As a lifelong accordionist (“Piano” Accordion, non-Free Bass) I’ll second that.
I’ve never listened to any Classical Accordionists, but for non-classical music I’ve never seen or heard anyone better than Myron Floren.
And for all I know he could have excelled at classical as well.
I would agree with your statement without the (gracious) parenthetical disclaimer. For all of the ridiculousness about who was “the fifth Beatle”, it was clearly George Martin.
He was for all intents and purposes a non-performing (mostly) member of the band. Lennon, McCartney, and Martin were the creative geniuses behind the music.
As for producers and songwriters, we cannot leave out Brian Wilson as a real genius.
And, I prefer John’s songs to Paul’s. They are grittier and more downbeat, which I prefer.
And, I agree Martin is a once in a lifetime talent in the category of “producer.”
But in the category of “songwriter/performer/singer/well-rounded musician” I stick with McCartney.
Although I prefer Lennon’s music and lyrics, I believe John needed the take-charge attitude of McCartney to bring his songwriting genius to fruition. I believe this is apparent in the Get Back films. The Beatles needed Paul’s focus to produce the hits they achieved.
David Bowie. He was an amazing composer, musician, singer, actor.
I can’t agree with the “since” bit … Charles Berthoud would give him a run
for his money. See also Victor Wooten.
I’m surprised that Stevie Wonder hasn’t been mentioned.
I agree with Brian Wilson being a contender for best producer/songwriter talent. I wish his Beach Boy family bandmates were better musicians, but they wisely used excellent studio musicians for their albums. And, Brian’s schizoaffective disorder may have contributed to his genius, it also no doubt put him out of commission for long periods of time.
As we mention musicians, how about Keith Moon? Not the most technically proficient of rock drummers, and not the best timekeeper, either, but there’s really no other that sounds like him. I wouldn’t say he stands apart from other drummers in the sense of being “better” than them, as music is not a contest, but out of all the rock drummers out there, he just has such a unique approach to the instrument that I haven’t really heard before or since (and I don’t think would work as well outside the context of The Who.) He truly is sui generis.
Freddie Mercury, as a rock singer and frontman with amazing stage presence.
And, in the category of jazz drummer/showman, I think Buddy Rich was king of the hill.
Certainly the most flamboyant and theatrical. He’s not the king of my jazz hill or even top five or ten (neither is Moon for rock), but he was definitely one-of-a-kind.
I just checked the thread. No mention of Elvis yet.
Any F1 fans here? I’m not a big fan but was amazed at Ayrton Senna’s driving skills, especially in the rain.
In ‘73 I was a young kid just starting to watch ABC’s Wide World of Sports, and I watched that Belmont race. Just incredible.
+1 for Secretariat.
I almost entirely agree with you - but I lean to Dylan. A man who never even bothered to properly record songs that other fine songwriters would have given a kidney for. Santa Fe. Mama you been on my mind. And so on.
As for sports - Torville and Dean. So good that they redefined the sport. So good that I watched ice skating. Says it all, really.
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That’s why I wrote -/showman. Rich is in the same category as Liberace with piano. Liberace was an excellent pianist, but nowhere in the same stratosphere as a top concert pianist like Horowitz, or Yuga Wang. Buddy Rich was an excellent drummer (and certainly more technically proficient than Keith Moon, but technicality isn’t that important in rock and roll). Big (but not top) talent coupled with extreme showmanship is certainly worthy of acclaim.
An exception, IMHO, is Franz Liszt. By all accounts he was a top piano virtuoso, and a spellbinding showman. Not to mention the composer of some the most technically difficult piano works ever created.
Song writer, male: Dylan
Song writer, female: Carole King or Joni Mitchell
Poet: Dylan
Blues guitar: Stevie Ray Vaughan
Rock guitar: Hendrix - everyone who followed him used him as a guide
Jazz guitar, male: Al Di Meola or Paco De Lucia
Jazz guitar, female: Mimi Fox
Jazz drummer: Joe Morello
Jazz trumpet: Miles Davis, Diz
All around athlete: Jim Thorpe
Classical composer: Bach
Modern composer: Leonard Bernstein - Nobody had ever done what he did with music
Ballet dancer, male: Baryshnikov - I don’t even like ballet, but the athleticism this guy had was phenomenal
Somehow, my eyes elided over the “showman” part. I can see the analogy to Liberace, although Rich was much more talented on the music front (though Liberace was reasonable.) For idiosyncratic classical music performers, I feel like Glen Gould has to be somewhere in the discussion. Once again, I’m not sure I’ve heard anyone quite like him.
Was he really hated by everyone or is that just part of his legend?
I’m not expert enough in any field to designate an absolute best. And my knowledge falls off sharply before and after my late teens and prime adulthood.
But! I’m in awe of a few people.
JRR Tolkien
Albert Einstein (not exactly part of my lifetime)
Bob Dylan
Tom Brady
The Beatles (collectively)
Robert Crumb
Bill Watterson
…and maybe the Coen Brothers.
I liked Gould very much (despite his annoying humming), but for my money, Yuja Wang is top piano gun. She is as near-perfect as one can get with an instrument and she plays with emotional depth and a clear understanding of the music she plays. And, she hasn’t even reached her peak. Top contemporary concert piano talent = Wang.