Rock rules OK, so do the Beatles

More than three decades after they disbanded, and the death of John and George, the Beatles are still the most popular artistes in America.

Michael Jackson tied with Johnny Cash for the third spot behind the runners-up Eagles. This was found in a Pew Research Centre survey released yesterday, three days before the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock music festival. Ah, Woodstock!

The survey covered every generation, 16 years and older. And 49 percent of them said they liked the Beatles a lot. No one else came close. Elvis Presley, the Rolling Stones and Aretha Franklin shared the fourth spot.

Carrie Underwood is the most popular Noughties star followed by Coldplay and Kanye West.

And the most popular music genre?

Rock, of course. The favourite of every generation from the teenagers to the baby boomers. "It's only rock 'n' roll but I like it," said 45 percent of the 16- to 29-year-olds, 42 percent of the 30- to 49-year-olds and 33 percent of the 50- to 64-year-olds.

The generation gap shows only in their second choice – hiphop for the teens and twentysomethings, R&B for the 30-plus, and country for those in their 50s and early 60s. Past the early 60s, country becomes the top choice followed by classical music. Roll over, Beethoven, we won't go into that. It's all there in the full report, which says the generation gap is less pronounced these days.

Here is the list of the most popular stars based on the survey.

Artiste	Active decades	Like a lot	Like a little	Dislike	Haven't heard of
Beatles	60s-70s	49%	32%	11%	4%
Eagles	70s-00s	42%	25%	7%	16%
Johnny Cash	50s-00s	39%	37%	14%	5%
Michael Jackson	70s-00s	39%	36%	19%
Elvis Presley	50s-70s	38%	41%	14%	3%
Rolling Stones	60s-00s	38%	37%	14%	6%
Aretha Franklin	60s-00s	38%	36%	10%	11%
Frank Sinatra	40s-90s	34%	40%	15%	8%
Carrie Underwood	00s	34%	29%	12%	16%
Garth Brooks	80s-00s	33%	32%	22%	8%
Jimi Hendrix	60s-70s	32%	32%	13%	16%
Bruce Springsteen	70s-00s	29%	37%	16%	13%
Mariah Carey	90s-00s	27%	39%	22%	7%
Bob Dylan	60s-00s	24%	35%	17%	18%
Jefferson Airplane	60s-70s	20%	27%	11%	36%
Nirvana	80s-90s	20%	25%	17%	29%
Madonna	80s-00s	19%	41%	31%	2%
Coldplay	90s-00s	18%	21%	10%	45%
Kanye West	00s	17%	25%	16%	33%
Grateful Dead	60s-00s	15%	26%	26%	26%

On the top 10 list of the 16- to 29-year-olds are:

1. Michael Jackson
2. The Beatles
3. The Rolling Stones
4. Nirvana
5. Jimi Hendrix
6. Kanye West
7. Carrie Underwood
8. Coldplay
9. Mariah Carey
10. Aretha Franklin

The darlings of the 30- to 49-year-olds are:

1.   The Eagles
2.   Michael Jackson
3.   The Beatles
4.   The Rolling Stones
5.  Aretha Franklin
     and Jimi Hendrix (tie)
7.  Johnny Cash 
8.  Carrie Underwood 
9.  Bruce Springsteen
10. Elvis Presley and
     Garth Brooks (tie)

The favourites of the 50- to 64-year-olds are:

1. The Beatles
2. The Eagles
3. Elvis Presley
4. The Rolling Stones
5. Aretha Franklin
6. Johnny Cash
7. Bruce Springsteen
8. Garth Brooks
9. Bob Dylan
10. Jimi Hendrix and Carrie Underwood (tie)