# Your Mount Rushmore of American Music **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 4, 2013, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-mount-rushmore-of-american-music/667966 "2013-09-04T04:33:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-mount-rushmore-of-american-music/667966/21 "2013-09-04T15:09:31Z")
I couldn’t begin to narrow it down. Interesting that there has been no mention of Frank Sinatra and I think one mention of Irving Berlin. If I had to focus it would be on American Idioms/Genres: - Jazz - Blues - hard not to conflate this with Country, Folk, Soul, R&B and perhaps Gospel - all contributing to Rock, while also persisting as their own categories… - American Songbook/Broadway - Rock Folks like Copland took symphonic music and gave it an American voice, but for some reason that feels a bit different vs. entire genres created here… A lot of great music and musicians… ---
**Author:** ![zoog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7ea924/32.png) [@zoog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoog)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-mount-rushmore-of-american-music/667966/22 "2013-09-04T15:47:35Z")
Interesting responses so far. I completely forgot Gershwin in the OP, which is a major oversight. I thought about Elvis, but I’ll be brutally honest here - I think that he’s pretty much in a dead heat with Michael Jackson as “most overrated performers of all time” in my book. If one of your big criteria is commercial success, then you definitely need both of those guys on the mountain (although I’ve yet to see anybody else mention Jackson here, interestingly enough). I had the thought that I should break it down to genres (as **JKellyMap** points out, there is a lot of rock in the Black Hills) but this seemed more challenging to me. I think I’ll compile the responses here and start a poll next week. ---
**Author:** ![zoog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7ea924/32.png) [@zoog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoog)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-mount-rushmore-of-american-music/667966/23 "2013-09-04T15:54:57Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > This is music written and/or performed by US-born (not Canadian) writers and/or singers? Yes, only US originated. I don’t know if we need to dig up birth certificates, but we’ll have none of Bryan Adams or Celine Dion on my mountainside. 😛 Not even Neil Young, but I don’t think he’d make the cut in any case despite being a great songwriter and performer. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-mount-rushmore-of-american-music/667966/24 "2013-09-04T15:59:45Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > The blues existed at least a generation before Robert Johnson, probably a couple of generations. But Saint Clapton said Robert Johnson invented everything! Charley Patton Duke Ellington Elvis Presley Aaron Copland ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-mount-rushmore-of-american-music/667966/25 "2013-09-04T16:04:19Z")
With rap/hip hop being such a huge (biggest?) part of American music today, **Run DMC** has to be considered. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-mount-rushmore-of-american-music/667966/26 "2013-09-04T16:18:01Z")
Hank Williams James Brown Elvis Presley Willie Dixon ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-mount-rushmore-of-american-music/667966/27 "2013-09-04T16:21:31Z")
Going two different directions: MOST INFLUENTIAL ON THEIR INSTRUMENT: Guitar: Wes Montgomery Bass: Jimmy Blanton Drums: Buddy Rich Piano: Duke Ellington, or Voice: Billie Holliday INVENTORS Les Paul Leo Fender Robert Moog Thomas Edison (for the phonograph) ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-mount-rushmore-of-american-music/667966/28 "2013-09-04T16:28:53Z")
There are way too many genres to narrow it down to four. But these four MUST be included. Aaron Copland Duke Ellington George Gershwin John Philip Sousa Honorable mention: Irving Berlin Leonard Bernstein Ella Fitzgerald Scott Joplin ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-mount-rushmore-of-american-music/667966/29 "2013-09-04T16:30:10Z")
Hm, no MJ, Madonna, Cher, or Whitney. Who’s going to represent Pop music? ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-mount-rushmore-of-american-music/667966/30 "2013-09-04T16:32:45Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > Hm, no MJ, Madonna, Cher, or Whitney. Who’s going to represent Pop music? Louis Armstrong was the pop(s) of his day. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-mount-rushmore-of-american-music/667966/31 "2013-09-04T16:32:57Z")
