1

Chuck Berry

Image: Provincial Archives of Alberta

Let’s begin with the man known as the "Father of Rock and Roll." To label Chuck Berry as a pioneer would definitively misrepresent the legacy of this amazing musician; Berry was almost solely responsible for introducing the key elements that would eventually define rock music.

Songs like "Maybellene," "Roll Over Beethoven," and "Johnny B. Goode" influenced countless musicians through the ages. Legendary artists like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones famously covered some of his songs, while Bob Dylan once defined Berry as "the Shakespeare of Rock n’ Roll."

2

Bruce Springsteen

Image: Jose Antonio Gallego Vázquez

Up next, we have a boss that anyone would love to have in their office. Bruce Springsteen is undoubtedly one of New Jersey’s favorite sons. Known as "The Boss," Springsteen has dazzled the American public since his first album in 1973, earning a myriad of awards and recognitions in the process, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Known for his insane charisma and distinctive voice, Springsteen has performed with his iconic "E Street" band since 1972. Rolling Stone magazine has described him as "the embodiment of rock and roll" and included him in its list of "100 Greatest Artists of All Time."

3

Jimi Hendrix

Image: Aditya Wardhana

Can the ‘60s be summarized by one musician? Many believe they can even summarized by one performance: Jimi Hendrix’s jaw-dropping rendition of the "Star-Spangled Banner" at Woodstock. In a way, this legendary guitarist embodies the innovation and freedom that characterize this era, but make no mistake: Hendrix’s contributions to rock and roll can’t be limited to a single decade. Suffice it to say that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame considers him to be "arguably the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music."

Born in Seattle, Hendrix showed interest in music from an early age. He bought his first guitar at age 15 and practiced daily, imitating the styles of blues musicians like B.B. King and Howlin’ Wolf. While he sadly passed away at age 27, his legacy continues to live on in every single one of his amazing songs.

4

Elvis Presley

Image: Clem Onojeghuo

Chuck Berry might have been the "Father of Rock and Roll," but Elvis Presley was this genre’s undisputed "King." This musician’s legacy is as timeless and eternal as his songs are, earning him a well-deserved spot among America’s most beloved pop culture icons. Just think of all the countless Elvis impersonators around the world to realize how iconic Elvis’s music and style were.

Elvis received his first guitar at the age of 7. Little did anyone know that this birthday gift would be the first step in a meteoric musical career. From his amazing dance moves to his unbelievable charisma, Elvis will forever be remembered as an American icon.

5

Tom Petty

Image: Samuel Ramos

In the 1980s, when Tom Petty joined the musical supergroup "The Traveling Wilburys," he stood shoulder to shoulder with juggernauts like Bob Dylan, George Harrison, and Roy Orbison. While Petty was relatively a newcomer when he joined what many believe to be the biggest supergroup in history, time would prove that he had what it takes to become one of the most memorable rock stars in history.

According to the man himself, Petty’s love for rock 'n' roll first started when he met Elvis Presley at age 10. This love for music would eventually lead him to form his most iconic band, "Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers," with which he performed for almost 40 years.

6

Jon Bon Jovi

Image: Simon Weisser

It takes talent to make your last name synonymous with rock 'n' roll, but John Francis Bongiovi Jr., better known as Jon Bon Jovi , was able to turn his last name into the name of one of the most groundbreaking bands of the ‘80s.

Born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, Jon formed Bon Jovi when he was still in his teens, quickly rising to fame and becoming an undisputed rock star. While he is still very much active in music, he has also built a very successful acting career, appearing in TV shows like Sex and the City and The West Wing .

7

Jim Morrison

Image: Markus Spiske

Take it to the world of rock 'n' roll to produce a nickname like "the Lizard King" to describe one of the most emblematic vocalists of the '70s. Regardless of whether there was someone who could pull off such a strange nickname, it was Jim Morrison . In fact, this singer chose the nickname himself, as it perfectly described both his fascination with reptiles and Native American culture.

Morrison’s deep voice and magnetic persona were among the main reasons behind The Doors' rise to prominence, quickly making them the first American band to achieve eight consecutive Gold LPs. While his life was unfortunately cut short at the age of 27, his songs, poetry, and journals will forever celebrate the Lizard King’s legacy.

