i got to thinking today, if i had to pick, say, the musical top ten for this country, who would they be? these were some names i came up with, across the board genre-wise:
1. Stephen Foster-creator of the popular song
2. Scott Joplin-father of ragtime, the forerunner of jazz
3. Louis Armstrong-Pops, the undisputed father of jazz
4. Robert Johnson-king of the blues
5.Hank Williams-king of country music
6. Irving Berlin-king of the popular song
7. Duke Ellington-jazz icon, national treasure
8. Charlie Parker-bebop torchbearer
9. George Gershwin-bridged the gap between jazz, classical, and broadway
10. Chuck Berry-genius of rocknroll, he bridged the gap from the swing era to the rock era
obviously i'm leaving a lot of names out, including those who came after Chuck Berry, i'll leave it up to you gentle reader to fill in the gaps...
Where's Bob? How can a list not include Dylan?
ReplyDeleteiggy pop
ReplyDeletelou reed
burl ives
the dillards
fabian
nancy sinatra
Gary Puckett
ed ames
skitch henderson
jim nabors
arrrhhhhhhhh.......Grumpy what's next??? Top Ten Porn Stars? Maybe you can blog the Top Ten Girl Scout Cookies?
ReplyDeleteyeah, it was excruciating leaving Dylan off, likewise Woodie Guthrie, Bill Monroe, the Carter Family, Sinatra, Miles, Little Richard, Elvis, Glenn Miller, Basie, Aaron Copland, Lenny (Bernstein), and i agree, blue heron, the whole concept of a top ten list a la Hilburn is ludicrous, i never cared for him either, but there you have it, it is what it is, or ain't, i love yer alternate picks by the way...
ReplyDeletewill do my best to avoid lists in the future, in general though i just ramble off the top of my head, as i imagine you've discovered by now...
ReplyDelete