In 1970, 11-year old Michael Jackson became the youngest artist to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Want You Back.” The Beatles broke up that same year, after having conquered the music world and changing pop culture forever. Paul McCartney was only 27 at the time.
McCartney was born in 1942, one of 3.4 million births in the U.S. and UK that year. Almost every year over the past century, an artist was born that would go on to achieve a number one song and alter the music industry in a significant way.
To determine the most famous musician born each year since 1930, 24/7 Wall St. constructed an index based on Wikipedia page views, Spotify listeners, and Billboard chart performance.
Click here to see the most famous musicians born the year you were born.
Click here to see our detailed findings and methodology.
1930
> Musician: Ray Charles
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 5,168
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 2.4 million
> Runner-up: Stephen Sondheim
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1931
> Musician: Sam Cooke
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 2,653
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 3.0 million
> Runner-up: Ike Turner
1932
> Musician: Johnny Cash
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 14,041
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 4.9 million
> Runner-up: John Williams
1933
> Musician: Willie Nelson
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 7,079
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 2.0 million
> Runner-up: Quincy Jones
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1934
> Musician: Leonard Cohen
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 12,280
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 1.6 million
> Runner-up: Frankie Valli
1935
> Musician: Elvis Presley
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 18,192
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 5.8 million
> Runner-up: Jerry Lee Lewis
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1936
> Musician: Glen Campbell
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 7,310
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 1.6 million
> Runner-up: Kris Kristofferson
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1937
> Musician: Waylon Jennings
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 3,383
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 1.0 million
> Runner-up: Merle Haggard
1938
> Musician: Kenny Rogers
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 2,800
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 1.4 million
> Runner-up: Etta James
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1939
> Musician: Marvin Gaye
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 5,020
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 7.2 million
> Runner-up: Tina Turner
> Musician: John Lennon
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 11,272
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 10.1 million
> Runner-up: Ringo Starr
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1941
> Musician: Bob Dylan
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 13,847
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 4.7 million
> Runner-up: Paul Simon
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1942
> Musician: Paul McCartney
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 9,455
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 10.1 million
> Runner-up: Jimi Hendrix
1943
> Musician: George Harrison
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 7,071
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 10.1 million
> Runner-up: Mick Jagger
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1944
> Musician: Diana Ross
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 6,008
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 2.2 million
> Runner-up: Jimmy Page
1945
> Musician: Bob Marley
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 12,621
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 8.9 million
> Runner-up: Eric Clapton
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1946
> Musician: Freddie Mercury
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 15,601
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 13.3 million
> Runner-up: Cher
1947
> Musician: David Bowie
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 13,388
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 7.6 million
> Runner-up: Elton John
1948
> Musician: Stevie Nicks
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 7,094
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 8.0 million
> Runner-up: Olivia Newton-John
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1949
> Musician: Lionel Richie
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 4,417
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 3.4 million
> Runner-up: Billy Joel
1950
> Musician: Stevie Wonder
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 6,708
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 7.3 million
> Runner-up: Tom Petty
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1951
> Musician: Sting
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 7,066
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 5.8 million
> Runner-up: Phil Collins
1952
> Musician: Paul Stanley
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 1,811
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 3.6 million
> Runner-up: George Strait
1953
> Musician: Cyndi Lauper
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 3,800
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 4.0 million
> Runner-up: Michael Bolton
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1954
> Musician: Annie Lennox
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 2,456
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 4.4 million
> Runner-up: Stevie Ray Vaughan
1955
> Musician: Billy Idol
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 2,680
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 2.1 million
> Runner-up: Reba McEntire
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1956
> Musician: Kenny G
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 1,529
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 395,999
> Runner-up: GG Allin
1957
> Musician: Hans Zimmer
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 4,693
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 3.7 million
> Runner-up: Gloria Estefan
29. 1958
> Musician: Michael Jackson
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 22,732
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 12.8 million
> Runner-up: Madonna
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30. 1959
> Musician: Sade
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 3,513
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 2.2 million
> Runner-up: Bryan Adams
1960
> Musician: Bono
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 3,473
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 6.8 million
> Runner-up: Tony Hadley
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1961
> Musician: Boy George
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 5,141
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 627,501
> Runner-up: Billy Ray Cyrus
1962
> Musician: Axl Rose
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 5,528
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 9.3 million
> Runner-up: Anthony Kiedis
1963
> Musician: George Michael
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 30,444
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 4.8 million
> Runner-up: Whitney Houston
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1964
> Musician: Chris Cornell
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 23,459
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 3.6 million
> Runner-up: Eddie Vedder
1965
> Musician: Dr. Dre
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 13,839
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 7.0 million
> Runner-up: Slash
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1966
> Musician: Janet Jackson
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 6,666
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 2.4 million
> Runner-up: Rick Astley
1967
> Musician: Kurt Cobain
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 9,651
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 8.0 million
> Runner-up: R. Kelly
1968
> Musician: Celine Dion
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 9,235
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 4.3 million
> Runner-up: LL Cool J
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1969
> Musician: Jennifer Lopez
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 16,464
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 12.1 million
> Runner-up: Gwen Stefani
1970
> Musician: Mariah Carey
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 15,786
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 6.5 million
> Runner-up: DMX
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1971
> Musician: Tupac Shakur
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 22,103
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 6.6 million
> Runner-up: Snoop Dogg
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1972
> Musician: Eminem
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 22,206
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 18.5 million
> Runner-up: Notorious B.I.G.