8

Prince

Image: DJ Johnson

Prince's first live band was called "The Revolution," and we believe that this is one of the most aptly named bands in history. After all, this Minneapolis-born musician brought forward a revolutionary and fresh take on music, fashion, and art in general. Known for his amazing falsetto voice and flamboyant persona, Prince is considered to this day one of the very best musicians in history.

You would think that such a flashy and daring musician would take a more ostentatious stage name, but Prince Rogers Nelson performed under his first name throughout his entire career. Actually, that’s not entirely true: while in the midst of a contractual dispute, he performed as " The Artist Formerly Known as Prince " for approximately a decade.

9

Steven Tyler

Image: Matt Botsford

Steven Tyler might have the nickname that every rock singer probably covets: known as "the Demon of Screamin’," Aerosmith’s frontman is recognized for his powerful voice and vast vocal range.

Tyler has been at the helm of Aerosmith since its beginning in Boston in the early ‘70s, producing such hits as "Dream On" and "Walk This Way." While the band is currently on hiatus due to Steven injuring his vocal cords, Aerosmith still hopes to return to performing soon.

10

Kurt Cobain

Image: Panos Sakalakis

The '90s introduced the world to a new take on rock music: for many, grunge was the quintessential sound of this decade, characterized by its raw and angry tone. In that sense, there’s no band that represents the '90s better than Nirvana, and this legacy is in no small part due to Kurt Cobain.

Known for his scruffy yet powerful voice, Cobain led this iconic trio since its inception in 1987. While his untimely death deprived the world of his incredible talent, his legacy still lives on in amazing songs like "Smells like Teen Spirit" and "Come as You Are."

1

The original plan included full-body figures

Image: Thomas Shockey

Mount Rushmore was supposed to be even more colossal than it already is. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum envisioned the four presidents carved from the waist up .

He even made plaster models showing Abraham Lincoln's coat folds and Teddy Roosevelt’s hand clutching his lapel. But as costs went up, Congress said: "heads only, please."

2

Charles Rushmore was just a curious New Yorker

Image: Maarten van den Heuvel

Back in 1925, when the mount was about to be carved into a monument, Charles Rushmore wrote a letter explaining why the peak bore his name. He recalled that in the 1880s he was a young New Yorker working in the area, and fell fond of that particular granite peak .

When he asked the locals about it, they informed him that it had no name, but that if he wished so, they would just start calling it Rushmore Peak, or Mount Rushmore, or the likes. Years later, that very name had been inscribed in the public domain to designate the peak.

3

Yes, there’s a hidden room behind Lincoln’s head

Image: Laura Nyhuis

Behind Abraham Lincoln’s hairline lies a hidden chamber, part of Borglum’s lofty idea for a "Hall of Records." This room was meant to house foundational American documents like the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence.

Instead of that, in 1998, a titanium box was placed inside, filled with copies of important documents and biographies, as a time capsule to preserve the treasure of knowledge for future generations.

4

Thomas Jefferson was moved

Image: Dave Baraloto

Jefferson was originally supposed to go to Washington’s right, but after 18 months of chiseling , the granite betrayed them. Cracks and flaws made the site unworkable.

Borglum made the painful decision to blast Jefferson’s half-formed face clean off and start anew on Washington’s left.

5

The mountain was almost a monument to western heroes

Image: Timberly Hawkins

Before presidents took over, the mountain was pitched as a giant tribute to the Wild West . South Dakota historian Doane Robinson wanted to see frontier legends like Lewis & Clark carved into the Black Hills.

But when Borglum came aboard, he had a grander (and more politically bankable) idea: four presidents to symbolize national unity and expansion.

6

A woman’s face was almost added

Image: Tom Fournier

In the 1930s, there was serious talk of honoring Susan B. Anthony alongside the Founding Fathers, as a nod to the women’s suffrage movement.

Borglum wasn’t opposed to the idea, but Congress quickly nixed it, stating that only U.S. presidents could be included.

7

The workers were mostly local miners and loggers

Image: Pixabay

They were neither sculptors nor artists. Most of the workforce came from nearby Keystone, South Dakota: miners, loggers, and hard-up laborers looking for work during the Great Depression.

Borglum trained them himself. There were no safety harnesses, and yet, remarkably, no one died on the job.

8

Dynamite did 90% of the work

Image: Alexander Paramonov

To carve the faces of Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln, workers used carefully timed dynamite blasts to remove over 450,000 tons of rock. They got so precise, they could blast within inches of where the final surface would be.

The last details, like wrinkles, pupils, or Roosevelt’s glasses, were done with jackhammers and chisels.

