Music Blogs

Rock's Biggest Egos

Posted Wed Nov 26, 2008 9:58pm PST by Shawn Amos in GetBack

It's time to admit the truth. You will never be a rock star. You care too much about what people think. Yeah, you make outlandish comments from time to time, but you do it under some pseudonym on a comment board to make it easy. You wouldn't go on national TV and say stuff like, "I'm the voice of this generation." That's the difference between your ego and a rock star ego. Your ego has a lowercase "e." People like Kanye West have E-G-O-S.
 
West claims he's the voice of his generation. He compares himself to Michael Jordan. He bitches loudly and publicly when he doesn't win awards. He's not afraid to use his real name. Whether or not he is his generation’s defining voice, it’s clear that he definitely has its biggest ego.
 

 

But should it be any other way? Of course not. Rock ’n’ roll is not about modesty. It's about being the loudest one in the room. If some stupid stuff gets said along the way, well, that's just the price of admission. Shoot the mouth off first, explain yourself later. Or don't. That's even better. Rock stars don't need to give any explanations.
 
Here are the five biggest egos in rock history. Why are they the biggest? Because I say so. I don't need to explain myself. I am the blogger of this generation.

 

 
The Top Five Biggest Egos:
 
BONO
Any dude who can meet with world leaders one weekend and then have two 19-year olds sit on his lap the next has a BIG ego. Bono's life is dedicated to bigness. He sings big anthems, not songs. He's out to save rock ’n’ roll and the world. He's not just a rock star; he’s a messiah, at least to himself. And, yes, I'm a little jealous.
 

 

 

 

JOHN LENNON
How huge was John Lennon's ego? He said his band was bigger than Jesus. What more proof do you need? Even Kanye hasn’t gone that far. By the way, this week the Vatican finally forgave Lennon for his 1966 dis. Those guys can hold a grudge.
 

 

 

 

 

 

NOEL & LIAM GALLAGHER
Oasis' brothers spent most of the '90s claiming they were the best band in the world and boasting how they saved British rock from ruin. They also spent a lot of time writing songs "inspired" by a lot of other British rock. It takes a big ego to remake Beatles songs and call them your own.
 

 

 

 

 

MADONNA
Madonna's ego is so big she believes that she can actually stop time. The Material Girl is on a never-ending quest to be forever twenty-something. Her bionic limbs are the first step toward immortality. Her insistence on pretending to be the teen pop star of the moment is the second step. The third? It probably will have something to do with her next boy toy.
 

 

 

 

 

 

TERENCE TRENT D'ARBY
You might not remember this late-'80s nouveau R&B artist. He made a debut album in 1987 that many thought was brilliant, especially him. D'Arby liked it so much he announced that he was going to be bigger than the Beatles. That's why you don't remember him. The Beatles saying they're bigger than Jesus? OK. Emerging R&B star saying he's bigger than the Beatles? Not OK.
 
 

 

 
Big Egos Honorable Mention:
 
ROBBIE WILLIAMS
He named his album The Ego Has Landed. In reality, Williams’ ego — and career — has landed everywhere but the U.S., where he remains largely a cult figure.
 
GENE SIMMONS
Is there anything Simmons won't slap a KISS logo on?
 
AXL ROSE
Two words: Chinese Democracy.
 
MICHAEL JACKSON
He dubbed himself "The King of Pop.” He made an album called Invincible. Both claims may still ring true in Bahrain, where Jacko recently lived. Go where the ego can stay big.

 

Check out these artists and more in our Biggest Egos in Rock FlipBook.

 

Drop by GetBack.com for your daily dose of pop culture pleasure -- music, movies, games, and more.     

2172 Comments

21. Yahoo! Music User -
to krystal n
youre wrong
thriller sold over 100 mill worldwide

22. DIamon -
DIDDY!!!!

23. David A -
No mention of David Lee Roth?!

You know nothing.

24. Brian -
Well the thing about Michael is that he can actually live up to his nickname.
His music has inspired innumerable modern hip/hop, R&B, Pop musicians who grew up listening to him.

Oh and I also heard that Kanye said that his name should be "in the Bible".

