Come n’ git it—it’s the 1963 election. Select the ten most deserving artists, based on records released through the end of 1962.

To see a list of noteworthy candidates, as well as our discussion of them, check out the 1963 discussion thread. For a reminder of who’s already been inducted, see the results thread.

For your ballot to be eligible, you must submit a ranked list of your ten most deserving artists. Also, for your top FIVE artists (at least), you must explain why they deserve to be in the HOA.

In addition, you may nominate up to three people for the Backstage Wing. This is optional; your ballot will still be eligible even if you don’t vote for Backstage candidates.

Deadline for ballots is 12:00 noon GMT (6:00 am where I am), Tuesday, August 19.

Voting is now open.

Here's nicolas' ballot, pasted in from the other thread:

****

Last week found me drifting away from our core music, rock'n roll. Now I made a point of having at least 50 per cent of rockers and soulmen in my list.

So, here it goes :

1.Georges Brassens : Glad to know that I'm not the only one now to defend Georges. A monument.

2.Fats Domino : Let's pay respect to New Orleans music and to a man of influence and very successful in his time (he was a far better seller than Chuck or Little R)

3.Leadbelly : Dylan made his debut album in 1961 singing House of The Rising Sun. He (directly or undirectly) borrowed it from the songsters like Lead and Josh White

4.Eddie Cochran : a great songwriter and guitar player. A Cochran greatest hits is a must-have (you'll realize that he made tons of good songs)

5.Roy Orbison : In 1962 Roy hasn't had his biggest hit but already recorded a few masterpieces ("In Dreams", "Running Scared", "Only The Lonely"). The albums are a little cheesy sometimes, but the singles..

6.Muddy Waters
7.Johnny Cash
8.Carl Perkins
9.Bill Monroe
10.James Brown

1. Bill Monroe – I’m moving him up to the top because I think he is the second most important performer in the history of country music. From AMG: “Bill Monroe is the father of bluegrass. He invented the style, invented the name, and for the great majority of the 20th century, embodied the art form.”
2. John Coltrane – Stands right next to Miles. A jazz giant.
3. Thelonious Monk – He’s the presumptive number one candidate for admission for a reason. He’s a great jazz composer and innovative player.
4. Johnny Cash – And here’s you third most important country artist (imho).
5. Jerry Lee Lewis – Nailed the rock and roll attitude.
6. The Everly Brothers
7. Patsy Cline
8. Charles Mingus
9. Sam Cooke
10. Fats Domino

I really should have been playing all along...

1. John Coltrane - even though this is pre-A Love Supreme, Coltrane had already solidified himself as one of the most committed, passionate, and just damn exciting jazz musicians ever. He hadn't gone completely free yet at this point, but his "sheets of sound" work was already well in place. Blue Train, Giant Steps, and My Favorite Things are all masterpieces. Not to mention his work on Kind of Blue.

2. Thelonious Monk - appropriate for #2 as he had just released Monk's Dream, which was his last great work. He managed to make music at once immensely enjoyable and challenging. The guy could also wear a hat.

3. Charles Mingus - Will certainly climb higher on my list once we're including Black Saint.

4. Ornette Coleman - My appreciation for free jazz has grown over the years; there is definite method to the madness, and a surprising beauty in there too.

5. Johnny Cash - Badass.

6. Ella Fitzgerald - Possibly my favorite pure voice in all music.

7. Sam Cooke - Possibly my 2nd favorite pure voice in all music.

8. Charlie Parker - Probably on here more for influence than pure enjoyment, but he was undeniably great and pretty much laid the groundwork for modern jazz.

