Have you ever played anything from those selections? They are all EXTREMELY difficult to replicate. And although Lewis takes influence, I'm not sure about acclaim as a pianist

I'm not a piano player, but I can improvise convincingly. I do play a lot of mallet percussion though (same layout as a piano), so it's not like I talk out of my ass.

Anyway, Lewis has the acclaim pretty much because of his influence. He was one of the first pianists to play that stereotypically-bluesy style of piano, which drove young people in the 50s absolutely wild. His popularity is pretty much solely because of his piano playing, as that was the primary focus of his music. On the other hand, Elton John's popularity is primarily because of his persona and attitude as a performer (over-the-top outfits, massive stage shows, charisma, vocal style, etc.). Yes, he plays the piano creatively, but putting him at #1 for that would be like putting Springsteen at #1 on the guitarists list because he plays guitar.

Hmm. I don't know if I agree with all of that. It is difficult to separate between performer and pianist, but we must try. Much of JLL's popularity came from his performance, as well. He was manic onstage, setting pianos on fire and bouncing around in ways that no one had ever seen. So they both achieved popularity through that.

I'll need to find some more specific examples in the upcoming days, but I know I've found many more statements regarding Elton the pianist than I have regarding Jerry the pianist. Like I said, because JLL popularized the "rock and roll" style, I would definitely grant him influence, but I think at this point we can't discount the vast acclaim Elton has amassed as a pianist over the years.

On another note, what do you think about the rest of my suggested piainst list?

Looks pretty good, but I might put Fats Domino above Nicky Hopkins for being Jerry Lee Lewis before Jerry Lee Lewis.

Fats Domino or Little Richard? I would find it reduntant to have both in the top ten, and I think that Little Richard did more to popularize the style than Fats did, so I put him on there

Ah okay. Sounds good. But Domino also heavily influenced New Orleans music, so he should get some credit for that.

So how about:

1. JLL / Elton
2. JLL / Elton (we'll resolve this later)
3. Ray Charles
4. Billy Joel
5. Little Richard
6. Nicky Hopkins
... and then the rest of the list as I had? Or maybe put Fats Domino in the latter half of the top ten?

Yeah that's what I'm thinking. Longhair and Dr. John should probably also be Top 10.

Dr. John, for sure, but is Professor Longhair really a rock pianist?

Yes. Just really old-timey rock.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OH_hVEF7mY

With all do respect, that cannot possibly be considered rock. It's pretty typical of the music of New Orleans. He may have been an influential pianist, but he's not a rock and roll pianist. I'd call him blues or traditional jazz.

It's borderline rock. It's pretty much what Dr. John was doing in the 60s.

A Message from Jon Lord:

http://jonlord.org/

August 9, 2011
I would like all my friends, followers, fans and fellow travelers to know that I am fighting cancer and will therefore be taking a break from performing while getting the treatment and cure.

I shall of course be continuing to write music – in my world it just has to be part of the therapy – and I fully expect to be back in good shape next year.

God bless and see you soon
Jon

May we also, at Jon’s request, ask if everyone could please respect his need for privacy so that he can spend time with his family (and his music).

Thank you.

I really hope he ends up okay. He's probably my favorite individual member of any band, and he's one hell of a composer.

But yeah, should Tuomas Holopainen be on here? He has a ton of influence on symphonic metal.