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The 25 best musicians of the Rock & Roll era

Since time immemorial, music has serenaded, invigorated, inspired, healed, and just plain entertained us. For just as long we've looked up to and lauded those of us who are particularly skilled at producing it. Who are the best musicians? Check out this ranking of the 25 most influential artists from the rock -and-roll era, as chosen by Rolling Stone.

Charlie Neibergall/AP

25. Buddy Holly

AP

  • By Molly Driscoll Staff Writer

Charles Hardin, or "Buddy," Holly was a singer-songwriter and was a member of the Crickets, a band for which he was the lead singer.

"Buddy Holly was one of the first great singer-songwriters," singer-songwriter and guitarist John Mellencamp wrote of the artist for Rolling Stone. "He wrote his own material and in the end was producing it, too... Record companies encourage young artists to copy what's been there before. But nobody was pushing Holly in any direction. That was just all him and his instincts. Those songs are great, and some are only a minute and 25 seconds long. Think about delivering a song like that today. The magic that Buddy Holly created was nothing short of a miracle."

Holly came to national attention in 1957 when the Crickets' single "That'll Be The Day" hit it big, and today Holly is also known for songs such as "Peggy Sue" and "Crying, Waiting, Hoping."

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Mark Sappenfield
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