Rank these artist: Rock Hall Edition Volume 1, Year 1986.

[L.Kizzle]

These are the first batch of artist inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.

Performers
-Chuck Berry
-James Brown
-Ray Charles
-Sam Cooke
-Fats Domino
-The Everly Brothers
-Buddy Holly
-Jerry Lee Lewis
-Little Richard
-Elvis Presley


Also inducted as early influences that year were; Robert Johnson, Jimmie Rodgers and Jimmy Yancey. But don't include them, just the performers.

[Brizzly]

Chuck Berry
Elvis
Jerry Lee Lewis
The Everly Brothers

Haven't heard enough from the others to continue the list.

[32jazz]

James Brown & its not even close. Every artist on that list are great R&B/"Rock Pioneers" , but after the 50's/ early 60's they were just oldies but goodies acts(* for Cooke due to early death).

Not only did James Brown survive the 50's he was also a relevant contemporary artist from his Soulful 1950 beginnings until the mid 1970's after he had reinvented himself as basically the King of Funk .


James Brown was still charting & blowing away most acts live 20 years after his debut with one of the best bands in Pop music(outside Jazz). He had very sophisticated Jazz musicians in his band like Pee Wee Ellis, Fred Wesley,etc..as a foundation.



Everyone else in that class were tired old time acts By the early 60's let alone a relevant & reinvented artist by the mid to late 70 s like Brown was.


Sam Cooke died too early to tell ,but I think he was the only other artist that could have eventually moved on & transformed themselves as did Brown. Cooke was probably more talented than or equal to Marvin Gaye , but who knows whether he could have remained relevant & aged soulfully & skillfully as did Gaye(I think he could have).


James Brown, but afterwards.......

[KevinNYC]

I would probably have a different ranking as performers than as artists overall.

Chuck Berry would be number 1 in both cases. As he was a great singer, a fantastic instrumentalist and one of America's best songwriters.

If you are looking at total artist, Buddy Holly gets a lot higher since he was a great songwriter. Elvis would fall by this standard.

Elvis is by far the most important.

James Brown is great, but he is second wave to me. He was around in the 50's, but I can't name three songs of from that decade. His success really took off in the 60's.

If you're going by peak, there's about 8-10 Little Richard songs that just can't be beat.
What rocks better than this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcJrExewkYA

What grooves better than this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4fNqoHzeO4

If Aliens came to Earth and asked what is Rock and Roll, I think you could just show them this Jerry Lee Lewis clip.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yRdDnrB5kM

[L.Kizzle]

James Brown & its not even close. Every artist on that list are great R&B/"Rock Pioneers" , but after the 50's/ early 60's they were just oldies but goodies acts(* for Cooke due to early death).

Not only did James Brown survive the 50's he was also a relevant contemporary artist from his Soulful 1950 beginnings until the mid 1970's after he had reinvented himself as basically the King of Funk .


James Brown was still charting & blowing away most acts live 20 years after his debut with one of the best bands in Pop music(outside Jazz). He had very sophisticated Jazz musicians in his band like Pee Wee Ellis, Fred Wesley,etc..as a foundation.



Everyone else in that class were tired old time acts By the early 60's let alone a relevant & reinvented artist by the mid to late 70 s like Brown was.


Sam Cooke died too early to tell ,but I think he was the only other artist that could have eventually moved on & transformed themselves as did Brown. Cooke was probably more talented than or equal to Marvin Gaye , but who knows whether he could have remained relevant & aged soulfully & skillfully as did Gaye(I think he could have).


James Brown, but afterwards.......

Tue, and don't forget about Holly's death also.

Elvis was around a little longer than everyone else here besides Brown. He had a few little dry spells, but was still charting though not like he was at his peak in the mid to late 50s. But yeah, with everyone else, they had a sporadic hit here and there like Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis but Brown was consistent from 1960 to 1976.


It's funny how Brown was the least heralded of the ten coming out in the mid 50s. Everyone here debuted on the charts or made their first breakthrough hit around the same time give or take a few years (Charles in 54; Berry, Fats and Richard in 55; Brown and Elvis in 56; Cooke 57, Everly Bros, Holly and Lewis in 57) yet Brown only had three charting singles between 1956 and 1959 with the other charting multiple times in just a calendar year alone. And only one entered the pop top 50 with "Try Me" and #48 though it was #1 R&B in 1958. Even his "Please, Please" peaked at #106 on the pop charts in 56 and #6 R&B. Though overtime it has become timeless. So 15 singles released between 1956-1959 and three charted. But thank goodness for the 60s. Right out the box in 1960, he charted five times that year alone (another hit under a another name) and the rest is history.


With Cooke, I definitely think he would have made it as the years went on. We could see his style changing on the Live album recorded after he heard James at the Apollo. Too bad it didn't get released until 1984. He was leaving that Jackie Wilson, Dee Clark, Brook Benton style for the new rougher James Brown, Solomon Burke and Otis Redding, Joe Tex who were waiting in the wings. He was a great songwriter for his time and would have definitely evolved as the times moved on.

