Rank the rock n' rollers

[Deleted]

Order of preference please. And if there is anyone you believe should be in this pantheon then please include them

Elvis 
Gene Vincent
Buddy Holly
Jerry Lee Lewis
Little Richard 
Chuck Berry
Eddie Cochran

[bungo the mungo]

Oct 17, 2020 14:47:54 GMT @madcyril1 said:

Order of preference please. And if there is anyone you believe should be in this pantheon then please include them

Elvis 
Gene Vincent
Buddy Holly
Jerry Lee Lewis
Little Richard 
Chuck Berry
Eddie Cochran

elvis
chuck berry
little richard
buddy holly
eddie cochran
jerry lee lewis
gene vincent

i think i would probably put johnny burnette between cochran and lewis.

[osgood]

Chuck Berry
Little Richard
Elvis
Eddie Cochran
Buddy Holly
Jerry Lee Lewis
Gene Vincent

[rayge]

I don't tend to think of Chuckles and Buddy as rock & rollers, and some of the others only played rock & roll for a fraction of their career. Based purely on their rock & roll recordings, leaving aside all pop, country, novelty and gospel shenanigans, it's still near enough impossible to split these, but for now

Little Richard
Elvis Scotty and Bill
Jerry Lee
RCA Elvis (RCA plus Sun would eclipse Richard)
Chuck Berry
Eddie Cochran
Buddy Holly
Gene Vincent

I think Fats Domino also deserves a place in the pantheon, and I would personally put in a word for Wanda Jackson.

[sloopjohnc]

Elvis - the king for a reason
Chuck Berry - the first guitar hero
Buddy Holly - songs were king
Little Richard/Jerry Lee Lewis - tie
Eddie Cochran - Rock 'n' Roll 2.0
Gene Vincent - Elvis Jr.

I would have included the Everly Bros. and Johnny Burnette instead of Gene Vincent

[daveythefatboy]

Something along these lines for me:

Ray Charles
Chuck Berry
Sam Cooke
The Everly Brothers
Fats Domino
Buddy Holly
Elvis Presley
James Brown
Roy Orbison
Bo Diddley
Little Richard
Jerry Lee Lewis
Little Willie John
Eddie Cochran
The Platters
Big Joe Turner
The Orioles
The Five Royals
Gene Vincent
Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers
The Drifters
Jackie Wilson
Rick Nelson
The Flamingos
Dion & the Belmonts
Duane Eddy
The Coasters
Bill Haley & the Comets
Link Wray
Johnny Burnette Rock 'n' Roll Trio
Johnny “Guitar” Watson
Carl Perkins

[Deleted]

Jerry Lee.
As for the rest , who gives a fuck.

[~ / % ? *]

5 Royales
Gene
Lil Richard
Elvis
Bo
Wanda
Buddy
Jackie
Eddie
Coasters
Everlys







Jery lee is odious, I'll tale Roland Janes and Charlie rich anytime and everyday.

[rayge]

I din't think the doo-woppers, vocal groups and (rhythm and) blues guys belong here: much though I love them, they have nothing in common with rock and roll beyond an approximate time frame.

[oh oooh]

From G's original list:

Little Richard
Chuck Berry

Elvis
Buddy Holly

Jerry Lee Lewis


Gene Vincent


Eddie Cochran

[toomanyhatz]

All great, but...

Buddy Holly - He's the one that was more "the whole package" than any others. Could write, sing, play, produce- and for good measure was ahead of his time. 60s folk-rock, country-rock, psychedelia, etc...so much music I love owes him a huge debt.

Chuck Berry - Listening to his entire discography, I was struck by a few things. We all know he was a great songwriter, but his 'deep cuts' show more variety than he's usually given credit for. He was also a really great guitarist. And most importantly, though he was treated as an "oldies" act, his later records are really really good. "Tulane" is one of my favorite songs by him, and his live albums during the 'hippie ballrooms' period are really strong - stronger than I remember.

Eddie Cochran - Like Holly, he was the full package. And died even younger. Can only imagine what he could have done had he lived. Probably similar to Rick Nelson, he would have had a long, successful career and been embraced by the country-rock generation. Only difference is he wouldn't have needed James Burton, because he was Nelson and Burton rolled into one.

Elvis - Downgraded slightly for how much crap he did in the 60s and 70s, but all things considered he did a lot of great stuff too. And yeah--King for a reason. And it was in place from the get-go. His first recordings are still his best.

Jerry Lee/Little Richard - Richard rocked a touch harder, but Jerry Lee remade himself as a country artist impressively. Let's call it a tie.

Gene Vincent - Yeah, really incendiary at his best - but burned out quickly, Cliff Gallup gets a lot of credit, and his later records are solid enough but also kind of sad in a way - midline country-rock really doesn't suit him. Still, "Race with the Devil" will never not be as exciting as music gets.

[toomanyhatz]

With Johnny Burnette and Carl Perkins just below. And I really like the idea of putting Wanda Jackson in there too. Don't know her stuff as well as I should, but what I've heard is right up there for sure.

[fange]

Elvis - for his 50s records alone, as a singer and performer he deserves to be in the top/greatest rockers of all time.
Little Richard - same as above.
Chuck Berry - same as above, substituting his guitar playing for singing. Not that i think he had a bad voice; he had an excellent voice. In fact, of my top 3 he's the only one who i feel was a true quadruple threat - excellent singer, stage performer, player of his instrument and writer. But Chuck's voice was "just" great, not seismic like the other two.

Slightly lower
Eddie Cochran - A star, excellent at singing, playing and writing. Just not as earth-shattering as the guys above.
JLL - As above
Everly Bros. - As above
Buddy Holly - as above
Bo Diddley - as above

Slightly lower
Gene Vincent - Some excellent songs

[fange]

Chuck and Eddie had themselves, Gene had Cliff Gallup...

[Deleted]

Oct 17, 2020 20:03:19 GMT sloopjohnc said:

I would have included the Everly Bros. 

I don't think of them as rock n' roll. Maybe I'm wrong in that, I don't know.