# Who will be our living musical legend now that Ray Charles & Johnny Cash are gone? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 10, 2004, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-be-our-living-musical-legend-now-that-ray-charles-johnny-cash-are-gone/249720 "2004-06-10T21:59:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kaotic\_Newtral](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@Kaotic\_Newtral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaotic_Newtral)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-be-our-living-musical-legend-now-that-ray-charles-johnny-cash-are-gone/249720/21 "2004-06-11T00:33:05Z")
Well, Zamfir is the **Master** of the pan flute! ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-be-our-living-musical-legend-now-that-ray-charles-johnny-cash-are-gone/249720/22 "2004-06-11T01:01:20Z")
Chuck Berry ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-be-our-living-musical-legend-now-that-ray-charles-johnny-cash-are-gone/249720/23 "2004-06-11T01:51:19Z")
It’s all about **Tom Waits**. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-be-our-living-musical-legend-now-that-ray-charles-johnny-cash-are-gone/249720/24 "2004-06-11T02:09:42Z")
Shouldn’t a living legend still be making music of a decent quality? I would disqualify Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis because they only seem to capitalize on what they did 50 years ago. Guys like Nelson, King, Dylan, Waits and some of the others mentioned are still making music, and to me that counts for a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Dopef1sh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/919ad9/32.png) [@Dopef1sh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dopef1sh)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-be-our-living-musical-legend-now-that-ray-charles-johnny-cash-are-gone/249720/25 "2004-06-11T02:42:02Z")
Bob Dylan or Robert Plant ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-be-our-living-musical-legend-now-that-ray-charles-johnny-cash-are-gone/249720/26 "2004-06-11T03:14:28Z")
Absolutely Willie Nelson. I shook his hand once. Also, my fiancee and I are in total agreement that at our wedding this coming August, our first dance will be to his “Hand’s On the Wheel.” ---
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-be-our-living-musical-legend-now-that-ray-charles-johnny-cash-are-gone/249720/27 "2004-06-11T03:42:02Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > George Jones is still alive? I was under the impression that George Jones was dead, too. However, a quick Google revealed that he’s alive and touring. In fact, he’s playing at Fan Fair in Nashville tonight. I think Dylan is a national treasure, although more for his lyrics than his music. Not that his music is bad, it’s just that his words are so great. My other vote would be for Vanilla Ice. ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-be-our-living-musical-legend-now-that-ray-charles-johnny-cash-are-gone/249720/28 "2004-06-11T04:10:08Z")
Yes!!! ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-be-our-living-musical-legend-now-that-ray-charles-johnny-cash-are-gone/249720/29 "2004-06-11T04:30:38Z")
I would love to nominate John Denver. Sadly, I can’t. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-be-our-living-musical-legend-now-that-ray-charles-johnny-cash-are-gone/249720/30 "2004-06-11T04:54:37Z")
Tom Waits. Bruce Springsteen. Bob Dylan. Leonard Cohen. C.C. DeVille. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-be-our-living-musical-legend-now-that-ray-charles-johnny-cash-are-gone/249720/31 "2004-06-11T05:02:21Z")
> [@Ukulele Ike](#): > > [Sonny Rollins](http://members.tripod.com/~hardbop/rollins.html) is still around. He’ll always be _my_ living musical legend. > > Until he, uh, dies. I’m a tenor sax player myself, and I was lucky enough to see Sonny Rollins perform live (for free!) at an outdoor show in 1998. As if that wasn’t cool enough, John Scofield opened for him! The man is a living legend, one of the great sax players and jazz musicians of all time, without a doubt. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Who](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Doctor\_Who](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Who)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-be-our-living-musical-legend-now-that-ray-charles-johnny-cash-are-gone/249720/32 "2004-06-11T05:04:26Z")
> [@Hunter Hawk](#): > > Bo Diddley. (He’s still alive, right?) > > I saw him about a year and a half ago, and his performance was absolutely jaw-dropping. I also saw Bo Diddley about 2 years ago. Absolutely, positively, THE BEST CONCERT I’ve ever seen. He’s a living legend. - Peter Wiggen ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-be-our-living-musical-legend-now-that-ray-charles-johnny-cash-are-gone/249720/33 "2004-06-11T05:28:13Z")
Yanni ---
