Your favorite people in the world of music

I'm not usually a thread-starter but this is a topic I've had on the mind, and I thought this would potentially make for a nice thread with positive storytelling.

My question: Who are some of your favorite people in music? More importantly...why?

By this I don't just mean that you like their music. I am thinking about those people who you like for more than just the songs. Maybe they have done something you really respect. Maybe they always make you laugh. Maybe they have provided you with valuable insight into gear or history. They don't have to be famous musicians. They can be producers or radio personalities or inventors.

I would love to read some of your examples. To get things started, here are three of mine:

Robert Plant: I truly respect his decision not to cash easy paychecks all his life doing Zeppelin reunion tours. He has instead crafted an artistically rich and rewarding solo career, living for new creation. He continues to push himself, explore new sounds and work with great bands.

Nicky Hopkins: Though he couldn't be a permanent member of a band for long due to his lifelong struggle with debilitating Crohn's Disease, he became one of the greatest session men ever. He played keyboards on records for everyone from The Who to the Kinks and his work with The Rolling Stones is truly a match made in heaven.

Yoko Ono: Despite (really uncalled for) intense hatred and name-calling from a huge segment of the population, Yoko never got beaten down by bad press. Instead, she crafted a unique and truly rewarding music career beloved by her fan base-- light years ahead of its time and full of both sharp social commentary and deep personal confession. I firmly believe that she will be reassessed after she's gone.

How about you? Who are some of your favorites? And why?

 

Bono is one of them. He tries to make a difference, and I admire him for his attempts.

 

Dave Mustaine:

He is probably someone I wouldn’t personally want to meet ;however, his drive to be the absolute best is more then likely what makes Megadeth such a great band. He also amuses me in interviews more then any other. The man has an ego that could revival the most narcissistic of people. He can turn any issue one can bring up into something about him. It’s just fun for me to hear him do it.

He has his fair share of haters and I can personally understand why.

 

Smokey Robinson[selflessness when writing for other artist]..Curtis Mayfield[songs of protest]..Otis Williams[keeping the Temptations relevant]..James Brown[for caring].

 

Listening to Johnny Marr interviews always makes me feel warm inside. After being the sideman for virtually all his career it's so beautiful to see the love smiths fans and music lovers generally have for him. He just comes across as a top guy with no regrets, bitterness or any bad feeling. One of my heroes.

 

Yoko and Courtney Love would be at the bottom for me.

Neil Young would be first. Townshend. Keef. even Mick. Chrissie Hynde. John Lydon

 

Brian May. Very nice guy. I like his perspective of Queen's story.
He's supporter of animal protection organizations and his work in stereophotography is amazing.
Great man in astrophysics and, of course, on the guitar.

 

I know what you mean by the question, and it's a good and important question in a general sense. But with art, it's truly something that is neither here nor there to the enjoyment of it (for me).

The biggest obstacle is obviously not knowing any artist from a firsthand or everyday relationship sense, so I could never even honestly give an answer. Artists, by nature, are either slightly or greatly "wearing a mask" so to speak, and genuine attributes can be hidden, both positive or negative.

There are artists that we can "seem" to read, or make educated guesses on by the words or experiences of others or those close to them. The likes of Elvis Presley or Harry Chapin come to mind as two who were reportedly very generous and very likeable people (considering their fame). But, in a perfect world, I would like to think we all have generosity and human decency. But unfortunately it isn't always the case. Thankfully, in such unfortunate cases, with artists we at least have the art that stands in isolated fashion on the positive merits it often carries for people. Otherwise, as I often state, maybe two artists would ever be "acceptable" by any of us.

 

Sir George Martin. I think his reputation as "the fifth Beatle" is well deserved. His interviews have always been fascinating to me, many times enlightening. As a person he was very well spoken and just seemed like a kind, genuine, humble soul. I'll miss him.

 

I agree. It's Wierd how even though he was ninety when he died, it still feels like he went too soon.

 

There are definitely a fair number of reasons why people hate him, I can't say they're wrong, but I will say beyond his music that has enriched my life, I always admired his drive and his determination, and how nothing Can ever truly keep him down, the man doesn't go down without a fight.

 

David Bowie. I’ve loved his music, on and off, since infancy. He always gave the impression of trying to move forward with his music, never lost his enthusiasm and came across like a decent bloke. There’s a clip of him being interviewed as a schoolboy which, if you play it back to back with any of his more recent interviews, shows that, chameleon or not, he didn’t really change.

Nigel Blackwell and Neil Crossley from HMHB.

 

John Hammond was my favorite, even if he was a talent scout and not a performer.
He changed the entire culture, he did so much, he made landmark moves against musical segregation, he introduced the electric guitar to the mass audience, I can't even think of all the things he did offhand.
They should REALLY release that documentary of him on DVD and Blu-Ray.

Performers, Link Wray for not only introducing the power chord but his genuine humbleness about it all, credited God, even if he made both punk and heavy metal possible, I mean helped the Who's sound come about, Pete's.

I also admire Bob Dylan for his music in the 1960s (pre-electric) for the cultural change it brought about, he was the best writer then, a brilliant spokesperson for civil rights in his songs even if he didn't consider himself one.

 

oy vey, that's all it's about now isn't it.

 

What do you mean?

 

For years I gave that building a nickname but I don't mention it here.

 

Money. Being huge. That's all that matters anymore.
There's other singers and musicians who have hundreds of millions of dollars and they just want more and more and more. It's sickening.

 

This is a great CD.

 

I don't know, everybody wants more of something.

 

Bruce Springsteen

1. First album I ever bought was The Wild, The Innocent & The E-Street Shuffle
2. I have seen him live more than any other act - solo, Seeger Sessions, E-Street
3. He refers to the E-Street Band as a collective, "We are working on a new album," "We're going out on tour," etc., that it's not just about him
4. His autobiography which though not perfect is probably the best one I've read by a major music artist
5. Met him a couple of times, he is always decent to his fans, comes across as humble and still enjoys the fact that he has the privilege afforded him to play rock n' roll for a living
6. Made me want to play guitar, which I have kept up; my wife would probably say I have the same amount of guitars as Kevin Buell has to deal with!
7. My kids have started to listen to him now, so there's lineage there

 

Diana Ross

I admit her story is as polarizing as it is fascinating. Her spats with many of her peers are legendary and half of Diana's legend is thanks in part to stories of how cruel and calculated she behaved at one point.

Behind all of that however is a determined, hard-working and intelligent woman. One who sought to go the extra mile and carve a lane for herself that many in her position simply refused to do or were too scared to. There'll always be contrevesy regarding her relationship with Berry Gordy but I have never faulted the man for seeing in Diana what so few at Motown tried to see, what the world however eventually got to see and would fall in love with. My biggest point on Diana however is unrelated to her music career but instead about her family, particularly the way she was able to raise not, one or even three but FIVE children who are, well rounded, level headed adults, and adore her as much as she does them. I'd also like to add a final thank you to Diana Ross for birthing the beauty that is Tracee Ellis Ross, whom I also adore.

She's sang on more #1 hits than any artists besides The Beatles and the music in her catalogue is imo as important to the ST of the lives of boomers as theirs is (don't care if she didn't write the songs). There are other contenders but Diana Ross is tops. She's a DIVA in everyway and I love that about her.

 

Is that Miami?

 

Teenage Fanclub: Great singing, great writing,
great live shows, no 'lame bonehead' political
grandstanding (quite rare/welcome these days).

 

A good question that I don't know the answer to.