1973
> Musician: Pharrell Williams
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 6,562
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 5.0 million
> Runner-up: Nas
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1974
> Musician: James Blunt
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 3,916
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 12.2 million
> Runner-up: Robbie Williams
1975
> Musician: DJ Khaled
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 12,258
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 36.3 million
> Runner-up: 50 Cent
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1976
> Musician: Blake Shelton
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 7,697
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 4.3 million
> Runner-up: Rick Ross
1977
> Musician: Kanye West
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 14,895
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 20.2 million
> Runner-up: Shakira
1978
> Musician: Usher
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 5,391
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 10.2 million
> Runner-up: John Legend
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1979
> Musician: Pink
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 8,812
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 12.4 million
> Runner-up: Adam Levine
1980
> Musician: Gucci Mane
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 5,712
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 11.1 million
> Runner-up: T.I.
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1981
> Musician: Beyoncé
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 22,683
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 16.9 million
> Runner-up: Britney Spears
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1982
> Musician: Nicki Minaj
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 12,109
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 27.2 million
> Runner-up: Lil Wayne
1983
> Musician: Future
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 8,513
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 21.2 million
> Runner-up: Amy Winehouse
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1984
> Musician: Katy Perry
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 14,593
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 20.0 million
> Runner-up: French Montana
1985
> Musician: Bruno Mars
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 23,643
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 26.6 million
> Runner-up: Lana Del Rey
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1986
> Musician: Drake
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 16,254
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 32.8 million
> Runner-up: Ellie Goulding
1987
> Musician: Kendrick Lamar
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 13,269
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 23.8 million
> Runner-up: Wiz Khalifa
1988
> Musician: Rihanna
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 16,825
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 24.9 million
> Runner-up: Adele
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1989
> Musician: Taylor Swift
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 14,161
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 17.0 million
> Runner-up: Chris Brown
1990
> Musician: The Weeknd
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 17,791
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 24.1 million
> Runner-up: Rita Ora
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1991
> Musician: Ed Sheeran
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 23,621
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 41.2 million
> Runner-up: Charlie Puth
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1992
> Musician: Selena Gomez
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 17,534
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 30.3 million
> Runner-up: Miley Cyrus
1993
> Musician: Ariana Grande
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 33,474
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 20.3 million
> Runner-up: Zayn Malik
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1994
> Musician: Justin Bieber
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 21,126
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 20.0 million
> Runner-up: Harry Styles
1995
> Musician: Post Malone
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 6,942
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 17.1 million
> Runner-up: Chief Keef
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1996
> Musician: Hailee Steinfeld
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 12,576
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 16.0 million
> Runner-up: Alessia Cara
1997
> Musician: Camila Cabello
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 6,177
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 24.7 million
> Runner-up: Lil Yachty
1998
> Musician: Shawn Mendes
> Daily Wikipedia page views: 9,083
> Monthly Spotify listeners: 27.4 million
> Runner-up: Miss Mulatto
Detailed Findings and Methodology
The title of most famous musician born in a given year, as determined by our index, is more contested in some years than others. Some of the tightest competitions were between similar artists.
For example, the top two contenders for the most famous musician born in 1978 are Usher and John Legend. While John Legend’s star has eclipsed Usher’s in terms of daily average Wikipedia page views and monthly Spotify listeners, Usher’s appearance on Billboard’s Hot 100 Songs of all time with “Yeah!” and Billboard Top 200 Albums of all time with “Confessions” pushed his celebrity index score above that of Legend.
Other tightly contested years with similar musicians include country stars Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard in 1937, pop icons David Bowie and Elton John in 1947, and successful lead singers-cum-solo artists Sting and Phil Collins in 1951.
The most famous artists today who were active in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s were not necessarily the most popular musicians of their day. Tastes change, and the fame of many of the most popular artists in the mid-20th century did not last. For example, of the 10 artists who had the number one song of the year from 1970 through 1980, four have less than 450,000 monthly Spotify listeners today. For context, there are thousands of artists with at least half a million monthly listeners.
Musicians who have remained popular for years are the ones who were able to consistently create new music, and who demonstrated the ability to innovate and adapt to evolving tastes. Willie Nelson, the most famous musician born in 1933, released his latest album in June 2015. “Django and Jimmie” was the fifth collaboration between Nelson and Merle Haggard, the second most famous musician born in 1937. The album was Nelson’s third among the top 10 albums on the Billboard 200 and the first for Haggard, who passed away a year after its release.
Whereas recording was once prohibitively expensive for many potential stars, today’s rising artists have access to a wider array of recording options and easier distribution methods than their predecessors. Drake and Lil Wayne, the most famous musician of 1986 and the second most famous of 1982, respectively, have already surpassed the record previously set by the Beatles and Elvis Presley for the most songs on the Billboard Hot 100, and Rihanna and Taylor Swift are well on their way to do the same. With access to streaming technology and the ability to distribute their art across an increasing number of new mediums, the music stars of today may leave a larger and more enduring legacy than any artist before them.
To determine the most famous musician born each year since 1930, 24/7 Wall St. constructed an index based on Wikipedia page views, Spotify listeners, and Billboard chart performance. The list of musicians within the index consists of the 450 artists that were listed among the top four to 14 most popular musicians listed by their birth year on celebrity profile aggregation website Famous Birthdays and other sources. The Wikipedia page view metric consists of daily average page views over the period from August 20, 2016 to August 20, 2017. Monthly Spotify listeners were also included in the index. For artists who have both been in a band or multiple bands and recorded as a solo artist, the career stage with the most monthly Spotify listeners is included in the index. If a musician was included on Billboard’s list of the top 100 artists or top 200 albums of all time, his or her position on the list was included in the index and given a one-tenth weight.
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