Nanci Griffith - Her music became a very good friend to me when I was studying for my A levels, and she has the ability to lift me out of reality and drop me somewhere in the dustbowl, or the gulf coast in Texas. I now have a great desire to visit the Loan Star State.
Colin Neely, Belfast
Meat Loaf- He is the best singer ever! The songs he sings are mainly from personal experience. No-one and I mean no-one can sing those songs with such power, passion and love as he does!
Rhys Williams, Wales
Albert Collins - He was the master of the telecaster. Not only was the man an amazing musician, he was also an amazing person! I saw him play in Toronto when I was about 19. He invited my friends and I back stage and we hung out. Afterwards, he invited to me to join the band to travel to the next gig in a city north of Toronto! The next morning I joined Albert and The Ice Breakers for their next gig. He even had me carry his patch chord as he played a solo through the crowd. He was the best and is truly missed!
Dave Delaney, Toronto
The Butthole Surfers - They ripped through everything and created a new dark psychedalic experience.
Nathan, Nottingham
ZZ Top are an honest, no nonsense, blues based rock n roll band, that has been together longer than most, not taken themselves too seriously, bucked most trends while still keeping pace with whats going on, without losing their roots, Their image, attitude and sound defines Texas like no-one else ever could.
Keith Harman, Binfield
Nanci Griffith - From Gulf Coast Highway to Not My way Home, Nanci is the greatest female singer/songwriter in the USA. And fabulous with The Blue Moon Orchestra at concerts in Reading, Albert Hall and Hemel Hempstead.
David Roberts, Weston Turville
Polyphonic Spree - I am tempted to just say 'well, duuhh', but i guess i'll say more. not much more though, because i am lazy. anyway, the polyphonic spree are amazing, and tim delaughter is totally inspiring. they are the most amazing live band ever, and give off such happy vibes. i love them to pieces, and they are totally perfect. looking forward to their second album 'together we're heavy', which will kick ass!
Paulo, Scotland
Johnny Winter - For some inexplicable reason Texas seems to have far more than its fair share of talent. Stevie Ray Vaughan, Joe Ely, Buddy Holly would all have easily won the title in a lesser state. However, Texas has produced Johnny Winter, or as the Stones said in their tribute, Silver Train. I saw JW in 1988 and I have never seen anything like it before or since. As a rare visitor to these shores the audience was full of afficianados who come out of the woodwork about once in a decade when JW decides to visit. I wondered if they weren't being a bit sentimental with their talk of 'legendary' 'sublime','amazing' etc. Not so. He was at one with the guitar and not once could I see his fingers move on the fretboard such was his speed. This was awesome enough but then he unleashed the slide guitar and we all knew we were in the presence of something special. Unfortunately he is no longer able to play to that standard but at least he did once and showed us all what a human being could do with a block of wood and some strings.
David Fox, London
Blackie Lawless from W.A.S.P - cos he's the cooooolest!
Page, Bristol
Stevie Ray Vaughan - Stevie remains one of the greatest guitarists ever, blue, rock or otherwise. He remains revered, almost worshiped, in Texas today. I was raised on Stevie's work and whenever I'm homesick I just listen to his last performance on Austin City Limits. Only Lyle Lovet can compete with Stevie's ability to put the majesty of Texas - land, people, history and more - into song.
Veronic, Dallas TX (Now in London)
Willie Nelson - I am amazed at Willie's prolific song writing and his cleverly capturing of certain emotions or moments in time. He even transcends music genres beautifully as with "Stardust" - a favorite of him singing standards in just his Willie Nelson way. His 3-hour concert in Amsterdam wore me out; he was still going strong. A nice, unpretentious man... and he gives great BBQ's!
Andi Nichols, Native Texan living in Amsterdam
Townes Van Zandt - He wrote songs about the life he lived and lived life like the characters in his songs. No other songwriter better fits the accolade of poet. His singing voice, while deteriorating in his latter years, was pure country: mournful yet ultimately uplifting. He was also an underrated and very versatile guitar player: listen to the picking on 'Rex's blues'. He may be dead but his music lives on...
Colin Carroll, Leeds
Buddy Holly - Simple tunes, done well. His voice lent itself to the tunes he sang, which isn't often the case. Peggy Sue, True Love Ways and Rave On stand as classics, mixing genres with an unbelievable enthusiasm.
Mike Powell, Southampton
Mike Nesmith - The former Monkee gave us Loose Salute and Magnetic South in the early 70's with his First National Bands. Those albums are very important in the context of Country Rock and what is now commonly refered to as ALT-Country.
