ConstruxBoy
Kate's Daddy
One might argue that Jimmy Page had a better body of riffs than Richards but he's certainly been prolific.
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Latest FBG music countdown of >800 artists - #2 The Rolling Stones, #1 The Allman Brothers Band (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter turnjose7
- Start date
Dr. Octopus
Footballguy
....also Chuck Berry's piano player, Johnnie Johnson.
Steve Jordan has now replaced Watts as the Stones drummer as well.
Yes, I would probably argue that myself, actually. Just pointing out a popular perspective on Keith.
T-189. Little Richard (53 points)
Total number of songs: 25
Average song score: 2.29
# of 5-point songs: none
# of 4-point songs: 4 (Bama Lama Bama Loo; Keep a-Knockin’; Long Tall Sally; Lucille)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Ain’t That a Shame/I Got a Woman/Tutti Frutti, live; Good Golly Miss Molly; Rip It Up; She’s Got It
In contrast to Leonard Cohen seeming a little high last round, even at a very nice ranking of 189 this seems way too low. I’m not sure what I can possibly write about to adequately capture this artist's greatness. “The Architect of Rock and Roll,” his influence on everyone from Elvis to The Beatles has been extensively documented. Krista talked quite a bit about his impact on Paul McCartney’s singing. I can’t even imagine what it must have been like to see him live. It seems like it would have been as much fun as one could possibly have at a concert.
Along with Richard’s own incredible singing and piano playing, he also surrounded himself with great musicians. Some of the guitar and sax on these tracks are amazing. I believe in his Led Zeppelin thread, @Anarchy99 also discussed that John Bonham’s drum pattern on “Rock and Roll” was taken from “Keep a-Knockin’.”
T-189. Wilco (53 points)
Total number of songs: 22
Average song score: 2.41
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 2 (I’m the Man Who Loves You, live; Handshake Drugs, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: I Am Trying to Break Your Heart; Heavy Metal Drummer, live; Jesus, etc.
I’m a little late to the game with Wilco. I only recently started listening to them after hearing people talk about them for a long time. I was surprised when I first heard them. I had expected much more of a country sound and hadn’t anticipated all of the synthesizers and sound effects.
I still haven’t decided how much I like these guys. As I go through their songs, there are some I like a lot, but overall I feel like this rank position is a little high and more a result of just having a bunch of their songs in my library rather than actually caring for them this much. But I’ll give it a little time and see how my feelings shake out after listening to them a little more.
Total number of songs: 25
Average song score: 2.29
# of 5-point songs: none
# of 4-point songs: 4 (Bama Lama Bama Loo; Keep a-Knockin’; Long Tall Sally; Lucille)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Ain’t That a Shame/I Got a Woman/Tutti Frutti, live; Good Golly Miss Molly; Rip It Up; She’s Got It
In contrast to Leonard Cohen seeming a little high last round, even at a very nice ranking of 189 this seems way too low. I’m not sure what I can possibly write about to adequately capture this artist's greatness. “The Architect of Rock and Roll,” his influence on everyone from Elvis to The Beatles has been extensively documented. Krista talked quite a bit about his impact on Paul McCartney’s singing. I can’t even imagine what it must have been like to see him live. It seems like it would have been as much fun as one could possibly have at a concert.
Along with Richard’s own incredible singing and piano playing, he also surrounded himself with great musicians. Some of the guitar and sax on these tracks are amazing. I believe in his Led Zeppelin thread, @Anarchy99 also discussed that John Bonham’s drum pattern on “Rock and Roll” was taken from “Keep a-Knockin’.”
T-189. Wilco (53 points)
Total number of songs: 22
Average song score: 2.41
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 2 (I’m the Man Who Loves You, live; Handshake Drugs, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: I Am Trying to Break Your Heart; Heavy Metal Drummer, live; Jesus, etc.
I’m a little late to the game with Wilco. I only recently started listening to them after hearing people talk about them for a long time. I was surprised when I first heard them. I had expected much more of a country sound and hadn’t anticipated all of the synthesizers and sound effects.
I still haven’t decided how much I like these guys. As I go through their songs, there are some I like a lot, but overall I feel like this rank position is a little high and more a result of just having a bunch of their songs in my library rather than actually caring for them this much. But I’ll give it a little time and see how my feelings shake out after listening to them a little more.
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
It depends on what era you're listening to. Their first two albums are very much in the alt-country realm, similar to Jeff Tweedy's previous band Uncle Tupelo, though the second one (Being There) begins the diversification from that. The third (Summerteeth) suggests a rootsier Beach Boys. They got much sonically heavier, in mood as much as in playing, starting with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. But each of the subsequent albums offers a different twist on things. Every song you listed is from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot or its successor A Ghost Is Born. If you haven't already, check out Impossible Germany from AGIB's successor Sky Blue Sky; it has IMO the best guitar work the band ever laid down.
T-185. The Lovin’ Spoonful (54 points)
Total number of songs: 25
Average song score: 2.16
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 2 (Darling Be Home Soon; On the Road Again)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Darling Be Home Soon; Never Going Back; Summer in the City; Wild About My Lovin’
I’ve mentioned John Sebastian earlier in the countdown. Now we get to the band he is better known for. The Lovin’ Spoonful obviously have a number of well-known pop songs like “Daydream” and “Do You Believe in Magic?”. But I prefer their more rootsy folk-inspired stuff.
A while back I gave a brief history of jug band music while discussing Cannon’s Jug Stompers. The other major jug band with that same level of impact was The Memphis Jug Band. They recorded a song called “On the Road Again” which was covered by The Grateful Dead. Here we get The Lovin’ Spoonful doing an interesting rock take on the song. Apparently, the Spoonful were really big fans of jug band music, so much so that they even recorded a song by the name.
My favorite tune by this group is “Darling Be Home Soon” which has been covered by several other artists. Continuing my never-ending string of videos of Tedeschi Trucks Band covers, I’ll post their version of the song here. Susan’s vocals are of course amazing, but the way Derek builds up the guitar solo is breathtaking. It might be one of my favorite things in all of music.
T-185. Nick Drake (54 points)
Total number of songs: 13
Average song score: 3.54
# of 5-point songs: 1 (Cello Song)
# of 4-point songs: 5 (Black Eyed Dog; Hazey Jane I; Pink Moon; Poor Boy; Way to Blue)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Cello Song; One of These Things First; Poor Boy; Time of No Reply
This is one of the artists on my list I am most excited to possibly introduce people to. With the music knowledge on this board, I am guessing many already know him, but he is obscure enough that I bet there are some who don’t know who he is.
If people do know Nick Drake, it is probably because his song “Pink Moon” was used in a Volkswagen commercial. I first discovered him because his guitar playing was a big influence on Rich Robinson of The Black Crowes.
His story is sad. He was so crippled by anxiety and depression that he basically didn’t play in public and ending up dying of an overdose before he even reached the infamous age of 27. But despite his short life he left behind an amazing collection of music. Strong songwriting, interesting arrangements, outstanding guitar playing, and a haunting voice. I just wish there was more of it.
Actually, I think I need to reassess the collection of his music I have in my library, because this feels like I am way underrating him. In my gut feeling rankings, he would be top 50 for sure.
T-185. Scrapomatic (54 points)
Total number of songs: 18
Average song score: 2.88
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 5 (Drunken Spree; I Want the Truth; Long Gone; The Fire Next Time; The Old Whiskey Show)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Going to the River, live; I Want the Truth; Killing Yourself on Purpose; Long Way Home;
This is another entry I am excited about because I am guessing almost nobody knows who these guys are.
As you can see in the Lovin’ Spoonful entry, I am clearly a big Tedeschi Trucks Band fan. They have several great singers, but the clear #2 after Susan is Mike Mattison. He was also the lead singer of The Derek Trucks Band.
Scrapomatic is a Mattison side project that plays some really nice blues and soul tunes. Nothing fancy, just really good authentic music.
It was a little hard finding quality video of them. If you like this style you should probably just check out one of their albums. Sidewalk Caesars is a good place to start.
T-185. Sonny Boy Williamson I (54 points)
Total number of songs: 25
Average song score: 2.16
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 0
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Blue Bird Blues; Early in the Morning; Good Morning Little School Girl; Stop Breaking Down
For those who don’t know or who have trouble keeping them straight, there are two blues artists who adopted the name of Sonny Boy Williamson, both of them harmonica players. Sonny Boy Williamson I was an early acoustic blues musician who was a contemporary of guys like Robert Johnson and Sleepy John Estes. Sonny Boy Williamson II was a decade or two later and played with a lot of the early electric blues musicians, guys like Elmore James. They did briefly overlap careers in Chicago in the late 1940s, and both played with Muddy Waters at some point.
Sonny Boy Williamson I’s real name was John Lee Curtis Williamson. He was one of the earliest blues harmonica masters and influenced later artists like Junior Wells and Sonny Boy Williamson II. He is best known for recording one of the most popular blues songs of all time “Good Morning Little School Girl” (covered by The Grateful Dead, Widespread Panic, and Gov’t Mule, among others) and adapting Robert Johnson’s “Stop Breaking Down” into an arrangement that would influence later blues and rock artists, including The Rolling Stones.
Total number of songs: 25
Average song score: 2.16
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 2 (Darling Be Home Soon; On the Road Again)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Darling Be Home Soon; Never Going Back; Summer in the City; Wild About My Lovin’
I’ve mentioned John Sebastian earlier in the countdown. Now we get to the band he is better known for. The Lovin’ Spoonful obviously have a number of well-known pop songs like “Daydream” and “Do You Believe in Magic?”. But I prefer their more rootsy folk-inspired stuff.
A while back I gave a brief history of jug band music while discussing Cannon’s Jug Stompers. The other major jug band with that same level of impact was The Memphis Jug Band. They recorded a song called “On the Road Again” which was covered by The Grateful Dead. Here we get The Lovin’ Spoonful doing an interesting rock take on the song. Apparently, the Spoonful were really big fans of jug band music, so much so that they even recorded a song by the name.
My favorite tune by this group is “Darling Be Home Soon” which has been covered by several other artists. Continuing my never-ending string of videos of Tedeschi Trucks Band covers, I’ll post their version of the song here. Susan’s vocals are of course amazing, but the way Derek builds up the guitar solo is breathtaking. It might be one of my favorite things in all of music.
T-185. Nick Drake (54 points)
Total number of songs: 13
Average song score: 3.54
# of 5-point songs: 1 (Cello Song)
# of 4-point songs: 5 (Black Eyed Dog; Hazey Jane I; Pink Moon; Poor Boy; Way to Blue)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Cello Song; One of These Things First; Poor Boy; Time of No Reply
This is one of the artists on my list I am most excited to possibly introduce people to. With the music knowledge on this board, I am guessing many already know him, but he is obscure enough that I bet there are some who don’t know who he is.
If people do know Nick Drake, it is probably because his song “Pink Moon” was used in a Volkswagen commercial. I first discovered him because his guitar playing was a big influence on Rich Robinson of The Black Crowes.
His story is sad. He was so crippled by anxiety and depression that he basically didn’t play in public and ending up dying of an overdose before he even reached the infamous age of 27. But despite his short life he left behind an amazing collection of music. Strong songwriting, interesting arrangements, outstanding guitar playing, and a haunting voice. I just wish there was more of it.
Actually, I think I need to reassess the collection of his music I have in my library, because this feels like I am way underrating him. In my gut feeling rankings, he would be top 50 for sure.
