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

161. Lt. -
You guys have forgotten Dennis DeYoung from Styx - because of his HUGE ego an awsome band was destroyed and now they all refuse to even send him a christmas card.

162. THEMOJOMANsince1959 -
IF YOU GET THE RIGHT MANAGER AND PUBLICIST you can be a star too,,as long as you make them THE BIG BUCKS. There's MANY MANY TALENTED people out there,,with out the above.

163. steve -
post 3, your so right. kid rock is #1. every song has to have his name in it 873 times.

164. Vp -
I can't stand kanye!!! He ugly as hell, thinks hes hot and the most important rapper. Oh Please!

165. Woody -
Kinda sad that I have never heard of several of the musicians that have placed in the top ten with the biggest ego. "A Legend in their own mind" is ok. So it is a contest of who the public thinks which artist is irreplaceable.

166. Yahoo! Music User -
They all suck as musicians.

167. BoBo -
The comment was the beatles are more POPULAR than Jesus Christ given to Maureen Cleave who Lennon was having an affair with at the time,,,
Ego If you want to play the game , well you sure as hell better have one

168. mikec -
How about adding Eddie Van Halen

169. Bo -
Bono is GOD!!!

170. Yahoo! Music User -
Chris Martin of Coldplay should be on that list.

171. Sunny -
Pretty good list. I agree, however, that Kanye, Madonna and Terrence are NOT Rock. Maybe it should have been biggest EGOs in music, period. Either way, I think you need that ego at times to withstand the hater darts that many will send your way when you are famous and/or on top.

172. THEMOJOMANsince1959 -
Puff Daddy OR P DIDDY OR WHATEVER HE CALLS HIMSELF "NEEDS TO SEE A DENTIST" With his money he could FIX those BUCK TEETH.

173. Nick -
Do your homework before you make an observation. As it's been said already, Lennon made those comments in regards something he had heard. Frankly, I'm convinced that the only reason you included him in this list is because of the recent news story coming from the Vatican. Just do your research.

174. Yahoo! Music User -
Kanye is a talentless, inarticulate, crybaby, ignoramous. He will be forgoten...

175. Anonymous -
comment #1 is lolworthy. a kid from a modern crap band? oh please. axl can knock him out easily.

176. mikec -
lighten up Lennon fans !!!

177. Lt. -
But then again Celiene Dion thinks anyone really gives a crap if she retires - or comes out of retirement - or goes back in - or just dissapears. She sucks no mater what she does. well her dad liked her music so much he married her.

178. JeanS -
Seriously dude, get your Lennon facts straight

179. JeanS -
Seriously dude, get your Lennon facts straight

180. Shannon -
You forgot Axl Rose.
Page:  5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 
Leave Your Comment
You must sign in to leave a comment
Select a Blog Posts
And The Winner Is...
by Paul Grein
30
As Heard On...
by Lyndsey Parker
48
Chart Watch
by Paul Grein
144
Framed
by John Kordosh
121
GetBack
by Shawn Amos
339
Hip-Hop Media Training
by Billy Johnson, Jr.
229
List Of The Day
by Rob O'Connor
334
Maximum Performance
by Lyndsey Parker
167
Musictoob
by Andy Pemberton
190
New This Week
by Dave DiMartino
125
Reality Rocks
by Lyndsey Parker
593
Rock's Backpages
by Barney Hoskyns
194
Stop The Presses!
by Lyndsey Parker
87
That's Really Week
by Lyndsey Parker
126
The Blender Burner
by Blender Magazine
27
The MOJO Blog
by David Hutcheon
90
The NME Blog
by Luke Lewis
49
The Spin Blog
by David Marchese
79
The Y! Music Playlist Blog
by Robert of the Radish
522
Video Ga Ga
by Lyndsey Parker
72
Viva NashVegas
by Wendy Geller
64

TV special on surprise pop star Susan Boyle debuts

AP
Thu Dec 10, 2009 6:30pm PST

AP - Susan Boyle sings, and Simon Cowell and other celebrities sing her praises in a weekend TV special about the Cinderella story that has made her a best-selling recording artist. All that's lacking is a prince, but … More »

More Music News