6 Most Iconic Musicians Of All Time

This is a paid for partnership by Magners.

The continuing rise of social media and 24 hour news streams in today’s technological age means we are in contact with the world like never before. While there are benefits in being able to stay connected, such as helping to develop a sense of community and the ability to keep in touch with people we care about, there are also the invariable down sides to never ending contactability; the openness we now have to ridicule and criticism from others, and the consequent pressures placed upon us to conform to social norms and to fit in.

Magners themselves are big advocates of staying true to your beliefs and not bowing to changing trends and fads, still producing their authentic crisp cider to the same original recipe that was developed in 1935. That’s not to say they are standing still - over 10 years ago it was they who pioneered the cider world with the idea of serving the beverage over ice. Updating cider as a trendy, daytime drink that can be enjoyed by all, the rest of the industry have used this as a basis to launch a plethora of different varieties, with seemingly a week not going by without a different type of fruit being fermented and poured over ice.

Wanting to help empower people in their desire to stand out from the crowd and put their own stamp on the world, Magners have recently launched their #HoldTrue campaign to promote the virtues of staying true to yourself and having the courage to express your individuality. To do this they have come together with artists to help showcase a range of some of the individual and unique musical talents in the country, and to speak with them about who they are, what they believe in, and who has helped inspire them.

In the video above watch as the eclectic collection of musicians each give their own individual and equally awesome interpretations of The Rolling Stone’s classic ‘I’m Free To Do What I Want’. Non-conformist and staying true to their own style and artistry, we hear renditions including those from a 66 year-old punk singer, a seven-piece ska group, a harpist, a rockin’ blues band and a hip-hop artist.

If you like what you see you can download full length versions of the track by Hold True Collective, Daze and Gaz Mayal & The Trojans. Just click on the links below.

iTunes - http://po.st/MagnersiTunes

Google Play - http://po.st/MagnersGooglePlay

Music and art is all about having the ability to express yourself and the world around you, about having something to say and the guts to stand up and say it. It is the people being able to do that which breaks down barriers, pave the way for others to follow and give hope and inspiration. To celebrate this we have taken a look at the some of the most iconic musicians is musical history…

In fairness to Paul, George, and Ringo, you could well have all of them on this list, such is the seismic impact of The Beatles on the music industry over the last 50 years or so. However, picking just one of them as the most iconic, then it pretty much has to be John Lennon.

The co-founder of The Beatles, and one-half of one of the greatest songwriting duos of all time, there's no denying his legacy on that front. It's not just his time with The Fab Four though, but what he did outside of them that gets him the spot on the list.

He enjoyed a successful solo career post-Beatles, while outside of music he was a committed activisit, often courting controversy, in particular for his opposition to the Vietnam War, and nowadays he's seen as a symbol of peace as much as he is a rock'n'roll legend.