[HejiraNYC]

Originally Posted by Nico

Ummm, number 1 and number 3 could get it with the "one relationship most documented in song."

And if we were to believe the assumption, LB and SN are no slouches.

What I meant specifically was that James and Carly were two artists with enormous solo careers who wrote songs about both sides of the relationship- both his story and her story. Yes, John obligingly gave Yoko half the songs and credit on his albums. But Yoko was hardly an artist in her own right. Come on... am I the only one who bought a John/Yoko album and made a cassette version that edited out all of the Yoko songs? I am sure I am one of a gazillion!

Originally Posted by mezzoforte

There's a trend in music blogging of putting the Beatles first on any list, regardless of criteria. Here it seems a bit of a stretch...

That's no trend; that has always been the case, especially when it came to Rolling Stone. Even during the 80s, when Paul McCartney was churning out sh** album after sh** album, it was almost as if he could walk on water.

Originally Posted by TrueFaith77

Apparently Ray Davies was gay, so I guess that makes them a very interesting couple after all.

So does this mean he is no longer born that way?

Originally Posted by mezzoforte

I agree that they had a great love story, absolutely. Maybe the greatest on the list. I'm just not sure that that should make them the #3 rock couple.
Yes, she was his muse, but I would think couples in which both halves contributed to actively making great music, rather than inspiring it, would be more fitting.

Precisely. It's about rock couples, which means both members of the couple need to be musicians. John/Yoko did not deserve to be #1 because Yoko was pretty much a charity case. She had/has absolutely no business recording music. I call B.S. on all of the female singers she has supposedly inspired. Yma Sumac, much? If she did not serendipitously glom onto John back in the day, I suspect she would still be siphoning off her family's trust fund whilst making art installations that people don't buy.

Originally Posted by Nico

For his part, he motivated and inspired her to channel her avant garde leanings into pop/rock music, which she would never have done without John's influence. Remixes of her singles she made with him have charted on the dance charts in the past decade. I'd say that's a huge feat for a lady who's art has never had the biggest mainstream appeal.

So are you saying that John facilitating the recording of Yoko's caterwauling and off-key singing is somehow a gift to the world?

Plus, they were a beautiful couple who loved one another passionately.

Two words: Lady Bic.

I'm with SteveMacD. I really adore LB&SN and they should have been higher on the list, but the Beatles placements belongs exactly where they are.

Again, in the case of the Beatles, we are talking about rock star dudes who elevated their wives into the spotlight via nepotism. These ladies were not really musicians. Any monkey can be taught to play a few chords on the keyboard (which was turned way down in the sound mix). And we have all heard the raw recordings of Linda McCartney singing live. I am sure Linda and Yoko were/are lovely women who have accomplished wonderful things in their lives, not the least of which being the raising of families and providing companionship to their rock star hubbies. But that is no reason to elevate them to some kind of vaunted status within rock stardom. Stevie and Lindsey, James and Carly, Richard and Linda Thompson- these are real rock stars/rock couples.