Mount Rockmore

Who belongs on a monument such as Mount Rushmore, and why?
Only individuals, meaning it can't be The Beatles, Beach Boys, etc. Pick a favorite/most influential from a band if need be...For some bands, it's impossible to pick a best - so leave 'em off if you have to. Preferably stick to musicians, rather than writers/producers, so no Col. Parker, Brian Epstein.

Mine, in no particular order:

1) Elvis Presley: Begins and ends with The King. Brought teens into music like never before, and ushered in a new society.
2) Bob Dylan: Was more than just a singer, but a true artist. His canvas was his guitar, first acoustic, then electric. SA political conscience in a troubled time
3) Brian Wilson: Thought big picture. Experimented. Subsequently went crazy, but Pet Sounds is the standard.
4) Janis Joplin: Paved the way for all future female acts. Rough around the edges, but incredibly sweet. Once drank my father under the table in his college radio station.

There is no right or wrong here, people.

 

Forget Mount Rockmore. I wanna go to Mount Splashmore... take me, take me, take me, take me, take me NOW

 

Chuck Berry
Elvis Presley
John Lennon
Bruce Springsteen

 

I was going to put Chuck Berry on instead of Dylan, but I chickened out.

 

Why Lennon and not McCartney? I'm just getting into the Beatles - was Lennon always the better/dominant one?

 

NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW!

 

Springsteen out, Bill Haley is in -- even if the origin of R&R is up for debate....

http://oldies.about.com/cs/oldieshistory/a/firstrocksong.htm

 

I like Billie Joe Armstrong. He's probably not on the mainstream list, but he's on mine.

 

Short answer - yes.

My Choices:

Chuck Berry
John Lennon
Elvis Presley
James Brown

If we add a fifth it's Dylan. Sixth would probably be Brian Wilson.

 

Lennon is more cerebral. Whether he's better is a matter of opinion, but I think the Beatles would have done better with Lennon and without McCartney than vice-versa.
As my boss puts it, Lennon did "Imagine" as a solo artist. McCartney did "Ebony and Ivory."

 

I think Presley, Berry and Lennon are all virtual locks. They might not be unanimous (only Presley is guaranteed of that, I'd think), but they are certainly consensus.
That leaves just one spot...hard to choose.
I'll go with Dylan until I come up with a better answer -- and I'm not even a fan of his.

 

Mine is Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day), Fat Mike (NOFX), Greg Graffin (Bad Religion) and Nick Hexum (311).