Roberto, Toronto
Blind Willie Johnson - Born in Marlin, Texas in 1908 (?) the music of Willie J can genuinely cliam influence over not just in Texas, the US and the whole planet, but the outer reaches of the galaxy and beyond: remember the space ship that was sent out with info about the human race for other life-forms to find? Well Willie J's "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground" was one of the pieces of music chosen to make the trip. Seminal slide guitarist with a big influence on Ry Cooder, Eric Clapton, Duane Allman, etc etc etc. His records are the "Haynes Manual" for slide players in Open D and among the most moving musical experiences you can have (IMHO). And I'm gonna vote for him because I don't think many other will. And he deserves it. (Martin is right. He was the only vote for Blind Willie, but what a vote, eh? - ed)
Martin Wood, Basingstoke
The Dixie Chicks - for standing up for free speech and showing the world not all Texans A) are republican frat boys who struggle to put a coherent sentence together, to say nothing about governing a country and b) for redefining american country
Gregg, Glasgow
Bob Wills - You have to give the father of Texas swing his due. Other nominations were great... I'm impressed by the apprection of Texas music by our English cousins... Great music knows no borders. Hook 'em Longhorns!
Richard Kirkeeide, Houston TX
Meat Loaf - My raeson for nominating meat loaf is becouse he is one of the greatest rock n roll singers of all time,i have been listening to his music since i was about 14 years old,my perants are divorced they have been since i was 5 years old, so my only role model has been meat loaf he has been an insperation to me through my life. so to me he is angel sent from heaven above thank you Meat Loaf
Kayann Stanley, Adelaide, Australia
Buddy Holly - No Texan music has been more life-affirming than Buddy's. And please let's not forget the jubilant hiccups!
Jan Van Gestel, Holland
Roky Erickson - Lead singer with the 13th Floor Elevators - true psychedelic pioneers. They were the first band to use psychedelic to describe their music. They influenced bands like Spiritualized, Jesus & Mary Chain, Primal Scream and countless others.
Jay Miles, Glasgow
Stevie Ray Vaughan - The BEST most BRILLIANT guitarist that ever lived & in my eyes will live for ever.
Diane O'Flynn, Dorking
Stevie Ray Vaughan - Has to be one of the greatest guitars ever to pick up an axe. Listen to any player today and and you will hear the influence comming through. A sad day when he left us to teach God how to play the guitar
Chris Matheson, Worksop
Willie Nelson - Great song writer, the voice, personality, trigger and actor. Don't forget Willie!!
Becky, Stoke-on-Trent (now living in Austin, TX)
Chet Atkins - the best country guitar player ever.
Hector Reyes, Mexico
Stevie Ray Vaughan - He was just an amazing blues man,sadly missed by all.
Jeffrey Evans, Hall Green, Birmingham
Willie Nelson - 75 plus and still sounds as good as he did 40yrs ago
Dave Bellini, Stockport
Butthole Surfers - God knows why. They're dreadful.
Mark Middleton, Stockholm
Buddy Holly - his music perhaps started as sort of a bridge between different styles, that had seemed not possible to meet, and then became a style of its own and inspired anyone else since then.
Henk Hespers, Netherlands
Townes Van Zandt - An amazing life distilled into songs
John Reynolds, Cambridge
Blaze - Brandon Templeton and Ephraim Owens are two of the most creative musicians on the Austin music scene. The Austin music scene is predominatly guitar-driven blues/rock and this quintet brings a welcomed jazz presence to this musical city.
Patrick McAteer, Austin TX
Dixie Chicks - The Dixie Chicks revolutionized country music and it will never be the same because of them. They brought bluegrass music to the mainstream and made freedom of speech a top priority.
Jessica Johnson, Mount Airy, North Carolina
Buddy Holly - The influence he has had on other artists over the years has resulted in many different interpretations of the genre. This has served to broaden the appeal of popular music and will do so for generations to come.
Gerry Mitchell, Port Glasgow
Steve Earle - Although raised in San Antone, Steve was born 17/1/55 in Fort Monroe, Virginia. I'd love to vote for him, if for nothing else to acknowledge the way he reignited the reputation of Townes Van Zandt, after years of lying unfashionably dormant. It was TVZ, whom Earle called " A real bad role model ", who inspired Steve to stick with it in Nashville with Guy and Susannah Clark. Like a great wine, this man gets better and better. His magnum opus just has to be "Jerusalem". The first 4 tracks have to be the strongest opening quartet of songs I have heard for some 32 years, since listening to the Stones "Let It Bleed". EVERY track is a gem. Particularly beautiful is the best example of backporch country I have heard in years when he duets with Emmylou Harris on "I Remember You". A truly magnificent artist, whether in the studio or live - be it an acoustic solo set or rocking the house down with The Dukes.
