| 100 Greatest Artists of Rock & Roll | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Documentary |
| Starring | Kevin Bacon |
| Narrated by | Melinda Mullins |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 5 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 42 min. |
| Original release | |
| Network | VH1 |
| Release | March 28, 1998 |
The 100 Greatest Artists of Rock & Roll was a television special that aired on VH1 in 1998, where the network compiled a list of what it considered the 100 greatest rock artists. The show included artists from a variety of genres within rock, such as classic rock, punk, alternative, and heavy metal. The artists were selected based on their impact on the genre, influence on other musicians, and commercial success. Hosted by Kevin Bacon.
The television special ran on five days between March 31 and April 4, 1998, for an hour each. [1] [2] Every special covered 20 artists from the list. [1] The special used footage from videos, concerts, and interviews. [3] Jeff Gaspin, who had recently become VH1's vice president of programming, proposed that they feature a countdown program in which musicians determined the list rather than commentators. [4]
The Boston Globe television critic Steve Morse criticized the special, writing, "the list could have been better, and so could the show, which succumbs to numbing repetition and is undone by Bacon's goofy rah-rah attitude and by an insipid female voice-over". [6] Tony Gieske of The Hollywood Reporter penned a mixed review of the special. Calling it a high-speed panorama, he said, "The songs, the artists and the commentary are perforce familiar if not banal, so it's all in the editing, which is fortunately first-rate in the Jet Ski style for which MTV is famous." [7] The Record 's Bob Ivry found it to be a "mild surprise" that few women ranked highly in the list. He noted that the top two women were Aretha Franklin at 21 and Joni Mitchell at 32. [8]