Sixteen singer-songwriters and guitar legends, from Buddy Holly, Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan to Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Bob Marley, Dolly Parton and Bruce Springsteen, with the stories behind their songs and sounds.
Some musicians are remembered for a voice, others for a guitar sound, and the best of them for songs that outlive their era. This collection brings together sixteen artists who wrote or played their way into music history: early rock and roll pioneer Buddy Holly; country giants Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton and Shania Twain; the poets Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello and Bruce Cockburn; reggae's global ambassador Bob Marley; and guitar heroes from Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Carlos Santana to George Harrison and Johnny Marr.
Their careers are full of turning points that could easily have gone the other way. Buddy Holly's whole recording career lasted less than three years, Dolly Parton turned down Elvis Presley to keep the publishing rights to "I Will Always Love You", and Johnny Cash, who spent years as a radio intercept operator in the US Air Force, was reportedly the first American to hear of Joseph Stalin's death. Bob Marley was shot two days before a peace concert and performed anyway.
The guitarists changed how the instrument is played. Hendrix played a right-handed guitar upside down, Clapton earned the nickname "Slowhand" and became the only three-time inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Johnny Marr baffled fellow guitarists with unusual tunings, and Santana's Supernatural tied Michael Jackson's record of eight Grammys in a single night.
Many of them also crossed paths: Clapton played the solo on George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", Dylan and Harrison formed the Traveling Wilburys, and Springsteen wrote "Fire" for Elvis. Choose an artist below and read fifteen facts about them.
Every item on this page, with the one fact most people get wrong about it.
| Name | Where you'll meet it | The fact worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Bob Dylan | Minnesota, born 1941 | He has been on what fans call the Never Ending Tour since 1988. |
| Bruce Springsteen | New Jersey, born 1949 | His 2012 Helsinki concert lasted four hours and six minutes. |
| Johnny Cash | Arkansas, 1932-2003 | As a US Air Force radio operator he was reportedly the first American to learn of Stalin's death. |
| Bob Marley | Jamaica, 1945-1981 | He was shot two days before a peace concert and still went on stage. |
| Eric Clapton | Surrey, England, born 1945 | He is the only artist inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times. |
| Jimi Hendrix | Seattle, 1942-1970 | He was the highest-paid performer at Woodstock, earning $18,000. |
| Janis Joplin | Port Arthur, Texas, 1943-1970 | She bought a headstone for her idol, blues singer Bessie Smith. |
| Buddy Holly | Lubbock, Texas, 1936-1959 | His whole recording career lasted less than three years. |
| Carlos Santana | Mexico and San Francisco, born 1947 | Supernatural won eight Grammys in one night, equalling Michael Jackson's record. |
| Iggy Pop | Michigan, born 1947 | He pioneered stage diving with The Stooges. |
| Elvis Costello | London, born 1954 | He was banned from Saturday Night Live for 12 years after switching songs live on air. |
| George Harrison | Liverpool, 1943-2001 | He mortgaged his home to finance Monty Python's Life of Brian. |
| Johnny Marr | Manchester, born 1963 | He launched The Smiths by turning up unannounced on Morrissey's doorstep. |
| Bruce Cockburn | Ottawa, Canada, born 1945 | He found his first guitar in the attic of a family home in Ottawa. |
| Dolly Parton | Tennessee, born 1946 | She turned down Elvis Presley to keep the publishing rights to "I Will Always Love You". |
| Shania Twain | Ontario, Canada, born 1965 | Come On Over sold more than 40 million copies and produced twelve hit singles. |
Most Grammys in One Night
8
Santana's Supernatural won eight Grammys in 2000, equalling Michael Jackson's record. Carlos Santana
Best-Selling Album
40 million+
Shania Twain's Come On Over sold over forty million copies and produced twelve hit singles. Shania Twain
Most Books Given Away
325 million+
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library had gifted more than 325 million books to children by 2026. Dolly Parton
Longest Show
4 h 6 min
Bruce Springsteen's 2012 concert in Helsinki ran for four hours and six minutes with 33 songs. Bruce Springsteen
Minnesota, born 1941
Bob Dylan has reinvented himself for more than six decades, from protest singer to the electric performer branded "Judas" by a heckler. He welds giant iron gates, paints for galleries and once appeared in a lingerie commercial. He ghosted the Nobel committee after winning the literature prize.
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New Jersey, born 1949
Bruce Springsteen once climbed the wall of Graceland, and he got the nickname "The Boss" from handing out the band's pay. Nebraska was recorded on a cassette in his bedroom, and he wrote "Fire" for Elvis. An asteroid bears his name.
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Arkansas, 1932-2003
Johnny Cash was born simply "J.R." and survived an attack by an aggressive ostrich. He started a forest fire that burned more than 500 acres and was banned from the Grand Ole Opry after smashing the stage lights. Trent Reznor said "Hurt" belonged to Cash after hearing his cover.