9. Woody Guthrie - See above, replace "jazz" with "folk".

10. Howlin' Wolf - As appropriate a musician's name as I've ever seen.

Apologies to:

BILL EVANS
ROY ORBISON
JOHN LEE HOOKER
SONNY ROLLINS
MUDDY WATERS
PATSY CLINE
DIZZY GILLESPIE
BO DIDDLEY
JERRY LEE LEWIS
THE EVERLY BROTHERS
COUNT BASIE
DAVE BRUBECK
STAN GETZ
ART BLAKEY
THE DRIFTERS

1. Woody Guthrie - see previous
2. Bill Monroe - see previous
3. Jimmie Rodgers - more influential than heard, but still
4. Johnny Cash - awesome. plus longevity.
5. Roy Orbison - one of the best voices, ever.
6. George Jones
7. Muddy Waters
8. Fats Domino
9. Jerry Lee Lewis
10. Howlin' Wolf

Backstage

1) Alan Lomax
2) Harry Smith
3) Hoagy Carmichael

No changes this week.

1. Everly Brothers- The songs were amazing for their time. If you asked me who was more important for early 60's pop, Buddy Holly or the Everlys I'd have a tough decision. Buddy Holly had more songs but the Everly Brothers had the best songs. My answer would probably be that the Everlys were easily as important and some days I might even say that they were more important.

2. Bill Evans- Two of my favorite jazz albums became eligible this year. Waltz For Debbie and Sunday at the Village Vanguard. He's in for sure.

3. Art Blakely- One classic album with other work that is pretty good should get you into the hall and Moanin' is one classic album.

4. Nat King Cole- Seems to be relegated to Christmas time but this guy was almost as good as Frank when it comes to crooning.

5. Harry Belafonte- He's to calypso what Bob Marley is to reggae. There might be equals but when you say reggae people say Marley. When you say calypso people say Belafonte.

6. Coasters
7. Jackie Wilson
8. Lloyd Price
9. Charles Mingus
10. Woody Guthrie

1. Martin: Let's pay respect to bird music and to a bird of influence and very successful in its time (it was far more listened to than the Thrush or the Goldfinch).



2. Sparrow: I'm moving it up to the near top because I think it is the second most important performer in the history of bird music. From BMG: "The sparrow is the mother of bird music. It invented the style (yeah, I know, critical hyperbole), invented the name, and for the great majority of the last millenia, embodied the art form."



3. Pigeon: It's the presumptive number one candidate for admission for a reason. It's a great bird composer and innovative singer.



4. Crow: Badass.



5. Robin: one of the best voices, ever.



6. Flycatcher.

7. Sugarbird.

8. Bearded Tit.

9. Pseudo-babbler.

10. Drongo.

Backstage Wing:

1. The Universe/God (assuming you actually believe in that God nonsense).



Let's face it. No backstage person - thing - has ever had as much effect, ever. Even Lieber & Stoller aren't that great put side-by-side with The Universe/God.

2. The Father & Mother of God



Where would God even be without them?

3. Jesus.



Jesus loves you.

Forum, getting in the way of links. Let's try that again.

1. Martin: Let's pay respect to bird music and to a bird of influence and very successful in its time (it was far more listened to than the Thrush or the Goldfinch).



2. Sparrow: I'm moving it up to the near top because I think it is the second most important performer in the history of bird music. From BMG: "The sparrow is the mother of bird music. It invented the style (yeah, I know, critical hyperbole), invented the name, and for the great majority of the last millenia, embodied the art form."



3. Pigeon: It's the presumptive number one candidate for admission for a reason. It's a great bird composer and innovative singer.



4. Crow: Badass.



5. Robin: one of the best voices, ever.



6. Flycatcher.

7. Sugarbird.

8. Bearded Tit.

9. Pseudo-babbler.

10. Drongo.

Backstage Wing:

1. The Universe/God (assuming you actually believe in that God nonsense).



Let's face it. No backstage person - thing - has ever had as much effect, ever. Even Lieber & Stoller aren't that great put side-by-side with The Universe/God.

2. The Father & Mother of God



Where would God even be without them?

3. Jesus.



Jesus loves you.

Does anybody else think it's getting too zany around here lately?

Backstage vote: (1) Harry Smith, (2) George Gershwin

yes

Backstage vote 1) Harry Smith


You know, we didn't even let Lennon get away with that Jesus remark of his. Now you come along??