Phil Hines, Totnes, Devon
Dixie Chicks - Their quality is excellent and they appear to have great soul and character. As great as they are as a group, I believe that not many singers in history sound so good and strike such a chord as Natalie. Something about what she puts into a song and the God-given quality of her voice is just incredible and it obviously reaches millions of people who remain loyal fans of the Dixie Chicks music.
Russell Germain, Washington DC
Townes Van Zandt - He wrote and sang beautiful songs about the pain of living and paid the price for it. "The" Texas poet.
Francois Delauzun, Arundel UK
Blind Lemon Jefferson - There wouldn't be no Texan music without Blind Lemon.
Andy Collins, Cairns, Australia
Nanci Griffith - Great songwriter in her own right, one of the best female arists to come out of Austin, Texas. Also campaigner for land mine free world.
Valerie Adams, Haverfordwest, West Wales
Stevie Ray Vaughan - The best guitarist I have ever seen, A brilliant Showman, who worked very hard to get the very best from himself and and for the audience, and played as if it was his last performance. If James Brown is the hardest working man in show-business, then SRV was his teacher. Anyone who can make Eric Clapton put down his guitar and walk away knowing he's beaten has to be the best. (Read his book).
Alan James Willey, Co. Durham
Stevie Ray Vaughan - He was the most amazing guitarist with such a passion and respect for the blues.Although the word has almost become meaningless,he is a true LEGEND.
Phil Judkins, Ashover, Derbyshire
Johnny and Edgar Winter - They are supremely good at what they do. Johnny has played with all the greats, including Jimi Hendrix and Muddy Waters (who he produced), and Edgar is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist with one of the most brilliant voices ever. Absolute geniuses both of them.
V. Strawford, Bristol
Doug Sahm - "She's About A Mover", "Mendocino", "(Is Anybody Going) To San Antone", and 50 others. The Sir Douglas Quintet and the Texas Tornados. Blues, C&W, Texas swing, rock, Doug covered every zone with a heart and a talent big as Texas itself.
Joe Pulver, New York
Buddy Holly - this guy was a real pioneer he came up with fantastic music, completely new and original for its day. In his youth they had very few radio stations to listen to, so his music was all his own. Just maybe he is from to an earlier generation to be appreciated today.
Jim Whittaker, Surbiton
Lyle Lovett - a smooth operator of Texas swing his music embodies the varied musical styles of the Lone Star state.
Chuck Fisher, San Antonio, Texas
Buddy Holly did more in his brief career than most others achieve in decades. He was a major influence on groups like the Beatles. I believe to date there are something like 100 different recordings of "That'll Be The Day". A unique phenomenon.
Douglas Brown, Harlow Essex
Townes Van Zandt - His songs are so simple and so pure.Has a better song ever been written than 'For The Sake of The Song'?
Jeremy Hutchings, London
Jim Reeves - His smooth velvet voice will never fade from memory
Frank, Isle of Wight
Kinky Freidman - Good musician, good author, lover of Guinness,Jamiesons and good coffee!!
Graeme Roberts, Edinburgh, Scotland
Willie Nelson - so talented,wonderful guitarist,clever song writer,no one else sounds like him,hes given us so much pleasure for a long time and hes a very nice person!
Barbara Heffer, Dartford, Kent
Dixie Chicks - they aren't afraid to speak their minds and they exercise their right to freedom of speech. Martie and Emily and jsut inpecible on their instruments. Natalie just sings her heart out and it just all comes together. They are just awesome.
Lauren, Tennessee
...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead - Lots of energy, plus 3 very good albums. At The Drive-In have the former but only one of the latter.
Jack Glover Gunn, Guildford
Kinky Freidman - The Kinkster should win on four counts: his songs, his performances, his novels and his sense of humour. Kinky's take on Texas and Life is truly refreshing.
Rose Heatley, London
Steve Earle - There are few artists I can think of who have generated such consistently impressive output covering such a range of musical styles. How many other musicians can you think of with both a bluegrass album and a cover of a Nirvana song in their back catalogue? Whether performing with the Dukes or solo, he is also superb live.
Andy Franks, Warrington
Townes Van Zandt - Everyone who I have introduced to the music of TVZ has become an instant fan. I met him once at the Tramshed in Woolwich and he left a lasting impression. The greatest singer/songwriter to come out of Texas.
David Wass, Grayshott, Surrey
Townes Van Zandt - Everyone who I have introduced to the music of TVZ has become an instant fan. I met him once at the Tramshed in Woolwich and he left a lasting impression. The greatest singer/songwriter to come out of Texas.
David Wass, Grayshott, Surrey
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