By category 1 & 2 choice

Country 1.George Straight 2.George Jones (Although I really like Willie and I know he is an icon, as one person said his voice is a sound! I saw him in concert once almost fell asleep.

Blues 1.SRV 2. Freddie King

Rock 1.ZZ Top 2. Janis Joplin

Soul/Funk 1. Barry White 2. Sly Stone

I just watched some Freddy King videos. Man I dig his voice, and guitar playing. He would be #1 in my opinion.

Brother in-law.

I’m disappointed in your statements above sir.

By saying what your saying.... either you know nothing about music OR you just don’t like SRV.

He’s one of the greatest guitar players of all time. Period.

I think BIL is just being honest. The fact that he tries to sing hurts him.......

I already knew what you thought.....

I’ll say the same thing about you or to you again.

Your a SRV hater for some reason, I’ll never understand why but your welcome to your opinion.

One of the greatest guitar players of all time doesn’t deserve to be on the list?

T-bone walker..... come on man....


So please.... be honest and just say you don’t care for SRV but respect his raw talent..... he didn’t have Blind Lemon Jefferson train to train him.



For the record, this is the guy that trained T-bone and you can see his guitar (if you’d call it that) in a museum in Irving.

While these guys were all innovative. They did not do what SRV did to music.

Here's the thing......I dont hate SRV, I am indifferent. I do think he is one hell of a guitarist, but he's not even in the top ten in his own genre blues/jazz. As where George, and Willie are arguably top 5 in theirs. Buddy Holly didn't get a chance to earn a place.

The beegees and Elton john

I’m not a Srv hater. I just don’t think 5-6 overplayed jukebox songs earn you on the mountain.

Srv is like a 3006, good but meh. Everytime this comes up it about guitarist skills. I can think if a few better but not sure if they are deserving

This is tough to narrow down to 4.
Mine would be George Jones, George Strait, Willie, and Don Henley.

You could make a case for a lot of others too.

I love that song but Kris Kristofferson couldn't carry a note to save his life.

we finally agree on something

Bumping my own suggestion to, again, highlight him. Born in Texas - unlike some of the lackluster suggestions of others. One of the "Three Kings" of blues guitar. The other two? Albert King and BB King! Lastly, he is cited as an influence on both Stevie Ray and Jimmie Vaughan, both of which are worthy of the list as well. Come on people. Sure, Texas is in large part country music but if you don't know this man you seriously need to take off your blinders and broaden your horizons. Not one person recognized the first time I suggested him.

Forgot about Don Henley being from Texas.

So hard to pick 4. Maybe I should build a Mt. Rushmore for each genre.

SRV has a sound that nobody can duplicate. He wasn't around long enough to be as well known as some of the other names that have been mentioned but he has more than a handful of songs that show his talent. I'm a bit biased not just because my dad loved blues and rock and got me into it but because I married a girl with family ties to SRV. I met his mom before she passed and I've met Jimmy a couple times, even carried a casket with him. Rumor has it that my wife's aunt told Stevie one time that he was so good he could make Mary Had a Little Lamb sound good, so he did.

Preference in music is an opinion and nothing wrong with someone not sharing my opinion.



This is my all time favorite SRV song.

no doubt he was a talent but everything he played sounds the same to me. lots of better players than him for sure.

Jim Reeves
Mac Davis
Freddy Fender
Johnny Rodriguez

In defense of my suggestion of Don Williams he had 17 number 1 songs on the country charts.

Steve Miller, Barry white. I just had this conversation with my sister.

“Going Down” is one of the great guitar songs I’ve ever heard! Heard him live at Mother Blues in the 72 or 73 in Dallas...absolute greatness.

Yeah I heard poker's his thing.

Man back in the 80's in my apartment I use to wear Steve Miller out on the stereo so much my neighbor knocked on the door one day and said: I like Steve Miller to but don't you have any other music?

I knew he lived in Dallas for awhile did not think he was here long enough to qualify or I would have had him on my list also

The .30-06 is never a mistake.

My Mount Rushmore:

1. Robert Earl Keen
2. Roger Creager (Also a fine Sam Houston Bearkat so that gives him extra points)
3. Kevin Fowler
4. Deryl Dodd

Yeah, I know the above singer/songwriters aren't prehistoric old geezers like the names already mentioned, but I think they are a more accurate representation of Texas Country Music than the commercialized Texas gone Nashville sellouts.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr