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Saturday, December 22, 2018

The Top 50 Christmas Songs of All Time

First posted 12/25/2011, updated 12/22/2018.

These are the top 50 Christmas songs according to Dave’s Music Database, which compiles multiple lists as well as chart performances, sales figures, and awards for songs. Only the version with the highest point total is listed. The top 11 are also in the DMDB list of the top 1000 songs of all time.

1. Bing Crosby “White Christmas” (1942)
2. Gene Autry “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (1949)
3. Nat “King” Cole “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)” (1946)
4. Bing Crosby “Silent Night” (1935)
5. Vaughn Monroe “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” (1945)
6. Guy Lombardo “Winter Wonderland” (1934)
7. Harry Simeone Chorale “The Little Drummer Boy” (1958)
8. Band Aid “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” (1984)
9. Bing Crosby “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” (1943)
10. Johnny Mercer with Margaret Whiting “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” (1949)

11. George Hall “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” (1952)
12. Jimmy Boyd “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” (1952)
13. Mariah Carey “All I Want for Christmas Is You” (1994)
14. Bing Crosby with the Andrews Sisters “Jingle Bells” (1943)
15. Judy Garland “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” (1944)
16. David Seville & The Chipmunks “The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late)” (1958)
17. Spike Jones “All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth” (1948)
18. Gene Autry “Frosty the Snowman” (1950)
19. Gene Autry “Here Comes Santa Claus” (1947)
20. Trinity Choir “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” (1912)

21. Perry Como “There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays” (1954)
22. Perry Como “Silver Bells” (1950)
23. Wham! “Last Christmas” (1984)
24. Boston Pops Orchestra “Sleigh Ride” (1949)
25. James Ramsey Murray (writer) “Away in a Manger” (1887)
26. Brenda Lee “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” (1958)
27. Bing Crosby “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” (1945)
28. Bobby Helms “Jingle Bell Rock” (1957)
29. Harry Belafonte “Mary’s Boy Child” (1956)
30. Edmund Sears (writer) “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” (1850)

31. John Lennon & Yoko Ono “Happy X-Mas (War Is Over)” (1971)
32. Phillips Brooks (writer) “O Little Town of Bethlehem” (1868)
33. Elvis Presley “Blue Christmas” (1957)
34. Burl Ives “A Holly Jolly Christmas” (1964)
35. Mormon Tabernacle Choir “Carol of the Bells” (1959)
36. Jose Feliciano “Feliz Navidad” (1970)
37. Slade “Merry Xmas Everybody” (1973)
38. Associated Glee Clubs of America “O Come All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles)” (1925)
39. Basshunter “Jingle Bells (Bass)” (2008)
40. Justin Bieber “Mistletoe” (2011)

41. Eagles “Please Come Home for Christmas” (1978)
42. Andy Williams “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” (1963)
43. Paul McCartney “Wonderful Christmas Time” (1979)
44. The Andrews Sisters “Christmas Island” (1946)
45. Burl Ives “The Twelve Days of Christmas” (1951)
46. John Henry Hopkins Jr. (writer) “We Three Kings of Orient Are” (1857)
47. Percy Campbell Mason/Ellis R. Ephraim (writers) “She’s Gone to the Land of Santa Claus” (1904)
48. Cheech & Chong “Santa Claus and His Old Lady” (1971)
49. Eartha Kitt “Santa Baby” (1953)
50. Barry Gordon “Nuttin’ for Christmas” (1955)

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Saturday, December 15, 2018

Song of the Year, 1900-2018

This page was created to get snapshots of each year and its big hit songs. However, the task became cumbersome and was better served as part of individual decade pages. As such, you can find the “Song of the Year” winners by clicking on any of the badges below:

These are the year-end awards noted on the pages above:
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Friday, December 14, 2018

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees Ranked

image from loudersound.com

With every year’s announcement of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, there are two guarantees – there will be a slew of complaints about who hasn’t been inducted and who has been inducted who shouldn’t have been. This challenged me to come up with an objective rating of the inductees to determine just who has earned it most and who hasn’t. These rankings consolidate multiple best-artists-of-all-time lists along with sales figures, chart statistics, and other awards and honors. In the event of ties, earliest inductees are listed first. Here are the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees (through the class of 2019) ranked.