T-185. Scrapomatic (54 points)
Total number of songs: 18
Average song score: 2.88
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 5 (Drunken Spree; I Want the Truth; Long Gone; The Fire Next Time; The Old Whiskey Show)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Going to the River, live; I Want the Truth; Killing Yourself on Purpose; Long Way Home;
This is another entry I am excited about because I am guessing almost nobody knows who these guys are.
As you can see in the Lovin’ Spoonful entry, I am clearly a big Tedeschi Trucks Band fan. They have several great singers, but the clear #2 after Susan is Mike Mattison. He was also the lead singer of The Derek Trucks Band.
Scrapomatic is a Mattison side project that plays some really nice blues and soul tunes. Nothing fancy, just really good authentic music.
It was a little hard finding quality video of them. If you like this style you should probably just check out one of their albums. Sidewalk Caesars is a good place to start.
T-185. Sonny Boy Williamson I (54 points)
Total number of songs: 25
Average song score: 2.16
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 0
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Blue Bird Blues; Early in the Morning; Good Morning Little School Girl; Stop Breaking Down
For those who don’t know or who have trouble keeping them straight, there are two blues artists who adopted the name of Sonny Boy Williamson, both of them harmonica players. Sonny Boy Williamson I was an early acoustic blues musician who was a contemporary of guys like Robert Johnson and Sleepy John Estes. Sonny Boy Williamson II was a decade or two later and played with a lot of the early electric blues musicians, guys like Elmore James. They did briefly overlap careers in Chicago in the late 1940s, and both played with Muddy Waters at some point.
Sonny Boy Williamson I’s real name was John Lee Curtis Williamson. He was one of the earliest blues harmonica masters and influenced later artists like Junior Wells and Sonny Boy Williamson II. He is best known for recording one of the most popular blues songs of all time “Good Morning Little School Girl” (covered by The Grateful Dead, Widespread Panic, and Gov’t Mule, among others) and adapting Robert Johnson’s “Stop Breaking Down” into an arrangement that would influence later blues and rock artists, including The Rolling Stones.
Nick Drake had two songs taken in the British Isles countdown today, and will have more on the way (including from me).
Great to hear. Thanks for the update. I haven't been following your latest countdown because I worry it would get me too far in the weeds with those songs and I would never finish this project. I have it bookmarked to read as soon as I am done with this.
krista4
Footballguy
Nick Drake had two songs taken in the British Isles countdown today, and will have more on the way (including from me).
Great to hear. Thanks for the update. I haven't been following your latest countdown because I worry it would get me too far in the weeds with those songs and I would never finish this project. I have it bookmarked to read as soon as I am done with this.
This project of yours is massive and amazing. I can't imagine you have time for anything else! I'm sort of in the opposite spot, where I haven't been able to spend much time in this thread, but I'll make up for it after we're done with that countdown.
T-179. Band of Heathens (55 points)
Total number of songs: 15
Average song score: 3.40
# of 5-point songs: 3 (Ain’t No More Cane, live; King of Colorado, live; Shine a Light)
# of 4-point songs: 5 (L. A. County Blues; One More Step, live; Philadelphia, live; Rehab Facility, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Ain’t No More Cane, live; Hurricane; King of Colorado, live; L.A. County Blues, live; Medicine Man; Rehab Facility
Another band that some might not be as familiar with, to me the Austin-based Band of Heathens are the embodiment of Americana. One of the band’s leaders, Ed Jurdi, was brought up earlier in the countdown because he also played with Trigger Hippy. I really like these guys. Cool slide guitar. Awesome harmonies. Actually, I think their vocals are top notch in general. I especially love the singing in “King of Colorado” starting about 4:50 in.
Speaking of outstanding vocals, most people probably know the song “Ain’t No More Cane.” It has been recorded by a ton of artists, most notably by Bob Dylan and The Band. As good as some other artists have done this, The Band of Heathens version is my favorite. They absolutely nail it.
T-179. Gram Parsons (55 points)
Total number of songs: 16
Average song score: 3.19
# of 5-point songs: 2 (Cry One More Time, live; Return of the Grievous Angel)
# of 4-point songs: 6 (Big Mouth Blues, live; Bony Moronie/Forty Days/Almost Grown, live; Love Hurts; Love Hurts, live; She; Six Days of the Road, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Bony Maronie/Forty Days/Almost Grown, live; In My Hour of Darkness; Return of the Grievous Angel; She
I don’t think I probably need to say a ton about Gram Parsons because I know he is well-loved by many on the board and has received a lot of props in various music threads. I’ll just say he is probably my favorite artist for whom I consider their primary genre to be country (obviously he incorporates lots of other styles as well). And “Return of the Grievous Angel” is probably my favorite country song ever.
Gram is amazing and Emmylou is as well. The only reason he isn’t ranked higher is because this entry is only for his solo work and doesn’t include anything from The International Submarine Band, The Byrds, or The Flying Burrito Brothers. It is kind of like the Neil Young situation, except in this case the volume of available solo work is a lot lower.
Maybe @Pip's Invitation or others will want to say more.
T-179. Hank Williams (55 points)
Total number of songs: 27
Average song score: 2.04
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 2 (I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry; You Win Again)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Hey, Good Lookin’; I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry; Lovesick Blues; Move It on Over; My Bucket’s Got a Hole in It; Your Cheatin’ Heart
I previously said that Jimmie Rodgers was one of the two most important country songwriters ever. The other is Hank Williams. Despite only living until he was 29 years old, Hank had 55 songs make the top 10 in the country charts. More important than the number of successful songs (other artists with greater longevity like George Jones have had more) is the long-term impact of his songs. Williams basically influenced every artist who followed him in both country and rock music.
Many of his songs have been covered by a whole host of artists in every genre imaginable, from Jeff Buckley on “Lost Highway” to James Brown on “Your Cheatin’ Heart”; from George Thorogood doing “Move It On Over” to Red Hot Chili Peppers covering “Why Don’t You Love Me.” Probably the best covers, however, are the many covers of “You Win Again.” Among the great versions of this song are those by Ray Charles, The Rolling Stones, and my favorite, The Grateful Dead.
T-179. Marshall Tucker Band (55 points)
Total number of songs: 15
Average song score: 3.13
# of 5-point songs: 1 (Ramblin’, live)
# of 4-point songs: 4 (Can’t You See; Can’t You See, live; Long Hard Ride, live; Never Trust a Stranger, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Fire on the Mountain, live; Ramblin’, live; Take the Highway, live; This Ol’ Cowboy
I think the perception of many people of The Marshall Tucker Band is of a straight southern rock band, kind of Lynyrd Skynyrd. That has always seemed a little strange to me for a band that incorporated a flute as one of its main instruments. In reality, The Marshall Tucker Band was a diverse band that had various influences and incorporated a lot of genres very well. I think of them as being closer to The Allman Brothers Band, though of course not quite on that level. But they were exceptionally good, and Toy Caldwell was an amazing guitarist. And they could jam. In fact, while their base point total is solid, they are one of the bands thus far in the countdown to benefit most from a jam bonus.
If I am remembering correctly as I have only been sort of following his thread, @timschochet called “Heard It in a Love Song” one of the greatest southern rock songs of all-time. Got to disagree there. No offense against Tim as I really appreciate the depth and breadth of his music knowledge, and no offense against the song as it is a fine tune. But I’m not sure it is even a top 10 Marshall Tucker song, let alone one of the best in the genre. These guys had a lot of great songs. Those above are some of my favorites.
T-179. Mountain (55 points)
Total number of songs: 16
Average song score: 3.00
# of 5-point songs: 1 (Crossroader, live)
# of 4-point songs: 4 (Baby I’m Down, live; Mississippi Queen; Stormy Monday, live; Waiting to Take You Away, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Crossroader, live; For Yasgur’s Farm; Nantucket Sleighride, live; Theme From an Imaginary West
I’m sure everyone knows “Mississippi Queen.” I’m not sure how much of Mountain’s other stuff is widely known as I don’t think they have many songs that get a lot of radio play. Probably that is in part because these guys were pretty jammy and a lot of their stuff was probably too long to be radio friendly. Love that 32-minute version of “Nantucket Sleighride.”
Even more than for the great songs they recorded, I love Mountain for inspiring one of my other favorite bands, Gov’t Mule. When Warren Haynes and Allen Woody were talking about creating an Allman Brothers side project, they wanted to model it after the classic rock power trios they loved. Mountain was one of the bands that they were specifically thinking of, along with, certainly, The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Cream (of course, both Mountain and Mule at times were often a 4-piece, but that’s beside the point). Of those artists, I always feel like Warren channels Leslie West more with his Gov’t Mule work, which tends to be a little heavier than his other stuff.
T-179. Nathaniel Rateliff (55 points)
Total number of songs: 18
Average song score: 2.94
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 4 (Having a Party, live; I Need Never Get Old, live; S.O.B., live; Thank You, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Having a Party, live; Howling at Nothing, live; I Need Never Get Old; You Worry Me
Another great Americana band that I really enjoy though probably don’t know their stuff as well as I should. Many are probably familiar with “S.O.B.” When I first started getting into him I expected more of his music to have that energy level. Some of it does, but he does a lot more stuff that is more mellow than I anticipate. I still really like it. I love the way he incorporates the horns into a lot of his stuff.
Total number of songs: 15
Average song score: 3.40
# of 5-point songs: 3 (Ain’t No More Cane, live; King of Colorado, live; Shine a Light)
# of 4-point songs: 5 (L. A. County Blues; One More Step, live; Philadelphia, live; Rehab Facility, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Ain’t No More Cane, live; Hurricane; King of Colorado, live; L.A. County Blues, live; Medicine Man; Rehab Facility
Another band that some might not be as familiar with, to me the Austin-based Band of Heathens are the embodiment of Americana. One of the band’s leaders, Ed Jurdi, was brought up earlier in the countdown because he also played with Trigger Hippy. I really like these guys. Cool slide guitar. Awesome harmonies. Actually, I think their vocals are top notch in general. I especially love the singing in “King of Colorado” starting about 4:50 in.
Speaking of outstanding vocals, most people probably know the song “Ain’t No More Cane.” It has been recorded by a ton of artists, most notably by Bob Dylan and The Band. As good as some other artists have done this, The Band of Heathens version is my favorite. They absolutely nail it.
T-179. Gram Parsons (55 points)
Total number of songs: 16
Average song score: 3.19
# of 5-point songs: 2 (Cry One More Time, live; Return of the Grievous Angel)
# of 4-point songs: 6 (Big Mouth Blues, live; Bony Moronie/Forty Days/Almost Grown, live; Love Hurts; Love Hurts, live; She; Six Days of the Road, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Bony Maronie/Forty Days/Almost Grown, live; In My Hour of Darkness; Return of the Grievous Angel; She
I don’t think I probably need to say a ton about Gram Parsons because I know he is well-loved by many on the board and has received a lot of props in various music threads. I’ll just say he is probably my favorite artist for whom I consider their primary genre to be country (obviously he incorporates lots of other styles as well). And “Return of the Grievous Angel” is probably my favorite country song ever.
Gram is amazing and Emmylou is as well. The only reason he isn’t ranked higher is because this entry is only for his solo work and doesn’t include anything from The International Submarine Band, The Byrds, or The Flying Burrito Brothers. It is kind of like the Neil Young situation, except in this case the volume of available solo work is a lot lower.
Maybe @Pip's Invitation or others will want to say more.