I'm writing this from work (shh--don't tell) to let everyone know that my hard drive at home crashed yesterday. Yes, I do have all the HOA data backed up. I should be up and running again by the weekend, and I'll post my ballot then.

As for the person or persons who are bringing all the zany...whatever.

Does anybody else think it's getting too zany around here lately?

I'm afraid that it's all my fault. give a kid the confidence to stay up late and be on its own and you'll get a room full of poo..

.. AND i'm tired of noticing how indiscriminately my nickname gets misused.

apart from that I've given up participating on games like that due to all these monickers who spend a jolly good time spoofing those who don't have Hank, Elvis or Berry on their pole positions... I don't see what's so funny about nominating Mamie Smith, but you, you amazingly hidden shadowtrolls, have had surely your reasons..
alright, I'm too tired of being upset anymore, good night and good luck for all of the (trustfull) rest...

ok, some corrections

apart from that I've given up participating in games like that due to all these monickers who spend a jolly
good time spoofing those who don't have Hank, Elvis or Berry on their pole positions... I don't see what's so funny about nominating Mamie Smith, but you, you amazingly hidden shadowtrolls, have had surely your reasons..
alright, I'm too tired of being upset anymore, good night and good luck for all of the (trustfull) rest...

Huh?

So what about boys? Boys at least have ..yummy... tentacles!!

I'm afraid that it's all my fault.


No. This place was boring anyway.

Now that people that I don't know are imitating me too, it's getting neat.

Only issue is, you've got it all wrong. I adore Mamie Smith. I'd vote for her every single time. But they don't care about her. They vote for the same old stuff every time.

So be it though. I've heard everything on this site, so I'm at least as knowledgable as anyone here; and should you perhaps doubt me in other aspects, I suppose I'll point out I've high scores for every IQ test created so far, and have read the western canon, and every philosopher's works, from Plato to Diderot to Hegel to Sartre to Lyotard, feels like kid's stuff to me. (Sartre's philosophical observations resemble my 5 year old self's so much it makes even me feel uncomfortable.) Don't think I'm any good? Challenge me to any contest of wits. Shall I write a sonnet for you? A bullshit-free philosophical treatise? A short essay on astrophysics?

Certainly you don't believe me. I'm not stupid; I can trace your thoughts as you read the above paragraph.

Well, here's what. Try me. Yeah. Go ahead. Give your best shot. Offer me your most difficult intellectual challenge. I'm not afraid of you.

But my age happens to be less than half of yours, and boosting it a few years in an attempt at lying does no tricks either. I'm pretty good for a 15 year old, and my potential is still only forthcoming. Yet my age cannot particularly be ignored, even though, were I an adult like you, and that were a fact acknowledged by you, and still I made lousy jokes regardless, you'd not mind it then (although many of my jokes are, it appears, far too subtle for anyone most of the time; from your bafflement I surmise that at least). Certainly no one minds the lousy jokes of other forum members; and you don't mind your own when you make them. That I should choose to make them at all is, you know, not indicative of immaturity more than it should be for you of yours; and that I shan't desist in making them means rather that I'm bored of you, and would perhaps like to alleviate that boredom at your slight expense (which was initially done in the hope you'd be cheerier about it), than that I have an inclination for it that I can't overstep.

In any case, netjade, from what I'd noticed, I was about the only person who understood your every word (even though it seemed you didn't understand my replies).

Yes, this is an arrogant post. I know you think so. Well, you're arrogant too. You, schleuse, and you Anthony, and you nicolas, and you Greg. And now you, netjade. Should I attempt to say anything with half a wit, you'll put me down right away for being "overly intellectual"; should I stoop down to a level more appropriate for your stance towards me (i.e. to be rather indifferent to what I write), I'll feel (as I have so far) similarly uncomfortable. I'm not sure I can actually pretend anymore that The Clash are better than The Dead Kennedys, or that The Beatles are so much better than XTC, or that people should be voted for always using the most generic and dumb arguments you can conceive of; this place isn't for me.

