Lennon places second in list of top 50 musical geniuses [Archive]

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shyGirl

Dec 20, 2002, 11:19 PM

http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=1946133

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Bob Dylan has been labeled a Judas and a Jokerman. Now he can add another title: Genius.
Music magazine Blender has put the 61-year-old folk-rock icon Dylan atop its list of the 50 rock geniuses of all time.

"He's the civil rights anthem writer who abandoned the cause, the electric poet turned born-again traditionalist, the free-spirit visionary who found God, the bittersweet love lyricist with a side order of surreal sarcasm, the hermit who can't quit the stage," Blender's editors said in the magazine's January/February issue, which hits newsstands on Dec. 24.

Former Beatle John Lennon was No. 2 on the list, followed by rock 'n' roll pioneer Chuck Berry, rapper Eminem and late reggae icon Bob Marley.

Paul McCartney, who has been feuding with Lennon's widow Yoko Ono over the order of the Beatles' "Lennon-McCartney" songwriting credits, came in at No. 15.

SF4-EVER

Dec 21, 2002, 07:16 AM

Thanks for the article, shyGirl. As pleased as I am at John's high rating (I would have voted him over Dylan, but I am a bit biased images/icons/wink.gif ), i also think Paul deserves to be ranked higher.

jtal909

Dec 21, 2002, 07:35 AM

Eimenem is ranked before Paul? Oh come now!

biglou114

Dec 21, 2002, 08:12 AM

I personally do think that Dylan was a much better sonwriter then all the Beatles. The Beatles thought the same.

Nerk Sister

Dec 21, 2002, 08:26 AM

Originally Posted By biglou114:
I personally do think that Dylan was a much better sonwriter then all the Beatles. The Beatles thought the same.In my own opinion only:

Dylan may be a great songwriter. I'll probably never know! I can't manage to even make it through one of his songs because his voice is very unharmonious to my ears!
So I'll give my votes to John and Paul and George who are not only great songwriters but great singers as well.

taxgirl

Dec 21, 2002, 08:55 AM

Originally Posted By biglou114:
I personally do think that Dylan was a much better sonwriter then all the Beatles. The Beatles thought the same.At least George thought so. There's an article posted in the CP 'The Unsung Beatle'. In this article George was quoted:
"I was saying to him (Dylan), 'You write incredible lyrics,' and he was saying, 'How do you write those tunes?'

Dec 21, 2002, 08:59 AM

Originally Posted By Nerk Sister:
In my own opinion only:

Dylan may be a great songwriter. I'll probably never know! I can't manage to even make it through one of his songs because his voice is very unharmonious to my ears!
So I'll give my votes to John and Paul and George who are not only great songwriters but great singers as well.

Here's one who shares your opinion! (BTW, you can listen to many Dylan songs done by other artists, if you so choose. E.g., George covered "If Not For You" on All Things Must Pass, and does a great job with it, of course.) graemlins/wink1.gif

LuvLennon

Dec 21, 2002, 09:18 AM

Well I don't really like lists that attempt to rank artists/writers/musicians into levels of prominance based on talent or money earned or whatever, but I can still say yay for John!

biglou114

Dec 21, 2002, 09:32 AM

Originally Posted By taxgirl:
<blockquote>Quote:<hr />Originally Posted By biglou114:
I personally do think that Dylan was a much better sonwriter then all the Beatles. The Beatles thought the same.At least George thought so. There's an article posted in the CP 'The Unsung Beatle'. In this article George was quoted:
"I was saying to him (Dylan), 'You write incredible lyrics,' and he was saying, 'How do you write those tunes?'<hr /></blockquote>Well actully John thought the same also, and I think Ringo said it too

ImaginePeace78

Dec 21, 2002, 10:22 AM

Eminem seems way out of place on that list...I'm glad John was number 2 though. Dylan deserved to be one for the music he's done, but he sure can't sing.
-Kristi

beatlewho01-02

Dec 21, 2002, 03:52 PM

Paul should have been higher than Eminem and in the top 5.

MonaMe577

Dec 21, 2002, 04:04 PM

Paul might need to be a little higher on the list than he is, but I don't dispute Eminem's need to be on this list on the first place. Granted, you can't exactly compare rap and rock'n'roll, and I do agree that Paul probably deserves to be ahead of him, but for his genre, Em is brilliant.

