11-12-2014, 01:29
Bob Dylan is hands down the greatest songwriter to ever live, beating out the likes of Hank Williams, Willie Nelson, John Prine, and Leonard Cohen. As an artist however, there's much to be desired- mainly in the vocal area, I myself am a huge Dylan fan, but I don't believe he is the greatest artist to ever live. Chuck Berry kickstarted todays music with "Maybelline", but he's sort of faded away in recent years. Buddy Holly broke down walls for Rock & Roll, most artists still haven't caught up to "Well...Alright", but his star was extinguished long before we got to see the artist he would become. Hank Williams too, died way before we could see him grow as an artist. Jim Reeves and Patsy Cline had two of the most iconic voices of all time, yet you'll rarely see them listed as two of the greatest artists of all time (which they most certainly were). The same goes for Marty Robbins and Lefty Frizzell, who both in their own way inspired generations of artists, you can hear echoes of Mr. Frizzell in every Willie Nelson, George Jones, and George Strait song- half of todays artists don't know Lefty or Marty's names, but they're influenced by them just the same, albeit, indirectly. Johnny Cash is certainly one of the greatest artists of all time, but just as you can trace Mr. Dylan's music back to Woody Guthrie and others, you can trace Cash's musical bloodline back to the father of country music- Mr. Jimmie Rodgers. You'll never see Rodgers's name on one of these lists that certain magazines have of "The 100 Greatest Country Artists of All Time", because he isn't by their definition "Country". Jimmie Rodger's was the childhood hero of one of the greatest bluesmen to ever live- Mr. Chester Arthur Burnett, Howlin Wolf. Howlin Wolf's blues sound was deeply engrained into the music of Lefty Frizzell, who in turn (with the help of Johnny Cash) influenced the greatest artist who ever lived (in my own opinion), Merle Haggard. The Hag represents something as a musician and a man that we all can identify with, he wasn't some exceedingly handsome rock & roller like Elvis Presley, he's got average looks and sings about his own life. Merle Haggard is an exceptional vocalist, he can't hold his own with the likes of Marty Robbins and Jim Reeves, but the talent is there. He's lived a life worth singing and writing about, he spent years behind the bars of San Quentin (where he saw Johnny Cash perform). The real secret to Hag's artistry is his brutal honesty- Merle Haggard hides nothing, he'll never lie in his songs. Today you hear about trucks and drinking, and how great life is, you won't hear that in a Merle Haggard song. He tells it like it is, and won't hide from the truth, he's too honest a man to do that. Yes, Merle Haggard is by far the greatest artist to ever live not only because of his status as "The Working Man's Poet", but because of the life he's lead (singing with the likes of Buck Owens, Bob Wills, Willie Nelson, and more), and his ability to make people understand each other through his songs.