I love how idly chatting about something sparks a discussion which then leads to a potential post (or more).  A year or so ago, this discussion took place.  We talked about how we would post it.  Then we forgot about it.  We would bring it up now and again, here and there, just in passing. Talk about our idea, then move on to something else.  This week, something clicked and our talk is turning into action. We are finally making it happen.  Who am I talking about?  Marc (affectionately called B, by me) over at Sorryless and me.  What am I talking about, you ask?  Our personal idea of a Mount Rushmore of musicians.  Marc’s intro can be found here.

We decided to split them between us:  he, taking the men; me, the women.  This is no easy task and of course you understand that our choices are completely subjective. Your top four and my top four are surely not going to be the same and that’s more than all right.  But how to go about it?  How to narrow down our choices?  There had to be some sort of criteria, otherwise, we’d have the likes of Mozart or Memphis Minnie mixed in with today’s artists.  How the hell do you bring it down to four?

This is what we decided.

1.  Only artists that have been productive within the last fifty years.  That still leaves us with a ridiculous list.
2.  They had to be the writers of their own (and possibly others’) songs.  That eliminates a slew of fantastic performers.
3.  They need to have been (or still are) an influence – not limited to us fans but to other artists, as well
4.  They need to have stage presence – and by this, it could be on a huge stage or a small venue but they have that ‘it’ factor.

Who are the artists who’ve written the songs that put them atop this esteemed Mount?