25. Yahoo! Music User -
I think Kanye West should be thanking his fans everyday that he has even been given the time of day. He is an arrogant no talent that would have been on welfare and/or in jail if the idiots that buy his cds had made other choices. Congrats, you guys created him when you kept buying his cds.

26. Carmen -
Kanye needs to come back down to earth...he isn't THAT wonderful!!!! I personally think he sux!!! Give me NAS any day!!!!

27. Ironman -
MJ IS THE GREATEST!!!

28. DaleP -
Where is Elvis?????????
Thats right he left the house....

29. unplugged -
gene simmons has the biggest ego ever, period. need proof? just watch his tv show.

30. Corina -
im shocked at John Lennon being one.
Thaats wack.

His comment on The Beatles being more loved thenn Jesus is bogus.!
I can teven believe or begin to grasp thaat he said thaat.

31. PC -
Kanye is a no talent fool that should be shining shoes in an airport somewhere.

32. brian -
all rappers think have big fat egos. they think that they are so creative. they dont have a creative bone in their bodies all they do is sample other peoples music and program their music if you can call it that on computers. most rock stars can have the big ego because the do write their own music and play the instruments on the albums.

33. meg -
Kanye West is a big mouthed baby. He needs to shut-up and get a clue!!

34. -
Kanye West a rock performer? Jeez...I guess my next door neighbors grandmother is a porn star.
Michael Jackson? Give me a break
How about at least listing people that actually are in the rock genere Mr Amos

35. Yahoo! Music User -
I definitely agree about Robbie Williams. His ego is the worst. Luckily nobody outside of the UK has ever heard of him or has to put up with him.

36. gerry -
to number 31
yes, lennon was railroaded by nixon in 70s
and the qoute was a move to stifle the beatles
because of their influence on pop culture
agreed
but lennon had a HUGE ego
read what his BEST FRIEND eliot mintze says
and his son julian
who cares...why are you so offended if someone says lennon had a big ego
you have to, to make great art...its a FACT
there were moments on film (which is all you see) where lennon indeed comes off as gracious and humble
but the testimony of everyone who knew him would tell you he was a very bitter and acidic guy
you, my friend, need to do your homework

37. Tank -
You did forget one, David lee Roth

38. mike -
RAP ARTIST!!!!!!!!!!!! have the biggest EGO's. To match there huge lack of talent. And their poor clothing style, baggy pants, gold chains , grills, hats on sideways, huge football jerseys.. and grabbing their crotch.. if that isn't ego i don't know what is !!!!

39. Dinoman -
Oasis super belongs on here because they combine big egos with crappy music.

40. business end -
There's been no bigger ego in pop music in the past 50 years than Mike Love. There are too many examples to list, which includes sueing all his family and friends a few times over. Just watching him lets you know how big he thinks he is.
Page:  1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 
Leave Your Comment
You must sign in to leave a comment
Select a Blog Posts
And The Winner Is...
by Paul Grein
29
As Heard On...
by Rebecca Harper, Hulu
46
Chart Watch
by Paul Grein
143
Framed
by John Kordosh
120
GetBack
by Shawn Amos
336
Hip-Hop Media Training
by Billy Johnson, Jr.
225
List Of The Day
by Rob O'Connor
333
Maximum Performance
by Lyndsey Parker
167
Musictoob
by Justin Mathews
187
New This Week
by Dave DiMartino
124
Reality Rocks
by Lyndsey Parker
590
Rock's Backpages
by Barney Hoskyns (1998)
192
Stop The Presses!
by Us Magazine
85
That's Really Week
by Lyndsey Parker
126
The Blender Burner
by Blender Magazine
27
The MOJO Blog
by Steven Jelbert
89
The NME Blog
by Luke Lewis
49
The Spin Blog
by David Marchese
78
The Y! Music Playlist Blog
by Robert of the Radish
519
Video Ga Ga
by Lyndsey Parker
72
Viva NashVegas
by Wendy Geller
62

Billboard names Powter One-Hit Wonder of Decade

AP
Mon Dec 7, 2009 6:44am PST

AP - As far as one-hit wonders go, Daniel Powter is king of them all — for this decade, at least. Powter, whose hit "Bad Day" reigned on top of the Billboard pop charts for five weeks in 2006, was named as the de… More »

More Music News