Four Americans for “Music” is just way too broad. There’s no way to compare Chuck Berry to Richard Rodgers to Van Cliburn to Stephen Foster to Frank Sinatra to Jimi Hendrix to Woody Guthrie to Miles Davis to Aaron Copland to Benny Goodman to Hank Williams. You need several subcategories to come up ith any kind of decent lists. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-mount-rushmore-of-american-music/667966/32 "2013-09-04T16:35:09Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > Les Paul Holy cow yes. Can’t believe I forgot him. Imagine American music without the electric guitar. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-mount-rushmore-of-american-music/667966/33 "2013-09-04T16:46:17Z")
Duke Ellington George Gershwin Bob Dylan John Hammond, Sr. - bowing to the realities that American music has been as much about promotion as anything else. Hammond is an utter giant in his field. No way does Elvis make this. He was a symbol of innovation, not an innovator himself. His body of creative work simply does not compare with those above. I thought about Bruce Springsteen and Jimi Hendrix, but decided against it. I cannot say that their influence was as deep as those above. Likewise Sousa. I went back and forth on Stephen Foster, but it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to memorialize minstrel shows in this way. ---
**Author:** ![zoog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7ea924/32.png) [@zoog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoog)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-mount-rushmore-of-american-music/667966/34 "2013-09-04T16:59:28Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > With rap/hip hop being such a huge (biggest?) part of American music today, **Run DMC** has to be considered. Can’t be a group, but if you want to bring in an individual artist that drove the rap/hip-hop explosion, make a case for him. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-mount-rushmore-of-american-music/667966/35 "2013-09-04T17:01:39Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > Hm, no MJ, Madonna, Cher, or Whitney. Who’s going to represent Pop music? Elvis > [@bup](#): > > Holy cow yes. Can’t believe I forgot him. Imagine American music without the electric guitar. Dammit no one listens to me ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-mount-rushmore-of-american-music/667966/36 "2013-09-04T17:05:18Z")
This is really, really tough. I’ll try this, although give me another five minutes, and I’ll come up with a different set of four: Jimmie Rodgers Irving Berlin Elvis Presley TuPac Shakur ---
**Author:** ![zoog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7ea924/32.png) [@zoog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoog)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-mount-rushmore-of-american-music/667966/37 "2013-09-04T17:07:22Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Four Americans for “Music” is just way too broad. There’s no way to compare Chuck Berry to Richard Rodgers to Van Cliburn to Stephen Foster to Frank Sinatra to Jimi Hendrix to Woody Guthrie to Miles Davis to Aaron Copland to Benny Goodman to Hank Williams. You need several subcategories to come up ith any kind of decent lists. Yeah, like I said earlier, I thought about breaking it out into genres, but this makes a more interesting discussion to me. I think that the two biggest cultural contributions that the U.S. has made to the world are music and movies. Mind you nobody invented anything out of thin air, all of our music came from other sources in Europe and Africa and was distilled into several different forms here. The names you listed above very much drive that home. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-mount-rushmore-of-american-music/667966/38 "2013-09-04T17:33:12Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Dammit no one listens to me Yes, **Loach** was first with Les Paul. I just added in the other inventors. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-mount-rushmore-of-american-music/667966/39 "2013-09-04T17:41:59Z")
George Gershwin Art Tatum Brian Wilson Duane Allman ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2013, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-mount-rushmore-of-american-music/667966/40 "2013-09-04T17:44:22Z")
Sousa deserves consideration, not for his musical influence per se (which is mighty), but rather for the iconic presence his music has as a component of the USA’s national identity. Without a doubt, “Stars and Stripes Forever” is among the most often publicly performed music in the US, compared to any other examples from _any_ genre. There are probably dozens of performances of that march every week, nationwide. Mt. Rushmore is about icons. When it comes to national identity represented in music, Sousa is one of our icons. I actually regret in retrospect that I didn’t place Sousa in my list of four; maybe I’d bump Elliott Carter for him. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-mount-rushmore-of-american-music/667966.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-mount-rushmore-of-american-music/667966.md?page=3)