Welcome to the Hall of Acclaim’s 1965 election. (As a matter of curiosity, has anyone on this forum actually been born as of 1/1/65?)

Select the ten most deserving artists, based on records released through the end of 1964.

To see a list of noteworthy candidates, as well as our discussion of them see the 1965 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, September 16.

Voting is now open.

01. CHARLES MINGUS
02. THELONIOUS MONK
03. ORNETTE COLEMAN
04. WOODY GUTHRIE
05. CHARLIE PARKER
06. ELLA FITZGERALD
07. THE RONETTES
08. HOWLIN’ WOLF
09. BILL EVANS
10. SAM COOKE

************

11. ERIC DOLPHY
12. HORACE SILVER
13. PATSY CLINE
14. ART BLAKEY
15. THE BEACH BOYS
16. THE CRYSTALS
17. THE SHANGRI-LAS (next year, they're a no-brainer for me)

1. Thelonious Monk – Genius composer. Not far behind Armstrong and Ellington in the pantheon of Jazz imortals.
2. Charles Mingus – Brilliant composer and player. Just a hair below Monk in my book.
3. Bill Monroe – The second most important performer/innovator in country music history.
4. Bo Diddley – He invented the Bo Diddley beat.
5. Patsy Cline – Co-queen of country music.
6. Sam Cooke
7. Jimmie Rodgers
8. Leadbelly
9. Big Joe Turner
10. Bobby Dylan

1. HOWLIN' WOLF - Incredibly impressive and influential bluesman. '64 was the year The Rolling Stones covered his "Little Red Rooster", and his influence should be accknowledged by now.
2. BO DIDDLEY - Many artists have their own distinctive beat, but none have been as widely imitated as his.
3. SAM COOKE - The founding father of soul music with one of the greatest voices in music history. An induction will be posthumously, as he was shot in december '64.
4. ELLA FITZGERALD - The finest voice in jazz, maybe even in music in general.
5. FATS DOMINO - He was never as controversial as some of his already inducted contemporaries, but the quality of his work was very consistent. Ain't it a shame he isn't already in?
6. JACQUES BREL
7. BOB DYLAN
8. THE DRIFTERS
9. THELONIOUS MONK
10. THE BEACH BOYS

Backstage Wing:
1. PHIL SPECTOR
2. WILLIE DIXON
3. AHMET ERTEGÜN & JERRY WEXLER

1965 BALLOT

1. BO DIDDLEY. One way or another, I’m sure this is Bo’s last time riding the top of my ballot. Crossing fingers.

2. JIMMIE RODGERS. Paul, I can see the argument that he’s “proto-country” rather than the thing itself…I just think it’s a rare bird who’s as influential and as entertaining as the ol’ Singin’ Brakeman.

3. BOB DYLAN. 1964 was not as good for him as ’63 or ’65, but “The Times They Are A-Changing” is pretty awesome. And America in 1964 was starting to become a more Dylanesque place…

4. THE BEACH BOYS. Like the Beatles, Wilson & Assoc.’s great achievements of 1965 and 1966 built on the great work they had done before.

5. FATS DOMINO. I have no other obvious candidates to move ahead of him, and he might have a puncher’s chance of getting in this year (if not, he may have to wait awhile…)

6. THE CARTER FAMILY
7. BILL MONROE
8. CHARLES MINGUS
9. THELONIOUS MONK
10. THE KINKS

****

Backstage:
1. WILLIE DIXON
2. ED SULLIVAN
3. PHIL SPECTOR

****

Oh, and a friendly shout-out to sonofsam.i.am—for your ballot to be eligible, you need to explain your top five picks. OK? OK.

1. BILL EVANS: The Bo Diddley of my ballot. A tasteful and distinctive approach to his instrument a handful of classic work = great things for the genre. Sadly (and not surprisingly), it's all in vain around these parts.
2. SAM COOKE: "A Change is Gonna Come" is listed as a 1965 release here on AM (which likely foretells a bump up a few spots in the coming HoA year), but Wikipedia lists the single release as December 22, 1964. Forgive me for cheating a bit and going by an outside source.... Sam gets my #2 spot.
3. BOB DYLAN: Last week I mentioned that my favorite Dylan song, "North Country Blues", had already been out for a year; I was wrong -- it was still a year away. An embarrassing error. However, with the release of The Times..., NOW it’s out. And interestingly, none of the resident Dylanites noticed the error (or if they did, thought to correct me). Hmmm.
4. LEADBELLY
5. THELONIOUS MONK
6. THE BEACH BOYS: When it comes to the Beatles, I prefer post-1966. With the Beach Boys, it’s the opposite.
7. CHARLIE PARKER
8. HOWLIN' WOLF
9. FATS DOMINO
10. THE SHIRELLES: "... will you still love me tomorrow?" If by "tomorrow" you mean "in HoA year 1966", no, probably not.

***

This week’s ballot has been brought to you by a string of 12 hour workdays, a 2-6 of Glenfiddich, and bitterness stemming from the unfortunate cheap shot at my musical hero Noel Gallagher.

1. Bob Dylan- Another Side should put him in. It's still not classic Bob but it's worthy.

2. The Beach Boys- Again, not their classic work but still way ahead of the rest.

3. Sam Cooke- I'm going to bump Sam Cooke up this week to see if we can get him in. I'm guessing he'll get in when A Change is Gonna Come becomes eligible but what the heck.

4. Charles Mingus- I think I forgot to vote for him last time. My bad.

5. Bill Evans- Still voting for Village Vanguard and Waltz For Debbie.

6. Art Blakely
7. Nat King Cole
8. Harry Belafonte
9. Coasters
10. Jackie Wilson

1. Ella Fitzgerald -- It's coming. I can feel it.

2. Django Reinhardt -- He'll start dropping soon, sad to say.

3. Bob Dylan -- Not a fantastic recording year for him. I'm not a huge "Times They Are A-Changin'" fan. But his work from the year previous is very worthy..

4. Thelonius Monk -- Funny and funky. More mind expanding than the psychedelia to come.

5. Dinah Washington -- What a voice.

6. The Shangri-Las

7. Sam Cooke

8. The Platters

9. Patsy Cline

10. The Beach Boys

Backstage:

1. George Gershwin
2. Alan Lomax
3. Phil Spector -- Jumps ahead of Wexler/Ertegun.

Schleuse - Are you on high ground?

01. JACQUES BREL: he is not French, he is Belgian, but it’s impossible to find a better ambassador for French chanson. A gifted composer, capable to write sharp portraits of society and tender song of desperate love, a singer with a expressive voice but mainly an unsurpassable live performer, a performer with high theatrical sense but able to inject real life into the songs. Edith Piaf couldn’t have a better heir.
My favourite album: Olympia 64 (1964).
My Top 5 Songs: Les paumés du petit matin (1962), Amsterdam (1964), Ne me quitte pas (1959), Au suivant (1964), Les bigotes (1963).

02. SAM COOKE: the singer that took the gospel sounds to a pop context, a handsome man with a sweet but soulful voice, the one who tried to reach a white audience but never forgetting his black roots. Sadly we’ve lost him recently in a shady affair in a motel. We’re gonna miss you, Sam.
My favourite album: Night Beat (1963).
My Top 3 Songs: A Change Is Gonna Come (1964), Wonderful World (1960), Shake (1964).

03. CHARLES MINGUS: breaking the limits of modern jazz.

04. THE RONETTES: they represent the sound of today, they are the best of the girl groups, a fresh sound that includes also The Shirelles, The Chiffons, The Crystals or The Shangri-Las. Blame it mainly to the talent of his producer, Phil Spector (see later at backstage).
My favourite album: Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica (1964).
My Top 3 Songs: Be My Baby (1963), Baby I Love You (1964), Walking in the Rain (1964).

05. WOODY GUTHRIE: the roots.

06. BO DIDDLEY.
07. THELONIUS MONK.
08. BOB DYLAN.
09. JOÃO GILBERTO.
10. THE BEACH BOYS.


And at the backstage:
01. PHIL SPECTOR: It’s hard to find today a text without the word “genius” close to the name of Phil Spector. A young producer that has managed to create a whole new sound (now we are calling this the “wall of sound” widely successful on the charts. Favourite song: THE RONETTES “Be My Baby” (1963).
02. VINICIUS DE MORAES & ANTONIO CARLOS JOBIM.
03. GERRY GOFFIN & CAROLE KING.

Thanks for asking, Paul. Yeah, I'm OK--amazingly, I even have electricity. I don't have running water, though.

Also, I now know what it sounds like when an oak tree gets snapped in half.

Some friends threw a hurricane party last night, and I stayed with them. Neil Young was playing when the power went out.

1. JACQUES BREL : Honorio said it all about le grand Jacques. Both tragic and funny, a great performer. If I had one time-travel to make, it would be to his concert at the Olympia in 1964.

2. BOB DYLAN : One year before he turns rock, Dylan’s already a giant, by far the most gifted of the folk revival generation. He has wrote absolute classics (“Blowing In The Wind”, “Don’t Think Twice”, “The Times...”), and so deserves to be inducted even though his very best is yet to come.

3. FATS DOMINO : I would love to see him among the inducted. It’s probably the only chance to see New orlean’s great piano music in the HOA; Fats Domino would stand for all his great predecessors (Champion Jack Dupree, professor Longhair), and the ones woho followed (Dr John, James Booker)

4. GEORGES BRASSENS : I’m moving him down because I’m the only one to induct him now, and because 1964 is his last excellent year.

5. the BEACH BOYS : I would say exactly the same as for Dylan. Just change the word “folk” for “American pop”. Classics : “I Get Around” (ond of my favorite BB songs, “Surfin Safari”, “Fun”...

6. REV. GARY DAVIS : A personal favorite. One of the best acoustic guitar players of his time, a voice like thunder, a a couple of highly recommandable gospel-blues albums recorded by Bluesville in the early sixties.

7. Sam Cooke

8. Leadbelly

9. Howlin’ Wolf

10. Eddie Cochran

of course, in my Dylan comment : he has written
I'd just woken up when I posted that

1. Woody Guthrie
2. Bill Monroe
3. George Jones
4. Bob Dylan - so many classic songs already. and it's about to get even better.
5. The Beach Boys - Surfer Girl is still my 2nd favorite Beach Boys song (after guess what? God Only Knows)

6. Bo Diddley
7. Fats Domino
8. Jimmie Rodgers
9. Howlin' Wolf
10. Sam Cooke

Backstage

1. Burt Bacharach
2. Phil Spector
3. Alan Lomax

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

Sorry - forgot Harry Smith got in last week.

BACKSTAGE WING:
1. Phil Spector
2. George Martin
3. Rudy Van Gelder