Stevie Nicks- the queen or rock and roll?

[diamondsnake]

How did this title get started? And why is it that no one is willing to recognize Stevie as the queen of rock and roll, even though when you type in queen of rock on any search engine nothing but stevie pages come up? Is this just something her fans call her and is not really a recognized title (like elvis being the king of rock and roll and MJ being the king of pop :distress: )?

[CarneVaca]

Evidently the rock 'n roll deities never descended from Mt. Owimpus to officially annoint her. They did it for Elvis, though.

[Bella Figura]

Rolling Stone did the honors!!! back in '81

[sparky]

Well, MJ and his publicists dubbed him the "King Of Pop" about ten years ago. It was stipulated that in any article they approved, that moniker must be used to describe him.
Stevie probably doesn't want to be known as the Queen Of Rock and Roll - even though many of us have thought she might deserve the title. Rolling Stone dubbed her that in 1981, and I doubt it was out of pressure from Stevie and her representatives.
But, they called her "The Reigning Queen of Rock and Roll." I think the title, in their eyes and many others, has shifted many times in the passing years.

[Johnny Stew]

Well, Stevie remains the only female artist to have number one albums as a solo act and as a member of a band, and while many of her peers (Ann & Nancy Wilson, Pat Benatar, Chrissie Hynde, Debbie Harry, etc.) struggle with poor album sales, Stevie's most recent solo album peaked at #5 on Billboard's charts, has sold over 638,000 copies, and has been certified Gold.
She also remains a potent concert-draw as a solo-act, and her career has outlasted the careers of many of those who have come along over the years to challenge her so-called "throne."

So, I don't think it's entirely unreasonable to refer to her as the "Queen Of Rock," although some will always argue the worthiness of such an appellation. :)

[David]

Originally posted by diamondsnake
How did this title get started? It was the cover story from Rolling Stone for "Bella Donna" -- hence a publicity tactic dreamed up by a copy editor whose name & identity have long since drifted into oblivion.

Not too long after that, Stevie abdicated. Christopher Connelly, a staff critic, wrote a scathing review of "The Wild Heart," & Stevie essentially stopped speaking to Rolling Stone & its affiliates (like Record magazine).

If Stevie retains any honorary mantle from Rolling Stone at this point, it's probably as the "lovingest, fightingest, druggingest" woman in rock, since that was the last Stevie-related cover slogan that has run in RS.

I'm kinda surprised the band didn't buy themselves a cover for "Say You Will."

[chiliD]

I don't recall what year or what album Stevie had just put out, but I DO recall a Rolling Stone article about Stevie that started out something like:

"...even if she DOES take occasional trips to fantasyland and takes along a pup-tent..."

I thought that was pretty cutting...but the rest of the article was fairly complimentary. I was kind of left in a quandry of whether the article was "pro" or "con" to her.

[dissention]

I think the "Queen of Rock" title goes to Tina Turner and Stevie. Not just Stevie. :laugh:

[Mike B]

Originally posted by David

If Stevie retains any honorary mantle from Rolling Stone at this point, it's probably as the "lovingest, fightingest, druggingest" woman in rock,

And you know what? I kinda dig that title more anyway. Sure, not as regal sounding as "Queen of Rock", but it sounds a lot more exciting... ;)

Mike

[Cammie]

:wavey: Wasn't Aretha Franklin listed as one of The Queen's
of Rock and Roll? Or is she just The Head Diva!:eek: Sky;)

[greatdarkwing]

Originally posted by Cammie
:wavey: Wasn't Aretha Franklin listed as one of The Queen's
of Rock and Roll? Or is she just The Head Diva!:eek: Sky;)

No, she is the nausea enducing queen:lol:

~Alex

[greatdarkwing]

I'll never forget that first year of the diva's show when the last half hour became the Aretha Franklin show....The looks on all the other divas faces said it all..."wtf is this b!tch doing?!" LMAO!!!:laugh: If you can find it...look at how annoyed Celine Dion is....It makes me laugh every time...Shes all upset cause it wasn't titled the Celine Dion show...:lol:

~Alex

[WelshWitchPMD]

Originally posted by greatdarkwing
If you can find it...look at how annoyed Celine Dion is....It makes me laugh every time...Shes all upset cause it wasn't titled the Celine Dion show...:lol:

~Alex

Alex, ROTFLMAO!!

Sorry, just not a fan of either one of those ladies.

[Merf]

Originally posted by Cammie
:wavey: Wasn't Aretha Franklin listed as one of The Queen's
of Rock and Roll? Or is she just The Head Diva!:eek: Sky;)

Honey,

I believe Aretha Franklin is the "The Queen of Soul." Not the "Queen of Rock and Roll."

