first half of the decade by sales.

 

As far as the AM airwaves go, Elton John '72 through '76 no doubt. The latter half of the decade was ruled by the Bee Gees. I know Linda Ronstadt had a lot of hits in the '70's and later on Donna Summer.

 

...had the audacity or ego to proclaim themselves as such and demand that every media outlet followed suit if they wanted to receive new Jackson videos.