[nomadicfollower]

Originally Posted by atari 2600

my top 10 black performers (rock or otherwise):

Jimi Hendrix is undoubtably number one since he is far & away the greatest guitarist of all time. Sure, he learned how to play the whole guitar (& the amp) from Buddy Guy, but Buddy Guy simply isn't great enough to make the top 10. He wrote great songs & sang them distinctively as only he could.
John Coltrane is my number two because he defied convention & made an extraodinary leap into personal art that was dismissed at first but that history has proven to be largely universal. As much as I love his progenitor, Charlie "Bird" Parker, he doesn't make the top ten.
Robert Johnson is number three because he's the King of the Delta Blues & shaped country, folk, & blues. He is also perhaps the most deeply soulful performer of all time. Son House & Big Bill Broonzy were the only two guys previously recorded really performing blues at a high artistic level before Mr. Johnson.
Al Green is my number four because I love all his music & he has one of the finest voices in all of recorded music. "Love & Happiness" is my favorite Al Green song. Marvin Gaye has some great material as well.
Chuck Berry should be second in command perhaps since he had an incalculable influence on the Brits & he makes the list though at number five.
Bud Powell was described as "the eighth wonder of the world" by Miles Davis because of the things he can do on piano that no one else before or since can really completely match. Miles, who changed the course of jazz history three times, unfortunately doesn't even make my top ten.
Art Tatum also shares a similar distinction. His music is beyond amazing.
Herbie Hancock is my favorite jazz piano player. His work with Miles Davis' band & his first few solo records are magic. He went on to be a fusion artist & try to make some money at the expense of his art, however, which is the reason he is listed after Bud & Art. A prodigy through & through, he was playing Mozart with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at age eleven. He went on to breifly study under the great Lennie Tristano. I know, "What about Thelonius Monk & McCoy Tyner?" There's only 10 slots, folks.
Muddy Waters was a field hand discovered in Mississippi when Library of Congress documentarians went searching for Robert Johnson who was already dead by poisoning. He started electric blues in Chicago & was also highly influential on the Brits along with Ray Charles, Little Richard & Howlin' Wolf in particular.
& the final spot on the top 10 list goes to
Charles Mingus who proved himself to be one of jazz' most experimental innovators & always led a great band thoughout his career.

*Applause*

I've never heard of Bud Powell though.