Mudcat's most popular musician

04 Nov 05 - 05:28 AM (#1597129)
Subject: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: greg stephens

People often argue and make lists on "who is the best"type topics. Well, let's look at this statistically, and not as a matter of opinio. I've just done a (very rough) count on a few sample names, to see who has generated the most Mudcat threads. In terms of threads that actually name musicians, the fairly small sample of names that I counted came up as follows:
Bob Dylan 190+
Woody Guthrie 90+
Leadbelly 50+
Nic Jones 40+

I counted the first three, on the basis that I guessed one of them would be the overall winner, and threw in Nic Jones to see where a sample English performer might fit in. So if anyone else is feeling nerdy enough to count up any other favourite name for interest, and put the results here: feel free. I suppose a more intereesting figure might be the total number of posts, but that would take too long(unless there's some kind of way of using the computer to do it?).

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04 Nov 05 - 05:33 AM (#1597132)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: greg stephens

I should also point out that trad or anon would be the overall winner but I'm not sure how we could count the posts up!

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04 Nov 05 - 06:14 AM (#1597154)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: GUEST,Yo

I suggest you plug the names into the search function. After reading your post Stan Rogers and Eric Bogle came to mind. Stan for example has over 1300 mentions.

Dylan was pushing 3000 under this method.

Later
Yo

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04 Nov 05 - 06:38 AM (#1597167)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: Rasener

Vin Garbutt and John Conolly spring to mind.

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04 Nov 05 - 07:02 AM (#1597173)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: greg stephens

Eric Bogle comes in at 90+ threads, too. Living muscians are at an advantage with the "total number of threads" method of measurement: because a lot of threads are very short-lived, and advertise individual gigs. Leadbelly and Guthrie miss out on that!

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04 Nov 05 - 07:07 AM (#1597174)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: greg stephens

Stan Rogers gets 70+ threads. very creditable considering he is comparatively unknown in the UK, which produces a lot of artist related threads.

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04 Nov 05 - 07:07 AM (#1597175)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: GUEST,Jon

I'd disagree Yo, I'd go with the thread topic.

Any results for Dylan are likely to be missleading as LH has at times had his own "Dylan fan club" threads.

Another question, perhaps more so with Dylan (who people seem to love or hate) than most, and almost certainly much more affected by total occurnces in posts or subject headings (old adv search) is whether or not the coments they relate to indicate popularity.

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04 Nov 05 - 07:10 AM (#1597177)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: greg stephens

I agree, "popular" is not perhaps the best term. Dylan certainly attention of positive and negative kind.
    Of the current English crop of performers, the oft-discussed Ms Rusby comes in at 40 threads.

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04 Nov 05 - 07:25 AM (#1597182)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: alanabit

The thread title fooled me. I was dreading a beauty contest of "nicest Mudcatter" or something like that until I read your post. As a Brit, I would expect Cyril Tawney, Vin Garbut and Martin Carthy to appear more often. I suppose Tom Paxton and Pete Seeger must be in there somewhere. Robert Johnson and Mississippi John Hurt also get plenty of attention here.

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04 Nov 05 - 09:05 AM (#1597245)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: Mo the caller

Most popular with me Martin Carthy. Traditional and versatile, what more could you want.

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04 Nov 05 - 09:16 AM (#1597255)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: Auggie

Who is Mudcat's most popular musician?

I thought the answer had to be Rick Fielding.

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04 Nov 05 - 09:43 AM (#1597270)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: alanabit

That is the first thought that came to my mind, when I saw the thread title.

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04 Nov 05 - 03:25 PM (#1597528)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: skarpi

All at the Getaway , :>) along with all the others.
All the best Skarpi Iceland.

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04 Nov 05 - 03:37 PM (#1597539)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: Cluin

Hell, I thought it must be William Shatner.

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05 Nov 05 - 05:49 AM (#1597908)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: Roger the Skiffler

Wot, no Neil Young??!!

RtS

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05 Nov 05 - 08:27 AM (#1597968)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: kendall

Please, let's not have a "Most popular" mudcatter. Max would win hands down.

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05 Nov 05 - 10:16 AM (#1598007)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: Amos

Well, just let me point out that Neil is the only musician to which the Mudcat has erected a virtual Center complete with bedpans in his honor -- the Neil Young Center for the Terminally Screwed -- to which many Mudcatters have at one or another time retreated for recuperative intervals, so to speak. Shatner, of course, is not a musician, any more than some shabby-assed drunk yelling out the words to "Wild Rover" is a musician. Hell, he's not even an actor.

Now, maybe we should correct this situation and erect a new institution for Dylan, although I am not sure what to call it. The Dylan Foundation for the Advancement of Narcissism? The Dylan Laryngeal DIsorders Study Institute? Gravel and Tin Roofs Department a specialty.

A

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05 Nov 05 - 10:58 AM (#1598021)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: breezy

so thats El Greko out of the frame then !!

Misunderstood thread title was this

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05 Nov 05 - 12:06 PM (#1598049)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: Little Hawk

I don't think I can be blamed for stuffing the ballot box on Dylan threads. I don't generally start them, I just respond to them. ;-)

When I first saw this thread title, I thought, "Gotta be either Rick Fielding or William Shatner"... (grin)

Well, I guess not. No, it's obviously Mr Dylan. No question about it. I would think that Neil Young comes in second, but ONLY because of Spaw's onetime NYCFTTS obsession. He's thankfully given up on it and is now watching NASCAR or something instead.