[L.Kizzle]

I would probably have a different ranking as performers than as artists overall.

Chuck Berry would be number 1 in both cases. As he was a great singer, a fantastic instrumentalist and one of America's best songwriters.

If you are looking at total artist, Buddy Holly gets a lot higher since he was a great songwriter. Elvis would fall by this standard.

Elvis is by far the most important.

James Brown is great, but he is second wave to me. He was around in the 50's, but I can't name three songs of from that decade. His success really took off in the 60's.

If you're going by peak, there's about 8-10 Little Richard songs that just can't be beat.
What rocks better than this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcJrExewkYA

What grooves better than this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4fNqoHzeO4

If Aliens came to Earth and asked what is Rock and Roll, I think you could just show them this Jerry Lee Lewis clip.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yRdDnrB5kM

Yeah, you really can't go wrong with any of these artist, even Elvis who gets a bad rap (by me also.)

I agree with Berry, but you could say the same about Ray Charles.

Berry, Brown, Charles, Cooke, Holly and Richard I think are the best of the group as pure artist. Elvis has to be there for importance. And that's not disrespecting the other three artist. It's just that they were that much better than everyone else.

[KevinNYC]

Yeah, you really can't go wrong with any of these artist, even Elvis who gets a bad rap (by me also.)

I agree with Berry, but you could say the same about Ray Charles.

Berry, Brown, Charles, Cooke, Holly and Richard I think are the best of the group as pure artist. Elvis has to be there for importance. And that's not disrespecting the other three artist. It's just that they were that much better than everyone else.

Ever read that Elvis Biography Last Train to Memphis? It utterly fantastic.

I never read the second part as I prefer the early Elvis, but it's a great, great history of America at that time, not just the music business.

http://www.peterguralnick.com/books

I should read his Sam Cooke book too.

[L.Kizzle]

Ever read that Elvis Biography Last Train to Memphis? It utterly fantastic.

I never read the second part as I prefer the early Elvis, but it's a great, great history of America at that time, not just the music business.

http://www.peterguralnick.com/books

I should read his Sam Cooke book too.

Will check it out. I love music books. I was just at Barnes and Noble earlier today (or is it yesterday now?) and seen a book on Stax Records and skimmed through it, looked interesting.

Also, check out this book. Fever: LITTLE WILLIE JOHN'S Fast Life, Mysterious Death and the Birth of Soul, A lot of great stories and info in it.

[KevinNYC]

Two things I just found while typing up my comments.

Sam Cooke's brother has an album out this year! And it was originally recorded in 1964.
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-SAR-R...=UTF8&sr=&qid=


Look at this bill! Holy Shit.

In 1973, a twenty-four year old budding musician from New Jersey and his band were booked by their manager to play on a triple bill with Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry. When told the promoter would hire a local band to back up Berry for the live show, the musician told his manager to let them know they would back him up instead since Chuck Berry was one of their musical heroes. That young musician was none other than Bruce Springsteen who along with his E Street Band, backed up Chuck Berry at a concert held at the University of Maryland’s Cole Field House on April 28, 1973.

[KevinNYC]

Will check it out. I love music books. I was just at Barnes and Noble earlier today (or is it yesterday now?) and seen a book on Stax Records and skimmed through it, looked interesting.

Also, check out this book. Fever: LITTLE WILLIE JOHN'S Fast Life, Mysterious Death and the Birth of Soul, A lot of great stories and info in it.

Nice.

I got to be a press event for the 50th Anniversary of Stax Records. Isaac Hayes, Steve Cropper, Al Bell and some others were there.

David Porter who was Hayes' songwriting partner said the title for this Sam and Dave smash came about because Hayes had a melody he working on and Porter was in the bathroom and Hayes kept yelling for him.

Hold On I'm Coming was his reply.

[L.Kizzle]

Nice.

I got to be a press event for the 50th Anniversary of Stax Records. Isaac Hayes, Steve Cropper, Al Bell and some others were there.

David Porter who was Hayes' songwriting partner said the title for this Sam and Dave smash came about because Hayes had a melody he working on and Porter was in the bathroom and Hayes kept yelling for him.

Hold On I'm Coming was his reply.

Have you seen the recent Stax documentary from earlier this year or last year? Also a great James Broen doc has been running on the HBO stations this past month.

And yeah, I've heard that story. Man a lot of great songs have amazing and funny stories to them.

[32jazz]

I would probably have a different ranking as performers than as artists overall.

Chuck Berry would be number 1 in both cases. As he was a great singer, a fantastic instrumentalist and one of America's best songwriters.

If you are looking at total artist, Buddy Holly gets a lot higher since he was a great songwriter. Elvis would fall by this standard.

