1. Fats Domino – No one ever made great music sound more effortless than the portly, courtly New Orleans master. He’s staying at #1 on my list for at least a couple more years.
2. Charles Mingus – My personal favorite jazz artist, as I’ve written in this forum before. His music is dauntingly complex but always sounds like it was sheer joy to create, and that joy is transmitted to the listener.
3. Bo Diddley - Flavor Flav once exclaimed, "Y'all can't copyright no beats!" Here's the one person who could have. 'Nuff said.
4. The Beach Boys - Greater accomplishments yet to come after '64, of course. But, as I said about the Beatles last week, why wait?
5. Bob Dylan - WW?
6. Ella Fitzgerald
7. Thelonius Monk
8. Howlin’ Wolf
9. Bill Evans
10. The Rolling Stones
BACKSTAGE WING
1. Phil Spector
2. Harry Smith
3. Rudy Van Gelder