1. The Beatles
2. Elvis Presley
3. The Rolling Stones
4. Michael Jackson
5. Elton John
6. Stevie Wonder
7. Louis Armstrong
8. Bob Dylan
9. Bruce Springsteen
10. David Bowie

11. Madonna
12. U2
13. Prince
14. Eric Clapton
15. Ray Charles
16. Aretha Franklin
17. Led Zeppelin
18. The Beach Boys
19. Paul McCartney
20. Marvin Gaye

21. James Brown
22. Nat “King” Cole
23. Queen
24. Rod Stewart
25. The Who
26. Jimi Hendrix
27. Johnny Cash
28. Billy Joel
29. The Bee Gees
30. Pink Floyd

31. Neil Young
32. Billie Holiday
33. Fleetwood Mac
34. Chuck Berry
35. John Lennon
36. Eagles
37. R.E.M.
38. Fats Domino
39. The Temptations
40. Aerosmith
41. Bob Marley
42. The Doors
43. Roy Orbison
44. The Supremes
45. The Kinks
46. Simon & Garfunkel
47. Ike & Tina Turner
48. Sam Cooke
49. Little Richard
50. The Police

51. Hank Williams
52. AC/DC
53. Chicago
54. Creedence Clearwater Revival
55. Neil Diamond
56. Van Morrison
57. Nirvana
58. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
59. Santana
60. Buddy Holly

61. Otis Redding
62. Pearl Jam
63. Van Halen
64. Genesis
65. Janet Jackson
66. Elvis Costello
67. Four Tops
68. Bon Jovi
69. The Jackson 5
70. Black Sabbath

71. Journey 72. The Everly Brothers
73. Paul Simon
74. Al Green
75. Crosby, Stills & Nash
76. Guns N’ Roses
77. Smokey Robinson
78. B.B. King
79. Miles Davis
80. Robert Johnson

81. Daryl Hall & John Oates
82. Cream
83. Earth, Wind & Fire
84. Gladys Knight & the Pips
85. Linda Ronstadt
86. The Clash
87. Kiss
88. Muddy Waters
89. Brenda Lee
90. Janis Joplin

91. Metallica
92. Carole King
93. The Isley Brothers
94. Velvet Underground
95. James Taylor
96. The Miracles
97. Sly & the Family Stone
98. Grateful Dead
99. Donna Summer
100. Joni Mitchell

101. Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship
102. Frank Zappa
103. The Drifters
104. Ramones
105. The Band
106. Lynyrd Skynyrd
107. The Byrds
108. Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble 109. Ricky Nelson
110. Rush

111. Louis Jordan
112. Etta James
113. Sex Pistols
114. Bob Seger
115. Curtis Mayfield
116. The Allman Brothers Band
117. George Harrison
118. Deep Purple
119. Bessie Smith
120. The Four Seasons

121. Radiohead
122. Jerry Lee Lewis
123. Yes
124. Electric Light Orchestra
125. Jackie Wilson
126. Abba
127. Tupac Shakur
128. Blondie
129. ZZ Top
130. Bobby Darin

131. Steely Dan
132. Dire Straits
133. John Lee Hooker
134. Parliament/Funkadelic
135. The Platters
136. Peter Gabriel
137. Herb Alpert
138. Red Hot Chili Peppers
139. Les Paul
140. Dinah Washington
141. Green Day
142. Beastie Boys
143. The Cure
144. The Impressions
145. Quincy Jones
146. Bobby “Blue” Bland
147. Wilson Pickett
148. Talking Heads
149. Heart
150. Lou Reed

151. Ringo Starr
152. Pretenders
153. Berry Gordy Jr.
154. John Mellencamp
155. Jimmie Rodgers
156. Roxy Music
157. Steve Miller
158. Buddy Guy
159. The Moody Blues
160. Brian Holland/Lamont Dozier/Eddie Holland

161. Phil Spector
162. Ferdinand “Jelly Roll” Morton
163. Huddie “Leadbelly” Ledbetter
164. Alice Cooper
165. Howlin’ Wolf
166. Tom Waits
167. Cat Stevens
168. The Ink Spots
169. Bo Diddley
170. Ruth Brown
171. Public Enemy
172. Woody Guthrie
173. Traffic
174. Bonnie Raitt
175. The Cars
176. The O’Jays
177. Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
178. Dion
179. Chet Atkins
180. Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff

181. Def Leppard
182. The Yardbirds
183. Patti Smith
184. Jackson Browne
185. Bill Monroe
186. Bob Wills
187. The Hollies
188. Dusty Springfield
189. Run-D.M.C.
190. The Stooges

191. T-Bone Walker
192. The (Young) Rascals
193. Isaac Hayes
194. Stevie Nicks
195. Bill Haley & the Comets
196. Dave Clark Five
197. The Animals
198. Sam Phillips
199. Duane Eddy
200. Ma Rainey

201. The Dells
202. George Martin
203. Charlie Christian
204. Albert King
205. Buffalo Springfield
206. Donovan
207. Jerry Wexler
208. Big Joe Turner
209. Pete Seeger
210. Freddy King

