Who is the greatest live performer in music history?

Stadium theatre on one side, a voice and a microphone on the other. These are careers made on the night rather than in the studio.

1. 1
   Michael Jackson

   Turned stadium pop into choreographed theatre across the Bad, Dangerous and HIStory tours.
2. 2
   Freddie Mercury

   Queen's frontman, whose 21 minutes at Live Aid in 1985 are the benchmark for a festival set.
3. 3
   James Brown

   Billed as the hardest-working man in show business, and priced accordingly by his band.
4. 4
   Prince

   Guitarist, dancer and bandleader who could improvise a two-hour aftershow past 3am.
5. 5
   Tina Turner

   Ran a stadium show on stamina and legs into her sixties, with a voice that never thinned.
6. 6
   Elvis Presley

   Made the concert a spectacle first in 1950s theatres, then in Las Vegas showrooms.
7. 7
   Beyonce

   Built Coachella 2018 as a full marching-band production and toured it as Renaissance.
8. 8
   Bruce Springsteen

   Known for three-hour-plus shows with the E Street Band, still running past 70.
9. 9
   David Bowie

   Toured as a rotating cast of characters, from Ziggy Stardust to the Thin White Duke.
10. 10
    Mick Jagger

    Has covered several miles a night on Rolling Stones stages for six decades.
11. 11
    Jimi Hendrix

    Rewrote what a guitar could do live at Monterey and Woodstock.
12. 12
    Whitney Houston

    Sang the 1991 Super Bowl anthem live in a single take that became a charting single.
13. 13
    Bob Marley

    Carried reggae worldwide with the Wailers, including the 1978 One Love Peace Concert.
14. 14
    Madonna

    Made the pop tour a staged narrative with Blond Ambition in 1990.
15. 15
    Little Richard

    Played standing up, hammering the piano, and set the template every rock frontman copied.
16. 16
    Lady Gaga

    Combines pop staging with live piano sets and a Super Bowl roof jump.
17. 17
    Taylor Swift

    The Eras Tour ran three hours a night and became the first tour to gross over a billion dollars.
18. 18
    Aretha Franklin

    Her 1972 Amazing Grace church recordings remain the best-selling live gospel album.

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