1. Bob Marley
2. Jackie Wilson
3. David Bowie
4. Black Sabbath
5. Queen
6. Neil Young
7. Sly & the Family Stone
8. The Doors
9. The Impressions
10. Elton John

next round: Ramones, Miles Davis, Johnny Cash, Metallica, The Kinks, The Clash


Brett, the Isley Brothers?

1. Carl Perkins
2. Roy Orbison
3. Jackie Wilson
4. Lead Belly
5. Hank Williams
6. Howlin' Wolf
7. David Bowie
8. Les Paul
9. Grateful Dead
10. Elton John
Considered for this Ballot: Bob Marley, Sly & The Family Stone, Johnny Cash, Pete Seeger, Queen, The Yardbirds, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, Woody Guthrie, The Kinks, BB King, Bill Haley & His Comets

I caught the change (Les Paul in, Marley out) but in the future please let us know if you change your ballot from what was originally posted.

Yeah, I fixed that real quick. I'll keep that in mind for next time.

I can't understand for the life of me the lack of love towards The Four Seasons? How many other rock ensembles have had a hugely successful record breaking Broadway production (Jersey Boys) done on their storied career and a celebration of their music? At this point Jersey Boys is proving to be perhaps the most successful as a Broadway show. The Four Seasons represent a significant segment of pop/rock popularity throughout the 60's and into the 70's. They were the best at what they did and their instantly familiar sound resonated throughout an era...hit after hit.

Abba had a huge hit Broadway show about their career, have you listed them on your ballot?

Broadway shows are not for legitimite rock fans. They are for casual fans who don't know any better.

The Four Seasons stuff is totally unlistenable now IMO. It did not age well. Valli's falsetto sounds like he has his balls in a vice.

I cringe whenever I hear shit like "Candy Girl" or "Bye Bye Baby."

That opening of "Bye Bye Baby" makes me sick....."If you hate me after what I say..."

Their records are okay when you're like 17 years old, but they are extremely hokey to any discriminating listener.

I don't say this often, but I agree with Bruce. I never understood all the love for Valli's falsetto.

Have to disagree. Songs like Working My Way Back To You, Opus 17, Dawn, Sad Rag Doll, Candy Girl are classics. Sherry was a seminal classic incorporating doo wop and rock. The Four Seasons are the only group to have enjoyed Billboard #1 Hot 100 Hits before, during, and after The Beatles had their Hot 100 # 1's. If one doesn't like Frankies voice...that's a reflection olf personal taste and can't argue, but that does not diminish The Four Seasons impact on the music scene.

Mama Mia is another successful Broadway production (and I did consider ABBA for the list) as was Dreamgirls which was loosely based on The Supremes...quite loosely but devoid of their songs. The Four Seasons catalogue is worth a fortune and Frankie has one of the most lucrative Vegas deals going for a 60's performer.

I think Wayne Newton's deal is more lucrative.

Stu, who do you see as being influenced by the Four Seasons?

The huge success of Jersey Boys on Broadway suggests otherwise.

I'm talking for discriminating listeners. I agree that they are huge for the casual fans. Good friend of mine went with his girlfriend and loved the show, but they are not music listeners.

I still like "Rag Doll" but basically the only Valli song I really like anymore is his pop classic "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" where he does not use the falsetto at all.

They don't do well at acclaimedmusic.net at all. No albums listed at all, and only three songs are ranked in the top 3,000, and none of them are in the top 1,000 of all time.

Song...................All Time Rank
Big Girls Don't Cry.........1423
Walk Like a Man...........1027
Rag Doll .....................2587

Some songs "bubbling under" the all-time top 3000:
Sherry
December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)

I like The Four Seasons. I haven't nominated them yet because there's just other artists that I think are more worthy.



Yeah, but popularity is only one quarter of the criteria.

Wow, I'm really surprised those two aren't in the top 3000. I'd have figured them for the highest ranking Four Seasons entries, actually. Although, "Walk Like a Man" is my fave.

Wayne Newton is a virtual Vegas full timer. Frankies deals are for three and four day stints. He spends the rest of his time touring and counting his Jersey Boys money.

Believe it or not, The Four Seasons influenced many Black falsetto oriented groups and are highly respected in that genre, leading Motown to sign them to an (admittedly) ill fated contract. From those Motown sessions however came a couple of smash hits that Frankie bought out including My Eyes Adored You and Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You which Frankie took to the top of the charts under different labels.

They may be back popular again thanks to "Jersey Boys," but here's the difference between them and their closest competitor at the time they were both current.

In the 1970s each act released a Greatest Hits double album.

Beach Boys - Endless Summer - #1 - 155 weeks on the chart
The Four Seasons Story - #51 - 17 weeks on the chart

The Beach Boys album was so huge that they released a second double album of other hits.

Spirit Of America - #8 - 43 weeks.

Throughout the decades that followed each group's prime, the Beach Boys became all time legends and the Four Seasons became an "oldies" group whose records sounded really dated.

By the way, a street just a few blocks from here is named for one of the members of the Four Seasons, who grew up there/ Tommy DeVito Avenue.

That's another thing. Everybody knows the names of all the members of the Beach Boys. How many people can the name the members of the Four Seasons. Maybe they know Valli and Gaudio, but few know the names of the other two guys.