(Credits: Far Out / YouTube Still)
Tue 4 November 2025 22:00, UK
How do you even begin to define something as classic and world-changing as rock ‘n’ roll at this point?
In doing so, you could become very literal and go all the way back to legends such as Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly, referencing their excellent guitar style and vocal ability, and say that this is true rock ‘n’ roll. You may well have a point, but we all know that music extends further than this. The sound, the look, the way a genre is presented will always change, and it’s moving with that change that helps keep particular styles thriving.
Of course, another huge name in rock ‘n’ roll was Elvis Presley. It’s probably fair to say that he was the world’s first rockstar, which is less a comment on his ability and more on his notoriety. He was doing similar to what those who came before him were doing, but thanks to luck, timing, and, let’s face it, the fact that he was white, he was crowned the king of the genre.
We look back at Elvis now and see his rise to fame as a very specific and quintessential moment in time, the birth of the rockstar, ushering in the age of musicians becoming global names. But even then, there were still plenty of people who said that rock ‘n’ roll was just a phase, and the fame of Elvis and of those who came after him would dwindle; rock ‘n’ roll was a moment in time that was going to pass…or so people thought.
After the 1950s, you then had the likes of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin all picking up their rock ‘n’ roll shaped mantles and running with them. The genre changed, the way people acted and played changed also, but rock ‘n’ roll was deemed alive, even as the rockstar took on multiple different appearances.
Fast forward to 2025 (or whenever you’re reading this), and the mantle of the rockstar continues to evolve and applies to people in different genres, as well as people in other fields completely. A man at my old legal job used to be called a “rockstar” because of his affinity for Excel spreadsheets; the term is elusive, but that evolution is just the nature of language.
It means that when you look at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the people who make up such honours are no longer confined to one genre. The parameters which encompass the accolade are wider than ever, as rappers, R&B artists and pop singers are all welcome. I, for one, believe that this broadening of the definition is representative of art as a whole and a good thing, but not everyone agrees. For instance, Liam Gallagher once announced that he couldn’t care less about being nominated for a place in the Hall of Fame because he didn’t believe it represented rock ‘n’ roll anymore.
“As much as I love Mariah Carey and all that, I want to say: do me a favour and fuck off,” said Gallagher, critiquing her nomination, stating that he had “Done more for rock ‘n’ roll than half of them clowns”.
Hence, this callout from music’s bristled icon begs the question, who hasn’t been inducted versus who deserves it. Well, if you were to ask Alice Cooper, he would say it’s Free’s and Bad Company’s vocalist Paul Rodgers. “In the business, we call Paul ‘The voice’, because he’s just one of the best singers out there and one of the nicest guys ever,” he explained, “He had some physical problems lately, but I certainly voted for him.”
He doesn’t just admire Rodger’s technical ability, but he said he felt as though the singer had a real talent that was unlike anything else in music. He was the pinnacle for many people, and as such, he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame; whether this will happen or not remains to be seen, but Cooper has made his stance on his being overlooked very clear.
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