artists who get appropriate recognition for their work

Cafe Society
1

So many discussions on the Internet are devoted to artists or popular culture that is either underrated or overrated. I would like to give a thought to artists or popular culture that is given appropriate recognition in terms of quality and importance. You know, just to see that sometimes the system actually works.

A rule for the thread should be to only nominate artists that are appreciated when they are still current and that are not redeemed post-mortem or long time after the fact.

e It might also be more fruitful to discuss *good *artists, whatever that means. There are of course lots of talentless amateurs who get no recognition at all.

2

I’ll start it off with Tom Petty. I think he gets just the right amount of recognition. His fans love him, his non-fans ignore him and no one rubs it in anyone’s face. There isn’t a new documentary coming out about him every year, his music isn’t in every movie, TV show or commercial. He doesn’t host/appear on every awards show. He doesn’t find new and inventive ways to keep himself in the news. etc etc etc. He just writes music and travels the country playing it…and with that, the music he writes is good and most people know who he is and can probably sing along with at least one or two of his songs (and would be amazed if they realized how many Petty songs they actually know).

I think Tom Petty will become hugely over-hyped when he dies…at least for a few weeks.

3

The Beatles seem like an obvious choice. They were popular and critical darlings, elevated to the level of icons, while they were still together. 40 years after their break-up, they are still artists of enormous influence (not to mention sales).

4

Tom Petty was the first name I though of when I read the OP.

The second was John Mellencamp.

5

Since you said popular culture, The Lord of the Rings movies seem an obvious answer for popular culture. They were hailed critically, were blockbusters financially, and were rewarded artistically.

The Fellowship of the Ring:
92% at Rotten Tomatoes.
$870,761,744 at the box office.
Awards: Nominated for 13 Oscars, won 4. Another 75 wins & 84 nominations.

The Two Towers:
96% at Rotten Tomatoes.
$925,282,504 at the box office.
Awards: Nominated for 6 Oscars, won 2. Another 65 wins & 76 nominations.

The Return of the King:
94% at Rotten Tomatoes.
$1,119,110,941 at the box office.
Awards: Nominated for 11 Oscars. Won 11 Oscars. Another 106 wins & 68 nominations.

I think Titanic and Avatar count, and Inception seems to be heading that way.
As far as musical artists, I was going to say Kate Bush during her active career, because she was known around the world, was acclaimed critically, was a wild success financially, and won tons of awards. But since she never “made it” in America, I’m sure some who think that if you haven’t made it in America, you haven’t made it at all will quibble.
As usual The Beatles belong in the #1 spot. They had a perfect storm of timing, material, fans, wealth, critical reception and acclaim in just about every way possible.