I follow my friends and family on social media for the most part, but I also like to follow famous people and people that I generally think are stylish and cool. Rock stars often post some pretty cool things that brighten my day or inspire me. So I want to share 10 classic rock musician accounts on social media that will liven up your social media feed and share my thoughts on social media with you.

The Importance of Social Media

You can’t underestimate the importance of social media as a way of connecting with fans, clients, and customers. Companies that didn’t innovate and adapt to the internet fast enough bit the dust. And now if a company have no social media presence, it’s hard to stay afloat. Almost no one uses phone books anymore. Social media helps you gauge a company’s reputation. It also can certainly get things done if you’re having customer service problems, because it’s public. You can’t ignore it.

Social media is where people are. It’s like a virtual town square or cafe where people meet and talk about anything and everything.

Remember when there was a time when celebrities would stay away from the internet and try to keep stuff about their lives private? They might do an occasional fan Q&A. Now it’s not like that anymore. Celebrities are way more open and share a lot more with their fans. Why is that?

Celebrities go on social media to connect with their fans, build their brand, and promote their latest projects. This helps spread the word and it makes a celebrity seem more relatable. Having a brand as a celebrity is so important. It’s part of marketing.

Sometimes these accounts are run by the celebrities themselves or along with an assistant who makes posts, but other times they have a dedicated social media person (an assistant or their partner) or someone at their record label takes care of it.

Celebrities and Social Media

There’s a nice side to social media. It creates community. I felt alone when I was a teenager getting into classic rock and I didn’t have anyone to talk to about it. I joined Tumblr when I was 16 and found a whole classic rock fan community and got really into it and made some friends. I’d get really nice messages from people and whenever I felt bad, reading these messages cheered me up.

But there’s also a dark side of social media. Not everything is sunshine and rainbows.

Cancel Culture

One big issue with social media and celebrity is “cancel culture”. As public figures, celebrities have an image to keep up and they have to be careful of what they say and post. One wrong move and they can find themselves “cancelled”, the target of a boycott campaign. If you cancel a person, you don’t support them financially, morally, or otherwise – the goal is to make them irrelevant.

Does cancelling make the world a better place? I often find that cancel culture is performative wokeness, a virtue signal. Especially when it’s about really small things. We’ve all said, done, and thought things that we regret. This once a bigot always a bigot mentality doesn’t provide for growth and change. No one is born a bigot. I think people are capable of unlearning bad ideas. However, you can boycott and not forgive if you want. I can’t decide how you feel.

We put celebrities on a pedestal and build them up so high, then knock them down. They’re human. They’re not deities.

Of course, there are other problems with social media, but that’s another topic for another time.

10 Coolest Classic Rockers on Social Media

Finally, now that I’ve got my thoughts on social media off my chest, let’s talk about classic rock musicians on social media. For me, what makes a musician worth following is interesting photos (throwbacks, selfies, everyday life, behind the scenes stuff), interesting status updates and text posts, humour, and standing up for what they believe in. It was really hard to rank these.

Three Way Tie for #1

Because I couldn’t just pick one winner for rock star with the most lit social media account. These accounts are amazing in their own ways. I hope I’m as much of a meme lord as these three musicians.

1. Ringo Starr: @ringostarrmusic (Twitter) (Instagram)

Ever since I was on Tumblr, I’ve known that Ringo’s Twitter is a riot. This tweet here, just what? What is “Lordy Lordy Picca Bennicoff”? Iconic. Was he trying to use Siri? We’ll never know.

Other than that, he’s always preaching “peace and love” and using a lot of emojis. Cool grandpa energy.

Iconic spoon selfie:

The obligatory throwback pic:

1. Cher: @cher (Twitter)

Cher is also very well known on Twitter for her politics rants (which I mostly agree with, but I wish she wasn’t so establishment democrat), excessive typing in all caps, and liberal use of emojis. Lots of personality on her Twitter feed! Sassy! I like that she stands up for something. She beats me at using emojis and I’m a millennial. Sure, she’s on other platforms, but her posts on other platforms are not as much fun. She’s so iconic, there’s a Buzzfeed listicle dedicated to her tweets. There are even more lists published by other websites dedicated to her tweets. Your fave could never.

Here are a few of her iconic tweets. You’ll be smiling, I promise:

Not sure if this was intentionally or unintentionally funny.

Awwwww…

A throwback:

Speaking the truth:

/r/2meirl4meirl

1. Brian May: @brianmayforreal (Instagram)

Mostly posts on Instagram now, but he’s on all platforms. He even has a blog called “Bri’s Soapbox”. You’ll find cute animal pictures, mostly hedgehogs and badgers; outer space stuff; 3D stereo pics; selfies; morning bike videos; and rants on animal rights – all signed off with “Bri.” at the end (unless he’s angry). Pretty much all of his posts are iconic. I really hope that I’m a fraction as cool as him.

I’ll pick a few favourites because I could be here all day.

Calling all hedgehogs… (the sequel to that rattling spoon video – Ringo is quaking)

Reminds me of the “Invisible Man” music video:

Two Tits John Deacon (and it’s a stereo pic)

With a hedgehog:

Talking about the Impossible Burger:

Here are some old iconic moments on his Twitter:

Hanging out with Psy

Blocking Candy Crush Soda

Safety first!

Let’s 👏 get ✈️ this 👉 bread 🍞, gamers 🕹!