T-179. Hank Williams (55 points)
Total number of songs: 27
Average song score: 2.04
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 2 (I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry; You Win Again)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Hey, Good Lookin’; I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry; Lovesick Blues; Move It on Over; My Bucket’s Got a Hole in It; Your Cheatin’ Heart
I previously said that Jimmie Rodgers was one of the two most important country songwriters ever. The other is Hank Williams. Despite only living until he was 29 years old, Hank had 55 songs make the top 10 in the country charts. More important than the number of successful songs (other artists with greater longevity like George Jones have had more) is the long-term impact of his songs. Williams basically influenced every artist who followed him in both country and rock music.
Many of his songs have been covered by a whole host of artists in every genre imaginable, from Jeff Buckley on “Lost Highway” to James Brown on “Your Cheatin’ Heart”; from George Thorogood doing “Move It On Over” to Red Hot Chili Peppers covering “Why Don’t You Love Me.” Probably the best covers, however, are the many covers of “You Win Again.” Among the great versions of this song are those by Ray Charles, The Rolling Stones, and my favorite, The Grateful Dead.
T-179. Marshall Tucker Band (55 points)
Total number of songs: 15
Average song score: 3.13
# of 5-point songs: 1 (Ramblin’, live)
# of 4-point songs: 4 (Can’t You See; Can’t You See, live; Long Hard Ride, live; Never Trust a Stranger, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Fire on the Mountain, live; Ramblin’, live; Take the Highway, live; This Ol’ Cowboy
I think the perception of many people of The Marshall Tucker Band is of a straight southern rock band, kind of Lynyrd Skynyrd. That has always seemed a little strange to me for a band that incorporated a flute as one of its main instruments. In reality, The Marshall Tucker Band was a diverse band that had various influences and incorporated a lot of genres very well. I think of them as being closer to The Allman Brothers Band, though of course not quite on that level. But they were exceptionally good, and Toy Caldwell was an amazing guitarist. And they could jam. In fact, while their base point total is solid, they are one of the bands thus far in the countdown to benefit most from a jam bonus.
If I am remembering correctly as I have only been sort of following his thread, @timschochet called “Heard It in a Love Song” one of the greatest southern rock songs of all-time. Got to disagree there. No offense against Tim as I really appreciate the depth and breadth of his music knowledge, and no offense against the song as it is a fine tune. But I’m not sure it is even a top 10 Marshall Tucker song, let alone one of the best in the genre. These guys had a lot of great songs. Those above are some of my favorites.
T-179. Mountain (55 points)
Total number of songs: 16
Average song score: 3.00
# of 5-point songs: 1 (Crossroader, live)
# of 4-point songs: 4 (Baby I’m Down, live; Mississippi Queen; Stormy Monday, live; Waiting to Take You Away, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Crossroader, live; For Yasgur’s Farm; Nantucket Sleighride, live; Theme From an Imaginary West
I’m sure everyone knows “Mississippi Queen.” I’m not sure how much of Mountain’s other stuff is widely known as I don’t think they have many songs that get a lot of radio play. Probably that is in part because these guys were pretty jammy and a lot of their stuff was probably too long to be radio friendly. Love that 32-minute version of “Nantucket Sleighride.”
Even more than for the great songs they recorded, I love Mountain for inspiring one of my other favorite bands, Gov’t Mule. When Warren Haynes and Allen Woody were talking about creating an Allman Brothers side project, they wanted to model it after the classic rock power trios they loved. Mountain was one of the bands that they were specifically thinking of, along with, certainly, The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Cream (of course, both Mountain and Mule at times were often a 4-piece, but that’s beside the point). Of those artists, I always feel like Warren channels Leslie West more with his Gov’t Mule work, which tends to be a little heavier than his other stuff.
T-179. Nathaniel Rateliff (55 points)
Total number of songs: 18
Average song score: 2.94
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 4 (Having a Party, live; I Need Never Get Old, live; S.O.B., live; Thank You, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Having a Party, live; Howling at Nothing, live; I Need Never Get Old; You Worry Me
Another great Americana band that I really enjoy though probably don’t know their stuff as well as I should. Many are probably familiar with “S.O.B.” When I first started getting into him I expected more of his music to have that energy level. Some of it does, but he does a lot more stuff that is more mellow than I anticipate. I still really like it. I love the way he incorporates the horns into a lot of his stuff.
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
There are no artists with 56 points, so we move on to the 57-point level.
T-177. Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young (57 points)
Total number of songs: 17
Average song score: 3.00
# of 5-point songs: 2 (The Loner/Cinnamon Girl/Down by the River, live; Pre-road Downs, live)
# of 4-point songs: 5 (Almost Cut My Hair; Love the One Your With, live; Suite: Judy Blue Eyes; Southern Man, live; Teach Your Children)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: 49 Bye-Byes/America’s Children, live; Almost Cut My Hair; Carry On; Southern Man, live
This entry covers stuff from both the CSN threesome and the CSNY foursome. As previously discussed, there are a good chunk of points that could have gone to the Neil Young solo entry here with the aforementioned medley as well as an epic “Southern Man” jam. Though as I look at it, there is decent representation from the entire group here with songs primarily composed by each of the four members at the 4 or 5-point level.
I’ve heard people describe Stephen’s performance on the 4-Way Street version of “49 Bye-Byes” as cheesy. It kind of is, but I can’t help but love it anyway. So much energy, it’s just really fun.
Still sad about the loss of David Crosby. In his honor I’ll post my favorite cover of “Almost Cut My Hair.”
T-177. Son House (57 points)
Total number of songs: 29
Average song score: 1.97
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 2 (Death Letter Blues)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Death Letter Blues; Preachin’ the Blues; The Pony Blues
Another of the early delta blues legends and one of the best. Son House was originally a highly religious man who claimed to hate the blues and preferred gospel. His perspective changed the first time he heard someone play bottleneck slide guitar and he subsequently dedicated himself to becoming a master of the style. His guitar work might not be as intricate as some of the early blues virtuosos, but the emotional intensity of his music, both in his playing and singing, is probably only matched by one other artist of the era.
Many of his songs, including his signature song “Death Letter Blues” have been widely covered. Maybe my favorite cover of one of his songs is this version of “Preachin’ the Blues” from Fleetwood Mac guitarist Jeremy Spencer.
T-177. Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young (57 points)
Total number of songs: 17
Average song score: 3.00
# of 5-point songs: 2 (The Loner/Cinnamon Girl/Down by the River, live; Pre-road Downs, live)
# of 4-point songs: 5 (Almost Cut My Hair; Love the One Your With, live; Suite: Judy Blue Eyes; Southern Man, live; Teach Your Children)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: 49 Bye-Byes/America’s Children, live; Almost Cut My Hair; Carry On; Southern Man, live
This entry covers stuff from both the CSN threesome and the CSNY foursome. As previously discussed, there are a good chunk of points that could have gone to the Neil Young solo entry here with the aforementioned medley as well as an epic “Southern Man” jam. Though as I look at it, there is decent representation from the entire group here with songs primarily composed by each of the four members at the 4 or 5-point level.
I’ve heard people describe Stephen’s performance on the 4-Way Street version of “49 Bye-Byes” as cheesy. It kind of is, but I can’t help but love it anyway. So much energy, it’s just really fun.
Still sad about the loss of David Crosby. In his honor I’ll post my favorite cover of “Almost Cut My Hair.”
T-177. Son House (57 points)
Total number of songs: 29
Average song score: 1.97
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 2 (Death Letter Blues)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Death Letter Blues; Preachin’ the Blues; The Pony Blues
Another of the early delta blues legends and one of the best. Son House was originally a highly religious man who claimed to hate the blues and preferred gospel. His perspective changed the first time he heard someone play bottleneck slide guitar and he subsequently dedicated himself to becoming a master of the style. His guitar work might not be as intricate as some of the early blues virtuosos, but the emotional intensity of his music, both in his playing and singing, is probably only matched by one other artist of the era.
Many of his songs, including his signature song “Death Letter Blues” have been widely covered. Maybe my favorite cover of one of his songs is this version of “Preachin’ the Blues” from Fleetwood Mac guitarist Jeremy Spencer.
T-171. – Albert Collins (58 points)
Total number of songs: 16
Average song score: 3.13
# of 5-point songs: 3 (Angel of Mercy, live; Frosty, live; I Got a Mind to Travel, live)
# of 4-point songs: 3 (Cold, Cold Feeling, live; Ice, live; Instrumental Jam, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Cold, Cold Feeling, live; Frosty, live; I Ain’t Drunk; If You Love Me Like You Say
The Ice Man, Albert Collins is one of the greatest of the Texas blues musicians. He learned guitar from his cousin, Lightning Hopkins. His playing is interesting as he often tuned his guitar to fairly atypical tunings and used a lot of capos, which is kind of rare for a guitarist that used as many bends as he does.
Albert Collins was a big influence on later blues musicians like Stevie Ray Vaughn. You can definitely hear that in those soulful bends on songs like “Frosty.”
T-171. – The Animals (58 points)
Total number of songs: 16
Average song score: 3.13
# of 5-point songs: 1 (House of the Rising Sun, live)
# of 4-point songs: 7 (Boom Boom, live; Devil’s Daughter, live; Don’t Bring Me Down, live; Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood; I’m Crying, live; I’m Ready, live; We Gotta Get Out of This Place)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Don’ Let Me Be Misunderstood, live; I’m Crying, live; Tobacco Road; We Gotta Get Out of This Place
The Animals are really interesting. On the one hand, they wrote almost none of their own songs (in their original incarnation – the later Eric Burdon & The Animals did write a lot of their own material). On the other hand, you almost don’t care because their renditions of these tunes are so iconic. That’s mostly due to Burdon’s vocals, of course. He was born to sing the blues and that gives these songs so much emotional depth.
I still feel like this is a little high in the rankings. My gut ratings definitely wouldn’t have these guys over last round’s Crosby, Stills, and Nash, for instance.
T-171. – Gary Clark, Jr. (58 points)
Total number of songs: 15
Average song score: 3.2
# of 5-point songs: 2 (Catfish Blues, live; Third Stone from the Sun/Love Me Like You Say, live)
# of 4-point songs: 5 (Bright Lights, live; Feed the Babies, live; Pearl Cadillac, live; When the Sun Goes Down, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Catfish Blues, live; Don’t Owe You a Thing, live; Pearl Cadillac, live
Another great Texas blues musician, Gary Clark, Jr. is probably one of the best guitarists around right now. Super soulful playing, and also incredibly creative. He isn’t ranked higher than this because most of his best songs are covers, and I don’t love his vocals. I know some people really appreciate his singing on songs like “Please Come Home,” but I’m not personally a fan. Still, he’s great and really crushes it live.
T-171. – John Mellencamp (58 points)
Total number of songs: 19
Average song score: 2.95
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 5 (John the Revelator, live; Paper in Fire; Paper in Fire, live; Pink Houses; Stones in My Passway, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Cherry Bomb; Paper in Fire, live; Rain on the Scarecrow; Stones in My Passway, live
I can think of a lot of reasons I should find Johnny Cougar annoying. Living in Indiana I certainly get more exposure to him than I’d like. I actually saw him in concert years ago and it was one of the more disappointing shows I have ever been to. He kind of mailed it in. That being said, the fact remains that he has a lot of good songs. He can sing. And he usually surrounds himself with strong musical talent. I love the way he uses violin in many of his songs. Put it all together and I can’t help but still like him.
