Illinois’ Most Famous Musical Artist Will Seriously Surprise You

I know what you're thinking, so let me stop you before we go any further.

If you're reading this, there's a very good chance you have some ties to Rockford.

After all, this is coming from me, a radio DJ at a radio station in Rockford, Illinois.

You know, Rockford. The home of Cheap Trick?

Anyway, when I see a list of the most famous musicians or bands for all 50 states I immediately think "Well, obviously Illinois' pick is going to be Cheap Trick."

For some reason or another, maybe it's from all of the time I have spent in The Forest City, I have led myself to believe that music in Illinois starts and ends with Cheap Trick.

Obviously, I am way wrong, because I honestly forget about Chicago. Chicago, home of the blues and so many other legendary singers, artists, and bands that basically every genre in music today has at least one very important person tied to it that was born and raised in Chicago.

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That doesn't mean I was any less surprised to see Quincy Jones, and not Cheap Trick listed as The Most Famous Musician or Band to come from Illinois according to 24/7 Tempo.

According to their research, Jones has over 6000 daily views on his Wikipedia page, over 200,000 followers on Spotify, and has sold over 5 million albums. That said, Jones is one of the most influential songwriters, producers, and composers in music history.

On the other hand, Cheap Trick has nearly 5 million listens a month on Spotify and has sold over 20 million albums.

Maybe it's the Rockford in my veins but you could definitely make a case for Cheap Trick being Illinois' most famous band using 24/7 Tempo's metrics.

Then again, I'm just a radio guy from a radio station in Rockford. What do I know?