**Author:** ![Hometownboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5e9695/32.png) [@Hometownboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hometownboy)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-be-our-living-musical-legend-now-that-ray-charles-johnny-cash-are-gone/249720/34 "2004-06-11T07:37:28Z")
I’ll nominate **Emmylou Harris** in that category. Her first album came out in 1970; she carries out the legacy of Gram Parsons; she’s done fabulously collaborative work with Linda Rondstadt and Dolly Parton, and has appeared on damn near **everybody’s** albums. That’s not an exaggeration. Here’s a partial list: The Band David Bromberg Garth Brooks Glen Campbell Johnny Cash Tracy Chapman The Chieftains Bruce Cockburn Sheryl Crow John Denver Dixie Chicks Bob Dylan Steve Earle Ramblin’ Jack Elliott Marianne Faithfull Dan Fogelberg Steve Goodman Nanci Griffith Waylon Jennings Flaco Jimenez George Jones The Judds Leo Kottke Lyle Lovett Kathy Mattea Delbert McClinton Kate & Anna McGarrigle Willie Nelson The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Buck Owens Bonnie Raitt Linda Ronstadt John Sebastian Ricky Skaggs Townes Van Zandt Lucinda Williams Tammy Wynette Trisha Yearwood Neil Young Warren Zevon Seriously, I’ve left out several dozen other appearances. She loves making music with other people. All Music Guide says about her: “With the exception of Neil Young, no other mainstream star established a similarly large body of work as consistently iconoclastic, eclectic, or daring; even more than three decades into her career, Harris’ latter-day music remained as heartfelt, visionary, and vital as her earliest recordings.” Rodney Crowell and Ricky Skaggs both started their careers as members of her band — or, rather, bands, as she’s had several different groupings over the decades, to the point of giving them different names: The Hot Band, The Nash Ramblers, Spyboy Yes, indeed. AND she also was involved heavily in the “Down From the Mountain” show featuring many of the performers from the “O Brother, Where Art Thou” soundtrack. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-be-our-living-musical-legend-now-that-ray-charles-johnny-cash-are-gone/249720/35 "2004-06-11T07:44:33Z")
Nominating “Weird Al” Yankovic here. We need _something_ to cheer us up, given the state of the nation these days. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-be-our-living-musical-legend-now-that-ray-charles-johnny-cash-are-gone/249720/36 "2004-06-11T12:48:14Z")
If we pick Dylan, we’ll probably have to pick someone else very soon. I’d nominate Springsteen, only because he was born on the same date as Ray Charles (September 23rd) and named his daughter Jessica Rae in honor of Ray. Billy Joel named his daugher Alexa Ray for Ray, but he wasn’t born on the same date. And the way he’s drinking and driving, he might not have too longer either. ---
**Author:** ![Genghis\_Bob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/45deac/32.png) [@Genghis\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Genghis_Bob)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-be-our-living-musical-legend-now-that-ray-charles-johnny-cash-are-gone/249720/37 "2004-06-11T13:03:37Z")
I can’t \*\*\*believe \* \*\* nobody has mentioned **Meatloaf!** Well, okay . . . yes I can. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-be-our-living-musical-legend-now-that-ray-charles-johnny-cash-are-gone/249720/38 "2004-06-11T13:07:35Z")
I think B.B. King is probably right. He’s 78, and given the fact that his style has influenced about 50 years worth of guitar players so deeply, he may be the biggest legend going now. He’s still performing, too, and (this may be the big thing) I think he’s more of a mainstream figure than Chuck Berry or Bo Diddley. Some have commented that the younger generation (like me) know who Ray Charles is in part because of the Pepsi commercials and the movies and things like that. I think of his duet with Kermit on It’s Not Easy Being Green. B.B. has had the same kind of crossover; he isn’t just an influence, he became a huge star in his own right. ---
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-be-our-living-musical-legend-now-that-ray-charles-johnny-cash-are-gone/249720/39 "2004-06-11T13:36:26Z")
**Barry Manilow** Yeah, I said it! What? He’s had a long career and is still putting out albums and touring. I’d say he qualifies. Although, if he died, I don’t think he’d be called a national treasure. He’s too much of a guilty pleasure for most people. With Lennon and Harrison gone, I’d then have to go with McCartney. Sorry, Ringo. You’re somewhere after the “Byyyyyy Mennen” singers. ---
**Author:** ![Kings\_Gambit1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dc4da7/32.png) [@Kings\_Gambit1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kings_Gambit1)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2004, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-be-our-living-musical-legend-now-that-ray-charles-johnny-cash-are-gone/249720/40 "2004-06-11T13:55:08Z")
It’s one of the following for me: **Brian Wilson Bob Dylan Prince** Damn, I just can’t decide. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-be-our-living-musical-legend-now-that-ray-charles-johnny-cash-are-gone/249720.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-be-our-living-musical-legend-now-that-ray-charles-johnny-cash-are-gone/249720.md?page=3)