Below are the results of the normblog rock n roll poll. The prehistory - or mobilization - is here, here, here, here, here and here.
There were 119 entries, and the votes were distributed across 322 rock stars/bands. Of these, 267 secured four votes or fewer and do not appear in the results. The way the votes break down, there is a 'natural' top 25, of all those who secured nine or more votes; but I also list the 30 singers/ bands scoring between five and eight votes. The thing that stands out most starkly, and not just because of the line space I've introduced to highlight it, is how far ahead of the rest of the field the top three are. I don't think anybody would have trouble guessing their identity. They constitute a kind of collective Sir Donald Bradman of their sphere. A second thing that stands out is the all-male character of the Top 25 list. Anyway, here it is. I give the number of votes obtained in brackets after the place number.
The Top 25 of Rock n Roll
01 (61) - The Beatles
02 (56) - The Rolling Stones
03 (54) - Bob Dylan
04 (33) - Elvis Presley
05 (29) - Led Zeppelin
06 (28) - David Bowie
07 (25) - Jimi Hendrix
08 (24) - The Clash
09 (20) - The Who
10 (19) - Van Morrison
11 (18) - R.E.M.
12 (17) - The Beach Boys
13 (16) - Elvis Costello
14 (15) - Morrissey/The Smiths
14 (15) - Neil Young
16 (14) - The Band
17 (13) - Eric Clapton/Cream
18 (12) - Buddy Holly
18 (12) - The Kinks
18 (12) - Simon and Garfunkel/Paul Simon
21 (11) - Nirvana
21 (11) - U2
23 (10) - Pink Floyd
23 (10) - Bruce Springsteen
25 (9) - The Doors
Receiving 8 votes (5) - Iggy Pop and the Stooges, Radiohead, Lou Reed, Steely Dan, Talking Heads.
Receiving 7 votes (10) - Chuck Berry, Captain Beefheart, Leonard Cohen, Dire Straits, Janis Joplin, Little Richard, Queen, The Ramones, Patti Smith, Velvet Underground.
Receiving 6 votes (6) - Abba, Blondie, Joni Mitchell, New Order, Police, Frank Zappa.
Receiving 5 votes (9) - Jackson Browne, Fleetwood Mac, Aretha Franklin, Peter Gabriel, The Jam, Joy Division, Bob Marley, The Pogues, Tom Waits.
I end, as ever, by thanking everyone who has taken part, but also, more unusually, by remonstrating with 102 of you. The Beach Boys don't make the top 10? I mean, puh-leeze. And I link to all participants I know to be linkable. If I've omitted you through an oversight or through not knowing, please give me a shout and I'll add you to the list.
Rock n roll of honour: Alois, Chris Bertram, Ian Bertram, Chris Brooke, Andrew Brown, Jeremy Brown, DC, Anthony Cormack, Sarah Cotterill, Anthony Cox, Terrance Coyle, Anne Cunningham, Jackie D, Jonathan Derbyshire, Andrew Dodge, Stuart Elliott, James Forrest, Dr Frank, Adèle Geras, Tom Grey, Glenn Halpern, James Hamilton, Mick Hartley, Dave Heasman, Bobbie Johnson, Emily Jones, Steve K, Ryan Lewis, David McDuff, Hak Mao, Raj Patel, Cara Remal, Richard Schwartz, Jeremy Stangroom, David T, Laban Tall, Michael Totten, Dave Weeden, Chuck Welch, Will.