The Forgotten Ones – Artists Who Have Shaped Music

As a generation growing up in a time when music could be considered more prevalent than ever, there are certain artists that VALLEY thinks should be brought to the headlines for this generation of music lovers. While rap and electronic dance music is great for parties, there are many other artists who have put their music out into the world that would be considered “older music,” however, these artists are the foundation of what music is today.

 The Beatles

Formed in 1960, the band was composed of the late John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. While most members of the younger generations know their chart-topping songs such as “Here Comes the Sun,” and “Hey Jude,” there are 13 total albums and over 300 other songs that many people don’t know exist.

That being said, The Beatles changed the way modern music is looked at – being one of the first British bands to become popular in the United States. Due to this, many artists that have become popular in recent years attribute some of their style and songwriting to The Beatles. Most recently, a movie was made based on the life of Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of Queen, which formed just after The Beatles broke up. Even though their music is considered quite different, both bands come from the same place and are considered trailblazers.  

Bruce Springsteen

Starting off as the leader of the E Street Band, Springsteen gained popularity in the late 1970s while he was still a part of the E Street Band. He set the tone for soulful rock singer-songwriters. Known mainly by the younger generation for inspiring the white t-shirt, blue jeans, red cap in back pocket costume that dads can be seen wearing around Halloween. Recently he starred in his own self-titled Broadway show “Springsteen On Broadway” that has since been adapted for Netflix, giving Springsteen the chance to be discovered by people of this generation.

The Killers

Most people know them due to their most popular song, “Mr. Brightside” mainly played during prom or on the back end of road trips. However, many in this generation know no other songs by The Killers, or even that “Mr. Brightside” is a song written by the band.

Other songs by The Killers are very similar in sound and have the same exciting dance party vibes. Due to the popularity of the song, many other artists have taken it upon themselves to mimic the songs catchy tune. Artists like Arctic Monkeys, Coldplay and Green Day are just a few.  

Kings of Leon

This band came to popularity just before 2000 and have released some of their more popular songs within the last 10 years, however, they still have a larger fan base of those from the older generations. One of their most popular songs is, “Use Somebody,” which has been covered by multiple artists including Shawn Mendes and One Direction who are two extremely favored artists with this generation. Due to the song being covered by such known artists of this time the song has once again gained popularity, but the band is still not as coveted as it once was.

Since music is always changing, there will continue to be new artists that younger generations find more enjoyable to listen to, but their inspiration comes from many different artists – including the ones that this generation is beginning to forget.

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