So to hell with you all. You're no better than me. There's nothing you can do that I can't, and nothing you know that I don't know, or can't know, or won't know.

I quit this place. See ya.

ps: don't confuse inane drivel with intellectualism. and, no: you did not get me. not a bit.

What the hell is going on here?

01. WOODY GUTHRIE: it’s not a rumour, it’s now a reality. Just take a walk by Greenwich Village and go to places like Gaslight, Café Wha? or Gerde’s Folk City. You can listen there a lot of young folk singers like Freddy Neil, Dave Van Ronk, Bob Dylan, Mike Seeger, Tom Paxton or Joan Baez. A whole new generation abandoning rock and pop sounds for a bunch of old tunes, old styles and old heroes from a lost world. But with a committed and combative attitude. And the hero and main influence of those young folk singers is Woody Guthrie, a creative and prolific singer and songwriter with leftist anti-fascist attitude and a restless travelling life.
My favourite album: Dust Bowl Ballads (1940).
My Top 5 Songs: Pretty Boy Floyd (1940), This Land Is Your Land (1947), Pastures of Plenty (1946), Tom Joad (1940), Blowin’ Down This Road (1940).

02. THE EVERLY BROTHERS: harmonies from heaven for the devil music.

03. JERRY LEE LEWIS: the Killer, the wildest rock ‘n’ roll star ever, the fiercest piano player ever, the most energetic live performer and the owner of one of the most amazing recorded body of work.
My favourite album: Jerry Lee Lewis (1957).
My Top 3 Songs: Great Balls of Fire (1957), Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On (1957), Crazy Arms (1956).

04. MUDDY WATERS: from the Mississippi Delta to the Chicago blues scene, from the acoustic slide rural blues to the electric urban blues, Muddy Waters got the blues running through his veins.
My favourite album: Muddy Waters at Newport (1960).
My Top 3 Songs: I Can’t Be Satisfied (1948), Got My Mojo Working (1957), Mannish Boy (1955).

05. GEORGES BRASSENS: the rascal poet.

06. JOHN COLTRANE.
07. ROY ORBISON.
08. JACQUES BREL.
09. SAM COOKE.
10. BILL EVANS.


And at the backstage:
01. JERRY LEIBER & MIKE STOLLER.
02. ALAN LOMAX: this is a folk year and I’ve already nominated Woody Guthrie and Muddy Waters, two singers discovered by Alan Lomax, whose speciality is to preserve folk tradition and unearth hidden treasures. Favourite song: LEADBELLY “The Midnight Special” (1941).
03. GEORGE (& IRA) GERSHWIN


Two side-notes:
- I really can’t understand why periodically someone gets angry in this forum. We are commenting/celebrating music and I simply can’t find any reason to argue about this.
- I’ve yet decided the extent of my involvement in the plaques. I will write a section for every artist that I will call (paraphrasing Dylan) “When I Paint My Masterpiece”. I’ve almost completely written the one for Elvis.

1. Bill Monroe - Still my number one, and I'm starting to believe he can be included. Exciting voice and great songs.

2. Patsy Cline - Some of the best songs in the history of country music.

3. George Jones - The male version of Patsy. He'd had his heart broken, and wasn't afraid to sing about it. She Thinks I Still Care is one of my sing-in-the-shower favorites.

4. Del Shannon - His songs are so catchy and fun to listen to. All these years later they don't feel stupid, even though they are.

5. The Carter Family - Many persons, many years, a lot of good songs. They don't make family groups like this anymore.

6. The Shirelles

7. The Isley Brothers

8. Kitty Wells

9. Roy Orbison

10. Jerry Lee Lewis

Still having technology problems, but here’s my ’63 ballot:

1. BO DIDDLEY. And with a bullet. There’s still a backlog of fifties guys for whom I still have hopes…someday…but I hope we can get the Originator in the Hall before ’65. Just an essential artist. Plus, hey, how many 50’s rockers would sing about their brand new chimney “made out of a human skull”?

