Instead of the usual "best-of" year-end lists that start appearing, oh, right about now, how about a list from The Atlantic that's sure to inspire debate:
The 100 Most Influential Americans (ever.)
Ronald Reagan shows up quite early in the list, at #17 (which I happen to agree with; fair-minded historians are already ranking him as one of the great Presidents.)
But ranking Elvis Presley (#66) higher than Louis Armstrong (#79) is musical and cultural illiteracy of the highest order; Armstrong was the man who invented modern American popular music and paved the way for everyone who followed, from Sinatra and Crosby to Elvis to Jay-Z and beyond.
21 November 2006
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