Icon Edition: A Very Special Christmas

Sheryl Crow's fresh, updated spin on classic roots rock made her one of the most popular mainstream rockers of the '90s. Her albums were loose and eclectic on the surface, yet were generally tied together by polished, professional songcraft. Crow's sunny, good-time rockers and world-weary ballads were radio staples for much of the '90s, and she was a perennial favorite at Grammy time. Although her songwriting style was firmly anchored to the rock tradition, she wasn't a slave to it—her free-associative, reference-laden poetry could hardly have been the product of any era but the '90s. Her production not only kept pace with contemporary trends, but sometimes even pushed the envelope of what sounds could be heard on a classicist rock album, especially on her self-titled sophomore effort. All of this made Crow one of the most dependable stars of the decade, and she showed no signs of relinquishing her hard-won success in the new millennium.

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers belong to a special class of artists. A class comprised of those few acts that have sustained decades-long careers despite the restlessness of popular music’s audience. They have scored hits in five different decades while selling tens of millions of records along the way. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame during their first year of eligibility and have garnered accolades and awards too many to mention. Through it all their uncompromising integrity has never wavered while their concert tours have become things of legend.

Composer, singer, actor, author, and activist—Sting was born in Newcastle, England before moving to London in 1977 to form The Police with Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers. The band released five studio albums, earned six Grammy Awards and two Brits, and in 2003 was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

She is known the world over by her first name and as the undisputed, reigning "Queen Of Soul," Aretha Franklin is peerless. This 2005 recipient of a Presidential Medal Of Freedomhonor (the U.S.A.'s highest honor), 17 Grammy Awards (and counting), a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and a Grammy Living Legend Award. She has received countless international and national awards and accolades. Aretha has achieved global recognition on an unprecedented scale. She has influenced generations of singers from Chaka Khan, Natalie Cole and Mary J. Blige to "American Idol" winner Fantasia Burrino and Oscar-winning Jennifer Hudson. Her ever-distinctive soulful, to-the-bone vocal style has graced the music charts for over four decades and while her 'live' performances have touched the hearts of literally millions since she began her musical journey as a gospel-singing child prodigy, it is her rich legacy of recordings that are a testament to the power, majesty and genius of this one-of-a-kind artist of the first order.

Since releasing her debut album in 2005, Carrie has sold over 15 million albums and charted 18 #1 singles, nine of which she co-wrote. She is a six-time GRAMMY® winner, a two-time Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year, a three-time Country Music Association and ACM Female Vocalist winner, and a proud member of the Grand Ole Opry.

It began in Radlett, a commuter town of 60,000 souls, north-west of Britain's capital, London, where some scenes of Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange were filmed. It's where young Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou (born June 25, 1963) and his loving, tightly bound part Greek-Cypriot, part English family moved from their original North London home. George and his best friend, fellow Bushey Meads Comprehensive student Andrew Ridgeley, would do as teenagers do, think about being pop stars and dream of making it big: "I wanted to be loved," admitted George. "It was an ego satisfaction thing." Even so, the pair of dreamers understood that it wasn't going to happen. These things just don't happen.

“Rarely has a singer had as full and unique a talent as Rod Stewart -- a writer who offered profound lyricism and fabulous self-deprecating humor, teller of tall tales and honest heartbreaker, he had an unmatched eye for the tiny details around which lives turn, shatter, and reform—and a voice to make those details indelible. His solo albums were defined by two special qualities: warmth, which was redemptive, and modesty, which was liberating. If ever any rocker chose the role of everyman and lived up to it, it was Rod Stewart.” –The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll (1980)

The incredible Elvis life story began when Elvis Aaron Presley was born to Vernon and Gladys Presley in a two-room house in Tupelo, Mississippi, on January 8, 1935. His twin brother, Jessie Garon, was stillborn, leaving Elvis to grow up as an only child. He and his parents moved to Memphis, Tennessee, in 1948, and Elvis graduated from Humes High School there in 1953.

Official Site: John Lennon

With his sixth album, All That Echoes, Josh Groban has at once built on the touchstone artistry that has made him a global pop star for more than a decade and expanded his ambitious reach into richly rewarding new territory. The inspiring first single “Brave” shows off his accomplished, personal songwriting as one of seven songs on the album he co-wrote. And inspired choices of other’s songs, from the Academy Award-winning “Falling Slowly” from the movie and Tony Award- honored spin-off Broadway musical Once to Stevie Wonder’s “I Believe” through his continued explorations of the poetry of Spanish (“Un Alma Mas,” featuring Cuban-born trumpet great Arturo Sandoval) and Italian (“E Ti Prometterò,” a duet with Italian star Laura Pausini), spotlight his singular talents as a masterful interpreter.