Reply #58: Several things that have to be considered...

[wyldwolf]

"inventive, creative music" is a highly subjective phrase and is your opinion. While I agree with your opinion (that the Beatles were creative when they were allowed to be), the Beach Boys (early Beach Boys, anyway) were just another "beach band" like Jan & Dean and others but had better management and better deal and, like the Beatles, were allowed to grow. Roy Orbison, aside from having a distinctive voice, was no more talented than Elvis, Carl Perkins, or Johnny Cash.

IMO, there was nothing at all distinctive about Bobby Vinton. The Dixie Cups were essentially a one-hit wonder and, I might add, a manufactured group - put together by producer Joe Jones.

The Supremes, like most Motown groups, were Barry Gordy's robots. They were manufactured and told how to dress, speak, and dance.

And besides, comparing 1964 to 2002 or 2003 isn't fair because the acts breaking in those years haven't had the time to flourish. Come back 10 years from now and look in on the classes of 2002 or 2003.

It's easy to look back now to the 60s after all of those careers are over and see their record. "Today's" music cannot be judged until it is no longer "today's music,"

The acts of the 50s and 60s had considerably less competition on the charts.

In today's crowed market, having a lasting career is more difficult.

Better to compare this era's top artists.