Making Musical Mount Rushmores!

We've all heard of Mount Rushmore, right? The only notable tourist attraction in the Dakotas, Mount Rushmore honors four legendary presidents. Those being George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt. As a history nerd, those are quality selections. Mount Rushmore has now become synonymous with compiling four of the greatest at, well... just about anything. For example, someone might say the Mount Rushmore of NFL quarterbacks is Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Joe Montana, and Johnny Unitas. So, I'm now going to create a few musical Mount Rushmores to honor different genres. Some of these were quite easy for me, some of them... I really had to deliberate on which heads to put on the mountain. Let's start with one of the easy ones.

Country Mount Rushmore: Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash

The father of country music, Jimmie Rodgers, gets a worthy shoutout. Without his T.B. Blues and Blue Yodels, there is no country music. That's why he's where Washington is on the mountain. I have already covered Hank Williams and Johnny Cash extensively on the blog, but they are the two truest country legends in my opinion. Cash is the all-time GOAT in my opinion, which is why he's in Lincoln's position. But we of course have to give a spot to the queen of country, Dolly Parton, as well. With iconic songs like "Jolene" and "I Will Always Love You", she has cemented herself as a legend. And through recent activities, we know she has a great heart as well. Marty Robbins would be the fifth head on the mountain, and with songs like "El Paso", may have even better high points than Dolly. But Dolly is a living legend, and Marty... we'll just say wasn't quite the good soul that Dolly is.

Rock 'n Roll Mount Rushmore: Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly

George Washington is America's foremost founding father, and though he didn't want to be a king, Elvis definitely was one. He is joined by three other rock 'n roll stars of the 1950s on this mountain as the true legends who laid down the pure rock 'n roll sound, influencing generations to come. All four were inaugural members of the Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame. I talked about Little Richard on last week's blog, and how Paul McCartney could impersonate, but not duplicate, his sound. Chuck was a true guitar wizard, and his debut song "Maybellene" may be my favorite song that's purely rock 'n roll. Finally, we have to acknowledge the guy from Lubbock, Texas... the one I've been told I kinda look like. Buddy Holly was a huge influence on The Beatles, and the man is a legend despite his tragically short life. My fifth head for the mountain would have to be Roy Orbison.

R&B Mount Rushmore: Sam Cooke, The Temptations, Aretha Franklin, The Persuasions

Maybe it's controversial to include groups in spots where there's just supposed to be one head, but I'm going to completely throw that out the window when we get to doo wop groups, anyway. The point is, The Temptations deserve to be there, with classics like "Don't Look Back", "Cloud Nine", and "Runaway Child, Running Wild". But it's the Persuasions who are true GOATs of R&B. They get the Abe spot by being the greatest a capella group ever, with their rich harmonies never being replicated. But Sam Cooke gets the George Washington spot, as he is known as the true king of soul. As such, his foundations very much influenced The Persuasions. The queen of soul, on the other hand, is Aretha Franklin. With "Respect" being listed as the greatest song ever by Rolling Stone, you kinda have to respect that. My fifth head on the mountain would be Stevie Wonder.

Doo Wop Mount Rushmore: The Ink Spots, The Platters, The Five Satins, The Harptones

I certainly deliberated on this one! Only one choice was obvious for me, that being The Harptones. They get the Abe spot as the true greatest doo wop group of all time in my opinion; classics like "A Sunday Kind of Love", "Life Is But a Dream", and "My Memories of You" are hard to top. I didn't consider The Ink Spots at first, but figured they'd be perfect for the George Washington spot as the true "founding fathers" of doo wop. The Platters were polished and refined, and their lack of a street corner sound made me wonder whether they belonged on the mountain. But one simply cannot deny the talent the group has, and their incredible singer Tony Williams was hard to match (he should've been an honorable mention on my vocalists list). And if Teddy Roosevelt is a truly iconic American president, The Five Satins helped make the doo wop sound iconic with "In The Still of The Night". But for me personally, they earned this spot more because of songs like "Shadows", "Wonderful Girl", and "To The Aisle". The fifth head, or rather group of heads, could be a whole lot of options. I could go with Little Anthony and the Imperials, Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers, The Marcels, Dion and The Belmonts, or maybe a true street corner group like The Five Discs. But I think I'd have to go with The Moonglows.

Rock Bands Mount Rushmore: The Beach Boys, Queen, AC/DC, The Beatles

The rock 'n roll of the 50s went on to form the rock music of the 60s, 70s, and 80s. But rock music is a very broad term, isn't it? It's so broad that I can have The Beach Boys and AC/DC on the same mountain, because I happen to enjoy both of their sounds. No one really gets the George Washington spot here, because true founders and influencers of rock were mentioned in the aforementioned rock 'n roll mountain. But The Beach Boys were popular in America before The Beatles were, so I guess I'll throw them a bone. The Beatles are the obvious candidate for the Abe spot, I mean, I'm kinda a big fan of them. AC/DC gets the Teddy renegade spot. Although, Bon Scott didn't exactly follow Teddy's advice of "speak softly and carry a big stick". Well, certainly not the first part, anyway. Then there's Queen, as elegant and polished as Jefferson's Monticello. All of these groups, sans AC/DC, are distinguished for their beautiful vocal harmonies. But AC/DC makes it on for their killer guitar riffs. There are plenty of choices for the fifth band, including The Rolling Stones, Van Halen, Led Zeppelin, and The Doors. But I would go with Creedence Clearwater Revival.

21st Century Mount Rushmore: Eminem, Adele, Amy Winehouse, Meghan Trainor

I can sound like a real curmudgeon with my musical tastes. All the old music used to be so much better, right? Well, it is kinda true. I think new music is generally overly polished and overly produced. There's a gazillion songwriters on many new songs, and as they say, too many cooks spoil the pot. But, here is where I disagree with some of the boomer logic. People say there's no more talented artists anymore, and everyone is a talentless hack. These four artists prove that, well... that's simply not true. And so I honor them as some of my favorite artists of the last 20 years. Eminem gave a legendary Super Bowl halftime performance with his signature song, "Lose Yourself". That alone gets him on the mountain. Amy is dearly missed, given that her incredibly soulful voice influenced another singer on this mountain, Adele. If you're a fan of soulful singers as I am, you will certainly be a fan of these two. Amy's best songs include "Rehab" and "You Know I'm No Good". Adele's best include "Set Fire To The Rain" and "Someone Like You". And then of course, there's the woman in the Abe position... my girl Meghan Trainor. I will always be an MTrain truther, and am very much looking forward to her upcoming, retro album.

Well, those were six musical Mount Rushmores for your viewing pleasure. Where do you agree or disagree with my mountains? Let me know in the comments. Also, I guess I should note my overall musical Mount Rushmore. It would probably be Johnny Cash, The Persuasions, The Beach Boys, and The Beatles.