jack is on point, and I know these arguments are speculative by nature, but as far as Stevie being the greatest solo musician in history, I think you'd have to draw way too many people into the convo. Even if you limited it to the 20th century alone, you have Duke, Miles, Monk, Trane,Cole Porter . . .

and far too many classical musicians I don't know.

Greatest individual pop musician of the 20th century? Yeah, we could make a great case for that!!!!

namepeace said:

I didn't say necessarily that he IS the greatest 20th century solo musician, but that one could make the argument. With all due respect to Duke, Cole, Miles, Trane etc., they were great composers and players but none of them were great singers or were proficient on several differnt instruments and none of them were their own producers (even though the role of the producer wasn't that important in jazz). Basically the difference between those musicians and stevie is that stevie could make a record entirely by himself whereas those others either couldn't, or never proved that they could.

Stevie to me is overrated. I think cause he blind he got the extra attention and i respect him no doubt. But by far Prince is better. I think Lionel Richie is better than Stevie Wonder. Prince is no doubt the second best male artist in my book to come out after Michael jackson with elton john and lionel Richie a close 3rd and 4th respectfully.

There was a thread a while back not too shortly after I came to prince.org debating who was more talented. That became quite heated to say the least.

Personally I think a good case could be made that Stevie is the greatest individual musician in history, or at least 20th century pop music when you take all factors into consideration (singing, songwriting, producing, musicianship, social activism, cultural/historical importance). Prince is definitely up there too, and prince can do certain things better than stevie (guitar, sexuality, dancing) but stevie's prime is one of the most rich bodies of work next to the Beatles and Duke Ellington, and while Prince often rocked harder than stevie I don't think he was any more funky, and his music was never quite as classy as Stevie's and even a lot of his best stuff hasn't aged as well (chalk it up to the fact that the production style of the 80s just hasn't aged as well in general). Plus prince had more creative partners than stevie, many of whom didn't get all the credit they deserved. One thing Prince does do better, or at least more often than stevie, is be dark or dirty (though see Maybe Your Baby and They won't go when I go for the dark side of stevie). Otherwise I think Stevie's a better singer, songwriter and producer, and at least as good and perhaps an even better multi-instrumentalist than prince.

Let's put it this way, among currently living and/or active musicians stevie and prince are numbers one and two respectively in my list of favorites
[Edited 4/22/05 14:14pm]

Is there really a contest here? Prince has more talent, more range and more musical diversity than Stevie. But despite this, I still think Stevie is a great artist.

But I only say this because I'm the bigger Prince fan.

jacktheimprovident said:

The Beatles and Duke don't belong in this conversation. Neither does Marvin. I shouldn't even type his name, but Lionel Richie certainly doesn't. Curtis is at least in the same ballpark, but as singular artists--separate the Beatles and they don't quite belong in this class-- very few are up there. Of the names I've seen mentioned here, Stevie and Prince stand alone.

We're talking the most complete artists and I'd have to give the nod to Prince as a live artist-- by virtue of having sight he can dance, move from one instrument to another, and bring a visual aspect to the show that Stevie can't. As a songwriter I agree that Stevie is better. As instrumentalists I'd call it a draw-- both can play the hell out of a piano, Stevie's probably a better drummer and definitely better on the harmonica, Prince is the better guitarist and bass player. Stevie has the better voice. Prince is a little more creative in terms of blending different musical influences and subject matters.
To be honest, though I can objectively say that Prince is the more complete artist I would probably prefer Stevie's back catalogue over Prince's. Stevie's work as a whole touches my soul in a way that Prince's can't. I may enjoy Prince's music more but it isn't as satisfying at the end of the day. (This is a generalization of course because Prince has made some soul-satisfying songs and Stevie has some fun songs too.)
So there you have it-- Prince live and Stevie on record.

I think stevie has just as much range and diversity as prince if not more. As I said, prince has done more rock but stevie's done more symphonic or world or tin pan alley or jazzy stuff. And as far as talent, well that's difficult to measure but once again I'd probably give the edge to stevie because he's the better singer, songwriter and producer. As multi-instrumentalists, I've been trying to compare the two in this capacity for a long time but it's really hard to determine. Stevie's better on keys and drums, prince is better on guitar and bass, but prince doesn't play harmonica and stevie's also played a lot of non-conventional instruments (for rock/r&b) like violin, harp, accordion etc..

Is there really a contest here? Prince has more talent, more range and more musical diversity than Stevie. But despite this, I still think Stevie is a great artist.

But I only say this because I'm the bigger Prince fan.

I have a theory that Stevie Wonder is actually God

There is one person even Prince and Stevie know they could never touch...



Sly Stone

pennstate97 said:

Stevie can be compare to Sly because his style is too different...

But Prince can be compare to Sly, because his style is very close to him...

I think as a instrumentist Prince kills Sly... Nothing to say...
But as an innovator Sly kills Prince.... Sly created a newstyle of music...

Stevie to me is overrated. I think cause he blind he got the extra attention and i respect him no doubt. But by far Prince is better. I think Lionel Richie is better than Stevie Wonder. Prince is no doubt the second best male artist in my book to come out after Michael jackson with elton john and lionel Richie a close 3rd and 4th respectfully.

I would be interested in hearing further opinions on Prince, Stevie and Sly as instrumentalists.

One area that I think Sly is very underated is his vocals. I agree he probably can't match Stevie or Prince here but his vocals seem pretty unique and raw. This is one area in which Sly doesn't seem to get enough respect.

As a lyricist, I think Sly kills Prince and Stevie. His words and phrases seemed really original and very deep.

Lyrically, I'd rank them Sly,Prince then Stevie.

Any opinions?
[Edited 4/23/05 18:01pm]

Stevie rules!


Both men are musical genuises,but to me,there is more soul and warmth in Stevie's music.

I think Lionel Richie is better than Stevie Wonder.

saintsation said:

You're out of your mind.

No disrespect to Lionel Richie, 'cause the Commodores rocked, but has he ever painted a devastating portrait of America's racist class system such as "Village Ghetto Land" or "Living for the City"? Has he mastered multiple instruments (never mind the major disability factor, 'cause Stevie doesn't need the extra points)? Does he have a list of heart-breakingly beautiful ballads so long, they can make you experience the gamut of emotion from the depths of rejection to the heights of euphoria?