7 The 100 Most Influential Musicians of All Time 7everything else in their lives. That is music, and that is the
influence it has on us.
Those musicians featured in this book span hundreds
of years, countless musical genres, and immeasurable
distances in style, technique, and purpose. Nevertheless,
they have all been, and continue to be, influential. Some
are influential because they brought a unique approach to
their art that others later followed. Others were leaders of
an influential movement in their field—a movement that
led future musicians to improvise, change, and ultimately
re-create music itself. And still others, through their work,
brought about social reform and societal change that has
forever shaped the landscape in which we now live.
For these influential people, music was and is life.
Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Rachmaninoff. Springsteen, Sinatra,
Madonna. They devoted their careers to the art, spending
countless hours writing, creating, and fine-tuning. They
have performed for great crowds, spoken on their beliefs,
stood up for just causes, and above all, brought pleasure to
the people who have listened. In doing so, each has left a
mark, a stamp of influence, on the world.