As you may be aware, we at SelectSpecs.com love to talk about what actors are wearing in the latest box office busting movies yet we don’t really spend too much time talking about musicians and the eye wear they are famous for wearing (expect for Bono who we’ve talk about before!). So what better way to start than to write a blog post looking at our Top 10 Glasses wearing music icons complete with a collaborative play list in Spotify with songs from these iconic musicians – if you feel we missed a favourite song of yours, why not log in to Spotify and add songs from your own iconic artist so we can grow this play list!
Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly, also known as Charles Hardin Holley, was considered to be one of the pioneers of Rock and Roll genre enjoying success for just a year before he died in a plane crash at only 22 years of age. Holly’s hits included “Peggy Sue”, “That’ll be the Day” and “Oh Boy”. Buddy Holly’s wayfarer style of glasses is still as popular today as it was in the 50’s.
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello, also known as Declan Patrick MacManus, came to prominence as an early participant in London’s pub rock scene in the mid-1970s before becoming associated with the Punk / New Wave genre. Elvis had hits such as “Oliver’s Army”, “Can’t stand up for Falling Down”, and “Alison”, and has also taken on a number of acting roles since the late 1970’s.
Elton John
Sir Elton John, previously known as Reginald Kenneth Dwight, has sold more than 250 million records in his 4 decade career making him one of the most successful artists of all time with his single “Candle in the Wind” selling over 37 million copies to become the best selling single of all time. Elton John has also had hits including “Your Song”, “Can You Feel the Love Tonight”, “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” and “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me” in duet with George Michael. Elton John is regularly seen wearing many various styles of glasses however, his choice of eye wear is now far more reserved than back in his early years.
Bono (U2)
Bono, also known as Paul David Hewson, best known for being the main vocalist in the rock band U2. Bono and the band have become incredibly successful with a string of Platinum selling albums including The Joshua Tree, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb and their latest release No Line on the Horizon. U2 have had hit after hit including “Beautiful Day”, “With or Without You”, “Pride (In the Name of Love)”, and “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”. If you’re looking for Bono’s EA 9592 Sunglasses they are available from us for £102.12.
John Lennon
John Lennon, a founding member of the band The Beatles and a successful solo musician, had acclaimed solo albums such as John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Imagine. Lennon also had iconic singles including “Woman”, “Give Peace a Chance” and “Imagine”. Similar round style glasses are still popular today with many Beatles/Lennon fans!
Roy Orbison
Roy Orbison, an American musician known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads, had 22 hits during the 1960s that placed in the Top Forty, including “Only the Lonely”, “Crying”, “In Dreams”, and “Oh, Pretty Woman”.
Jarvis Cocker
Jarvis Cocker, the former front man of the 1990’s band “Pulp”, had massive success with Pulp’s 1995 album “different class” which included hit tracks including “Common People” and “Disco 2000”. Jarvis Cocker went on to release a solo album title “Jarvis” in 2006 although the album didn’t quite match the success of the Pulp days back in the 1990’s. The thick plastic rimmed glasses are very popular with those looking for that geeky look.
Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne, or the “Prince of Darkness”, is best known for being the lead vocalist of the pioneering British heavy metal band Black Sabbath with albums such as Blizzard of Ozz, The Ultimate Sin and Ozzmosis to his name. Ozzy is probably better known for his more recent appearances in his own reality show, The Osbourne’s, alongside the rest of his family, Sharon, Kelly and Jack. Ozzy is regularly seen wearing a similar style frame as John Lennon, perhaps he was a fan of his eye wear?
Lisa Loeb
Lisa Loeb, launched her career back in 1994 with the hit number 1 song “Stay” without actually being signed to any record label. Lisa has since been involved in both film and television work including becoming the voice over for Mary Jane in Spider-Man: The New Animated Series.
Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder has enjoyed success throughout his career winning over 20 Grammy Awards and recording more than 30 US top 10 hits including “Uptight”, “Superstition” and “Happy Birthday” to name a few. Stevie Wonder is normally seen wearing various styles of fashionable sunglasses from various designer brands as part of his fashion conscious image and also due to his blindness.
Honorable mention
Michael Jackson
He wasn’t really known for wearing glasses / sunglasses in his music videos but was often seen wearing his aviator sunglasses during public appearances.
Up and Comers
Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga is in our opinion one of the current crop of personalities that is rocketing up the list as a glasses wearing icon.