Hey! I've been performing in the bedroom for decades how come I dont get a mention?

COCKMAN

Gazza you are right and i should keep this to music but do you really think michael jackson has had that much of an impact on entertainment? and as far as frank goes ,he might have done some concerts when he was 80 but i don't think there were many in between...maybe the topic should have been for the most prolific artist...anyway if mick is still singing when he is 80,maybe he will have a shot to be the Greatest entertainer ...

Frank sinatra undoubtably. as discussed above entails, singer, actor, etc. Frank has won grammy's, emmy's, and academy awards. He was the original pop singer, before elvis (who aspired to be like frank), the beatles, or any of the crap today. Sinatra is the best.

Its either Elvis, Marilyn Monroe or Madonna. Mick was the greatest in the 70s of course and John Lennon was the greatest personality of the 60s. 50s is a split between Elvis and Frankie. Dylan may very well be second best in both 60s and 70s. Hendrix was the greatest entertainer in the 60s of course. They called him the black Elvis in some magazine, Rolling Stone I think.

No doubt. Mick Jagger from the the the day he started until this day!

I vote for Father Abraham




- Koen.

bassaleman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Gazza you are right and i should keep this to
> music but do you really think michael jackson has
> had that much of an impact on entertainment?

well,it wasnt me who suggested Michael, but to answer your question - yes. Absolutely. We live in an MTV/video-dominated generation dont forget, and the most significant and influential artist of that era is Michael Jackson. Only Madonna comes anywhere near close. He maybe hasnt had any impact on me, personally, but thats not the point. His impact on popular culture and entertainment in the last thirty years has been massive - actually, maybe even more so to his own generation than the Stones and many acts from the 60's and 70's were to their own, because in the last 20 years or so music has become so much more globally orientated and accessible through television and also relies on the video media so much.

and
> as far as frank goes ,he might have done some
> concerts when he was 80 but i don't think there
> were many in between...

He played thousands! but the question wasnt concerning "greatest live performer" (personally, I prefer Springsteen to Jagger as a live performer but thats just my own personal taste), it was "greatest entertainer", which is a title which requires a lot more than that (see Happy Jack's points above). I think also that people of our generation and taste in music dont tend to look beyond rock music when it comes to talking about greats and their impact on musical history. In reality, its only been around for less than half of the last century, unlike other forms of music such as jazz. Rovalle also mentioned Louis Armstrong, who would also be a definite contender..

We dont even have to limit it to music - you could certainly add in movies as well. When Rudolf Valentino died in 1924, he was the biggest movie star in the world and his death caused mass hysteria and suicides. It would be hard to imagine that happening now, partly because we're so different now and the music and movie worlds are so diverse and fragmented culturally, that even the death of any big movie or music star would have relatively little impact.

maybe the topic should have
> been for the most prolific artist......

Well...Mick's nowhere near the most prolific artist. Far from it!!


>anyway if mick
> is still singing when he is 80,maybe he will have
> a shot to be the Greatest entertainer

I'd say he already has a shot, but its a fun (but unwinnable) argument to compare different eras, styles and cultures!




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2005-01-05 17:28 by Gazza.

I totally forgot the greatest entertainer of the 90s! Kurt Cobain of course. Yes he was an entertainer too..

wrong wrong wrong-----the one the only..BOB HOPE!!!!....truly the greatest all around entertainer of th last 100 years!!....think about it people...

STONES JAM!! MICKEYS RULES!!! (burp) NADER IN 2016!!!!! GO GIANTS!!

jagger ,and stones (especially)mick is the greatest live performer ever.but as far as entertainer,elton is the greatest talent.and the biggest world wide figure.if anyone disagrees watch his new dream ticket dvd.especially the solo show,one man and his voice and piano,mesmerizing a packed house.

john scialfa



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2005-01-06 08:14 by backstreetboy.

I say Frank Sinatra!





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-04-18 12:00 by Come On.

ROCKMAN

Mickey Mouse, four fingered hands down

1. Mick Jagger
2. Frank Sinatra
3. Jerry Lee Lewis
4. Louis Armstrong
5. Ray Charles
6. Preservation Hall Jazz Band - for sheer infectious joy
7. Elvis Presley (1968 - 1970)

ELVIS - saw him in 1976, even in that condition, awesome

man, I can't believe you forgot to mention Henri Salvador !

The thing is: watch That's The Way It Is, and you see a star as sleek as a panther, totally engaged with his music, and totally engaged with his audience. The same goes for the 68 comeback special, and the 69 Memphis sessions.

That would have to be Justin Bieber. Oops, that is the 21st Century . . sorry.

Mick's the greatest. But he isn't the most famous or most rich or
most loved or most critically praised or most talented or most
challenging or best singer or dancer or lyricist/social commentator or
composer or sex symbol or media mastermind or producer of spectacle...

He's simply the only one who did all the above at an extraordinarily
high level.

He's simply the only one who did all the above at an extraordinarily
high level.


Not as high as Daffy, as seen here in his greatest (and final) performance.






Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2012-04-18 16:01 by tatters.

The Standards have a way of living on, so, I guess it may be Sinatra. Or, collectively, it may be the Beatles.

Most of the posts here are mentioning popular musicians (not surprising considering this board's theme) and it would be hard to argue with either Elvis or Frank Sinatra being way up on the list since they both crossed into other media as well. Someone mentioned Bob Hope who was HUGE for decades.

Mickey Mouse was also mentioned and while I wouldn't give props to Mickey, I would give props to his creator, Walt Disney. Think of the total body of work that man created (with help, obviously) and how far and wide it entertained.

How about Ed Sullivan? Although we could debate the fact that the performers were doing the entertaining, Ed was the host of the show that gave them the opportunity.

Julie Andrews was in movies that crossed cultural divides and are still huge today (even if it's no longer the 20th century).

Walter Winchell was a radio "journalist" who was pretty entertaining.

George Burns (with & without Gracie Allen) went from vaudeville to radio to film to TV and was entertaining huge numbers of people for decades.

Charles Shultz created the Peanuts cartoon strip with Charlie Brown & Snoopy. The original cartoons still run in newspapers to this day, years after his death.

Alfred Hitchcock? Orson Wells? Pretty good producer/directors who have entertained millions with their work.

Charles Lindbergh? Though not an entertainer in the classic sense, I'd hasten to say that there was a huge portion of at least western civilization who was entertained by his work.

Composer John Williams wrote the soundtrack music for Star Wars (1-6), Jaws, Superman, ET & many others (21 Grammy awards can't be all that bad).

Above is a very American list - wanna guess where I'm from? I'd be willing to bet that some Europeans could bring up some entertainers from outside the world of popular music who could rival and stand up on a list of the greatest entertainers...

Peace,
Mr DJA

1. Sinatra - music and movies
2. Elvis
3. Jagger

Honorable mention - Marilyn Monroe, John Wayne, Charlie Chaplin, Jimmy Stewart, Chuck Berry, Robert Johnson, Hank Williams Sr., The Beatles

Surprised at no mention of the greatest composer of all time - Paul McCartney

Ronald Reagan?

He was a radio host, tv and movie Actor. Who was such a popular entertainer he
went on to become a Governor and the President of the U.S.A.

In effect the most powerful entertainer ever!!!

I will put Muhammad ali on the list.

Really considering what it means to be a great entertainer - the ability to move large, diverse crowds of people - I would have to say....

1. Elvis
2. Michael Jackson
3. Mick Jagger

I would be interested to see a Top 10 list.

Mick Jagger is great at what he does, but he doesn't come close to some of the others that are listed here. Stop showing your bias, people