The WSSBA is an institution with far more to offer the World than the NYCFTTS, in my opinion.

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05 Nov 05 - 12:24 PM (#1598060)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: Clinton Hammond

"Who is Mudcat's most popular musician?"
Len Wallace... It's unfortunate he doesn't have much time or inclination to post here any more...

"Max would win hands down"
HA!

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05 Nov 05 - 12:30 PM (#1598067)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: GUEST

As an American I cast my vote for Martin Carthy. He has been running with the torch for over forty years and still he lights the way.

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05 Nov 05 - 12:39 PM (#1598071)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: kendall

Max is a musician, and he created this site. Nuff said.

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05 Nov 05 - 12:53 PM (#1598077)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: Clinton Hammond

And if he came to a quick stop, all that'd be left of you is shoes....

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05 Nov 05 - 02:08 PM (#1598124)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: greg stephens

Well, Rick Fielding comes in at 80+ threads. That is just ahead of Stan Rogers, and just behind Bogle and Guthrie.

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05 Nov 05 - 02:11 PM (#1598129)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: greg stephens

The immortal Lonnie come in at 40+

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05 Nov 05 - 02:15 PM (#1598132)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: Richard Bridge

Can we have bands? If so, the Young Tradition, who quite simply define modern rendition of traditional vocal harmony.

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05 Nov 05 - 02:17 PM (#1598135)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: Cluin

Here's your immortal Lonnie.

If that's immortality, it's vastly overrated.

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05 Nov 05 - 04:05 PM (#1598218)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: kendall

Wew sure do spend a lot of time and energy supporting our own opinions, don't we? And you know what they say about opinions.

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05 Nov 05 - 04:08 PM (#1598222)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: GUEST

Do I detect a bit of jealousy, CH?

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05 Nov 05 - 05:43 PM (#1598296)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: greg stephens

Kendall: the function of this thread is the exact opposite of expressing opinions. i am just suggesting counting the threads devoted to various folk muscians, as a scientific(??) method of measuring our collective interest in different people. I dont want to know who people think is the most popular, or who ought to be the most popular. We are talking objective facts here!

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05 Nov 05 - 06:15 PM (#1598321)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: McGrath of Harlow

the threads devoted to various folk muscians

But first of course, the Mudcat tradition would require an acrimonious discuission on the theme "what is a folk musician"?...
.........................

Under the methodology proposed, a thread entirely devoted to people saying how someone was absolutely terrible would be counted as a mark of his or her popularity.

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05 Nov 05 - 06:20 PM (#1598324)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: Clinton Hammond

"just ahead of Stan Rogers, and just behind Bogle and Guthrie."
Then he is in very good company indeed!

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05 Nov 05 - 07:08 PM (#1598359)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: GUEST,Martin Gibson

It is undoubtably me.

I have been the topic of many threads, have had more impact here than just about anyone, and have by far had more "I agree"s to things I have posted in the music section than anyone else.

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05 Nov 05 - 07:17 PM (#1598367)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: Peter T.

I would have thought the Beatles.

Certainly there is a big fan club for Jean Ritchie hereabouts.

Pete Seeger?

yours, Peter T.

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05 Nov 05 - 08:21 PM (#1598410)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: kendall

So, who has the time or the inclination to count up all those hits? And, does it really matter?

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05 Nov 05 - 08:24 PM (#1598414)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: Bill D

"most talked about famous musician" ≠ "popular"

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06 Nov 05 - 01:36 PM (#1598725)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: Peter T.

As opposed to the important work we do every day here at the Mudcat, such as building world peace and deciphering the structure of mitochondria....kendall?

yours,

Peter T.

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06 Nov 05 - 01:52 PM (#1598732)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: greg stephens

I agree that this a rather crude method of deciding popularity...perhaps it is a better measure of notoriety. But I thought it would make an interesting change from the debates along the lines "I like Kate Rusby better" "Oh. no, I like Eliza Carthy better".It also avoids any inconvenient discussion what is, or is not, folk music. There are more threads here devoted to Dylan than anyone else(that I have discovered, anyway). Quite a few more than my own outfit the Boat Band, anway, we only only have one thread. But then, quality not quantity, that's what I always say.

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06 Nov 05 - 02:04 PM (#1598737)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: Bill D

" more than my own outfit the Boat Band"

you just never learned to sing thru your nose properly, greg! Fame requires study of the collective mind of the audience!

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06 Nov 05 - 02:41 PM (#1598776)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: kendall

Well said, Bill! Wanna go look under rocks?

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06 Nov 05 - 02:55 PM (#1598787)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: Jeri

'Popular' !!??

This i8s a flok music sit, not Top of the Popes.

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06 Nov 05 - 05:39 PM (#1598875)
Subject: RE: Mudcat's most popular musician
From: kendall

Dylan got more hits on the forum, but most of them were from the same person, right? So what does that prove? He certainly is popular, but so is Pete Seeger, a real folk singer, Rick Fielding, Stan Rogers and Art Thieme.

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