Mt. Rushmore of Texas Music

Interesting article in Texas Monthly and conversation on WBAP yesterday morning.

Who would be on your Mt. Rushmore of Texas Music?

I got:

Bob Wills
Willie Nelson
Buddy Holly
Stevie Ray Vaughan

The number 4 spot is tough. Lots of contenders! If SRV hadn't died so young and tragically, would he still be seen as such an influence? The same could be asked of Buddy Holly, I guess. What about George Strait? Would he belong on your Mt. Rushmore?

George Strait
Bob Wills
Willie Nelson
Buddy Holly
Stevie Ray Vaughan

Got to add Townes Van Zandt

Negative on SRV.

George Jones
Jim Reeves
George Strait
Lefty Frizzell

texas?

jj walker
gary p nunn

I like your picks, but which would you strike of the list? Only four faces on My. Rushmore.

Seems like Mt. Rushmore isn't big enough for Texas....

I'd have to shoehorn Billy Joe Shaver, Van Zandt, ZZ Top, Flaco Jimenez, Frizzell and Lyle Lovett right below Willie, Strait, Ernest Tubb , and Wills.

Gonna have to fit Janis Joplin in there.

It would be a tough list but SRV would be on there for sure

I would think that Don Williams should get some consideration!

To appropriately represent Texas musicians & music would take several Mt Rushmore's.

It would be hard for me to whittle down to a top 20.

What?

One of the greatest guitar players of all time...

What about Ray Price, Robert Ealey, Pat Green, Roy Orbison, ZZ top.....

Jerry Jeff is a yankee and has no business on a Texas music list or anything else.

Bob Wills
Willie Nelson
Guy Clark
ZZ Top

Really?! Pat Green. You're kidding, right?!

Pantera.

Gary Clark, Jr.

Alan Haynes.

Freddie King.

Beyonce?

LMAO! I thought Buzzsaw meant *the* JJ Walker...

Alan Jackson !!!!!!!

Ray Benson and Aleep at the Wheel

Isn’t Alan Jackson from California?

George Jones

Freddy Fender

Jj? leave that new Yorker out of any best of Texas music list.

I just can’t see getting it to four..... LSA got it to a reasonable number though.

George Strait
George Jones
Willie Nelson
ZZ Top

Wow lots of terrible on this list

Some choices on this list you would have to put in their greatest hits cd just to get 5-10 good songs.

I’m still thinking but the only for sures so far are strait and Nelson. I’m having to think has more than a few good songs

Yup...Music is very subjective. We'll each have our own Mt. Rushmore and there is no test at the end.

Ray Price, Willy, Bob Wills George Strait

if ZZ counts as 3 faces, SRV & ZZ


if ZZ counts as one, SRV, ZZ, Janis & Lightnin' Hopkins

Yup

ZZ Top
Janis
SRV
Don Henley
Buddy Holly

Honorable mention to the Winters Bros,Steve Miller and Boz Skaggs.( yeah I know the last 2 weren't born in Texas but they kinda got their start here.)

Indeed!

He may be a damn good guitarist, but haven't heard one song that I like. Point to a good one.

Mine would be Willie, George Jones, George Strait, and SRV.

Four isn’t enough though.....

Love Struck
Texas Flood

There’s two.

Actually most anything he played is dang good to me.

If you don't like ANYTHING SRV did, you have no soul.

I'll get killed for saying it, but for the life of me, I will never understand the infatuation with Willie. He was a great songwriter but has one of the worst voices ever

I listen to them both, and he lacks as a singer. To me it brings him down as a whole.

Willie has a sound, not a voice.

I much prefer T-Bone Walker.

Cold Shot
Pride and Joy
The House is Rockin

Pride and joy is pretty good....

So think about it, there has been a handful of srv songs listed above but if you take those song ,that are burnt into our head as we know them , what else does he have to make him worthy of 1 of 4 faces on a wall?

Hes from Georgia

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

All four of those guys put on great shows and are friendly and thankful if you get the chance to meet them. Roger Creager tali’s about a different college at almost every show...

My JV wall would be

Mark Chestnut
Tracy Lawrence
Clay Walker
Randy Rogers

All have great music

Lyle Lovette???

Since we are mentioning all these Texas artists.....

Ray Benson (again) and Justin Frazell..... have been instrumental in introducing a bunch of great artist to me.

Don Williams
Floydada,TX

Yep, & grew up in Portland down the road from me. Always been a big fan.

Ronnie Dunn and Selena should be considered as well

Robert Plant

He lived in Austin for a little while

Probably the most famous and well known person listed

Who's Robert Plant?

Dude on the far right....

Johnny Horton
Mac Davis
Clint Black

Just few not mentioned has some awesome signers..

Don't forget 84 year old Johnny Bush. A living, singing legend. Still a cranking small venues.

Robert Plant? Isn't he from England? Don't care if he once took a crap in Austin, I wouldn't put him on a Texas Music Mount Rushmore.

Clint Black might’ve grown up in Katy but he was born in...New Jersey.

Did not know this... still has good music