Or is that Diana Ross?

[strandinthewind]

Originally posted by Merf
Honey,

I believe Aretha Franklin is the "The Queen of Soul." Not the "Queen of Rock and Roll."

Or is that Diana Ross?

Aretha (or Urethra as I call her now :laugh:) was and is the "Qeen of Soul" - although to me she has become less appealing with time. But - I cut her slack because no one and I mean NO ONE can touch her in her day and really even up to "Who's Zoomin Who?"

I think RS in that odd article (thanks for also noting that ChiliD :cool: ) called her the Queen of Rock because they were refering to her image as a fairy princess, Rhiannon, etc. IN any even, she certainly deserves that title as much as anyone else IMO.

[diamondsnake]

Well I just get annoyed when whenever I refer to her as the queen of rock, everyone looks at me like I made that up and am just saying that to make Stevie Look good.

[GypsySorcerer]

I think Stevie is deserving of the title Queen of Rock, but there are others who have deserved the title as well, as artists who are at their peak. I think it is impossible to name one woman the Queen of Rock.

But the High Priestess of Rock and Rock and Roll Ballerina suit her always.
:)

[ricohv]

I think she deserves it, especially because of the word "Rock". Even Tina Turner, who did rock-a-little on some songs, didn't start in rock, and didn't really stay there, judging by her last couple albums. The Pantyhose album or whatever was very lite popish. And Chrissy Hynde has had some duration but not the visibility or solo career of Stevie's, Debbie Harry isn't really rock and isn't even as consistent as our inconsistent Stevie. And Pat Benatar didn't even rate for a VH1 Where Are They Now.
Also, none of the Rolling Stone reviews have ever been terribly favorable, but Wild Heart by far got the worst. (Is it really the worst though if it is the featured review of that edition and is lengthy and analytical or could Street Angel be considered the worst because even though they didn't rake her over the coals they wrote maybe two short paragraphs and slid the review in towards the end of their reviews almost as an afterthought). I'm not sure that Stevie quit talking to them though. It might be that they quit talking to her as she was no longer the New Hot Thing. I mean, she did still talk to them after they gave Fleetwood Mac (and particularly her) some bad press. JMO!
Ricoh

[darklinensuit]

Stevie is the Queen of Rock.
She sings, she writes, she performs, she inspires, she influences...
She has epitomized the Rock music and the Rock lifestyle.
Tina Turner, Grace Slick, and Pat Benatar have made impacts, but Stevie is the one who has done it all.

Wasn't there an article in 2001 where a woman recalls her own childhood, when Rock had many kings but only one queen? (Correct me if I'm remembering incorrectly.)

- Jake

[LilyRose]

Originally posted by greatdarkwing
I'll never forget that first year of the diva's show when the last half hour became the Aretha Franklin show....The looks on all the other divas faces said it all..."wtf is this b!tch doing?!" LMAO!!!:laugh: If you can find it...look at how annoyed Celine Dion is....It makes me laugh every time...Shes all upset cause it wasn't titled the Celine Dion show...:lol:

~Alex

I totally remember that! I remember poor little Gloria Estefan (who's only an inch taller than Stevie) was down at the end of the line of divas (you've got Aretha, Celine, and Mariah with that big ol rat nest of hair she had that night) and you couldn't even see her much less hear her...especially over Aretha.

I don't mind hearing Aretha songs on the radio, but seeing her perfom just annoys the hell out of me.

Susie

[ricohv]

Hey DiamondSnake:
Whenever you refer to her as the queen of rock, and everyone looks at you like you made that up and are just saying that to make Stevie look good, instead of feeliong like they think you are a drooling fan, I think you should ask yourself (as we all should!):

WHAT CAN I MAKE UP AND SAY JUST TO MAKE STEVIE LOOK GOOD?
and then when you think it up, start saying it. Saying it to everyone repeated times over a course of time will give it validity. Then come and post it here and we'll all start saying it, along with all of the fabrications that we think up collectively. And before long Rolling Stone will do a year's worth of cover photos and stories on Stevie, crowning her the eternal queen of rock-the alpha and the omega-, and detailing how she is the best singer song writer in history, selling more albums than than the Beatles and Elvis combined, being the most important female musical influence on everyone from Patsy Cline to Lil Kim.
Don't let the foolish mortals get you down! You've got to beat them at their own game!!
Ricoh

[MACFAN]

Tina Turner never struck me as rock and roll. More like a character out of a Bette Midler show. Always seemed a bit loungey and staged to me. Also that dance during Proud Mary is good for a laugh, almost marionette like.

