(September 3, 2021). Recently, the millennial singing/rapping sensation Lizzo sparked some controversy when she weighed in on a long-standing King/Queen of Pop debate. The King part—Michael Jackson—was a no-brainer.
It was what followed that stirred the pot, specifically when the “Rumors” singer declared that Michael’s sister Janet Jackson – not Madonna – was the Queen of Pop.
Needless to say, Madge’s fans were not happy, with several of them suggesting that Lizzo lacked either perspective or historical knowledge. The tweets that followed revealed some strong opinions on both sides of the argument, which when it boils down to it, is all these discussions really are: someone’s opinions.
Still, the whole thing got the brass here at djrobblog—namely, yours truly—thinking about who actually is considered music royalty or who holds various related titles in the many different musical genres out there.
After some loose research and careful consideration of who really is worthy of such accolades, djrobblog compiled the following list of more than 100 members of the musical royalty, including the kings, queens, princes, princesses, lords, ladies, godfathers, godmothers, priests, priestesses, bosses and other such honorific title-holders in music.
They’re grouped largely by genre; e.g., rock, then soul, then pop, etc., so the order is not indicative of relative rank. Also, in some cases there are multiple title holders listed, for example there are five princesses of pop and at least three similar crowns given for R&B. This is largely because the named artists are believed to both individually and collectively hold those titles.
So scroll through and see if you agree—and feel free to provide comments at the bottom of the article or on any of the social media feeds where the article is posted.
Now, let’s all rise for the…
King of Rock-n-Roll: Elvis Presley
Queen of Rock-n-Roll: Tina Turner
Architect of Rock-n-Roll: Little Richard
Father of Rock-n-Roll: Chuck Berry
World’s Greatest Band/Kings of the Charts: The Beatles
Greatest Rock-n-Roll Band: Rolling Stones
Godfather (& King) of Soul: James Brown
Queen of Soul: Aretha Franklin
Empress of Soul: Gladys Knight
Godmother of Soul: Patti LaBelle
King of Soul: Otis Redding
Prince of Soul: Marvin Gaye
Princess of Soul: Jennifer Hudson
The High Priest of Soul: Ray Charles
The High Priestess of Soul: Nina Simone
Ivory Queen of Soul: Teena Marie
White Queen of Soul: Dusty Springfield
Queen of Hip-Hop/Soul: Mary J. Blige
Princess of Hip-Hop/Soul: Ashanti
King of Pop: Michael Jackson
His Royal Badness/His Purple Highness: Prince
1st Queen of Pop/Queen of Controversy: Madonna
2nd Queen of Pop: Janet Jackson
Modern-Day Queen of Pop/Queen Bey: Beyoncé
Prince of Pop: Justin Bieber
Princess of Pop: Ariana Grande
Princess of Pop: Christina Aguilera
Princess of Pop: Katy Perry
Princess (and newest Billionaire) of Pop: Rihanna
Princess of Pop: Brittany Spears
Queen of R&B: Ruth Brown
King of R&B: R. Kelly
Second King of R&B: Usher
Wife-Anointed King of R&B: Bobby Brown
Godfather of R&B: Charlie Wilson
Prince of R&B: Chris Brown
Prince of R&B: Trey Songz
Princess of R&B: Aaliyah (aka: Queen of Urban Pop)
Princess of R&B: Monica
Princess of R&B: Brandy
Queen of Divas: Whitney Houston (aka Queen of Ballads)
Mother of Divas: Barbra Streisand
Father of Divas: Sylvester
Queen/First Lady of Neo-Soul: Erykah Badu
King of Neo-Soul: D’Angelo
King of Jazz: Louis Armstrong
Queen of Jazz: Ella Fitzgerald
Mother of the Blues: Ma Rainey
Queen of the Blues: Dinah Washington
King of the Blues: B. B. King
Lady Day: Billie Holiday
Queen of Gospel: Mahalia Jackson
Queen of Folk: Joan Baez
King of Country: Garth Brooks
First King of Country: George Strait
King of Outlaw Country: Willie Nelson
Queen/First Lady of Country: Loretta Lynn
Queen of Country: Tammy Wynette
Queen of Country: Dolly Parton
Queen of Country-Pop: Shania Twain
Queen of Christmas/Queen of the Charts: Mariah Carey
Queen of Comebacks/Goddess of Pop: Cher
Queen of Disco: Donna Summer
First Queen of Disco: Gloria Gaynor
Kings of Disco: Bee Gees
Disco Royalty: Chic
Prime Minister of P-Funk: George Clinton
Queen of Funk: Chaka Khan
King of Punk Funk: Rick James
Godfather of Punk: Joey Ramone
Godmother of Punk: Patti Smith
Godfather of Shock Rock: Alice Cooper
Queen of Shock Rock: Wendy O. Williams
Godfather of Heavy Metal: Ozzy Osbourne (aka: Prince of Darkness)
Unholy Trinity of Heavy Metal: Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple
King of Glam Rock: David Bowie
Hip-Hop’s First Lady: Queen Latifah
Queen of Hip-Hop: Missy Elliott
Queen of Hip-Hop/Queen Bee: Lil’ Kim
Queen of Rap: Nicki Minaj
Godmother of Rap: Millie Jackson
Godfather of Rap: Gil Scott-Heron
Rap God/King of Hip-Hop: Eminem
King of Rap/King of the Charts: Jay-Z
King of New York: The Notorious B.I.G.
King of West Coast Rap: 2Pac
King of Crunk: Lil Jon
King of New Jack Swing: Teddy Riley
Queen of Latin Pop: Gloria Estefan
King of Latin Pop: Enrique Iglesias
Latin Music King: Ricky Martin
Latin Music Queen: Shakira
Queen of Tejano Music: Selena
King of Reggaeton: Daddy Yankee
King of Reggae: Bob Marley
Godfather of House: Frankie Knuckles
Queen of Clubland: Martha Wash
Queen of Drag: RuPaul
The Boss (Female): Diana Ross
The Boss (Male): Bruce Springsteen
The Professor: Neil Peart (of Rush)
Guitar God: Eric Clapton
The Father, The Son, and The Holy Ghost: Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens & The Big Bopper
Chairman of the Board: Frank Sinatra
King of Soundtracks: Kenny Loggins
Kings of Boy Bands (hits): Boyz II Men
Kings of Boy Bands (sales): Backstreet Boys
Queens of Girl Groups (hits): The Supremes
Queens or Girl Groups (sales): TLC
Kings of K-Pop: BTS
Queens of K-Pop: Blackpink
King of Yacht Rock: Michael McDonald
King of Parody: “Weird Al” Yankovic
And we’ll end it on that note.
So what do YOU think? That’s a lot of music royalty right there—some serious, some tongue-in-cheek, some widely recognized, and almost all based on opinions. And we’ve probably left out many more.
Feel free to post your opinions about the list in the comment section below or in any of the social media feeds where this article is posted.
DJRob
DJRob (he/him/his) is a freelance music blogger from somewhere on the East Coast who covers R&B, hip-hop, pop and rock genres – plus lots of music news and current stuff! You can follow him on Twitter at @djrobblog.
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Linda Ronstadt could be considered a first queen of rock. Great article
True. And thanks!