2. JIMMIE RODGERS. Like so much of the music celebrated on this site, from the blues to Radiohead, Rodgers’ woe-is-me lyrics are transformed by the ebullience of his music.

3. JOHNNY CASH. He was able to be both country and rock & roll in a way no other pre-Byrds artist could be (of most post-Byrds country-rock, the less said the better). Sure, his image as a badass was partly just that—an image—but this is pop we’re talking about.

4. FATS DOMINO. When I was a little kid, I was always getting him confused with Minnesota Fats, the great pool player. But maybe that’s appropriate…like your best pool sharks, Domino’s languorous ease and infectious joy took a lot of people off their guard—while, in the meantime, he was producing very, very high quality R&B.

5. MUDDY WATERS. Delta blues moves north to Chicago. Yes, he recorded the same song over and over again. It’s the blues—waddaya want?

6. THE CARTER FAMILY

7. JOHN COLTRANE. I may have been overlooking him before; Trane certainly has enough work to be in the top ten now.

8. THE EVERLY BROTHERS

9. THELONIOUS MONK

10. BIG JOE TURNER

***

Backstage:
1. LIEBER & STOLLER
2. WILLIE DIXON
3. DEWEY PHILLIPS

1. Fats Domino – No one ever made great music sound more effortless than the portly, courtly New Orleans master.
2. The Everly Brothers – The kings of close harmony had an unparalleled string of pop hits that never strayed too far from their country-folk roots and were all the better for it.
3. Bo Diddley – Flavor Flav once said, “Y’all can’t copyright no beats!” One man could have. ‘Nuff said.
4. Jerry Lee Lewis – If we don’t vote him in soon, he’s going to kill us.
5. 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.
6. Ella Fitzgerald
7. John Coltrane
8. Thelonius Monk
9. Howlin’ Wolf
10. Muddy Waters

BACKSTAGE WING
1. Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
2. Harry Smith
3. Rudy Van Gelder

1. Woody Guthrie - I suppose it's pretty pointless to still vote for him as #1, but futility is my middle name.

2. Muddy Waters - I'm going for the "idealism-approach", cause Muddy Waters really belongs in the HoA. Right now.

3. Bo Diddley - A lot of fun and a great artist. Not much more to say.

4. Johnny Cash - Go Johnny, go!

5. Leadbelly - Running out of pre-1965 artists I know well enough to vote for them. I was listening to Goodnight Irene and figured: what the hell. Go Leadbelly, as well.

6. Duke Ellington

7. Bill Monroe

8. Jerry Lee Lewis

9. John Coltrane

10. Roy Orbison - Just so I won't forget to include him next year.

Oh yeah, my backstagers for this year are Jerry and Mike.

Stephan, the Duke was elected last year.

Ohh, dandy. Update:

1. Woody Guthrie - I suppose it's pretty pointless to still vote for him as #1, but futility is my middle name.

2. Muddy Waters - I'm going for the "idealism-approach", cause Muddy Waters really belongs in the HoA. Right now.

3. Bo Diddley - A lot of fun and a great artist. Not much more to say.

4. Johnny Cash - Go Johnny, go!

5. Leadbelly - Running out of pre-1965 artists I know well enough to vote for them. I was listening to Goodnight Irene and figured: what the hell. Go Leadbelly, as well.

6. Bill Monroe

7. Jerry Lee Lewis

8. John Coltrane

9. Fats Domino

10. Roy Orbison - Just so I won't forget to include him next year.


Backstagers:

Jerry and Mike

1. Ella Fitzgerald -- I'm feeling a slight swell for Ella. Let's get her in before the classic rockers show up!

2. Django Reinhardt -- Three of my top 4 got inducted last time out (not bad, huh?), so Django moves back up. Sadly, all in vain.

3. Jerry Lee Lewis -- Yes, the number of hits are thin. Can we chalk that up to Myra Gale Brown and move on? More than Elvis or even Berry, and perhaps only matched by Little Richard in this regard, Jerry Lee showed Rock n' Roll how to "rock" and "roll."