9

The noses are disproportionate

Image: Dudubangbang Travel

Standing in front of the mountain, the faces seem alright. But that’s a trick of perspective. Each presidential nose is a whopping 20 feet long .

If the sculptures had included full bodies as planned, each figure would have stood 465 feet tall. That’s taller than the Statue of Liberty and most downtown skyscrapers.

10

Teddy Roosevelt was the most controversial pick

Image: Dudubangbang Travel

Washington, of course. Jefferson, made sense. Lincoln, sure. And Teddy? Some critics raised their eyebrows at Borglum’s fourth choice. Roosevelt had only recently passed away in 1919, and many questioned whether he'd stood the test of time.

But Borglum defended the decision Roosevelt’s role in breaking up monopolies, conserving national parks, and engineering the Panama Canal. Plus, Borglum had met him personally and was a fan.

11

It was supposed to have inscriptions

Image: Dan Pick

Borglum had grander plans than just four giant heads. He wanted to carve a massive inscription next to them, a timeline of America’s most important milestones , chiseled straight into the mountain. In time, the idea was scrapped for practical and aesthetic reasons.

12

The visionary died before completion

Image: Lisa Reichenstein

Gutzon Borglum, the visionary behind it all, didn’t live to see his masterpiece finished. He died in March 1941, just as the construction was reaching its end. His son, Lincoln Borglum (yes, named after that Lincoln), took over the project.

Still, with WWII drawing resources elsewhere, funding was slashed, and Lincoln had to wrap things up quickly . Some features, like Lincoln’s ear, were never fully detailed.

1

Virginia (1607)

Before being an established colony, the entirety of England’s territories in North America was referred to as Virginia. While it is commonly accepted that Sir Walter Raleigh named it after Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen , some historians have suggested that it is the European rendering of Wingina , the name of that region’s native ruler.

The first two English settlements (in modern-day Newfoundland and North Carolina) were not successful. The third one, Jamestown, was settled by the Virginia Company as a charter (a sovereign’s permission to establish a colony). Eventually returned to the crown’s authority, it was officially known as the Virginia Colony. After the English Civil War, Charles II conferred on it the title of "Old Dominion" as a token of gratitude, a name that survives as the state’s current nickname.

2

Massachusetts (1620)

Also established by charter, the Massachusetts Bay Colony was not only created for trading purposes, like other settlements. It was also intended as a safe haven for English Puritans who desired to escape persecution . Its charter and name changed several times due to the Civil War and political unrest. Eventually, several colonies were merged into the Dominion of New England and later into the Province of Massachusetts Bay.

The name Massachusetts was taken from the indigenous population of the region, an Algonquian tribe called the Massachusett or Muhsachuweesut . It is believed that the name means ‘by the great hills’ or ' at the range of hills’, in reference to the Blue Hills.

3

New Hampshire (1623)

The first settlements in New Hampshire were the result of land being granted to John Mason and Sir Ferdinando Gorges , neither of whom ever traveled to the region. Additional settlements in the area were established by colonists from Massachusetts Bay, who were unhappy with the strict Puritan rule of the colony.

Although John Mason had been born in Norfolk, he had ties to Hampshire County in South East England, after whom he decided to name his newly granted land . After Mason’s death, the region lacked a proper authority, and the settlers voted to be part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. After the Civil War, the Province of New Hampshire was established by Charles II.

4

Maryland (1634)

A similar situation to the Massachusetts colony, Maryland was also established as a refuge from religious persecution, this time for Roman Catholics . With this purpose in mind, George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, secured a land grant from Charles I. Despite several religious conflicts, Maryland remained one of the most tolerant colonies.

Maryland was named after Charles I’s wife, Henrietta Maria , who was a devout Catholic. Lord Baltimore had initially intended to use the name Crescentia (or ‘the land of growth’), but he decided to let the King choose the name. Charles named it Terra Mariae (Maria’s land), although the English version quickly became more widely used.

5

Connecticut (1636)

The first settlements in the area were established by Dutch explorers, but English settlers soon arrived from the Plymouth colony in Massachusetts. The colony took its name from the Connecticut River , a corrupted form of the native words quinetucket and kwinitekw , meaning ‘beside the long, tidal river’.

Connecticut's current nickname, ‘the Constitution State’, is a reference to the Colony’s constitution, the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut , one of the earliest constitutions in modern history.