211. The Mamas & the Papas
212. Wilie Dixon
213. The Righteous Brothers
214. The Shirelles
215. Cheap Trick
216. Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil
217. Dave Bartholomew
218. N.W.A.
219. Elmore James
220. Charles Brown

221. Leonard Cohen
222. Martha & the Vandellas
223. The Coasters
224. Booker T. & the MGs
225. Clive Davis
226. Mahalia Jackson
227. Clyde McPhatter
228. Doc Pomus
229. Jimmy Reed
230. Hank Ballard & the Midnighters

231. John H. Hammond
232. Bobby Womack
233. Sister Rosetta Tharpe
234. Jeff Beck
235. Ahmet Ertegun
236. Gerry Goffin
237. Bill Withers
238. Randy Newman
239. Gene Pitney
240. Tom Dowd

241. Nina Simone
242. Solomon Burke
243. Joan Jett
244. Professor Longhair
245. Little Anthony & the Imperials
246. Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers
247. The Staple Singers
248. Little Walter
249. Leonard Chess
250. Gene Vincent

251. Lovin’ Spoonful
252. The Ventures
253. Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five
254. Joan Baez
255. The Faces
256. Jeff Barry & Ellie Greenwich
257. Mort Shuman
258. Eddie Cochran
259. Otis Blackwell
260. Allen Toussaint

261. Dick Clark
262. Alan Freed
263. Chis Blackwell
264. Lloyd Price
265. Del Shannon
266. James Jamerson
267. Bill Black
268. LaVern Baker
269. Glyn Johns
270. Little Willie John

271. The Moonglows
272. Sam & Dave
273. The Flamingos
274. Carl Perkins
275. Andrew Loog Oldham
276. Ritchie Valens
277. Floyd Cramer
278. Brian Epstein
279. Nesuhi Ertegun
280. Jac Holzman

281. Jerry Moss
282. Milt Gabler
283. Bill Graham
284. Art Rupe
285. Wanda Jackson
286. Earl Palmer
287. Nile Rodgers
288. The Ronettes
289. The Orioles
290. Lou Adler

291. Scotty Moore
292. James Burton
293. Percy Sledge
294. Johnny Otis
295. Leon Russell
296. Johnnie Johnson
297. Cosimo Matassa
298. Paul Butterfield
299. David Geffen
300. Don Kirshner

301. Jim Stewart
302. Mo Ostin
303. Seymour Stein
304. Syd Nathan
305. Dr. John
306. The Small Faces
307. The Soul Stirrers
308. The Zombies
309. Hal Blaine
310. Darlene Love

311. DJ Fontana
312. Ralph Bass
313. King Curtis
314. Bennie Benjamin
315. Steve Douglas
316. Spooner Oldham
317. Jesse Stone
318. The E Street Band
319. Leo Fender
320. Paul Ackerman

321. Jimmy Yancey
322. Tom Donahue
323. Jann Wenner
324. Frank Barsalona
325. Jimmy Cliff
326. Laura Nyro
327. The Five Royales
328. Bert Berns

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The Top 100 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Hopefuls

First posted 10/11/2011. Updated 12/14/2018.

image from neufutur.com

Bashing the Rock Hall has become the quite vogue thing to do. Of course, they have inducted hundreds of deserving artists alongside those who raise many music fans eyebrows. However, fans get outraged this time every year when their favorites get snubbed…yet again.

In the true spirit of Dave’s Music Database, the occasion for a list presented itself. Just who are the biggest Rock and Roll Hall of Fame snubs, those acts which fans most think have been overlooked? More than 60 lists were consolidated to create the DMDB list of 100 deserving acts. Here we go:

1. Iron Maiden
2. The Smiths
3. Motorhead
4. Judas Priest
5. Depeche Mode
6. T-Rex
7. Kraftwerk
8. Warren Zevon
9. Chic
10. The Replacements

11. Todd Rundgren
12. Pixies
13. Pat Benatar
14. The Doobie Brothers
15. Jethro Tull
16. Joy Division
17. Nine Inch Nails
18. Bad Company
19. King Crimson
20. Devo

21. MC5
22. New York Dolls
23. Soundgarden
24. Joe Cocker
25. Thin Lizzy
26. Emerson, Lake & Palmer
27. Kate Bush
28. The Monkees
29. Gram Parsons
30. Peter Frampton

31. Sonic Youth
32. Slayer
33. Duran Duran
34. The Guess Who
35. Boston
36. Big Star
37. LL Cool J
38. Whitney Houston
39. Steppenwolf
40. J. Geils Band

41. Motley Crue
42. Dick Dale
43. Jane’s Addiction
44. War
45. Foreigner
46. Link Wray
47. Three Dog Night
48. Spinners
49. Styx
50. The Scorpions