T-171. – Lead Belly (58 points)
Total number of songs: 35
Average song score: 1.94
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 1 (The Gallis Pole)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Alberta; Don’t You Love Your Daddy No More; The Gallis Pole
Lead Belly was mentioned in the Nirvana commentay because Kurt Cobain introduces “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?” by telling a story of someone trying to sell him the blues musician’s guitar. As mentioned in that thread, Huddie Ledbetter was not the first to record “In the Pines,” but he did record one of the more popular early versions of it. His version is great.
That is not the only song that Lead Belly recorded that was later made popular by a rock group. He also did early versions of “The Midnight Special” (Creedence Clearwater Revival), “The House of the Rising Sun” (the aforementioned Animals), and “Black Betty” (Ram Jam), among others. And of course “The Gallis Pole” was later interpreted by Led Zeppelin as “Gallow’s Pole.” Like “In the Pines,” these songs are often prominently associated with Leadbelly, though for most of them he was not the original songwriter or the earliest known artist to record them.
Leadbelly was one of the first great multi-instrumentalist recording artists, playing 12-string guitar, mandolin, harmonica, piano, violin, and accordion. He was super talented and a huge influence on later music. I don’t find his vocals to be quite as evocative as someone like Son House or Robert Johnson, which is probably why he isn’t rated higher than this.
T-171. – North Mississippi Allstars (58 points)
Total number of songs: 22
Average song score: 2.55
# of 5-point songs: 2 (Boomer’s Story, live; Going Home Part 2, live)
# of 4-point songs: 2 (Be So Glad, live; Po Black Maddie/Skinny Woman, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Boomer’s Story, live; Shake ’em on Down; Shimmie She Wobble/Station Blues, live
The North Mississippi Allstars grew up surrounded by the hill country blues. Indeed, they have collaborated with hill country blues-great R. L. Burnside (whom I know a few people here have mentioned being a fan of) and his son Duwayne Burnside was once part of the band. Despite these roots, their music is actually great a bit more eclectic than that.
Luther Dickinson is a fine guitarist but I find him to be a little overrated. He is kind of hit or miss for me, and even when he was playing with The Black Crowes I only liked some of what he played. He is probably my least favorite lead guitarist for the Crowes. I do really like Cody Dickinson’s drumming, though, both with The Allstars and with the previously mentioned Word. Actually, The Word is a much better band than North Mississippi Allstars, I just happen to have more of the latter’s music.
Which isn’t to say they don’t have some great stuff. I really like all the songs I list above. Their version of the classic country/folk song “Boomer’s Story,” with assist from Chris Robinson, is probably my favorite version of that song.
Total number of songs: 16
Average song score: 3.13
# of 5-point songs: 3 (Angel of Mercy, live; Frosty, live; I Got a Mind to Travel, live)
# of 4-point songs: 3 (Cold, Cold Feeling, live; Ice, live; Instrumental Jam, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Cold, Cold Feeling, live; Frosty, live; I Ain’t Drunk; If You Love Me Like You Say
The Ice Man, Albert Collins is one of the greatest of the Texas blues musicians. He learned guitar from his cousin, Lightning Hopkins. His playing is interesting as he often tuned his guitar to fairly atypical tunings and used a lot of capos, which is kind of rare for a guitarist that used as many bends as he does.
Albert Collins was a big influence on later blues musicians like Stevie Ray Vaughn. You can definitely hear that in those soulful bends on songs like “Frosty.”
T-171. – The Animals (58 points)
Total number of songs: 16
Average song score: 3.13
# of 5-point songs: 1 (House of the Rising Sun, live)
# of 4-point songs: 7 (Boom Boom, live; Devil’s Daughter, live; Don’t Bring Me Down, live; Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood; I’m Crying, live; I’m Ready, live; We Gotta Get Out of This Place)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Don’ Let Me Be Misunderstood, live; I’m Crying, live; Tobacco Road; We Gotta Get Out of This Place
The Animals are really interesting. On the one hand, they wrote almost none of their own songs (in their original incarnation – the later Eric Burdon & The Animals did write a lot of their own material). On the other hand, you almost don’t care because their renditions of these tunes are so iconic. That’s mostly due to Burdon’s vocals, of course. He was born to sing the blues and that gives these songs so much emotional depth.
I still feel like this is a little high in the rankings. My gut ratings definitely wouldn’t have these guys over last round’s Crosby, Stills, and Nash, for instance.
T-171. – Gary Clark, Jr. (58 points)
Total number of songs: 15
Average song score: 3.2
# of 5-point songs: 2 (Catfish Blues, live; Third Stone from the Sun/Love Me Like You Say, live)
# of 4-point songs: 5 (Bright Lights, live; Feed the Babies, live; Pearl Cadillac, live; When the Sun Goes Down, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Catfish Blues, live; Don’t Owe You a Thing, live; Pearl Cadillac, live
Another great Texas blues musician, Gary Clark, Jr. is probably one of the best guitarists around right now. Super soulful playing, and also incredibly creative. He isn’t ranked higher than this because most of his best songs are covers, and I don’t love his vocals. I know some people really appreciate his singing on songs like “Please Come Home,” but I’m not personally a fan. Still, he’s great and really crushes it live.
T-171. – John Mellencamp (58 points)
Total number of songs: 19
Average song score: 2.95
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 5 (John the Revelator, live; Paper in Fire; Paper in Fire, live; Pink Houses; Stones in My Passway, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Cherry Bomb; Paper in Fire, live; Rain on the Scarecrow; Stones in My Passway, live
I can think of a lot of reasons I should find Johnny Cougar annoying. Living in Indiana I certainly get more exposure to him than I’d like. I actually saw him in concert years ago and it was one of the more disappointing shows I have ever been to. He kind of mailed it in. That being said, the fact remains that he has a lot of good songs. He can sing. And he usually surrounds himself with strong musical talent. I love the way he uses violin in many of his songs. Put it all together and I can’t help but still like him.
T-171. – Lead Belly (58 points)
Total number of songs: 35
Average song score: 1.94
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 1 (The Gallis Pole)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Alberta; Don’t You Love Your Daddy No More; The Gallis Pole
Lead Belly was mentioned in the Nirvana commentay because Kurt Cobain introduces “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?” by telling a story of someone trying to sell him the blues musician’s guitar. As mentioned in that thread, Huddie Ledbetter was not the first to record “In the Pines,” but he did record one of the more popular early versions of it. His version is great.
That is not the only song that Lead Belly recorded that was later made popular by a rock group. He also did early versions of “The Midnight Special” (Creedence Clearwater Revival), “The House of the Rising Sun” (the aforementioned Animals), and “Black Betty” (Ram Jam), among others. And of course “The Gallis Pole” was later interpreted by Led Zeppelin as “Gallow’s Pole.” Like “In the Pines,” these songs are often prominently associated with Leadbelly, though for most of them he was not the original songwriter or the earliest known artist to record them.
Leadbelly was one of the first great multi-instrumentalist recording artists, playing 12-string guitar, mandolin, harmonica, piano, violin, and accordion. He was super talented and a huge influence on later music. I don’t find his vocals to be quite as evocative as someone like Son House or Robert Johnson, which is probably why he isn’t rated higher than this.
T-171. – North Mississippi Allstars (58 points)
Total number of songs: 22
Average song score: 2.55
# of 5-point songs: 2 (Boomer’s Story, live; Going Home Part 2, live)
# of 4-point songs: 2 (Be So Glad, live; Po Black Maddie/Skinny Woman, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Boomer’s Story, live; Shake ’em on Down; Shimmie She Wobble/Station Blues, live
The North Mississippi Allstars grew up surrounded by the hill country blues. Indeed, they have collaborated with hill country blues-great R. L. Burnside (whom I know a few people here have mentioned being a fan of) and his son Duwayne Burnside was once part of the band. Despite these roots, their music is actually great a bit more eclectic than that.
Luther Dickinson is a fine guitarist but I find him to be a little overrated. He is kind of hit or miss for me, and even when he was playing with The Black Crowes I only liked some of what he played. He is probably my least favorite lead guitarist for the Crowes. I do really like Cody Dickinson’s drumming, though, both with The Allstars and with the previously mentioned Word. Actually, The Word is a much better band than North Mississippi Allstars, I just happen to have more of the latter’s music.
Which isn’t to say they don’t have some great stuff. I really like all the songs I list above. Their version of the classic country/folk song “Boomer’s Story,” with assist from Chris Robinson, is probably my favorite version of that song.
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
The Animals are really interesting in that no one tried to follow their lead - most went the Stones or Yardbirds paths. Maybe that was due to no one else being able to sing like Burdon (who is a Grade A pr1ck, but had a helluva blues holler) or maybe it was because their songs sounded "old" upon release where the other bands' sounded fresh.
DrIanMalcolm
Footballguy
I'm going to regret stumbling onto this thread. But I'll just say his creativity is what makes him so interesting as a blues artist now; he's by no means just a preservationist - he's pushing the envelope, and his most recent album is great. Deserves the plaudits.
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
Agreed. He's thoroughly "modern"; not just aping 50s/60s sounds. "This Is My Land" is one of the most powerful songs I've heard in the last few years.
DrIanMalcolm
Footballguy
I think I'm more partial to "What About Us," but yes, same kind of feeling here.
New Binky the Doormat
Footballguy
I almost posted "This Land" as one of the recommended songs but thought better about it given the lyrics. Not sure what the official board rules say about that. But yes, if people aren't familiar with this song you should check it out.
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Jose - you're clearly a blues guitar, and just overall guitar music driven guy ...
I just tripped into this today - you ever heard of this guy???
wow
No I haven't. That's phenomenal. He does so many little things to make each note perfect. I'm definitely going to have to buy some of his stuff.
T-169. Bill Withers (59 points)
Total number of songs: 17
Average song score: 3.24
# of 5-point songs: 1 (Use Me, live)
# of 4-point songs: 5 (Ain’t No Sunshine; Ain’t No Sunshine, live; Better Off Dead, live; Lean on Me, live; Use Me)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Grandma’s Hands, live; Harlem; Hope She’ll Be Happier, live; Use Me, live
Bill Withers has received a lot of praise in other threads on the board so I don’t know that I have a ton more to say. Other than this may actually be underrating him quite a bit, even though we are approaching the top 150. Awesome songwriting. Poignant lyrics. Amazing vocals. Strong supporting case. It’s just so good.
T-169. Freddie King (59 points)
Total number of songs: 17
Average song score: 3.24
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 6 (Dust My Broom; Going Down; Palace of the King; Someday After Awhile; Tain’t Nobody’s Bizness If I Do; Woman Across the River)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Going Down; Hide Away; Someday After Awhile (You’ll Be Sorry); Woman Across the River
@New Binky the Doormat pointed out that I am obviously partial to great blues guitar (I don’t think that was too difficult to figure out), and Freddie King was one of the best. He did the definitive versions of some of the greatest blues songs ever recorded, including “Have You Ever Loved a Woman” which Eric Clapton did several versions of, including with Derek and the Dominos.
One of my other favorite guitarists, Warren Haynes, was clearly a fan. Here he is covered “Woman Across the River” with the Allman Brothers and “Going Down” with Gov’t Mule.
Total number of songs: 17
Average song score: 3.24
# of 5-point songs: 1 (Use Me, live)
# of 4-point songs: 5 (Ain’t No Sunshine; Ain’t No Sunshine, live; Better Off Dead, live; Lean on Me, live; Use Me)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Grandma’s Hands, live; Harlem; Hope She’ll Be Happier, live; Use Me, live
Bill Withers has received a lot of praise in other threads on the board so I don’t know that I have a ton more to say. Other than this may actually be underrating him quite a bit, even though we are approaching the top 150. Awesome songwriting. Poignant lyrics. Amazing vocals. Strong supporting case. It’s just so good.
T-169. Freddie King (59 points)
Total number of songs: 17
Average song score: 3.24
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 6 (Dust My Broom; Going Down; Palace of the King; Someday After Awhile; Tain’t Nobody’s Bizness If I Do; Woman Across the River)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Going Down; Hide Away; Someday After Awhile (You’ll Be Sorry); Woman Across the River
@New Binky the Doormat pointed out that I am obviously partial to great blues guitar (I don’t think that was too difficult to figure out), and Freddie King was one of the best. He did the definitive versions of some of the greatest blues songs ever recorded, including “Have You Ever Loved a Woman” which Eric Clapton did several versions of, including with Derek and the Dominos.
One of my other favorite guitarists, Warren Haynes, was clearly a fan. Here he is covered “Woman Across the River” with the Allman Brothers and “Going Down” with Gov’t Mule.
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
Withers 
Everything you cited is from his first two studio albums or his live album, which are indeed his best material. After that he went in a more refined soul/R&B direction, but still produced some high points, including:
You: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gf_DFvhLjYo
Railroad Man: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDIEHyqk0I4
I Wish You Well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1pcxoEN0QE
You Got the Stuff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDuzro5jBcI
Everything you cited is from his first two studio albums or his live album, which are indeed his best material. After that he went in a more refined soul/R&B direction, but still produced some high points, including:
You: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gf_DFvhLjYo
Railroad Man: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDIEHyqk0I4
I Wish You Well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1pcxoEN0QE
You Got the Stuff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDuzro5jBcI
T-167. Roy Orbison (60 points)
Total number of songs: 21
Average song score: 2.29
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 1 (Mean Woman Blues)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Claudette; Mean Woman Blues; Only the Lonely (Know the Way I Feel); Running Scared
There’s no shame in ranking #4 on my favorite Wilbury list. What a unique and interesting performer. His music is characterized as rock and roll, yet somehow sounds nothing like other music of that genre. Just like his voice which is so iconic yet somehow defies all description and sounds like no one else’s.
Everyone is familiar with “Oh, Pretty Woman” and “You Got It,” of course, but Roy had a ton of great songs. When people talk about the all-time great artists, I feel like Roy sometimes gets overlooked and that’s too bad. He isn’t my personal favorite, but there is no denying what an amazing artist he was.
T-167. Spencer Davis Group (60 points)
Total number of songs: 20
Average song score: 2.9
# of 5-point songs: 1 (Sittin’ and Thinkin’, live)
# of 4-point songs: 2 (Oh! Pretty Woman, live; Stevie’s Blues, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: I’m a Man; Keep on Running; Oh! Pretty Woman, live; Sittin’ and Thinkin’, live; Time Seller
Both artists in this entry feature a song called “Oh Pretty Woman.” This is completely coincidental and obviously they are two totally different songs and not two versions of the same song.
I think I mentioned in the Traffic post that I don’t love Steve Winwood’s vocals as much as many do, which probably knocks these guys down a little bit from where they otherwise would be. But they still have a great sound. Just about everyone is going to be familiar with “Gimme Some Lovin’,” but they have a lot of other songs that I think are even better, including those listed above.
The Spencer Davis Group’s most important contribution to music, however, is the song “Don’t Want You No More.” That is, of course, because the song was reworked as an instrumental and became the opening track on the debut album for The Allman Brothers Band, and one of their most frequent concert openers.
Total number of songs: 21
Average song score: 2.29
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 1 (Mean Woman Blues)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Claudette; Mean Woman Blues; Only the Lonely (Know the Way I Feel); Running Scared
There’s no shame in ranking #4 on my favorite Wilbury list. What a unique and interesting performer. His music is characterized as rock and roll, yet somehow sounds nothing like other music of that genre. Just like his voice which is so iconic yet somehow defies all description and sounds like no one else’s.
Everyone is familiar with “Oh, Pretty Woman” and “You Got It,” of course, but Roy had a ton of great songs. When people talk about the all-time great artists, I feel like Roy sometimes gets overlooked and that’s too bad. He isn’t my personal favorite, but there is no denying what an amazing artist he was.
T-167. Spencer Davis Group (60 points)
Total number of songs: 20
Average song score: 2.9
# of 5-point songs: 1 (Sittin’ and Thinkin’, live)
# of 4-point songs: 2 (Oh! Pretty Woman, live; Stevie’s Blues, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: I’m a Man; Keep on Running; Oh! Pretty Woman, live; Sittin’ and Thinkin’, live; Time Seller
Both artists in this entry feature a song called “Oh Pretty Woman.” This is completely coincidental and obviously they are two totally different songs and not two versions of the same song.
I think I mentioned in the Traffic post that I don’t love Steve Winwood’s vocals as much as many do, which probably knocks these guys down a little bit from where they otherwise would be. But they still have a great sound. Just about everyone is going to be familiar with “Gimme Some Lovin’,” but they have a lot of other songs that I think are even better, including those listed above.
The Spencer Davis Group’s most important contribution to music, however, is the song “Don’t Want You No More.” That is, of course, because the song was reworked as an instrumental and became the opening track on the debut album for The Allman Brothers Band, and one of their most frequent concert openers.
There are no artists with 61 points, so on to the 62-point round.
T-163. – Jimmy Page and Robert Plant (62 points)
Total number of songs: 14
Average song score: 3.57
# of 5-point songs: 2 (Gallows Pole, live; The Rain Song, live)
# of 4-point songs: 6 (Four Sticks, live; Kashmir, live; Since I’ve Been Loving you, live; That’s the Way, live; The Battle of Evermore, live; Wah Wah, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Four Sticks; Gallows Pole; No Quarter; Wah Wah
All the songs in this entry come from a single album, No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded.
I’m not going to talk a lot about the individual performers, other than to say they are both obviously among the best ever. I’ll say a lot more when I get to the Led Zeppelin entry. I will just note that due to the single album, I did not award any of the personnel bonus points for either of them in this entry.
Page and Plant did other stuff together post-Zeppelin including working together in The Honeydrippers, as previously discussed, and releasing Walking into Clarksdale under this moniker. No Quarter is the best of their post-Zeppelin stuff, though. The album contains a few new tracks and a bunch of Zeppelin classics, including one of the best versions of “Gallows Pole” I’ve ever heard.
T-163. – Ozzy Osbourne (62 points)
Total number of songs: 21
Average song score: 2.95
# of 5-point songs: 1 (Crazy Train)
# of 4-point songs: 1 (Mama, I’m Coming Home)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Bark at the Moon; Diary of a Madman; Flying High; I Don’t Know, live; Mr. Crowley
This seems a little high for Ozzy’s solo work (Black Sabbath is obviously still to come), as there are certainly artists who have appeared already that I like better. But I feel like the heavier stuff has been a little underrepresented so far on the list so far, so I am ok with it.
Obviously one of the most influential musicians in the history of heavy metal, Ozzy’s solo work doesn’t match what he did with Black Sabbath but there is still a lot of good music there. He was smart enough to surround himself with other great musicians like Randy Rhoads, who was really an outstanding guitarist.
Total side note, there is a funny story about how the Allman Brothers once hired one of Ozzy’s other famous guitarists, Zakk Wylde, to emergently substitute for one of their shows at the last minute. It did not go well.
T-163. – Van Halen (62 points)
Total number of songs: 12
Average song score: 2.5
# of 5-point songs: 2 (Eruption; Ice Cream Man)
# of 4-point songs: 0
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: #11 guitarist Eddie Van Halen
Recommended listening: Ain’t Talkin’ ‘bout Love; Dance the Night Away; Eruption; Panama; Poundcake
Sticking with a little bit heavier stuff, Van Halen was one of my favorite bands when I was young. Over the years my love for them has faded a bit, but every once in a while I go back and reacquaint myself with their music and there is still a fair amount of it that I enjoy. I prefer the David Lee Roth, era, of course, but even the Sammy Hagar stuff can be fun at times.
I do want to specifically point out my favorite Van Halen song, their cover of the Chicago blues tune “Ice Cream Man.” I’m not sure how many have heard the original, but it was done by John Brim (who appeared earlier in the countdown). I just love the over-the-top Van Halen version. From Roth’s ridiculous dedication at the beginning to Eddie’s killer solo, it’s one of my favorite covers ever. In the past I’ve tried to research whether Brim himself ever commented on how he felt about the cover, but never been able to find anything.
T-163. – Wes Montgomery (62 points)
Total number of songs: 22
Average song score: 2.45
# of 5-point songs: none
# of 4-point songs: 2 (Four on Six, live; Twisted Blues, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Four on Six, live; In Your Own Sweet Way; No Blues, live; West Coast Blues, live; Yesterdays
Another artist from my neck of the woods, maybe Wes Montgomery will be better received than John Mellencamp. He was certainly more talented.
Many people consider Wes the greatest jazz guitarist ever. He ranks #3 in the genre on my personal list (and as such was close to a personnel bonus) behind John McLaughlin and one other whom I haven’t named yet. I have no problem with anyone who wants to say he is #1 though. Such an interesting playing style and beautiful sound.
T-163. – Jimmy Page and Robert Plant (62 points)
Total number of songs: 14
Average song score: 3.57
# of 5-point songs: 2 (Gallows Pole, live; The Rain Song, live)
# of 4-point songs: 6 (Four Sticks, live; Kashmir, live; Since I’ve Been Loving you, live; That’s the Way, live; The Battle of Evermore, live; Wah Wah, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Four Sticks; Gallows Pole; No Quarter; Wah Wah
All the songs in this entry come from a single album, No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded.
I’m not going to talk a lot about the individual performers, other than to say they are both obviously among the best ever. I’ll say a lot more when I get to the Led Zeppelin entry. I will just note that due to the single album, I did not award any of the personnel bonus points for either of them in this entry.
Page and Plant did other stuff together post-Zeppelin including working together in The Honeydrippers, as previously discussed, and releasing Walking into Clarksdale under this moniker. No Quarter is the best of their post-Zeppelin stuff, though. The album contains a few new tracks and a bunch of Zeppelin classics, including one of the best versions of “Gallows Pole” I’ve ever heard.
T-163. – Ozzy Osbourne (62 points)
Total number of songs: 21
Average song score: 2.95
# of 5-point songs: 1 (Crazy Train)
# of 4-point songs: 1 (Mama, I’m Coming Home)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Bark at the Moon; Diary of a Madman; Flying High; I Don’t Know, live; Mr. Crowley
This seems a little high for Ozzy’s solo work (Black Sabbath is obviously still to come), as there are certainly artists who have appeared already that I like better. But I feel like the heavier stuff has been a little underrepresented so far on the list so far, so I am ok with it.
Obviously one of the most influential musicians in the history of heavy metal, Ozzy’s solo work doesn’t match what he did with Black Sabbath but there is still a lot of good music there. He was smart enough to surround himself with other great musicians like Randy Rhoads, who was really an outstanding guitarist.
Total side note, there is a funny story about how the Allman Brothers once hired one of Ozzy’s other famous guitarists, Zakk Wylde, to emergently substitute for one of their shows at the last minute. It did not go well.
T-163. – Van Halen (62 points)
Total number of songs: 12
Average song score: 2.5
# of 5-point songs: 2 (Eruption; Ice Cream Man)
# of 4-point songs: 0
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: #11 guitarist Eddie Van Halen
Recommended listening: Ain’t Talkin’ ‘bout Love; Dance the Night Away; Eruption; Panama; Poundcake
Sticking with a little bit heavier stuff, Van Halen was one of my favorite bands when I was young. Over the years my love for them has faded a bit, but every once in a while I go back and reacquaint myself with their music and there is still a fair amount of it that I enjoy. I prefer the David Lee Roth, era, of course, but even the Sammy Hagar stuff can be fun at times.
I do want to specifically point out my favorite Van Halen song, their cover of the Chicago blues tune “Ice Cream Man.” I’m not sure how many have heard the original, but it was done by John Brim (who appeared earlier in the countdown). I just love the over-the-top Van Halen version. From Roth’s ridiculous dedication at the beginning to Eddie’s killer solo, it’s one of my favorite covers ever. In the past I’ve tried to research whether Brim himself ever commented on how he felt about the cover, but never been able to find anything.
T-163. – Wes Montgomery (62 points)
Total number of songs: 22
Average song score: 2.45
# of 5-point songs: none
# of 4-point songs: 2 (Four on Six, live; Twisted Blues, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Four on Six, live; In Your Own Sweet Way; No Blues, live; West Coast Blues, live; Yesterdays
Another artist from my neck of the woods, maybe Wes Montgomery will be better received than John Mellencamp. He was certainly more talented.
Many people consider Wes the greatest jazz guitarist ever. He ranks #3 in the genre on my personal list (and as such was close to a personnel bonus) behind John McLaughlin and one other whom I haven’t named yet. I have no problem with anyone who wants to say he is #1 though. Such an interesting playing style and beautiful sound.
Dan Lambskin
Footballguy
Not even a mention of Hot For Teacher?
Eh, like I said my goal is not really to list every good song a band does. Sometimes the songs are chosen to give a spectrum of an artist's output, sometimes it is random.
I will say I have always found "Hot for Teacher" to be a little overrated. The drumming is awesome and the intro guitar solo is nice, though far from Eddie's best work. The main riff actually bores me a little and the melody is super lame. I kind of feel like if it weren't for the music video, people wouldn't care as much about this song. Maybe that's just me, though. It is probably still my second favorite song on 1984, but I don't like that album nearly as much as either of the first two albums.
Dan Lambskin
Footballguy
It’s probably the only song I like by them
New Binky the Doormat
Footballguy
well ... "I don't FEEL tardy"
T-158. Brothers of a Feather (63 points)
Total number of songs: 14
Average song score: 3.64
# of 5-point songs: 4 (Over the Hill, live; Roll um Easy, live; Someday Past the Sunset, live; Thorn in My Pride, live)
# of 4-point songs: 2 (Cursed Diamond, live; Polly, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Driving Wheel, live; Over the Hill, live; Polly, live; Someday Past the Sunset, live; Thorn in My Pride, live
Brothers of a Feather is the name Chris and Rich Robinson go by when they play without the rest of The Black Crowes. In 2007 they released a great album with this name, featuring a number of Crowes songs, some stuff from Chris and Rich’s solo careers, and some outstanding covers. So this is another entry where all the songs come from a single album, but it’s a great one and definitely worth checking out.
Among the entries here, there are some songs that have already been featured in the countdown and some that will come up later. I have discussed “Polly” both in the Gene Clark entry and the Robert Plant/Allison Krauss entry. As good as those are, this is my favorite version. “Over the Hill” is a great song by Scottish musician John Martyn who also was featured earlier in the countdown.
This version of “Driving Wheel” is also excellent. It used to be a 4-point song. I’m not sure what happened but I think I knocked it down a level some time ago when I added a version by the full Black Crowes to the library. I’m thinking that was a mistake and I need to bump it back up. “Roll Um Easy” will be spotlighted later and I’ll wait until that post to say more. “Thorn in My Pride” is one of the most popular Black Crowes songs, and Rich’s guitar playing on this version is amazing.
Chris and Rich will both get personnel bonuses for the Black Crowes but since this entry is just for a single album, they didn’t get the bonus here. But again, it’s a great album, so check it out if you get a chance.
T-158. Dana Fuchs (63 points)
Total number of songs: 19
Average song score: 3.01
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 5 (Helter Skelter; Oh! Darling; So Hard to Move, live; Summersong, live; Tell Me I’m Not Drinking, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: So Hard to Move; Summersong, live; Tell Me I’m Not Drinking, live; Vagabond Wind, live
I anticipate I will get some criticism for this pick and maybe that’s deserved. When I ran the numbers, this was probably one of the two or three most surprising rankings to me. There have certainly been much better artists that have already appeared. So I am happy to take some of the criticism.
That being said, I do still really like Dana Fuchs, and not just because of the movie. That’s of course how I discovered her and in my opinion, she is by far the best part of that movie. The vast majority of the songs in my library, however, are her original songs and there is some really good stuff there. In terms of stuff from the movie soundtrack, I still think a lot of it is quite good. Is her performance on “Oh! Darling” Paul’s performance on the song? No, but that is an impossible bar. I still like her version.
People have frequently compared her to Janis Joplin and in my opinion one can do worse than being the subject of those comparisons.
T-158. Jerry Lee Lewis (63 points)
Total number of songs: 37
Average song score: 1.97
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 2 (Mean Woman Blues; What’d I Say)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Chantilly Lace, live; Cold Cold Heart; Mean Woman Blues, live; Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On, live
Jerry Lee Lewis is obviously one of the most important pioneers of rock. But I think this ranking seems a little high. In terms of gut feeling rankings, there is no way he should be ranked above Little Richard, for instance. The ranking is more related to total volume than anything.
Still, he does have a lot of great songs. I previously highlighted his version of “You Win Again.” Here we get versions of a couple of other songs that have previously been featured in the countdown, “Mean Woman Blues” (mentioned in the Roy Orbison entry) and “What’d I Say” (mentioned in the Duane Allman entry). Of course, the songs known as his signature songs like “Great Balls of Fire” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” are also great.
T-158. Joe Cocker (63 points)
Total number of songs: 18
Average song score: 2.61
# of 5-point songs: 3 (Feelin’ Alright; Feelin’ Alright, live; Space Captain, live)
# of 4-point songs: 1 (Cry Me a River, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: #14 multi-instrumentalist Leon Russell (partial bonus)
Recommended listening: Blue Medley, live; Delta Lady, live; Feelin’ Alright; The Letter, live
I know Joe Cocker is a little contentious on this board. Out of respect for @krista4 I won’t even mention a certain cover song (though I do like that cover, especially Jimmy Page’s guitar). Unfortunately, you can’t be a fan of jam bands without loving Mad Dogs & Englishmen, so I haveto give Joe some props. He was a great singer, but of course his greatest talent was making use of the strengths of other gifted musicians.
I mean, let’s be honest, this entry is really just the first of two entries for Leon Russell. In fact, given his contribution to this body of music, I actually awarded a fraction of Leon’s personnel bonus here.
T-158. Joni Mitchell (63 points)
Total number of songs: 23
Average song score: 2.65
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 4 (Big Yellow Taxi, live x2; Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire, live; Woodstock, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Big Yellow Taxi, live; Cactus Tree, live; Coyote, live; Furry Sings the Blues, live; Love or Money, live
Joni is probably my wife’s favorite artist. While she isn’t quite my favorite style, she is extremely talented and you have to respect someone who played at both The Isle of Wight and The Last Waltz, and was invited to Woodstock.
The version I link of “Furry Sings the Blues” is from The Last Waltz and features Joni accompanied by Neil Young and Robbie Roberston. Super cool.
I should note that here we have a situation in which I have two live versions of the same song at the same point total. Moving forward this is going to start happening fairly frequently, so it won’t be too long until I change the format for how I do these entries.
Total number of songs: 14
Average song score: 3.64
# of 5-point songs: 4 (Over the Hill, live; Roll um Easy, live; Someday Past the Sunset, live; Thorn in My Pride, live)
# of 4-point songs: 2 (Cursed Diamond, live; Polly, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Driving Wheel, live; Over the Hill, live; Polly, live; Someday Past the Sunset, live; Thorn in My Pride, live
Brothers of a Feather is the name Chris and Rich Robinson go by when they play without the rest of The Black Crowes. In 2007 they released a great album with this name, featuring a number of Crowes songs, some stuff from Chris and Rich’s solo careers, and some outstanding covers. So this is another entry where all the songs come from a single album, but it’s a great one and definitely worth checking out.
Among the entries here, there are some songs that have already been featured in the countdown and some that will come up later. I have discussed “Polly” both in the Gene Clark entry and the Robert Plant/Allison Krauss entry. As good as those are, this is my favorite version. “Over the Hill” is a great song by Scottish musician John Martyn who also was featured earlier in the countdown.
This version of “Driving Wheel” is also excellent. It used to be a 4-point song. I’m not sure what happened but I think I knocked it down a level some time ago when I added a version by the full Black Crowes to the library. I’m thinking that was a mistake and I need to bump it back up. “Roll Um Easy” will be spotlighted later and I’ll wait until that post to say more. “Thorn in My Pride” is one of the most popular Black Crowes songs, and Rich’s guitar playing on this version is amazing.
Chris and Rich will both get personnel bonuses for the Black Crowes but since this entry is just for a single album, they didn’t get the bonus here. But again, it’s a great album, so check it out if you get a chance.
T-158. Dana Fuchs (63 points)
Total number of songs: 19
Average song score: 3.01
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 5 (Helter Skelter; Oh! Darling; So Hard to Move, live; Summersong, live; Tell Me I’m Not Drinking, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: So Hard to Move; Summersong, live; Tell Me I’m Not Drinking, live; Vagabond Wind, live
I anticipate I will get some criticism for this pick and maybe that’s deserved. When I ran the numbers, this was probably one of the two or three most surprising rankings to me. There have certainly been much better artists that have already appeared. So I am happy to take some of the criticism.
That being said, I do still really like Dana Fuchs, and not just because of the movie. That’s of course how I discovered her and in my opinion, she is by far the best part of that movie. The vast majority of the songs in my library, however, are her original songs and there is some really good stuff there. In terms of stuff from the movie soundtrack, I still think a lot of it is quite good. Is her performance on “Oh! Darling” Paul’s performance on the song? No, but that is an impossible bar. I still like her version.
People have frequently compared her to Janis Joplin and in my opinion one can do worse than being the subject of those comparisons.
T-158. Jerry Lee Lewis (63 points)
Total number of songs: 37
Average song score: 1.97
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 2 (Mean Woman Blues; What’d I Say)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Chantilly Lace, live; Cold Cold Heart; Mean Woman Blues, live; Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On, live
Jerry Lee Lewis is obviously one of the most important pioneers of rock. But I think this ranking seems a little high. In terms of gut feeling rankings, there is no way he should be ranked above Little Richard, for instance. The ranking is more related to total volume than anything.
Still, he does have a lot of great songs. I previously highlighted his version of “You Win Again.” Here we get versions of a couple of other songs that have previously been featured in the countdown, “Mean Woman Blues” (mentioned in the Roy Orbison entry) and “What’d I Say” (mentioned in the Duane Allman entry). Of course, the songs known as his signature songs like “Great Balls of Fire” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” are also great.
T-158. Joe Cocker (63 points)
Total number of songs: 18
Average song score: 2.61
# of 5-point songs: 3 (Feelin’ Alright; Feelin’ Alright, live; Space Captain, live)
# of 4-point songs: 1 (Cry Me a River, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: #14 multi-instrumentalist Leon Russell (partial bonus)
Recommended listening: Blue Medley, live; Delta Lady, live; Feelin’ Alright; The Letter, live
I know Joe Cocker is a little contentious on this board. Out of respect for @krista4 I won’t even mention a certain cover song (though I do like that cover, especially Jimmy Page’s guitar). Unfortunately, you can’t be a fan of jam bands without loving Mad Dogs & Englishmen, so I haveto give Joe some props. He was a great singer, but of course his greatest talent was making use of the strengths of other gifted musicians.
I mean, let’s be honest, this entry is really just the first of two entries for Leon Russell. In fact, given his contribution to this body of music, I actually awarded a fraction of Leon’s personnel bonus here.
T-158. Joni Mitchell (63 points)
Total number of songs: 23
Average song score: 2.65
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 4 (Big Yellow Taxi, live x2; Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire, live; Woodstock, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Big Yellow Taxi, live; Cactus Tree, live; Coyote, live; Furry Sings the Blues, live; Love or Money, live
Joni is probably my wife’s favorite artist. While she isn’t quite my favorite style, she is extremely talented and you have to respect someone who played at both The Isle of Wight and The Last Waltz, and was invited to Woodstock.
The version I link of “Furry Sings the Blues” is from The Last Waltz and features Joni accompanied by Neil Young and Robbie Roberston. Super cool.
I should note that here we have a situation in which I have two live versions of the same song at the same point total. Moving forward this is going to start happening fairly frequently, so it won’t be too long until I change the format for how I do these entries.
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
I have no idea who this person is or what this movie is.
Dan Lambskin
Footballguy
Did not know Jerry covered Chantilly Lace, I always liked the Big Bopper version. Dad had a bunch of oldies tapes we’d always listen to on road trips growing up and that was always one of my favorites
Whenever I think of Joe Cocker I think of his Woodstock performance of With A Little Help. Not sure I’ve ever seen a singer that into a performance…dude is just belting it out…maybe Fat Elvis singing Unchained Melody?
krista4
Footballguy
I had to google it, too.
New Binky the Doormat
Footballguy
Sorry. I may be remembering incorrectly, but I thought Krista had talked (derisively) about Across the Universe a bit in her thread so I assumed people were familiar.
krista4
Footballguy
I could have, though I enjoyed some bits of that movie. Didn't recognize her by name, though.
T-155. Ozark Mountain Daredevils (64 points)
Total number of songs: 21
Average song score: 2.86
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 3 (If You Wanna Get to Heaven; Look Away; Standing on the Rock)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Country Girl; It’ll Shine When It Shines; Jackie Blue; Look Away; Standing on the Rock
Interesting fact, the original full name of this band was "Cosmic Corn Cob & His Amazing Ozark Mountain Daredevils" which I think is significantly better. These guys are pretty interesting. They have been around for five decades and have a lot of good songs, some of which did ok on the charts, though I don’t think they are probably a household name to the average music fan.
FootballGuys are, of course, much more knowledgeable and I’m pretty sure I remember both “Jackie Blue” and “If You Wanna Get to Heaven” being discussed in the American artist countdown. They have a lot of other good songs too, if you like this style of country rock. I love the variable instrumentation they bring to their songs.
T-155. Sonny Boy Williamson II (64 points)
Total number of songs: 20
Average song score: 3.05
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 5 (Born Blind; Fattening Frogs for Snakes; Help Me; I Don’t Know; One Way Out)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Born Blind; Bring It on Home; Help Me; Keep Your Hands Out of My Pocket; One Way Out
For those who are new to the thread, I explain the difference between Sonny Boy Williamson I and Sonny Boy Williamson II here. Both were very impactful musicians, but I prefer the second iteration.
Sonny Boy Williams II recorded a lot of songs that would be famously covered by rock musicians, including “Bring It on Home” (Led Zeppelin) and “One Way Out” (The Allman Brothers Band). “Born Blind” is a reworking of a song he previously recorded with the title “Eyesight to the Blind” which has been recorded under the original title by B.B. King, Aerosmith, Eric Clapton, and The Who, among others.
“Help Me” is based on the Booker T and the MG’s song “Green Onions” and itself became a blues standard.
T-155. Zac Brown Band (64 points)
Total number of songs: 24
Average song score: 2.58
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 5 (Alabama Jubilee, live; Can’t You See, live; The Devil Went Down to Georgia, live; The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, live; Who Knows, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Chicken Fried; Free/Into the Mystic, live; Highway 20 Ride; It’s Not OK, live; Junkyard, live
I never really know what to think about Zac Brown Band. Many of their best-known songs and albums are fairly straight country, probably a little too country for my tastes. But in concert, anything goes, and they’ll mix it up with everything from pure bluegrass to hard rock bordering on metal. The variety is pretty cool. Kind of like Chris Stapleton in that way, and while Zac Brown himself isn’t as good of a singer as Stapleton, he does surround himself with great musicians.
So for me, while some of their original songs are ok, it is some of their great live covers that I like best about this group. I’ve heard them do songs by everyone from Dire Straits to Def Leppard, from The Eagles to Rage Against the Machine. In honor of @Dan Lambskin I’ll just leave this here.
Total number of songs: 21
Average song score: 2.86
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 3 (If You Wanna Get to Heaven; Look Away; Standing on the Rock)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Country Girl; It’ll Shine When It Shines; Jackie Blue; Look Away; Standing on the Rock
Interesting fact, the original full name of this band was "Cosmic Corn Cob & His Amazing Ozark Mountain Daredevils" which I think is significantly better. These guys are pretty interesting. They have been around for five decades and have a lot of good songs, some of which did ok on the charts, though I don’t think they are probably a household name to the average music fan.
FootballGuys are, of course, much more knowledgeable and I’m pretty sure I remember both “Jackie Blue” and “If You Wanna Get to Heaven” being discussed in the American artist countdown. They have a lot of other good songs too, if you like this style of country rock. I love the variable instrumentation they bring to their songs.
T-155. Sonny Boy Williamson II (64 points)
Total number of songs: 20
Average song score: 3.05
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 5 (Born Blind; Fattening Frogs for Snakes; Help Me; I Don’t Know; One Way Out)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Born Blind; Bring It on Home; Help Me; Keep Your Hands Out of My Pocket; One Way Out
For those who are new to the thread, I explain the difference between Sonny Boy Williamson I and Sonny Boy Williamson II here. Both were very impactful musicians, but I prefer the second iteration.
Sonny Boy Williams II recorded a lot of songs that would be famously covered by rock musicians, including “Bring It on Home” (Led Zeppelin) and “One Way Out” (The Allman Brothers Band). “Born Blind” is a reworking of a song he previously recorded with the title “Eyesight to the Blind” which has been recorded under the original title by B.B. King, Aerosmith, Eric Clapton, and The Who, among others.
“Help Me” is based on the Booker T and the MG’s song “Green Onions” and itself became a blues standard.
T-155. Zac Brown Band (64 points)
Total number of songs: 24
Average song score: 2.58
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 5 (Alabama Jubilee, live; Can’t You See, live; The Devil Went Down to Georgia, live; The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, live; Who Knows, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Chicken Fried; Free/Into the Mystic, live; Highway 20 Ride; It’s Not OK, live; Junkyard, live
I never really know what to think about Zac Brown Band. Many of their best-known songs and albums are fairly straight country, probably a little too country for my tastes. But in concert, anything goes, and they’ll mix it up with everything from pure bluegrass to hard rock bordering on metal. The variety is pretty cool. Kind of like Chris Stapleton in that way, and while Zac Brown himself isn’t as good of a singer as Stapleton, he does surround himself with great musicians.
So for me, while some of their original songs are ok, it is some of their great live covers that I like best about this group. I’ve heard them do songs by everyone from Dire Straits to Def Leppard, from The Eagles to Rage Against the Machine. In honor of @Dan Lambskin I’ll just leave this here.
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
The first two Ozark Mountain Daredevils albums are incredible. Tracks I love that you didn’t mention include Colorado Song, Road to Glory, Beauty in the River, Spaceship Orion and You Made It Right.
Dan Lambskin
Footballguy
Have seen them live a few times, the covers are always enjoyable. I’ll have to check that Hot for Teacher one out
T-151. Janis Joplin (66 points)
Total number of songs: 16
Average song score: 3.62
# of 5-point songs: 2 (Kozmic Blues, live; Try Just a Little Bit Harder, live)
# of 4-point songs: 7 (Down on Me, live; Ego Rock, live; Half Moon, live; Me and Bobby McGee; Move Over, live; Piece of My Heart; Piece of My Heart, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Ball and Chain, live; Down on Me, live; Summertime, live; Try Just a Little Bit Harder, live
I mentioned Janis Joplin just a little while ago in the Dana Fuchs entry. I’m guessing Janis is a little more well-known.
I’m not sure any artist more completely embodies a decade of music like Janis does the 1960’s. The emotion in her singing can’t be adequately described in words. Just so incredibly powerful. I love the energy she brings to this version of “Try.”
It should be noted that all three of her bands (Big Brother & the Holding Company, The Kozmic Blues Band, and The Full Tilt Boogie Band) were excellent as well.
T-151. Kiss (66 points)
Total number of songs: 20
Average song score: 2.90
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 1 (She, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Black Diamond, live; Cold Gin, live; Deuce, live; Forever, live; She, live
I’m not even sure what to say about this entry. I don’t really consider myself much of as Kiss fan and I’m not really sure I get their schtick. But I have a bunch of songs from the Alive! album and a few of their other tunes in my library. It gets pretty repetitive, but some of it is pretty fun. This is apparently where it shakes out in terms of the rankings.
Full disclosure, “Forever” is not actually one of the songs in my library. But I couldn’t pass up the opportunity of showing the entire Melbourne Symphony Orchestra sporting their Kiss makeup.
T-151. Scotty Barnhart and the Count Basie Orchestra (66 points)
Total number of songs: 28
Average song score: 2.36
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 1 (Basie Power, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Basie Power, live; Blues in Hoss’ Flat, live; Four Five Six, live; Way Out Basie, live
I struggled with how to approach the entry for this “artist.” Jazz legend Count Basie already appeared earlier in the countdown. Founded in 1935, the big band was originally led by its namesake but has survived long after the Count’s death. The current incarnation is led by trumpet player Scotty Barnhart and they remain one of the best bands in the land.
The songs in this entry are all from a single album, Live at Birdland. It’s one of the best jazz concerts you will ever hear. The above version of “Basie Power” is sickeningly good.
T-151. Willie Dixon (66 points)
Total number of songs: 10
Average song score: 2.1
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 0
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: #6 songwriter Willie Dixon
Recommended listening: Back Door Man; I Can’t Quit You, Baby; I Just Want to Make Love to You; The Little Red Rooster; Mellow Down Easy; The Same Thing; You Shook Me
Willie Dixon is quite simply the greatest songwriter in the history of the blues. In the Small Faces entry, I talked about how his song “You Need Love” evolved into Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love.” That was not the only Dixon song that Zeppelin covered, of course.
Actually, Willie Dixon wrote a ton of songs that became blues standards, including many of Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf’s best-known songs. Other songs by him have been covered by just about every major rock group you can imagine. A large percentage of his points in this countdown, therefore, come from his personnel bonus as my sixth favorite songwriter of all-time.
Dixon himself recorded versions of many of these songs. While most are not quite on the level of the covers (and therefore come in at slightly lower point levels), they are still very good recordings and worth checking out. Dixon was a great bassist and a fine singer in addition to his songwriting prowess.
Total number of songs: 16
Average song score: 3.62
# of 5-point songs: 2 (Kozmic Blues, live; Try Just a Little Bit Harder, live)
# of 4-point songs: 7 (Down on Me, live; Ego Rock, live; Half Moon, live; Me and Bobby McGee; Move Over, live; Piece of My Heart; Piece of My Heart, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Ball and Chain, live; Down on Me, live; Summertime, live; Try Just a Little Bit Harder, live
I mentioned Janis Joplin just a little while ago in the Dana Fuchs entry. I’m guessing Janis is a little more well-known.
I’m not sure any artist more completely embodies a decade of music like Janis does the 1960’s. The emotion in her singing can’t be adequately described in words. Just so incredibly powerful. I love the energy she brings to this version of “Try.”
It should be noted that all three of her bands (Big Brother & the Holding Company, The Kozmic Blues Band, and The Full Tilt Boogie Band) were excellent as well.
T-151. Kiss (66 points)
Total number of songs: 20
Average song score: 2.90
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 1 (She, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Black Diamond, live; Cold Gin, live; Deuce, live; Forever, live; She, live
I’m not even sure what to say about this entry. I don’t really consider myself much of as Kiss fan and I’m not really sure I get their schtick. But I have a bunch of songs from the Alive! album and a few of their other tunes in my library. It gets pretty repetitive, but some of it is pretty fun. This is apparently where it shakes out in terms of the rankings.
Full disclosure, “Forever” is not actually one of the songs in my library. But I couldn’t pass up the opportunity of showing the entire Melbourne Symphony Orchestra sporting their Kiss makeup.
T-151. Scotty Barnhart and the Count Basie Orchestra (66 points)
Total number of songs: 28
Average song score: 2.36
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 1 (Basie Power, live)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Basie Power, live; Blues in Hoss’ Flat, live; Four Five Six, live; Way Out Basie, live
I struggled with how to approach the entry for this “artist.” Jazz legend Count Basie already appeared earlier in the countdown. Founded in 1935, the big band was originally led by its namesake but has survived long after the Count’s death. The current incarnation is led by trumpet player Scotty Barnhart and they remain one of the best bands in the land.
The songs in this entry are all from a single album, Live at Birdland. It’s one of the best jazz concerts you will ever hear. The above version of “Basie Power” is sickeningly good.
T-151. Willie Dixon (66 points)
Total number of songs: 10
Average song score: 2.1
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 0
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: #6 songwriter Willie Dixon
Recommended listening: Back Door Man; I Can’t Quit You, Baby; I Just Want to Make Love to You; The Little Red Rooster; Mellow Down Easy; The Same Thing; You Shook Me
Willie Dixon is quite simply the greatest songwriter in the history of the blues. In the Small Faces entry, I talked about how his song “You Need Love” evolved into Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love.” That was not the only Dixon song that Zeppelin covered, of course.
Actually, Willie Dixon wrote a ton of songs that became blues standards, including many of Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf’s best-known songs. Other songs by him have been covered by just about every major rock group you can imagine. A large percentage of his points in this countdown, therefore, come from his personnel bonus as my sixth favorite songwriter of all-time.
Dixon himself recorded versions of many of these songs. While most are not quite on the level of the covers (and therefore come in at slightly lower point levels), they are still very good recordings and worth checking out. Dixon was a great bassist and a fine singer in addition to his songwriting prowess.
krista4
Footballguy
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
They were fascinating to me. The original lineup had six members, four of whom were singer/songwriters, all with very different styles, yet the early albums cohere really well.
As the number of artists per post gradually decreases we are also getting to a point where we are skipping more point levels. I neglected to mention that there were no 65-point entries. There are also no 67-point entries. The 68-point artists are really fun though.
T-148. Billy Preston (68 points)
Total number of songs: 19
Average song score: 2.00
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 1 (Get Back)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: #11 other instrumentalist/keyboards Billy Preston
Recommended listening: Nothing From Nothing; Outa Space; That’s the Way God Planned It, live; You Are So Beautiful, live
I’m sure almost everyone knows Billy Preston for his work accompanying many other major groups and artists, including certainly The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, but also Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, and Little Richard. He was everywhere in the 1960’s and 1970’s and played on some of the greatest albums of all-time. For that he earns himself a nice personnel bonus.
While not quite as impactful, he also had a pretty nice solo career with some very good songs and albums playing a range of styles.
Clearly the best part of this entry is the video of “You Are So Beautiful.” There are better versions of the song, but Billy’s imitations of Joe Cocker and Ray Charles make this my favorite.
T-148. Billy Strings (68 points)
Total number of songs: 19
Average song score: 3.37
# of 5-point songs: 2 (Everything’s the Same; Salty Sheep)
# of 4-point songs: 4 (Enough to Leave; Hollow Heart; Long Forgotten Dream; Meet Me at the Creek)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Everything’s the Same; Guitar Peace; In the Morning Light; Know It All; Meet Me at the Creek, live; Salty Sheep
Here we have an artist who will certainly be moving up in the rankings over the next few years and for the moment is simply limited by having less material available than other artists on the list. Billy Strings is one of the best guitarists around right now and is in the conversation for the best bluegrass musician I have ever heard.
Above are some of my favorite tracks from his three studio albums, but he is even better live. Unfortunately he hasn’t yet officially released any live albums, but there are plenty of videos online of his live performances. Check him out.
T-148. John Hammond, Jr. (68 points)
Total number of songs: 26
Average song score: 2.27
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 2 (No Money Down, Travelin’ Riverside Blues)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Big Boss Man; Milkcow’s Calf Blues; No Money Down; So Many Roads, So Many Trains; Travelin’ Riverside Blues
John P. Hammond, a.k.a. John Hammond Jr., is the son of John H. Hammond. The elder Hammond is one of the most important talent scouts and record producers ever, being instrumental in the careers of Bob Dylan, Bruce Spingsteen, Benny Goodman, Aretha Franklin, and Stevie Ray Vaughn among others. He also was a huge blues proponent and raised his son steeped in the delta blues.
Junior is one of the most authentic bluesmen you will ever here. He has played with John Lee Hooker, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Levon Helm, and Duane Allman and many others and has himself recorded outstanding versions of many blues classics.
John Hammond Jr. also hosted the document The Search for Robert Johnson which is super interesting and I highly recommend if you are interested in that kind of thing.
T-148. Billy Preston (68 points)
Total number of songs: 19
Average song score: 2.00
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 1 (Get Back)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: #11 other instrumentalist/keyboards Billy Preston
Recommended listening: Nothing From Nothing; Outa Space; That’s the Way God Planned It, live; You Are So Beautiful, live
I’m sure almost everyone knows Billy Preston for his work accompanying many other major groups and artists, including certainly The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, but also Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, and Little Richard. He was everywhere in the 1960’s and 1970’s and played on some of the greatest albums of all-time. For that he earns himself a nice personnel bonus.
While not quite as impactful, he also had a pretty nice solo career with some very good songs and albums playing a range of styles.
Clearly the best part of this entry is the video of “You Are So Beautiful.” There are better versions of the song, but Billy’s imitations of Joe Cocker and Ray Charles make this my favorite.
T-148. Billy Strings (68 points)
Total number of songs: 19
Average song score: 3.37
# of 5-point songs: 2 (Everything’s the Same; Salty Sheep)
# of 4-point songs: 4 (Enough to Leave; Hollow Heart; Long Forgotten Dream; Meet Me at the Creek)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Everything’s the Same; Guitar Peace; In the Morning Light; Know It All; Meet Me at the Creek, live; Salty Sheep
Here we have an artist who will certainly be moving up in the rankings over the next few years and for the moment is simply limited by having less material available than other artists on the list. Billy Strings is one of the best guitarists around right now and is in the conversation for the best bluegrass musician I have ever heard.
Above are some of my favorite tracks from his three studio albums, but he is even better live. Unfortunately he hasn’t yet officially released any live albums, but there are plenty of videos online of his live performances. Check him out.
T-148. John Hammond, Jr. (68 points)
Total number of songs: 26
Average song score: 2.27
# of 5-point songs: 0
# of 4-point songs: 2 (No Money Down, Travelin’ Riverside Blues)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Big Boss Man; Milkcow’s Calf Blues; No Money Down; So Many Roads, So Many Trains; Travelin’ Riverside Blues
John P. Hammond, a.k.a. John Hammond Jr., is the son of John H. Hammond. The elder Hammond is one of the most important talent scouts and record producers ever, being instrumental in the careers of Bob Dylan, Bruce Spingsteen, Benny Goodman, Aretha Franklin, and Stevie Ray Vaughn among others. He also was a huge blues proponent and raised his son steeped in the delta blues.
Junior is one of the most authentic bluesmen you will ever here. He has played with John Lee Hooker, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Levon Helm, and Duane Allman and many others and has himself recorded outstanding versions of many blues classics.
John Hammond Jr. also hosted the document The Search for Robert Johnson which is super interesting and I highly recommend if you are interested in that kind of thing.
Dan Lambskin
Footballguy
Added Billy Strings to the playlist this summer. Not super familiar with him but like what I hear. Definitely a guy I would go see in concert.
147. Black Sabbath (69 points)
Total number of songs: 20
Average song score: 2.85
# of 5-point songs: 1 (War Pigs)
# of 4-point songs: 3 (N.I.B.; Paranoid; Supernaut)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Black Sabbath; Children of the Grave; Heaven and Hell; N.I.B.; Supernaut; War Pigs; The Wizard
Maybe the most influential group to appear so far on this list, I can’t imagine what it would have been like to hear Black Sabbath when they first came out. Just five years before their first album, “Ticket to Ride” was considered heavy, and in the subsequent few years we only progressed to debating whether “I Can See for Miles” or “Helter Skelter” was heavier. Then these guys came along.
More than five decades later and after listening to some of these songs dozens and dozens of times, the guitar and bass riffs still sound incredibly fresh and innovative.
Even though RJD is the superior singer, I favor the Ozzy years over the Dio years. But there is a lot of good stuff from both (both singers were in the running for personnel bonuses, though both fell short). I’m not as big of a metal fan as some, but these guys were awesome.
Though I still think they would have been even cooler with their original name, The Polka Tulk Blues Band.
Total number of songs: 20
Average song score: 2.85
# of 5-point songs: 1 (War Pigs)
# of 4-point songs: 3 (N.I.B.; Paranoid; Supernaut)
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: none
Recommended listening: Black Sabbath; Children of the Grave; Heaven and Hell; N.I.B.; Supernaut; War Pigs; The Wizard
Maybe the most influential group to appear so far on this list, I can’t imagine what it would have been like to hear Black Sabbath when they first came out. Just five years before their first album, “Ticket to Ride” was considered heavy, and in the subsequent few years we only progressed to debating whether “I Can See for Miles” or “Helter Skelter” was heavier. Then these guys came along.
More than five decades later and after listening to some of these songs dozens and dozens of times, the guitar and bass riffs still sound incredibly fresh and innovative.
Even though RJD is the superior singer, I favor the Ozzy years over the Dio years. But there is a lot of good stuff from both (both singers were in the running for personnel bonuses, though both fell short). I’m not as big of a metal fan as some, but these guys were awesome.
Though I still think they would have been even cooler with their original name, The Polka Tulk Blues Band.
New Binky the Doormat
Footballguy
have always loved "Jackie Blue" - that's all I know ...
Dan Lambskin
Footballguy
Imagine this was wild in 1970
BLACK SABBATH - "N.I.B." (Live Video)
Black Sabbath performing N.I.B. live at the Olympia in Paris, France on December 20, 1970Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BlackSabbathInstagram: http://www....
youtu.be
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
I'd bet you know "If You Wanna Get To Heaven".
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