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From Elvis to Beyonce: The Musical History Behind the '90s Choker

7/21/2016

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Every Thursday, Billboard is featuring the best of Gen X with exclusive style Q&As and beauty tips, band performances, artist live streams, year-by-year playlists on the Billboard Spotify account and much more. This week, we're taking a deep dive into the resurgence of arguably the best '90s accessory (OK, fine, minus jellies) there ever was: the choker. While you might think Posh Spice and Britney made the choker what it is (and yeah, you're probably right), the '90s item was once Madonna's go-to in the '80s, the Iggy Pop "dog collar" in the '70s, and the neck piece of choice for every man and woman in the '50s and '60s, from John to Yoko and Peggy Lee to Elvis Presley. Click through to see the choker through all its musical ages, including, yes, the 1990s.

Artist Mentioned

Peggy Lee

Peggy Lee, 1940: The gorgeous jazz and swing singer, Peggy Lee (born Norma Egstrom in Jamestown, North Dakota) dons a sleek and simple black choker during one of her performances in "Chicago."

Nina Simone

Nina Simone, 1965: Born Eunice Kathleen Waymon, Simone got her start in Atlantic City playing piano at Midtown Bar and Grill. She went on to become an incredibly influential singer and performer, popularizing Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell on You," but here Ms. Simone wears an elegant diamond choker, perfectly suited for the decade.

Mick Jagger

Mick Jagger, 1969: The lead singer and co-founder of The Rolling Stones has some serious swagger in this all-white ensemble (bell bottoms and all!) accented by a matching leather belt and choker. The best part? The silver disks on both pieces constantly glistened while he performed on The Ed Sullivan Show.

Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix, 1970: The "Purple Haze" singer looking utterly psychedelic in a velvet bell sleeved top and matching amethyst and orange choker. The piece is designed almost to mimic a belt buckle.

The Bee Gees

The Bee Gees, 1970: While the matching gold lame and silk outfits definitely did not "Stay Alive" past the early '70s (unless you count "Austin Powers: Goldfinger") the disco megahit (and helpful CPR tune) "Stayin' Alive" definitely did. What else outlasted tight silk pants? Their love of chokers, which look oddly similar to *NSYNC's surfer-inspired choice decades later.

?Iggy Pop

Iggy Pop, 1970: Defying gender norms and sexual stereotypes, The Stooges frontman and "godfather of punk" wears a legitimate belt buckled around his neck like a dog collar, helping to propel the use of belts and oversized buckles in punk music.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono

John Lennon and Yoko Ono, 1971: A year after the breakup of the world's biggest band, John and Yoko cozy up in Paris during Ono's book release party wearing matching black chokers.

David Bowie

David Bowie, 1972: The genre-defying Bowie might've been best known for his psychedelic-pop sounds, but here, Bowie rocks a silver lattice, basketweave choker onstage in Santa Monica, California, in the early '70s.

Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley, 1975: If anyone can rock a turquoise, orange and yellow beaded choker matching his beaded, embroidered jumpsuit, it's the King himself.

Stevie Nicks

Stevie Nicks, 1977: The Fleetwood Mac powerhouse kills in her version of the classic black choker, tambourine and all.

Madonna

Madonna, 1987: The queen of pop wore many chokers way back when (and still does today), but this one, worn during her "Like a Virgin" days, is a steadfast classic.

Lenny Kravitz

Lenny Kravitz, 1993: Oooooooh Lenny... nothing says glitz and glam at the MTV VMAs like a silver vinyl jumpsuit and matching rhinestone choker.

Jared Leto

Jared Leto, 1994: Before being the frontman for rock band 30 Seconds to Mars, Leto was an actor on ABC's "My So-Called Life." He also wore black chokers.

Prince

Prince, 1997: "The Kid" was the king of fabulous accessories, and here, performing in his signature royal hue with a matching neck piece, is no exception.

Posh Spice

Posh Spice, 1999: One of the only photos of then-Victoria Adams smiling (try to find a photo of Beckham smiling now, we dare you!) looking totally stunning, and very '90s.

Gwen Stefani

Gwen Stefani, 2000: Never one for subtlety, the No Doubt frontwoman toned it down a bit for the Billboard Music Awards this year, opting for a cropped white tank and layers of gold necklaces (and chokers!).

Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera

Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, 2000: No, but really. Nothing quite says Britney and Christina in their prime like presenting at the MTV VMAs in matching outfits, hair and chokers. This was, after all, the year of Britney's "Oops...I Did It Again!" and the era in between Christina's 1997 "Genie in a Bottle" and 2002's "Dirty."

*NSYNC

*NSYNC, 2001: Good thing the guys of *NSYNC said bye, bye bye to this look. We could do without the surfer-bro jewelry and tinted shades.

Ariana Grande

Ariana Grande, 2015: At the 57th annual Grammy Awards, Grande was nominated for two awards: best pop duo/group performance for "Bang Bang" and best pop vocal album for "My Everything." But what we really loved was her carpet look -- a sleek combination of her one-shoulder gown and dainty diamond choker.

Katy Perry

Katy Perry, 2016: Honestly, only Katy Perry could rock such a goth-inspired choker and still look amazing.

Rihanna

Rihanna, 2016: Taking a cue from decades past (see Peggy Lee, John Lennon and Stevie Nicks, to name a few), the "Anti" singer rocks a thick black, diamond-encrusted choker.

Beyoncé

Beyonce, 2016: And finally, in her epic music video for "Formation," Beyonce wears a combination of multi-tiered costume chokers made by two different designers, Dylanlex and Fallon.

By Shira Karsen