# Who is the greatest American rock MUSICIAN of all time?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-greatest-american-rock-musician-of-all-time/730423>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [September 9, 2015, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-greatest-american-rock-musician-of-all-time/730423 "2015-09-09T12:50:28Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 8\
**Page:** 6

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![syncrolecyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@syncrolecyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/syncrolecyne)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2015, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-greatest-american-rock-musician-of-all-time/730423/101 "2015-09-12T23:58:24Z")

</div>

Elvis was a musician. He used an instrument called his “voice,” and remarkably well. The 1968 comeback special videos reveal that he did play the guitar too - perhaps not at a virtuoso level - be he did play rock on it (he also did some piano tracks).

However, I’d also say that 70% of Elvis’ meaningful contributions to rock were during his early Sun Years, with most of the rest in his 1956-1958 RCA sessions. After that, “From Elvis in Memphis” in 1969 is by far the bright spot, but didn’t offer much in the way of innovation. But the Sun sessions are where R&B, Country, and pop really melded together. Elvis did not write in the strict sense, but he interpreted and improvised.

As far as writing him of as a guy who just looked good and moved well - rock is a visual medium and performance is part of what makes rock n’ roll happen. You either look good (i.e. young Elvis, Paul McCartney, Jim Morrison) or you are spectacularly ugly and get laid (Keith Richards, Alice Cooper, Kid Rock).

That’s my defense of Elvis. He embodies American rock whether we like it or not. Jerry Lee Lewis gives Elvis a close run for his money. Lewis’ one strike is that his reputation in rock largely rests on about three singles. As a cult country figure…his 1960s records are also important.

Still, I’d say Hendrix beats everyone else in rock, British or American in terms of musicianship and long-term significance.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\
**Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-greatest-american-rock-musician-of-all-time/730423/102 "2015-09-13T01:10:05Z")

</div>

> [@Charlie\_Wayne](#):
>
> Yes indeed. His music was truly superb. However, his woman beating escapades will always remain a terrible, terrible … I don’t know what to say.
> 
> How can those things ever be explained or forgiven or … oh shit! What a terrible stupid thing to do. Not just because they ruin his life. But also because they ruing the lives of the women that he beat on. At the very least, he would need to suffer in proportion to the amount of suffering he cased those ladies. How else could he ever begin to pay back? How? Baffling. Just Bafflng.
> 
> Is there anyone here who can attempt to explain such things? Holy Shit!
> 
> It’s not even close for a woman to beat on a man. But given that most all men are so much physically stronger than women, the whole thing is just disgusting. Maybe it would make sense to banish this guy to some place far, far away? Very far away? I’m thinking maybe like Mars? Huh?
> 
> I would just so much like to hear from someone who thinks such things could be justified.
> 
> I would really like to see a “grudge match” with an unarmed female and an unarmed male - fighting it out … oh never mind. It just can’t make sense on any level at all. So ridiculous.

Except…it didn’t happen. It was tabloid bullshit.

\<\<Here is a statement made by Lt. John Miehle of the Santa Monica Police Department in November 1992:“The Santa Monica Police Department went to the house where Jackson Browne lives regarding a possible disturbance. We resolved the situation in about five minutes. There was never any assault. There are no charges pending and no prosecution sought by or intended by the District Attorney. It is this department’s intention that no citizen, regardless of who she is, suffer any kind of abuse, whether it be domestic violence or any other kind of assault. But in this case, absolutely no assault occurred. Our investigators tell us nothing happened. Nobody has even alleged that Daryl Hannah was even touched. If they had, we’d be investigating. We’re not hiding anything. The press is trying to make more out of this than there really is, and it’s unfair, not just to Browne, but to us. We did our job, and repeat, no crime occurred here. This whole thing is ridiculous.”\>\>  
[http://home.comcast.net/~leslienoelani/TNI.html](http://home.comcast.net/~leslienoelani/TNI.html)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\
**Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-greatest-american-rock-musician-of-all-time/730423/103 "2015-09-13T01:24:15Z")

</div>

Kanye West hasn’t joined the forum to nominate Kanye West yet?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\
**Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-greatest-american-rock-musician-of-all-time/730423/104 "2015-09-13T02:18:11Z")

</div>

He’ll come along later to tell us what idiots we are.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\
**Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-greatest-american-rock-musician-of-all-time/730423/105 "2015-09-13T04:22:37Z")

</div>

Oh, golly gosh, dear me, heavens to Betsy, what’s that you say? Jackson Browne didn’t beat any women? However can one know? Whatever shall we do? I’m not sure I said that. Golly gee whillikers.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\
**Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-greatest-american-rock-musician-of-all-time/730423/106 "2015-09-13T08:07:06Z")

</div>

> [@BlankSlate](#):
>
> Oh, golly gosh, dear me, heavens to Betsy, what’s that you say? Jackson Browne didn’t beat any women? However can one know? Whatever shall we do? I’m not sure I said that. Golly gee whillikers.

It’s not like Browne is a particularly important or beloved institution these days, **Blank Slate** , or that I like his work more than hers. I don’t. It’s more like the evidence available points less to an abusive rock star than to a cokehead fabulist actress. (Do you really think any LA cop would pass on a chance to look like a hero, rescuing a beautiful, famous actress from a scuzzy 70s rocker?) But please, feel free to trash a man’s career based on something other than due process.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\
**Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-greatest-american-rock-musician-of-all-time/730423/107 "2015-09-14T21:06:53Z")

</div>

No love for Jim Morrison?

> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#):
>
> “Escapades”? Plural? I’d only heard of one incident, an accusation about Daryl Hannah that is [far from definitive](http://home.comcast.net/~leslienoelani/TNI.html). Are there other instances where he’s been accused of beating a woman?

Plus this is about their musical ability, not what they’re like as people.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\
**Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-greatest-american-rock-musician-of-all-time/730423/108 "2015-09-17T13:38:11Z")

</div>

> [@Casey1505](#):
>
> Kanye West hasn’t jo…

Imma let you finish, but Kanye really should be in the running here.

[QUOTE=Guinastasia]  
No love for Jim Morrison?  
[/QUOTE]

I love the Doors, but consider the title of the thread. Jim Morrison is certainly an artist of great importance, buit I don’t think even Ray Manzarek thinks he is a serious contender for GREATEST American rock musician of all time.

To use a hockey analogy close to your heart, if we were discussing the greatest hockey player of all time I think you would agree Mario Lemieux is an interesting case to be compared against Gretzky, Orr, Howe and Patrick Roy. If I said Evgeni Malkin wasn’t getting enough love you’d think I was kidding around. Great player, but he’s not in THAT discussion, right? Right?

To my mind there really aren’t a lot of serious contenders for this title. Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, Stevie Wonder, and Bob Dylan are the sort of giants I think need to be in the discussion.

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-greatest-american-rock-musician-of-all-time/730423.md?page=5)