MOGUL93
Team Owner
June is African-American Music Appreciation Month (previously known as Black Music Month). Ever since 1977, when then-President Jimmy Carter declared that each June would be recognized as such, the month has been a time to commemorate and celebrate the many contributions that African-Americans have made to music in this country. Each U.S. president since Carter has upheld the tradition and President Barack Obama, in 2009, changed the name to its current designation.
As 2015 is the first year of djrobblog.com, I thought this would be a great opportunity to recognize the most important black musicians of all time with a special countdown. Like my other lists, this one will come with the usual facts and figures. Itll also generate mixed reactions from readers who may or may not see some of their favorites on the list. But heres the thing, this is not a listing of my favorites either. Its my attempt to give an objective look at the black artists who have done the most to shape American music over the past century.
Artists on this djrobblog list are ranked based on the following seven criteria:
- Musical Influence
- Innovation/Invention
- Longevity/Endurance
- Record Sales/Chart Performance
- Historic Significance/Accomplishments
- Contribution to others success
- Awards/Recognition
This is not strictly a singers list, either. Artists who also made strides as instrumentalists (several jazz musicians fell in this category) also qualified. Likewise, several musicians who were also noted for writing or producing work for themselves or others received special consideration in the rankings. In those cases, the artist had to have significant work as a lead recording artist, with their own music being as noteworthy as the stuff they produced or wrote for others. This stipulation allowed singer/songwriter/producers like Ashford & Simpson to be included, while Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and others more known for their production work did not qualify.
Additionally, artists who were once members of a group but also had solo success were given credit for their groups work as well as their solo stuff, particularly if the groups success was primarily due to the individuals involvement. In such cases, the group is co-listed with the solo artist and neither one has its own entry on the list. However, the solo artist gets primary billing on the list if that artist is clearly the reason for where the acts jointly rank. Youll see this in cases like Diana Ross/Supremes, Chaka Khan/Rufus, Lionel Richie/Commodores and Michael Jackson/The Jacksons.
In cases where groups clearly had success due to multiple members involvement, then the group is listed first, followed by the individual members. This will be reflected in groups like New Edition, N.W.A. and the Temptations, whose various members share the same ranking on the list as their groups.
An asterisk is needs for this scenario, however. The 1960s group the Impressions owe their success to two key leaders, Jerry Butler and later Curtis Mayfield. Because both men made significant names for themselves after leaving the Impressions, and because the Impressions success was clearly due to each mans contributions, Butler and Mayfield are each credited for their respective group leadership roles and are afforded their own rankings on this list. Because both Butler and Mayfield have separate rankings, the Impressions as a group are not listed. A similar scenario exists for the Drifters and their two key members, Ben E. King and Clyde McPhatter.
Finally, although this is considered an all time ranking, this list is in actuality limited to musicians of just the past 100 years or so. It was difficult to go back before 1920 and compare those artists to the more contemporary ones. Circumstances and sounds were far too different then. In fact, it proved challenging to even compare artists that fell within the eligible 100-year window given the wide variety of genres and styles that have evolved over the past century.
Nonetheless, Ive come up with a list that attempts to to do just that. This week, I present Part 1: Numbers 100 76. Over the next three weeks, Ill provide the remaining 75 musicians and include my 3-part special feature about the black music producers and writers that helped make it all happen for these artists. And, as always, theres a special DJRob playlist of key songs from these artists available on Spotify, which you can hear by clicking here.
So here it is, Part 1 of the djrobblog countdown of the 100 Greatest Black Musicians of All Time: