Tie-324 (19 points)
Brandi Carlile – 7 total songs – Creep, live; Hallelujah, live; The Story, live; What Can I Say, live (3 points)
Delta Moon – 8 total songs – Goin’ Down South, live; Poplar Grove; You Got to Move, live (3 points)
Jimmie Rodgers – 21 total songs – California Blues: Blue Yodel No. 4 (3 points)
Lonnie Mack – 7 total songs – Ridin’ the Blinds, live (4 points)
Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives – Orange Blossom Special, live (3 points)
Prince – 17 total songs – Purple Rain, live (4 points)
Ronnie Hawkins – 8 total songs – Don’t Tell Me Your Troubles; Down in the Alley; Matchbox; Odessa (3 points)
Soundgarden – 7 total songs – Burden in My Hand (4 points)
Traveling Wilburys – 8 total songs – Handle With Care; Like a Ship; Tweeter and the Monkey Man (3 points)
This round is much more interesting to me. There’s so much we could talk about with this group of artists that I don’t even know where to start. I suppose we can begin with Prince since I think his name probably grabs one’s attention first and I am sure many people would have him ranked much higher. He is internally polarizing to me. Obviously, he is insanely talented and there is some stuff of his that I really like. But there is other stuff he does that I hate so much I have a visceral reaction to it and can’t even listen to it. Put it all together and this is where he falls in countdown.
Outside of that, this round features some of the most influential figures in the history of American music. Almost no one has been more influential in the development of country music than Jimmie Rodgers. It’s probably him and Hank Williams as the two most important country songwriters ever. But his work also was incredibly influential for blues and rock artists. Many are probably familiar with “
Blue Yodel #1 (T for Texas)” which was
popularly covered by Lynyrd Skynyrd among others. In the interview published in
The Beatles Anthology, George Harrison says that “
Waiting for a Train” made him want to play guitar. It’s the other side of that single, “
Blue Yodel #4 (California Blues)” that’s my favorite Jimmie Rodgers song.
Maybe just as influential, l though I think a little less well-known, is Lonnie Mack. One could legitimately make the argument that no single person was more important for the development of modern guitar technique than Lonnie. Drawing on the fast-picking style of his bluegrass roots and combining it with soulful blues melodies and aggressive Chuck Berry riffs, he exponentially expanded possibilities and expectations of a lead guitarist in a rock band. His seamless blending of melodic lead riffs and rhythmic chord changes, which can be heard in songs like “
Memphis” and “
Wham!” was highly influential for guitarists like Stevie Ray Vaughan (
who himself famously covered “Wham!”). Mack was also an early pioneer in the use of a vibrato bar on guitars, which according to some if the origin of the term “whammy bar.” On top of all of that, he was also an excellent singer.
There’s a lot of other great stuff in this round. “Orange Blossom Special” is maybe the definitive bluegrass song, and
I don’t know if anyone does it better than Marty Stuart and his aptly named band The Fabulous Superlatives. If you ever get a chance to see these guys, do it. They will blow you away.
Ronnie Hawkins was the founder of The Hawks, who you know better as The Band. He was one of the featured guests at
The Last Waltz. I absolutely love the way he just sings with reckless abandon
here. He’s another one
who did some great stuff with Duane Allman. BTW, if you didn’t know, Ronnie is the cousin of Dale Hawkins (who is famously known for writing “Susie Q”).
I didn’t even get a chance to address Soundgarden, Brandi Carlile, or the Travelling Wilburys. Like I said, very good round.