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Jamaica, 1945-1981
Bob Marley turned reggae into a worldwide movement and once made rival Jamaican politicians shake hands on stage. He was fanatical about football and worked night shifts in Delaware under an alias. He was awarded the United Nations Peace Medal.
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Surrey, England, born 1945
London graffiti once declared "Clapton is God", and he played the uncredited solo on The Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". "Layla" drew on Persian poetry and unrequited love, while "Tears in Heaven" came from personal tragedy. His MTV Unplugged is the best-selling live album ever.
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Seattle, 1942-1970
Jimi Hendrix joined the army to avoid prison and was fired by Little Richard for stealing the spotlight. He played a right-handed guitar upside down and could not read music, yet learned Sgt. Pepper in two days and played it for The Beatles. He once lived next door to the former home of composer Handel in London.
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Port Arthur, Texas, 1943-1970
Janis Joplin was cruelly bullied at college and began as a folk-blues purist before becoming the queen of psychedelic soul. She had to perform twice at Monterey and was arrested for swearing on stage. She left money in her will for her own wake.
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Lubbock, Texas, 1936-1959
Buddy Holly's stage name came from a misspelled contract, and his horn-rimmed glasses replaced uncomfortable contact lenses. He popularised the Fender Stratocaster and the classic four-piece rock band, and inspired The Beatles' name. A John Wayne line gave him "That'll Be the Day".
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Mexico and San Francisco, born 1947
Carlos Santana began on the violin, playing mariachi music with his father, and washed dishes in a San Francisco diner. His Woodstock performance became legendary, and he was the first Hispanic rocker in the Hall of Fame. He has also run a women's footwear line and the Milagro Foundation for young people.
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Michigan, born 1947
The Godfather of Punk started as a blues drummer and took his name from his early band, The Iguanas. His Berlin years with David Bowie produced "Lust for Life", written to a TV jingle, and Bowie's version of "China Girl" saved him from financial ruin. Today he hosts a BBC radio show.
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London, born 1954
Born Declan Patrick MacManus, Elvis Costello recorded his debut album while working a data-entry job. He wrote songs with Paul McCartney, won a Grammy with Burt Bacharach and learned notation to compose a classical album. He is married to jazz star Diana Krall.
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Liverpool, 1943-2001
George Harrison brought Indian instruments into rock, and Frank Sinatra called "Something" the greatest love song ever written. He released rock's first triple studio album and staged the first major rock benefit concert. He was also the first former Beatle with a solo number one.
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Manchester, born 1963
Johnny Marr changed his name to avoid confusion with a punk drummer and favoured layered melodies over flashy solos. He gave a guitar that helped fuel Oasis's breakthrough, joined Modest Mouse for a US number one and worked with Hans Zimmer on film scores. He is also a keen marathon runner.
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Ottawa, Canada, born 1945
Bruce Cockburn dropped out of Berklee and became one of Canada's most politically engaged songwriters. After visiting Guatemalan refugee camps in southern Mexico in 1983 he wrote the furious "If I Had a Rocket Launcher". He holds the Order of Canada and is a master of fingerstyle guitar.
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Tennessee, born 1946
Dolly Parton once lost a Dolly Parton lookalike contest, and "Jolene" and "I Will Always Love You" were found on the same old cassette. Her Imagination Library, inspired by her father who could not read, has given away more than 325 million books. Dolly the cloned sheep was named after her, and her donation helped fund the Moderna vaccine.
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Ontario, Canada, born 1965
Shania Twain sang in bars at midnight from the age of eight and put her career on hold to care for her younger siblings after her mother and stepfather died in a car crash when she was 22. She fought Nashville to write her own songs and released one album in three different genres. Lyme disease nearly silenced her voice for good.
Read the full article →8 questions, every answer is somewhere above.
1. Which singer did Dolly Parton turn down to keep the publishing rights to "I Will Always Love You"?
2. Which wild animal nearly killed Johnny Cash?
3. Which star fired Jimi Hendrix for stealing the spotlight?
4. Whose home did Bruce Springsteen climb into as a young man?
5. Which prize did Bob Dylan become the first songwriter to win, in 2016?
6. Which film did George Harrison mortgage his home to finance?
7. What was Buddy Holly's biggest hit inspired by?
8. Which band first recorded "Black Magic Woman" before Santana made it famous?
That is a matter of taste, but Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton are the names most often mentioned. Hendrix transformed the electric guitar into a sound-art instrument, while Clapton is the only artist inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times.
His all-black wardrobe was a deliberate statement of solidarity with the poor, the imprisoned and the forgotten, as he explained in his song "Man in Black". Despite his prison concerts, he never served a real prison sentence himself.
Yes, eventually. In 2016 he became the first songwriter to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, but he ignored the Swedish Academy's calls for weeks, prompting one committee member to call him impolite and arrogant, before he finally accepted.
Buddy Holly died in the 1959 plane crash remembered as "The Day the Music Died", and Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix both died at 27, at the height of their fame.
Her donation helped fund research at Vanderbilt University that contributed to the development of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.
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