4. John Coltrane -- A different kind of storm than Jerry Lee. A summer shower rather than a tornado. Warm, fast, and light.

5. Roy Orbison -- I jumped the gun a little last week with Roy. No In Dreams, yet. Still, Only the Lonely and particularly Crying, are HOA passes by themselves.

6. Dinah Washington

7. Thelonius Monk

8. Charlie Parker

9. Sam Cooke -- By and large, I'm not a huge Sam Cooke fan. But some of his work (and certainly that silky voice) are undeniable. BTW, none of his work to come, including "A Change Is Gonna Come," is going to push him up for me.

10. Patsy Cline -- I was definitely considering George Jones this time out. But Patsy's hits are just hittier to my ears. As for Johnny Cash, he's only slowly (but surely) moving up the ladder. He'll pass a number of people here in short order.

Seriosuly bubbling -- “So now ladies and gentlemen it is star time, are you ready for star time? Thank you and thank you very kindly. It is indeed a great pleasure to present to you at this particular time, national and internationally known as the hardest working man in show business, the men that sing “I’ll Go Crazy” … “Try Me” … “You’ve Got the Power” … “Think” … “If You Want Me” … “I Don’t Mind” … “Bewildered” …the million dollar seller, “Lost Someone” … the very latest release, “Night Train” … let’s everybody “Shout and Shimmy” … Mr. Dynamite, the amazing Mr. Please Please himself, the star of the show...."


Backstage:

1. George Gershwin
2. Alan Lomax
3. Ahmet Ertegun -- Gotta go with a a co-founder of the late, great New York Cosmos. I recognize I can only take that into account once 1971 rolls around (and probably only makes him worthy based upon the 1977 lineup). I suppose he did some neat things prior to that.

The results of this HOA, that page exactly.

netjade, most "intellectualism" is built on inane drivel. Take Freud for example. Do you really think broomsticks are phallic and keyholes are vaginal? Rather, Freud was an idiot.

Or, take Foucault. He was amazed by the fact that an image of a pipe was not THE pipe. So much that he wrote a book about it. Could it appear you that the most basic function of the human mind, the making of links, deserves to be considered slightly before staring dumbly in the air in bafflement of the wondrous realization that, whoa! the image of the pipe IS NOT the pipe itself. How witty. Or rather, Foucault was an idiot.

netjade, this is not a forum for intellectual discussion; I long ago decided to make whichever posts I made in a fashion expected of drivel; or rather, behave like a kid, because you'd never accept me as someone that can reach you or above.

I can, in fact, understand you, and my replies to you were not drivel; not moreso than your replies would appear to be drivel to someone who didn't care for them. Should you insist I can't understand you, go ahead. Post anything from any post you've ever made, and give me a go to translate it into plain English. No more smugness from you; try me.

Not much time to devote to the ballot this week.

1. BILL EVANS: My favorite jazz pianist. My third favorite jazz artist.
2. JOHN COLTRANE: There's a small group of artists in the history of music - a dozen, maybe two - who had an innate ability to play an instrument at a level that nobody else could even touch. They're called virtuosos. I wouldn't hesitate to place Coltrane among them.
3. LEADBELLY: Nirvana's cover of "Where Did You Sleep...?" came up on the iPod the other day. I made a sucking-a-lemon face at the thought of the likelihood that a number of people think it's the best song Cobain ever wrote.
4. MUDDY WATERS: No one did machismo blues better (and like John Wayne, the double 'M' name change was a good idea). "Mannish Boy" never fails to conjure the image of a dirty blues bar.
5. THELONIOUS MONK: Plateaued during his Columbia years -- Monk's Dream is the high point.
6. SAM COOKE: His greatest achievement is still to come, but his work up to this point -- in the spotlight AND behind the scenes -- is something else.
7. CHARLIE PARKER
8. HOWLIN' WOLF
9. FATS DOMINO
10. JOHNNY CASH