Thank you to everyone who voted in Part 1. Here are some results:
Worst Shellacking: To nobody’s surprise, top seed David Bowie trounced his competitor, Paul Williams, by 64 votes. But Williams is still alive, so at least he has that going for him.
Biggest Upset: Elvis Costello (104th seed) took down Willie Nelson (25th seed).
Closest Matchup: The Sex Pistols vs Van Morrison ended up tied at 36 votes each. I have no strong opinion about either of them, so a flip of a coin sends Van Morrison into Round 2.
Winner With The Least Votes: Roxy Music (32)
Loser With The Most Votes: Willie Nelson (37)
Other Thoughts:
- KISS, a novelty act that was better at marketing than making interesting music, makes a deservedly early exit. They also got the least number of votes of any band in this bracket, so fuck you and your awful wig, Gene Simmons.
- I’m pleasantly surprised to see such a healthy showing for Cheap Trick (handily putting down Three Dog Night by 31 votes). They were one of the first “grown up” bands I connected with as a kid and they are still rocking to this day. Their Round 2 matchup is really interesting, I have no idea who is going to win it (stay tuned).
- Goat’s Prog Corner: Genesis, Yes, Rush, and ELO all move on to Round Two! Who says prog is dead?
In addition to those mentioned above, let us bid one last farewell to Gordon Lightfoot, The Doors, Johnny Cash, The Damned, Can, Miles Davis, The Runaways, The Faces, X-Ray Spex, The Jam, T. Rex, Smokey Robinson, Joy Division, Neu!, Wings, Public Image Ltd, Judas Priest, Gang of Four, ZZ Top, Chicago, Chic, Journey, Squeeze, Harry Nilsson, Toots & the Maytals, Rod Stewart, and the Buzzcocks.
This round will end on Wednesday at 8am PST, at which point your upvotes will be counted and we move on to what should be a brutal Round 2. Downvote if you like, but only upvotes will be counted.
[Header Photo: The Eagles are the highest-selling American band in history, but they sure don’t look happy about it.]