# Who is on your state's Mt. Rushmore of musicians? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 18, 2014, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-on-your-states-mt-rushmore-of-musicians/684033 "2014-03-18T22:48:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-on-your-states-mt-rushmore-of-musicians/684033/61 "2014-03-20T13:39:01Z")
For North Carolina, let’s go with: John Coltrane Thelonious Monk Doc Watson Ben Folds ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-on-your-states-mt-rushmore-of-musicians/684033/62 "2014-03-20T15:26:33Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Washington, DC: > > Duke Ellington > John Philip Sousa > Marvin Gaye > Danny Gatton No love for Chuck Brown? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-on-your-states-mt-rushmore-of-musicians/684033/63 "2014-03-20T17:17:52Z")
> [@yoyodyne](#): > > Florida: > > Ray Charles > Tom Petty > Ronnie Van Zant > Vanilla Ice > [@Ponch8](#): > > I strongly disagree with your last choice (a one-hit-wonder whose career was a total joke). There are dozens of other more successful rappers (Flo Rida, Pitbull, T-Pain), not to mention Jim Morrison and Gloria Estefan. Jim Morrison had long since left the state by the time he got famous. Tom Petty too. T-Pain is a better choice, since he T is for Tallahassee. Besides, if you’re going to name a “rapper”, though, Fred Durst has sold more records than all of them. I feel like Chuck Schuldiner deserves a place, too. He may not have sold a lot of records but he singlehandedly created a musical genre. ---
**Author:** ![Shark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Shark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shark)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-on-your-states-mt-rushmore-of-musicians/684033/64 "2014-03-20T17:41:54Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Remove Harry Nilsson and put in Dave Brubeck. If you put in Dave Brubeck, you can take five. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-on-your-states-mt-rushmore-of-musicians/684033/65 "2014-03-20T18:46:37Z")
No Texas Rushmore is legitimate without Stevie Ray Vaughan, thank you very much. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-on-your-states-mt-rushmore-of-musicians/684033/66 "2014-03-20T19:28:47Z")
I can fill up Georgia’s without going past the 1960s: James Brown Little Richard Otis Redding Gladys Knight Then there’s the Allman Brothers (could also go Florida there), REM, Widepread Panic, the Black Crows, Chet Atkins, and too many country and hip-hop artists to try and list. Damn, that would be very hard. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-on-your-states-mt-rushmore-of-musicians/684033/67 "2014-03-20T20:26:19Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > No love for Chuck Brown? I considered him, but frankly very few people outside of DC know who Chuck Brown is. The list _had_ to include Ellington, Sousa, and Gaye (probably the 2nd most well known after Sousa, and I don’t think most people know he’s from DC). Gatton was more of a personal choice. While certainly not nearly as famous as the other three among the general population, he was someone I saw fairly frequently as a teenager (he used to play in Wheaton regularly at a nightclub one of my friends worked at), and was an immensely talented guitar player. I met him many times and while I never coaxed a guitar lesson out of him, he was always friendly and willing to chat after a show, even to a teenager who wasn’t even old enough to be at the club. Also candidates: Ian MacKaye (came closest to making my top four), Charlie Byrd (my favorite jazz guitarist), Tom Principato (great, but not widely known blues guitarist), and Henry Rollins (grew up in DC, but made his name out West). ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-on-your-states-mt-rushmore-of-musicians/684033/68 "2014-03-20T21:45:53Z")
My first three were the same, maybe I thought of Brown because I drive past his mural at Sweet Mango every day. ---
**Author:** ![Glass\_Joe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ccd318/32.png) [@Glass\_Joe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glass_Joe)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-on-your-states-mt-rushmore-of-musicians/684033/69 "2014-03-20T22:42:31Z")
Canada Neil Young Robbie Robertson Joni Mitchell Neil Peart ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2014, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-on-your-states-mt-rushmore-of-musicians/684033/70 "2014-03-20T23:05:23Z")