6

Rhode Island (1636)

Founded by a Puritan minister who had been expelled from the Massachusetts Colony, Rhode Island was initially named Providence Plantations . Committed to ensuring religious freedom, it became a refuge for religious dissenters who found it difficult to live in the strict Puritan colonies. Later on, it merged with several other settlements —among them, Aquidneck Island, also known as Rhode Island— and took the name of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.

It’s uncertain where the name Rhode Island came from, but the two most likely theories cite either a connection with the Greek island of Rhodes or the Dutch phrase "een rodlich eylande" (‘a reddish island’) . All three names (Rhode Island, Island of Rhodes, and Red Island) are used in 17th-century documents.

7

North and South Carolina (1663)

Before there was a North and a South Carolina, there was just Carolina . The land of both colonies had been granted to various nobles as a reward for their role in the restoration of the monarchy. The charter granting the lands —which included areas from present-day North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida— named them Carolina (from the Latin Carolus ) after King Charles I .

The area covered by the province of Carolina was divided into two distinct parts, and communication and transportation between the two proved difficult. A deputy governor for the northern region was initially appointed, but the noble proprietors eventually decided to divide the province into two , North Carolina and South Carolina.

8

New York (1664)

It is a widely known fact that modern-day New York was initially colonized by Dutch settlers under the name ‘New Netherland’, with ‘New Amsterdam’ as its capital city . In 1664, King Charles II and his brother, the Duke of York, gathered a fleet to seize the New Netherland territories, a conquest disputed by the Dutch West India Company, the colony administrator.

The Duke of York was made proprietor of the territory, now renamed ‘New York’. In the following decade, the ownership of the territory was disputed, and the Dutch made several attempts to recover it. Eventually, the Treaty of Westminster was signed in 1674, where the Dutch forfeited the New York territories in exchange for the Suriname colony in South America.

9

Delaware (1664)

The territory of Delaware was originally part of New Netherland, which made it part of the New York Province after British conquest, but it was never effectively controlled by the New York government. These counties had taken their name from the neighboring Delaware River , which in turn had been named after Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, governor of Virginia at the time the English gained control of that territory.

While they were never a colony of their own, the Delaware counties had an independent legislature and functioned as a de facto colony. Later included in the land granted to William Penn, they refused to merge with the Pennsylvania government and were eventually granted their own assembly. At the start of the Revolutionary War, the Delaware assembly voted for separation from Britain, thus creating the state of Delaware.

10

New Jersey (1665)

Originally part of the New Netherland territory, half of the New Jersey territory was conferred by the Duke of York to Sir George Carteret as a reward, while the other half was sold to Lord Berkeley of Stratton. The territory was named after Carteret’s homeland, the island of Jersey .

A few years later, New Jersey was divided into two provinces, East and West Jersey , with their respective governors and constitutions, which were eventually incorporated into the New England Dominion, alongside the province of New York. However, the Dominion was dissolved after a few years, and the East and West Jersey territories were unified as the Province of New Jersey.

11

Pennsylvania (1681)

Pennsylvania, alongside Carolina, is one of the two major Restoration colonies, chartered by Charles II to reward loyal subjects after the war. In this case, it was conferred on William Penn, an influential Quaker thinker, to settle a debt owed to his father. Penn and his associates had already purchased most of the New Jersey territory to establish a Quaker haven, but religious tensions in England made him propose a mass emigration of Quakers to the King.

The king conferred Penn a large territory —which made him the largest private non-royal landowner— with almost absolute rights. While Penn intended to name the colony either ‘New Wales’ or ‘Sylvania’ (Latin for ‘forests’), the king named it Pennsylvania after Penn’s father . Penn personally travelled to the territory to establish the first settlements, signed treaties with the Lenape tribes of the area, and established a proto-constitution which guaranteed freedom of religion, elections, and trials by jury.

12

Georgia (1732)

The last colony to be established, Georgia was chartered to James Oglethorpe by King George II, after whom it was named . A social reformer, Oglethorpe, wanted to establish the territory as a haven for debtors and poor people, and implemented measures such as the banning of alcohol and slavery. He also disliked the large plantation system, favoring smallholdings.

The colony was also intended to be a ‘buffer’ between the British colonies and the Spanish territories in Florida. Despite Oglethorpe’s well-intentioned designs, the colony was difficult to manage, and it was returned to the crown two decades later. Upon becoming a royal colony, Oglethorpe’s measures against slavery and the plantation system were overturned.