Where are all the rock stars today?

I am currently reading Slash's autobiography and it got me thinking about why a band like Guns n Roses are so well known world wide while other bands who may be equally good are forgotten. Now I'm not talking about a band that never made it, I'm talking bands that had a hit or two but were never talked about as a great band.

I think it boils down to personality more then music. If you look back at Elvis vs. guys like Johnny Cash or Carl Perkins and it's Elvis who is the bigger star, why? Because had the most personality. Why the Beatles instead of the 100s of other British bands? Personality. Even bands like Led Zeppelin played the "mysterious" angle, it's all about a gimmick. We want rock stars, not rock bands. My favorite example is Van Halen, with David Lee Roth - rock stars, with Sammy Hagar - rock band. Both great bands, but which version is more beloved? On the other hand... Which one sold better?

It's funny how we all want our favorite band to "be all about the music" and anything else is a joke and once our favorites get big notoriety they are sell outs. Bands that concentrate on nothing but music get forgotten, maybe a sell out isn't so bad.

When I look at bands from my era,the 80s, like Night Ranger or Extreme or tons of other bands I notice that musically they are sound, but since they just played the music and never got into trouble, never said anything controversial they are forgotten or at best are known as one hit wonders. On the other hand you have a band like the Sex Pistols who had little talent, but will be remembered forever. Is it fair?

Of course most of us know the Guns story, 5 crazy guys from very different backgrounds get wild, get signed, almost never make it because the industry doesn't know what to do with them and then they blow up because they are seen as an interesting oddity and people had to look, luckily they had the songs.

It sounds crazy to recommend that a band trash a hotel room or start a riot, but if you want to be remembered for more then a blip on the musical map then maybe that's what you have to do. And that is why I believe music has gotten to where it is.... Who is a rock star today? The only person I can think of today that fits the bill is Eminem.

We need our rock stars and I don't see them. Even Eminem is burned out by being the only one. The music biz needs them to come out of hiding and they need them now.