Rock Star Statues
In the old days, the only statues you'd see were dedicated to explorers, politicians and war heroes. As the below gallery of Rock Star Statues shows, however, times certainly have changed.
Click through to find figures like Jimi Hendrix, Rory Gallagher and Buddy Holly, all of whom have been honored in their places of birth. Elsewhere, Queen's late singer looms over his adopted hometown in Switzerland, where fans gather on the first weekend of September to celebrate Freddie Mercury Montreux Memorial Day.
Other rockers were simply embraced by local municipalities. For instance, John Lennon is the subject of statues both alone and with the Beatles in Liverpool – which only makes sense – but also another, unveiled in 2000, that sits in a park in Havana, Cuba. Hendrix was likewise honored by a sculptor at the Isle of Wight, the site of one of his most famous performances.
Then there's Lemmy Kilmister, whose life-size bronze was unveiled in 2016 at the Rainbow Bar and Grill, where the late Motorhead frontman loved to hang out. English-born Phil Lynott's statue is located just outside one of his favorite pubs in central Dublin. And Elvis Presley may have been born in Mississippi, but he rose to fame in Memphis, where his most-visited memorial can be found.
Not everybody has been in favor of this societal shift toward honoring contemporary figures. Some Isle of Wight residents questioned the presence of a Hendrix statue in the Victorian town of Freshwater. And Joggers balked over the placement of a Stevie Ray Vaughan bronze in Austin.
As you'll see in the above gallery of Rock Star Statues, however, these memorials still stand – along with so many great musical memories.