New Hampshire had only Steven Tyler so I expanded to Northern New England. So now it’s Steven Tyler and Patty Griffin. My birthplace was NY State and that’s been covered. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-on-your-states-mt-rushmore-of-musicians/684033/71 "2014-03-21T00:28:35Z")
> [@Shark](#): > > If you put in Dave Brubeck, you can take five. I smiled. mmm ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-on-your-states-mt-rushmore-of-musicians/684033/73 "2014-03-21T01:06:47Z")
> [@Glass\_Joe](#): > > Canada > > Neil Young > Robbie Robertson > Joni Mitchell > Neil Peart [ul] [li]Bryan Adams[/li][li]Justin Bieber[/li][li]Celine Dion[/li][li]William Shatner[/li][/ul] :D:D:D ---
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-on-your-states-mt-rushmore-of-musicians/684033/74 "2014-03-21T13:34:02Z")
> [@yoyodyne](#): > > Florida: > > Ray Charles > Tom Petty > Ronnie Van Zant > Vanilla Ice > [@Ponch8](#): > > I strongly disagree with your last choice (a one-hit-wonder whose career was a total joke). There are dozens of other more successful rappers (Flo Rida, Pitbull, T-Pain), not to mention Jim Morrison and Gloria Estefan. > [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Jim Morrison had long since left the state by the time he got famous. Tom Petty too. T-Pain is a better choice, since he T is for Tallahassee. Besides, if you’re going to name a “rapper”, though, Fred Durst has sold more records than all of them. > > I feel like Chuck Schuldiner deserves a place, too. He may not have sold a lot of records but he singlehandedly created a musical genre. Morrison may have moved around a lot, but many of his formative years were here…and don’t forget the Miami incident. Nevertheless, I think the one deserving musician not mentioned is Jaco Pastorius. ---
**Author:** ![Mind\_Your\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Mind\_Your\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mind_Your_Head)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-on-your-states-mt-rushmore-of-musicians/684033/75 "2014-03-21T15:26:37Z")
My list from my home province of Ontario - Gordon Lightfoot Bryan Adams Geddy Lee Neil Young (There are many and it’s difficult to choose just 4) And from my current home in Suffolk, England - Brian Eno Ed Sheeran Benjamin Britten That’s all I could come up with. Many famous musicians live here now but few, it seems, were born here. ---
**Author:** ![Shark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Shark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shark)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-on-your-states-mt-rushmore-of-musicians/684033/76 "2014-03-21T15:39:41Z")
Quote: Originally Posted by **Shark** > [@](#): > > If you put in Dave Brubeck, you can take five. > > > [@](#): > > > > Originally posted by **Mean Mr. Mustard** > > I smiled. > > mmm I’m glad somebody got it and it wasn’t just me chuckling to myself. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2014, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-on-your-states-mt-rushmore-of-musicians/684033/77 "2014-03-21T16:48:04Z")
> [@Mind\_Your\_Head](#): > > My list from my home province of Ontario - > > Gordon Lightfoot > Bryan Adams > Geddy Lee > Neil Young > > (There are many and it’s difficult to choose just 4) Please tell me Stan Rogers was in the running! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2014, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-on-your-states-mt-rushmore-of-musicians/684033/78 "2014-03-22T04:24:23Z")
NJ Sinatra Springsteen Count Basie Sarah Vaughan With honorable mentions to Frankie Valli, Jon Bon Jovi, George Clinton, Debbie Harry, and Thomas A. Edison. ---
**Author:** ![Mind\_Your\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Mind\_Your\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mind_Your_Head)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2014, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-on-your-states-mt-rushmore-of-musicians/684033/79 "2014-03-22T20:08:42Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Please tell me Stan Rogers was in the running! Definitely. There were some very difficult choices. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-on-your-states-mt-rushmore-of-musicians/684033.md?page=3)