Couldn’t have a musical hall of fame without a classical composer, and what a composer he was. If you follow me on Twitter (@starchildluke), you’ll know how much I love Debussy and his work. You’ll also know that I define him by one simple phrase: “he is one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, if not THE forefather of 20th century popular music”. Now, if you’ve never heard of him, you’re probably thinking how this can be possible. All I can say to that is check him out. Listen to the descending chords, the lack of regiment to a key structure and the general flow of melody and you’ll hear it. Sure, music currently is very metered and most of it follows a common C chord progression but during the 50s and 60s with the introduction of rock n roll, and psychedelic rock and moving into the 70s, 80s and 90s through crossover music, experiments in melody and timbre became commonplace, and it’s thanks to the music of Debussy, at least in part.
So, to the first classical composer in the list and the first Frenchman, I salute you!
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