Other awesome accounts:

Well, I have to rank the rest of them. Not everyone can be a winner.

4. Rick Wakeman: @grumpyoldrick (Twitter)

He’s absolutely hilarious and uses a bunch of platforms to express himself. If you like Bri’s Soapbox, get ready for Grumpy Old Rick’s monthly ramblings. These are basically like a diary of sorts, with life updates. Rick Wakeman is on Facebook and Instagram too, but someone posts on behalf of him on there. His Twitter though, that’s him.

On Twitter, he’ll talk about things like food:

Complaining about trains:

and the Tube, with a self deprecating joke:

Funny jokes:

5. Steven Tyler: @IamStevenT (Twitter)

Only recently did I realise how funny Steven Tyler’s Twitter is. Like others on this list, you’ll see emojis and lots of capslock. He also has some fun videos. What makes him stand out is he knows how to speak Stan Twitter and he isn’t afraid to embrace the memes. Here are some of his best tweets:

We stan!

That’s the gospel truth!

He knows how to meme:

Happy Halloween!

6. Dolly Parton: @DollyParton (Twitter & Instagram)

Dolly Parton is one of the most iconic country musicians. Not only is she a talented songwriter and musician, she is a philanthropist and businesswoman. If you want inspiration, follow Dolly! She also knows how to meme too. She seems like such a sweet person. Here are my favourite tweets of hers:

Jolene is a meme

The bigger the hair the closer to… the stars? (I’m an atheist haha)

We stan a queen with a sense of humour

She loves Trixie Mattel, awesome!

Who doesn’t love cats?

7. Peter Noone: @peternoone (Instagram)

His Instagram is full of grandpa selfies from his concerts, no selfie sticks. Besides that, you’ll find pictures from his travels while on tour and the occasional throwback picture. He always looks like he’s having a good time.

Here are some highlights from his Instagram:

You followed for the concert selfies…

and stayed for the goofy photoshopped pictures!

Trademark grandpa selfies with friends:

Cute doggo!

Some nostalgia

With Stevie Wonder back in the day:

8. Jon Anderson: TheJonAnderson (Facebook)

Jon Anderson seems like that really cool new age hippie grandpa. I’m here for it. In the Yes fandom, his use of “weeee” and “zoooom” were often joked about:

Nowadays, Jon doesn’t go “weeeee” and “zoom” so much, but it’s still fun to follow his adventures.

He’s a national treasure:

You’re never too old for plushies:

And let’s not forget about his music video for his new song, “Makes Me Happy”. Watch out Ringo, Jon Anderson’s coming for your “peace and love” game! I want to see a Jon Anderson/Ringo Starr collab.

9. Geddy Lee: @geddyimages (Instagram)

That username alone, a nice play on Getty Images. On his Instagram, you’ll find him promoting his Big Beautiful Book of Bass, hanging out with other musicians, and more. He doesn’t post as much as other musicians, but when he does post something, it’s cool.

Here are some posts from his Instagram:

2 Legendary Bassists

A great shot of a bird!

Beautiful bass guitars

Throwback to the 70s, before Rush were famous

A funny picture from when they were on the road:

Where is the lie?

10. Janis Ian: JanisIanPage (Facebook)

Her Facebook page reminds me a lot of what mothers post on Facebook: inspirational quotes, funny pictures and cartoons, retro videos, articles, and some politics (in this case left wing). You’ll definitely smile. Unlike a lot of rock stars, she doesn’t post much about what she’s doing. She does have a pretty cool charity called The Pearl Foundation, named after her mum, that fund scholarships for returning students. As of 2019, the organisation have given away over $1 million in scholarship funds. Really cool!

Here are some cool posts:

Honourable mentions:

Pete Townshend: @yaggerdang on Instagram. I love how in his bio there’s only two words, “guitar basher”. You’ll find throwbacks and behind the scenes pictures. He also did some pretty funny videos years ago goofing around in the studio with Ableton.

Ann & Nancy Wilson: @annwilson and @nancywilson on Instagram. They post lots of behind the scenes selfies and throwback pictures.

Jimmy Page: @jimmypage on Instagram. Aesthetically, his Instagram is on point. Love all the throwback pictures.

Jackie Fox: Really smart bassist of The Runaways turned lawyer. If you want posts that make you think, check out her Facebook page.

Paul McCartney: @paulmccartney on Instagram. While I’m sure he has someone looking after the social media, I love all the tour pictures. Looks like they’re having a lot of fun!

Who are your favourite rock stars to follow on social media? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

Bonus: Dave Davies

One day I was on Twitter and I came across Dave Davies doing the #WAPChallenge and the image of a boomer rock star joining in on some zoomer trend made me laugh and how can I leave that out of this post? In his take on the #WAPChallenge he just played guitar. I’m waiting for “WAP” in the style of The Kinks or some sort of remix.

Well… Let’s say that the Kinks fandom were shook. Not only does Dave Davies use Twitter and Instagram, he also made a TikTok.

And here’s a TikTok of him playing “Death of a Clown” complete with him as an Animal Crossing character. I’m gonna need to get that outfit for my character on Animal Crossing! Actually can I have a replica of that outfit IRL? Dave Davies was drippin’ (translation for the silent generation/boomers/gen x: drip means having good dress sense) back in the day.

Shout out to my good friend and Topaz level Patron, Patrick.