That said--Yay, John!!! graemlins/rocknroll1.gif

beatlebangs1964

Dec 21, 2002, 06:16 PM

As delighted as I am over John's high ranking, I STILL would have placed him before Dylan!

AmericanBeatle

Dec 21, 2002, 08:34 PM

I would definitely have put John ahead of Dylan. If judging by musicianship and all that it entails, being able to sing would seem to be a key ingredient.
There is no way that McCartney deserved to be at 15 behind anyone but a precious few including John, Dylan, Berry and Marley, certainly not by a Johnny-com-lately like Eminem. I would think longevity would have an impact on labeling someone a genius. Who knows about Eminem, whether he has given his best already, or is better to come? Genius takes more than just one good album or a couple of good years.

EasternBird

Dec 21, 2002, 09:25 PM

I love Dylan, and I don't really mind seeing him placed before John. And I can understand John ranking ahead of Paul, but why is there such a big gap between them? graemlins/thinker.gif I think John & Paul were much closer in talent than the rankings indicate. Paul definitely should have made the top 10.

Apple Scruff

Dec 22, 2002, 10:08 AM

I like Bob Dylan. I own every one of his earlier albums, and a lot of his later stuff as well. There is so much resonance in what he is talking about in his songs, but I personally much prefer John. Not only was John just as resonant, but I think he was much more passionate most of the time. (Not to mention his voice...)

I agree about Bob's voice, though. I love it in the earlier albums, and particularly on Blonde on Blonde and Blood on the Tracks, but I can't really say its that pleasant to me now. And having seen him in concert, I didn't leave all that thrilled with it there either. It was still a great experience anyway. images/icons/smile.gif

However you feel about him, he made a huge impact-not only in music- but in the culture of the times. And much of it still applies. Just like John. And the Beatles. (By the way, great to see Chuck Berry where he belongs.)

[ Dec 22, 2002, 10:09 AM: Message Edited By: Apple Scruff ]

lennon4

Dec 23, 2002, 03:16 PM

Good lord...Dylan's #1...what is this world coming to? I can't stand his "music," but I can see where if you're stored or something, you might think it's the greatest thing in the world.
And for the record, that's not a slam against the non-stoned Dylan fans.

-lennon4

Dec 23, 2002, 03:49 PM

Originally Posted By lennon4:
And for the record, that's not a slam against the non-stoned Dylan fans.

-lennon4graemlins/laugh5.gif

IWantToTellYou

Dec 23, 2002, 06:54 PM

Originally Posted By Kasey1964:

Is there acopy of the full list? I guess I can't hope that George was on it. It's unbelievable that George couldn't be on it but they put Eminem on that list but not George. graemlins/angry5.gif George was a Genius too!Yeah, I know...Eminem is a musical "genius" what music does he "play" pretel? He is a rapper if you want to even call that "music". All he does is yells into a mic about how he hates his wife, and his life was so hard. Cry me a river, being a millionaire must be really, really hard.

You know I heard a story that Eminem wanted to use the music to "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", for a song that he wrote for his little girl... Called "Hailie's Song". Olivia Harrison said no! GOOD 4 HER!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He doesn't deserve to be able to use the music of a true musical genius!

Kasey1964

Dec 24, 2002, 12:18 AM

Originally Posted By shyGirl:
http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=1946133

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Bob Dylan has been labeled a Judas and a Jokerman. Now he can add another title: Genius.
Music magazine Blender has put the 61-year-old folk-rock icon Dylan atop its list of the 50 rock geniuses of all time.

"He's the civil rights anthem writer who abandoned the cause, the electric poet turned born-again traditionalist, the free-spirit visionary who found God, the bittersweet love lyricist with a side order of surreal sarcasm, the hermit who can't quit the stage," Blender's editors said in the magazine's January/February issue, which hits newsstands on Dec. 24.

Former Beatle John Lennon was No. 2 on the list, followed by rock 'n' roll pioneer Chuck Berry, rapper Eminem and late reggae icon Bob Marley.

Paul McCartney, who has been feuding with Lennon's widow Yoko Ono over the order of the Beatles' "Lennon-McCartney" songwriting credits, came in at No. 15.I s there acopy of the full list? I guess I can't hope that George was on it. It's unbelievable that George couldn't be on it but they put Eminem on that list but not George. graemlins/angry5.gif George was a Genius too!