I don't think it would, I'd love to have that kind of perspective. He was no doubt a fascinating individual.

I think anyone that rose to fame themselves, without the use of a stupid talent show on TV. I hate those things. Someone who actually worked hard for their cause. It may seem incredibly obvious, but Kurt Cobain. I read his autobiography recently and he went through a lot of stuff with Nirvana. He also made a huge change in music and basically everyone knows who he is...
What do you think?

I don't think that has something to do with a person's individuality. You can be the wisest man and have the best character and become famous pretty easy. Does it make you bad? You don't have to work hard to prove that you are good. To do it the easy way, if you can, is even the more intelligent way. On the other hand, who said that people who win the TV shows aren't working hard. There is so much competition that they have to work really hard.
I respect very much people who write their own music. But I respect them as musicians, that has nothing to do with what kind of people they are. You can be the best songwriter and still an a*shole.

I think all of them are not people easily shoved around by the music industry, they play what they want, and they aren't hyper-dramatic attention whores. Plus I think they all make killer music.

I won't argue, except for Sting. He invites attention and is rumored to be a womanizer.

I've always thought "womanizer" was a hilarious word. Is there such a thing as a manizer?

Slut?

That doesn't really have the same implication.

There are so many people worthy of respect in the music business ! Frank Zappa is a good choice because of his humour and intelligence.( Although Eric Burdon probably wouldn`t agree; he described a project he did with FZ as "like working with Hitler" )

Leaving aside their musical talents and acheivements, here are some other reasons for respecting various musicians :-

(i) for breaking down barriers and conventions ( John Lennon and Chuck Berry spring to mind )
(ii) for bringing attention to social issues ( Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Fela Kuti)
(iii) for battling personal difficulties ( Tina Turner, Brian Wilson, Syd Barrett, Ian Dury )
(iv) for using their success for the greater good ( Bob Geldoff and countless other charity performers )

:soapbox:

Not so easy to admire is Gary Glitter, however much we may cherish his music.

Also the guy in Green Day, who I saw once in a television interview. He was grumbling because his album release was overshadowed by media attention celebrating the anniversary of the publication of George Orwell`s 1984 and he concluded his complaint by saying, "George Orwell was an idiot anyway" - a remark that stuck in my mind as being overweening and petulant.

Another guy low on my admiration list is Kurt Cobain. I appreciate that he had lots of personal problems and professional pressure, but consider this:-Despite emoting about the trauma of his parent`s divorce, KC didn`t seem too concerned about his own daughter, whom he subjected to a far more troubling event. This poor girl will presumably go through live with a gaping question-mark in the middle of her soul, " Why didn`t my dad love me enough to stick around for me ?" Shame on you, Kurt.