Your Favorite Non-Classical Musicians and Why

[Harvey]

Johnny Winter for his wonderful guitar and his gritty voice.
Bob Dylan for his wonderful poetry, his voice, and the diversity of his works.
Neil Young for his wonderful poetry, his voice, and the diversity of his works.

Favorite Albums:

Johnny Winter: Progressive Blues Experiment, Johnny Winter, Second Winter, Nothing But the Blues, Still Alive and Well, White Hot and Blue, Hey Where's Your Brother, Let Me In, Live in NYC, Winter of '88.

Bob Dylan: Bob Dylan, John Wesley Hardin, Nashville Skyline, Self Portrait, Basement Tapes, Saved, Self Portrait, New Morning.

Neil Young: Harvest, Americana, Sleeps With Angels, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, Lucky 13. Live Rust, Sugar Mountain, Tonight's The Night.

[Peter]

Seems no one has any, yet I know Michael is a Beatles fan! I go for Glenn Miller when bands could play as they were real musicians.

[Megan]

Ok, just to keep things going I'll repeat mine here as I think of them, though they are few and far between. Oddly enough, I always seemed to like the American bands rather than the British. I hated the Beatles, still do.
My all time favourite band , is Simon & Garfunkel.
The Beach Boys,
Buddy Holly.
The Walker Brothers.
Simple minds, who were actually a Scottish band.

There is another interesting American singer, I will post about later.

[Chris]

I go for Glenn Miller when bands could play as they were real musicians.

I don't think it's fair to characterize the players of today's popular music as not real musicians. That's often true of the big stars, but session musicians live and die by their skills not only in playing their instruments, but doing it perfectly the first time, sight reading, and improvising accompaniments and solos. There's a remarkable amount of talent being wasted creating today's terrible music

[Peter]

I don't think it's fair to characterize the players of today's popular music as not real musicians. That's often true of the big stars, but session musicians live and die by their skills not only in playing their instruments, but doing it perfectly the first time, sight reading, and improvising accompaniments and solos. There's a remarkable amount of talent being wasted creating today's terrible music

It is of course a huge generalisation and I pay no attention to the empty pop world of today, but I can't think of many who have mastered their art and can really play or sing without electronic aids and all sorts of gimmickry to disguise a lack of talent. Although I'm not a fan, I think Jools Holland is an exception and I'm sure there are others, but not the vast majority who pass for today's 'stars'. You are right - there is a lot of talent out there wasted, because the world isn't interested in talent, only money.

[Hollywood]

I too am a huge Glenn Miller fan. I saw "The Glenn Miller Story" with James Stewart as Miller when I was about 6 years old and I fell in love with his music. I love swing music and in my eyes Glenn Miller was king.

I also love The Beach Boys. Growing up in Los Angeles in the 1960s, we went to beaches like Huntington, Manhattan, Redondo and Long Beach pretty much every Saturday as well as spending our 2 week summer vacation at Newport Beach. My Mom's two younger brothers were surfers as well and The Beach Boys and Jan and Dean were the bands of the surfing scene there at that time. This was the music I grew up with and I still love surfer music especially from The Beach Boys.

Growing up in the 1950s and 1960s is the era music that I love to this day. So I have quite a few favorites that include Buddy Holly, Bill Haley, the Doors, Herman's Hermits, the Monkees and Creedence Clearwater Revival.

[AeolianHarp]

It is of course a huge generalisation and I pay no attention to the empty pop world of today, but I can't think of many who have mastered their art and can really play or sing without electronic aids and all sorts of gimmickry to disguise a lack of talent. Although I'm not a fan, I think Jools Holland is an exception and I'm sure there are others, but not the vast majority who pass for today's 'stars'. You are right - there is a lot of talent out there wasted, because the world isn't interested in talent, only money.

I agree Peter and also lack of adequate clothing for the pop tarts too to draw attention away from no talent. Pop music must surely die away in the next century- it has nowhere else to go.