Which artists will be remembered 200 years from now?

A few weeks before Bowie died, I had a conversation with a friend. The topic? Which 20th/21st century artists would be remembered and still widely listened to 200 years from now?

I listed these:

Hank Williams
Robert Johnson
The Beatles
James Brown
Bob Dylan
Frank Sinatra
Chuck Berry
David Bowie

It was a tricky list to make, as it's not really the same as asking "Who are the greatest artists of the century?" or even "whoa re the most important artists of the century". Rather, it's attempting to answer the question "Why do we remember Brahms or Bach but don't remember the hundreds of other excellent composers who were working at the same time?" and applying it to modern music.

Perhaps another way to frame it is this -- which modern artists were truly sui generis -- utterly original and with few traces of what came before them? And which of those artists created music that will stir the soul in 2315 as they do today?

Thoughts?

 

Dylan

 

Yeah, forgot to include him. He was in my verbal list, so good catch. I'll update the OP

 

I'm not convinced any of the listed artists will be remembered in 200 years.
I'm not even sure the great classical composers will still be remembered in 200 years.

 

That's an interesting viewpoint. I do think humans as a rule hang on to a few touchpoints of their distant past as a means to feel some connection to what's come before. Whether it's Shakespeare or Mozart or Dickens or whomever. I don't think that will change, and I expect the 1960's/1970's in particular will be of particular fascination to future young 'uns. And a few of the artists who made that happen will be remembered (and listened to) as part of that.

I have no idea who those might be, but I've made my guesses,

 

Michael Jackson
Madonna
Bob Marley

 

You've got Dylan in there. No Rolling Stones?

 

Death is the new stand-in Beatles topic on SHF these days.

 

The Beatles
Frank Zappa
Elvis Presley
Miles Davis
Louis Armstrong

 

I disagree with most of the OP's list actually. Maybe the Beatles & maybe Bowie. But after that, I'm not so sure. The artist would need to transcend multiple generations and I don't really see that from a lot of on this list. Just using my own kids as a reference, Beatles & Bowie would probably be the only thing they would listen to on this list. I'm 52 and they are 13 & 11 and listen to stuff most other kids their age don't listen to ie: Acdc, Zeppelin, Headhunters, stuff like that. Hard to tell where taste would be in 200 years. Just my 2 cents.

 

It just seems to me that in two hundred years people will be on to different forms of entertainment than music...at least as we know it.

There will probably be music of some form, but my general feeling is that the pop music listed will be essentially meaningless in 200 years and even the "timeless" classical music will seem too rigid and way old school and boring to appeal to the humans of 2216.

Of course, if I am wrong I will be honor bound to check in here in 200 years and admit that I was wrong.

I'm sure Experience Hendrix will still be squeezing out "new" Hendrix releases though, for the next hundred years anyway.

 

200 years is a long time. I'd be surprised if any rock musician is remembered at all.

 

It's an interesting concept, but even as a classical buff I have to admit that few of the "great" composers are widely listened to these days. Your initial list seems a reasonable starting point - though even there I'm not sure people like Robert Johnson are widely listened to even now.

 

Wont you spare me over til another year.....

 

Yeah, like I said, it's tricky. I love the Stones, but my calculation is that over the centuries they'll get lost amongst the many bands who sounded similar (not teh Stones' fault -- they influenced all those bands). I think the artists who will survive are those who really are utterly unlike anything else, and thus will still provide a fresh experience to 24th century ears.

 

I hear ya!
It could come down to the song, rather than the artist.
I'm pretty sure, "Smoke on the Water" (and it's famous riff) will be remembered 200 years from now, but will the writers: Deep Purple?

 

I think Johnson is a perfect example of someone who will transcend time because he offers an audio capsule of a particular time in history. Almost 90 years after he recorded those songs, they transport me to a hot shack somewhere in Mississippi. I can only imagine what future generations will get from that music.

In the end, he may end up being one the most remembered of the 20th century. Just a hunch....

 

Time travel to the year 2315. Get out of capsule. Discover that Starship's "We Built This City on Rock & Roll" is the only song remembered from the 20th century and is played hourly. Haul my ass back to my time machine. Weep.

 

Dylan (is just Dylan - timeless, & was a movement)
Robert Johnson (invented rock out of his brain, & didn't even know it. That's a movement.)
The Beatles (invented a movement, changed the world.)

(maybe the Rolling Stones, maybe... maybe not. No movement.)

Miles Davis & John Coltrane - only because Jazz is Jazz & they were the top 2 in the Jazz movement.

And the Delta Blues, and Blues, in general, if studied in music class.

And some classical musicians like Mozart mentioned above, of course (a movement).

Maybe Michael Jackson, King of Pop. Maybe not.

That's it. & in 200 years from now... that's a lot!

Only 'movements' are remembered. Only movements are important in history.


(How many Delta Blues musicians can you even name, let alone know their music or style? & that's only 95 years ago. Bet most folks can't even name four.)

 

Queen, Aerosmith, The Beatles, David Bowie, Aerosmith

 

Yeah. A safe bet would be to go with artists that are the most world renown. (Michael Jackson,Madonna,etc.)
There are people in other parts of the world that know and love these artists just as much (if not more) than us Americans.

 

I don't think there will be anyone left to remember anything at all, 200 years from now. Earth will be a lifeless rock in orbit. BUT... If I'm wrong (I hope), folks will still be listening to The Beatles.

 

Yeah, you're probably right about Davis & Coltrane, as musicians (whatever the heck they'll be playing by then) will likely be drawn to jazz in some way, and those are two obvious places to look. Louis Armstrong too, perhaps.

 

There it is.

 

There's no telling. My generation is largely fascinated with the 90's.