51. The B-52’s
52. Carole King (as a performer)
53. Los Lobos
54. Ozzy Osbourne
55. Pantera
56. Procol Harum
57. Afrika Bambaataa
58. Tina Turner (as a solo performer)
59. Rufus/Chaka Khan
60. Ben E. King

61. Ted Nugent
62. New Order
63. Eurythmics
64. Blue Öyster Cult
65. Smashing Pumpkins
66. Captain Beefheart
67. Megadeth
68. Willie Nelson
69. The Meters
70. Brian Eno

71. Eric B. & Rakim
72. Joe Tex
73. Weird Al Yankovic
74. Nick Drake
75. Black Flag
76. Grand Funk Railroad
77. Tommy James & the Shondells
78. Chuck Willis
79. Sting
80. Television

81. Barry White
82. Little Feat
83. Sir Douglas Quintet
84. Jimmy Buffett
85. Love
86. Mary Wells
87. The Marvelettes
88. Harry Nilsson
89. The Runaways
90. Kool & the Gang

91. Chubby Checker
92. Alice in Chains
94. The Dominoes
95. John Conltrane
96. Bjork
97. Dead Kennedys
98. X
99. The Shangri-La’s
100. Rage Against the Machine

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Thursday, December 13, 2018

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees, 1986-2019

image from rockcellarmagazine.com

Congratulations to the 2019 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees – The Cure, Def Leppard, Janet Jackson, Stevie Nicks, Radiohead, Roxy Music, and The Zombies. Click on the name of the acts to see their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame bios.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was established in 1983 to, as the website says, “recognize the contributions of those who have had a significant impact on the evolution, development, and perpetuation of rock and roll.” As the site says, “to be eligible for induction as an artist (as a performer, composer, or musician)…the artist must have released a record, in the generally accepted sense of that phrase, at least 25 years prior to the year of induction and have demonstrated unquestionable musical excellence.” Among considerations are the artist’s influence on other artists, length and depth of career, body of work, and innovation and superiority in style and technique.

Here is an alphabetical listing of all inductees from 1986 to 2019. Click on the act’s name to go to the DMDB music maker encyclopedia entry. Click on “hall bio” to go to the act’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame page.

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X-Y

Z

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Sunday, December 2, 2018

Kennedy Center Honors

Last updated December 2, 2018.

image from FireWireBlog.com

The Kennedy Center held its 41st annual celebration of the arts on December 2, 2018, honoring Cher, Philip Glass, Reba McEntire, and Wayne Shorter. As the site says, the Kennedy Center Honors have fulfilled “a tradition of recognizing the lifelong accomplishments and extraordinary talents of our nations' most-prestigious artists.” The Kennedy Center was established in 1971 and in 1978 the Honors program was created to recognize icons of the art in music, theater, dance, and film. Listed below are the music-related honorees and the years in which they received the honor, from 1978 to 2018:

A-B

C-D

  • Benny Carter (1996)
  • Johnny Cash (1996)
  • Ray Charles (1986)
  • Cher (2018)
  • Van Cliburn (2001)
  • Betty Comden (1991)
  • Perry Como (1987)
  • Barbara Cook (2011)
  • Aaron Copland (1979)
  • Roger Daltrey (2008)
  • Sammy Davis Jr. (1987)
  • Neil Diamond (2011)
  • Placido Domingo (2000)
  • Bob Dylan (1997)
E-F-G

H-I-J

K-L

M-N-O

  • Yo-Yo Ma (2011)
  • Paul McCartney (2010)
  • Reba McEntire (2018)
  • Zubin Mehta (2006)
  • Gian Carlo Menotti (1984)
  • Yehudi Menuhin (1986)
  • Nathan Milstein (1987)
  • Rita Moreno (2015)
  • Willie Nelson (1998)
  • Jessye Norman (1997)
  • Eugene Ormandy (1982)
  • Seiji Ozawa (2015)
P-Q-R

S

  • Carlos Santana (2013)
  • Alexander Schneider (1988)
  • William Schuman (1989)
  • Pete Seeger (1994)
  • Rudolf Serkin (1981)
  • Robert Shaw (1991)
  • Wayne Shorter (2018)
  • Beverly Sills (1985)
  • Paul Simon (2002)
  • Frank Sinatra (1983)
  • George Solti (1993)
  • Stephen Sondheim (1993)
  • Bruce Springsteen (2009)
  • Mavis Staples (2016)
  • Isaac Stern (1984)
  • Rise Stevens (1990)
  • Sting (2014)
  • Barbra Streisand (2008)
  • Jule Styne (1990)
T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z

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