Elvis is by far the most important.

James Brown is great, but he is second wave to me. He was around in the 50's, but I can't name three songs of from that decade. His success really took off in the 60's.

If you're going by peak, there's about 8-10 Little Richard songs that just can't be beat.
What rocks better than this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcJrExewkYA

What grooves better than this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4fNqoHzeO4

If Aliens came to Earth and asked what is Rock and Roll, I think you could just show them this Jerry Lee Lewis clip.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yRdDnrB5kM

Great stuff & point well taken about Brown ,but he was a contemporary of Presley & several others of the late 50's mist people associate him with the 60's & 70's. I think its because Brown basically had 2 careers as a Soul Balladeer/singer in 50's /early sixties & then reinvented himself & as a Funk pioneer .

I wasn't really trying to dismiss those great artists like Fats , Berry Holly,etc....,but the longevity & relevance over the years pale in comparison to Brown.

[L.Kizzle]

Two things I just found while typing up my comments.

Sam Cooke's brother has an album out this year! And it was originally recorded in 1964.
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-SAR-R...=UTF8&sr=&qid=


Look at this bill! Holy Shit.

Check this bill out thow, are you serious.

Not only headliners Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson, the undercard is Hank Ballard, the Falcons with a young Wilson Pickett, the underrated Jesse Belvin and Marv Johnson and a teenaged Gladys Knight with the Pips. All for under 2 dollars.

[32jazz]

Have you seen the recent Stax documentary from earlier this year or last year? Also a great James Broen doc has been running on the HBO stations this past month.

And yeah, I've heard that story. Man a lot of great songs have amazing and funny stories to them.

Mr Dynamite is still "On Demand" on HBO.

The brutally honest & painful descriptions of James Brown by his bandmembers & others was cringeworthy at times. This documentary is no James Brown fluff piece .

I get the impression that many of the sophisticated Jazz musicians like Ellis & Wesley were almost dismissive of Browns musical knowledge (Although James loved Jazz & would have conceded that they were better musicians than he ,but it was obviously Browns vision/talent that drove things).




I also wanted to point out that not only was James Brown relevant in the late 50's & really took off in the 60's & 70's , we need to acknowledge how relevant he was on the charts still into the 1980's.


1980's Hip-Hop sampled James Brown records like no other artist in history & I remember reading someplace that Brown is the most sampled artist in music history?

Early Rappers ransacked James Browns catalogue so in a way his music was still fresh & relevant from the late 1950's up until the 1980's during the early years of Hip-Hop(although obviously indirectly through hundreds of samples).

[L.Kizzle]

Mr Dynamite is still "On Demand" on HBO.

The brutally honest & painful descriptions of James Brown by his bandmembers & others was cringeworthy at times. This documentary is no James Brown fluff piece .

Being a hug JB fan, they didn't even get into half of it. The Famous Flames between 1956-57; 1959-1967, the firing other earlier band members like JC Davis and Nat Jones, Joe Tex beef with Joe's wife and his claims to taking Joe's style, Solomon Burke beef for the "King of Soul" crown, BEing upstaged early on by Little Willie John at the Apollo and The Isley Bros at the Uptown Theater early in his career, Tammi Terrell beatings, Marva Whitney beatings and more.

I get the impression that many of the sophisticated Jazz musicians like Ellis & Wesley were almost dismissive of Browns musical knowledge (Although James loved Jazz & would have conceded that they were better musicians than he ,but it was obviously Browns vision/talent that drove things).

JB got the best of the best. Most of his band members went to college for music. Parker bros, Fred, Pee-Wee, St. Claire. So he knew what he wanted. JB might not have been able to read and write music like Pee Wee, but he knew music theory and his notes/chords. On various songs, he'd tell band members "I Want this in G flat or a D" ect. He's played piano on many hits like "I Don't Mind" and "Oh Baby Don't You Weep" and "Sex Machine"

I also wanted to point out that not only was James Brown relevant in the late 50's & really took off in the 60's & 70's , we need to acknowledge how relevant he was on the charts still into the 1980's.

Even not including his biggest hit "Living In America" (I don't really like it) I however loved how he reinvented himself with Full Force like "Static" and "I'm Real" both top ten hits on the R&B charts.

1980's Hip-Hop sampled James Brown records like no other artist in history & I remember reading someplace that Brown is the most sampled artist in music history?

True, Funky Drummer is the most sampled song, over 1000 songs have used it in some form.


Early Rappers ransacked James Browns catalogue so in a way his music was still fresh & relevant from the late 1950's up until the 1980's during the early years of Hip-Hop(although obviously indirectly through hundreds of samples).[/QUOTE]
His last charting single was released in 1998. And he was releasing singles all they way up to 2002, a final duet with Bobby Byrd.

He released over 250 singles [between 250-275] from the years 1956 to 2002.