[Sugar]

I can't believe no one has mentioned Janis Joplin in all of this, who is, of course, Stevie's biggest influence. But I guess it depends on your definition of "queen". When it comes to females in rock, to me, it all starts with Janis. :nod:

[dissention]

Originally posted by MACFAN
Tina Turner never struck me as rock and roll. More like a character out of a Bette Midler show. Always seemed a bit loungey and staged to me. Also that dance during Proud Mary is good for a laugh, almost marionette like.

You obvioulsy haven't seen her live. The woman is the *definition* of the Queen of Rock, doll. She rocks harder onstage than Stevie EVER did, even during the RAL era. :nod: ;)

I don't get the Bette Midler comparison. I'm a huge Bette fan and a Tina Turner-like character would be completely out of palce at one of her shows.

[Johnny Stew]

Tina is simply amazing.. the woman has energy to spare, and she doesn't hold back one bit on stage.
She's a performer, and she gives her all.

I don't think I'd necessarily categorize her as "rock," but she's definitely the Queen of something!
Tina is peerless, so maybe she's just "The Queen," period. :nod:

[dissention]

Originally posted by Johnny Stew
Tina is simply amazing.. the woman has energy to spare, and she doesn't hold back one bit on stage.
She's a performer, and she gives her all.

I don't think I'd necessarily categorize her as "rock," but she's definitely the Queen of something!
Tina is peerless, so maybe she's just "The Queen," period. :nod:

Exactly. :nod: :wavey:

And while her albums *after* Break Every Rule aren't really rock, every one of her shows is a rock show. I mean, she's the hardest working performer in the biz (or, rather, she was) and it showed when she took the stage.

[Johnny Stew]

'Break Every Rule' is my favorite Tina album, and title-track is one of my favorite Tina songs.
She's definitely had some "rock and roll" moments throughout her career, but overall I think i'd put her more in the "pop" category.

Her last couple of albums have been a little too AC for me, but there are still some definite gems on each of them ("When The Heartache Is Over" is amazing).

Maybe we should start a Tina Appreciation thread over on the Chit-Chat Forum! :D

[dissention]

Originally posted by Johnny Stew
Maybe we should start a Tina Appreciation thread over on the Chit-Chat Forum! :D

Consider it done, dude. :D :wavey:

[HomerMcvie]

Maybe we should start a Tina Appreciation thread over on the Chit-Chat Forum!
Thanks for the warning!
:laugh: :laugh: :p :p :nod: :nod: :p :p :laugh: :laugh:

[seeker007nmss]

Wasn't there another label put on Stevie as "The high Preistest (sp) of Rock?" I like that better.

[darklinensuit]

I was at the Live Aid show & respect Tina's ability to yurn up the tempo. However, Stevie deserves the crown, IMO. Tina is a dynamo when she's on the move in the fast songs, but I don't really get anything out of her performances on the slow songs. Stevie can hold an audience in the palm of her hand even if the only body part she moves is her hand. Yes, the great Janis was like that, too, but Stevie's music shows greater variety. Again, JMHO.

- Jake

[ricohv]

If I remember right Tina is a Queen, not the Queen of Rock n' Roll...
the Acid Queen!
And I think that is title enough to live up to. I kind of forgot about Janis earlier-I can see why she might be the Queen-although I think her early death/legend status actually gives her an unfair edge. She has had so much "legend" adulation that it seems like she has to be the Queen but if you really compared Janis and Stevie's careers longevities (and it's not Stevie's fault Janis died early so we won't take that into consideration) and the level of popularity sustained in that career span, then factor in hit singles and album sales, Stevie would surely be the winner. So perhaps we could give Janis an honorary title of The Queen Mum of Rock n Roll, with Stevie as Queen!
Or if Janis won as Queen at very least Stevie would have to be The Crown Princess of Rock N Roll (which might actually suit her better anyways!).
Ricoh

[MACFAN]

I have no intentions on seeing Tina Turner live, just not my cup of tea. Why the bunched up panties? It was just my obsevations on Tina. Eat a pill dear, it's calling you.

[joe]

Originally posted by MACFAN
Why the bunched up panties? It was just my obsevations on Tina. Eat a pill dear, it's calling you.


hehehe....but MACFAN, you should quote next time. i'm not exactly sure what post this is referring to....then again, i just woke up.

Anyway, i really hate titles. It invites jealousy and jealousy invites contempt. I'd be happy with Stevie not having a title. I don't need one for validation. The fact that she's still selling out concerts (with or without FM) and she can still get airplay says enough for me.

:thumbsup: