Top 10 Legendary Rock Couples

[WildHearted]

http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyl...-us-0711-2011/

Oftentimes it seems rock and roll couples fall into one of two categories. On the one hand, there’s the tempestuous relationship that produces music reflective of that turbulence. On the other, there’s the subdued partnership that yields batches of sublime music and love songs, while offering up little fodder for the press. Both sides of that spectrum are represented among the 10 couples below. Please tell us who we missed, but keep in mind that we’ve limited our choices to couples in which both partners make music. Hence, no Sid and Nancy, and no Ozzy and Sharon.

10. Lindsey Buckingham / Stevie Nicks

It’s not often that an imploding relationship serves as the spark behind a landmark album. But that’s exactly what happened with Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 classic, Rumours. Having revitalized Fleetwood Mac two years earlier, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks put forth their romantic difficulties for all to hear in songs such as “Go Your Own Way.” Speaking recently to MTV.com, Nicks said of Buckingham, “… the love is always there, but we’ll never be together. That’s romantic.”

9. Thurston Moore / Kim Gordon (Sonic Youth)

Is there any rock couple that exudes more “cool” than Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon. Married for 27 years, the Sonic Youth co-founders have been called the King and Queen of noise rock. In a 2007 interview with Spin, Moore described their marriage in glowing terms. “I can't think of how or where I'd be without Kim's influence,” he said. “We're like any couple that's been together for close to 30 years. There's a genuine psychophysical connection.”

8. Win Butler / Regine Chassagne (Arcade Fire)

Arcade Fire frontman Win Butler was instantly smitten when he saw Regine Chassagne singing jazz standards at a Montreal art exhibit in 2003. The couple’s subsequent romance and songwriting partnership paved the way for Arcade Fire to emerge as one of indie rock’s most critically-acclaimed bands. A multi-instrumentalist, Chassagne is known for the intensity she brings to the group’s live shows. “When I was really young, I saw Jimi Hendrix on television,” she told Popmatters in 2007. “His whole body seemed to be taken over by something. I wanted to know what that feeling was like.”

7. Debbie Harry / Chris Stein (Blondie)

In the early ’70s, Debbie Harry was a member of a girl group trio called The Stilettos. Chris Stein played guitar in their backing band. Together, the two founded Blondie in the mid-’70s, and though they never married, their devotion to one another remained profound for two decades. In the ’80s, Harry put her career aside for several years as Stein recovered from a life-threatening illness.


6. Jack White / Meg White

Perhaps the strangest aspect of the relationship between Jack White and Meg White was the prolonged ruse they pulled upon forming White Stripes in 1997. Although they had married the year before, Jack insisted until 2001 that the couple were siblings. Making matters more confusing was the fact that they had divorced in 2000, just prior to gaining widespread notoriety. In a 2005 interview with Rolling Stone, Jack explained: “When [it’s] brother and sister, you go ‘Oh, that’s interesting,’” he said. “You care more about the music, not the relationship—whether the couple is trying to save their relationship by being in a band.”

5. Ray Davies / Chrissie Hynde

Sometimes relationships that seem meant to be, aren’t. During a 1980 Pretenders tour, Chrissie Hynde met her longtime idol, Ray Davies, and the two fell in love. Later, the couple was set to be married, but the registrar turned them away when they began arguing just prior to the nuptials. On a more positive front, the union produced a daughter, Natalie Ray Hynde. The Pretenders’ frontwoman later married Simple Mind’s Jim Kerr, but the marriage didn’t last.


4. Ike Turner / Tina Turner

No musical couple ever staged a more potent live act than Ike and Tina Turner. With Ike anchoring the proceedings and leading the band like a well-oiled machine, Tina offered up some of the most raw and suggestive R&B music audiences had ever seen. The couple’s personal relationship was fraught with turmoil, but hits like “Proud Mary,” along with lots of provocative concert film footage, assure their legacy is secure.


3. Paul McCartney / Linda McCartney

From the time they were first married, Paul McCartney made it clear he wanted his wife, Linda, involved in his band, so that she would have a role to play when he was on tour. Her contributions to Wings were sometimes maligned by the press, but Ms. Macca was a real trooper, and carried on with unassuming dignity alongside her beloved mate. More importantly, she was the muse behind such McCartney classics as “Maybe I’m Amazed” and “My Love.”

2. Kurt Cobain / Courtney Love

With the exception of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, no rock couple elicited more attention than Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love. Cobain found the celebrity machine repugnant, and indeed his personal demons were tied in part to that repulsion. Conversely, Love embraced the limelight and seemed to revel in stoking controversy. Both created music that, at its best, reflected sublime artistry.

1. John Lennon / Yoko Ono

John Lennon’s solo career, and perhaps new wave music as well, would have charted a far different course were it not for Yoko Ono’s profound influence. From the searing introspection of Plastic Ono Band to the romantic fare on Double Fantasy, Lennon’s work reflected Ono’s muse-like sway. Furthermore, as a musician in her own right, Ono is revered to this day by legions of rockers who possess an avant-garde slant.

They should have been higher on the list, tbh. Some of these people (Arcade Fire, I'm looking at you) shouldn't have even been on there. Also, where are Sonny & Cher?