Sunday, March 11, 2018

I have always been fascinated by this observation

When you look at the top-selling music acts of the modern era, the North American ones are almost always solo artists, while the others are almost always groups. In the top 22, there are only five exceptions - mostly American rockers like Metallica, the Eagles, Van Halen and Aerosmith.

  1. The Beatles - English - Group
  2. Garth Brooks - American - Solo
  3. Elvis Presley - American -Solo
  4. Led Zeppelin - English - Group
  5. The Eagles - American - Group
  6. Billy Joel - American - Solo
  7. Michael Jackson - American - Solo
  8. Elton John - English - Solo
  9. Pink Floyd - English - Group
  10. AC/DC - Australian - Group
  11. George Strait - American - Solo
  12. Barbara Streisand - American - Solo
  13. The Rolling Stones - English - Group
  14. Aerosmith - American - Group
  15. Bruce Springstein - American - Solo
  16. Madonna - American - Solo
  17. Mariah Carey - American - Solo
  18. Metallica - American - Group
  19. Whitney Houston - American - Solo
  20. Van Halen - American - Group
  21. U2 - Irish - Group
  22. Celine Dion - Canadian - Solo
The trend gets tricky to track at 23, because Fleetwood Mac was a supergroup compiled from an English blues band and an American folk duo. And in the age of streaming, it's impossible to figure out where a modern star like Rihanna might fit in. But I feel like we have a large enough sample size to make for some interesting dinner party conversation.

It might be as simple as this. If you grow up watching The Beatles, you start looking for bandmates. If you grow up watching Elvis, you think you're supposed to make it on your own.

Or it might be more complex. There might be long running cultural trends at play. America's fascination with celebrity and rugged individualism, for instance. I don't know the answer. But it's fun to think about. 

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