CREEM '81 ROCK 'N' ROLL READERS' POLL RESULTS

Well, its that time of year again. At a time when most of our readers have visions of sugar plums and a jolly old man in a red suit dancing in their heads, the luckless CREEM editors minds are full of facts, figures and questions such asHow can John Paul Jones beat out Steve Nieve as ˜Best Keyboard Player when he hasnt been on an album in over two years? In fact, Led Zeppelin managed to place fairly high in most of theFlesh & Blood categories, although their popularity has waned compared to recent years, with more of the heavy metal votes going to Van Halen, AC/DC and Rush. (The latter band was the only one to place twice in a single category, scoring two albums in the Top 25 of the year.) Oh, well...will small wonders never cease?

Its no exaggeration to say that 1981 belonged to the Stones, thanks to their much-ballyhooed American tour and the strength of Tattoo You. The good lookin bad boys placed in nearly every category, taking first place in fourteen of them. The Stones even received lots of votes in several of the categories in which they didnt place, i.e.,Best Jazz Album. Despite what many critics have written to the contrary, the people still seem to view the Stones asthe greatest rock n roll band in the world.

There really were very few surprises this year, with the possible exception of the Kinks strong showing. Ray Davies and his gang scored higher this year than they have in any other CREEM Readers Poll, reaching #4 under this yearsTop Groups in comparison to last years #20. Although the Kinks placed second in theComeback Of The Year category, theirs may have been the real success story of 1981, as the Stones popularity has never really waned.

There still seems to be a large gap betweenblack andwhite music; a shame, because a good cjeal of the music issuing forth from our editorial playpen has been some of the best black/white fusion stuff like Was (Not Was), and we can only hope this isnt strictly a Detroit/New York trend. We have also (finally) totally refuted AOR FM radio, turning instead to the joys of Detroits black-oriented WGPR, home of the mighty Mojo...

Well, that about covers it. Listed below are this years winners. Thanks for voting, and now were going home for a long, well-deserved nap!

The CREEM Editors

THE WINNERS! CREEM '81 ROCK 'N' ROLL READERS' POLL RESULTS

WAX

TOP THREE ALBUMS OF 1981

1. Tattoo You— Rolling Stones (Rolling Stones Records)

2. Fair Warning—Van Halen (Warner Bros.)

3. Give The People What They Want—Kinks (Arista)

4. Sandinista!—Clash (Columbia)

5. Moving Pictures—Rush (Mercury)

6. Ghost In The Machine—Police (A&M)

7. Dont Say No—Billy Squier (Capitol)

8. Beauty & The Beat—Go-Gos (I.R.S.)

9. Escape—Journey (Columbia)

10. Foreigner 4—Foreigner (Atlantic)

11. Hard Promises—Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (Backstreet)

12. High N Dry—Def Leppard (Mercury)

13. Pretenders II—Pretenders (Sire)

14. Talk, Talk, TalkPsychedelic Furs (Columbia)

15. Precious Time—Pat Benatar (Chrysalis)

16. Blizzard Of Ozz— Ozzy Osbourne (Jet)

17. Trust—Elvis Costello & the Attractions (Columbia)

18. King Of The Wild Frontier— Adam & the Ants (Epic)

19. Hi Infidelity— REO Speedwagon (Epic)

20. Fire Of Unknown Origin— Blue Oyster Cult (Columbia)

21. New Traditionalists—Devo (Warner Bros.)

22. Bella Donna—Stevie Nicks (Modern)

23. El Loco—ZZTop (Warner Bros.)

24. Exit Stage Left—Rush (Mercury)

25. Season Of Glass—Yoko Ono (Geffen)

TOP TWO SINGLES OF 1981

1. Start Me Up— Rolling Stones (Rolling Stones Records)

2. Onr Lips Are Sealed — Go-Gos (I.R.S.)

3. The Stroke—Billy Squier (Capitol)

4. Destroyer—Kinks (Arista)

5. Urgent—Foreigner (Atlantic)

6. Mean Streets—Van Halen (Warner Bros.)

7. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic—Police (A&M)

8.1 Will Follow—U2 (Island)

9. The Break-Up Song— Greg Kihn Band (Berserkley)

10. Centerfold—J. GeilsBand (EMI America)

11. Super Freak—Rick James & the Stone City Band (Motown)

12. Too Drunk To Fuck— Dead Kennedys (I.R.S.)

13. UnderPressure—David Bowie & Queen (Elektra)

14. Stop Draggin My Heart— Tom Petty & Stevie Nicks (Modern)

15. Workin In A Coal Mine—Devo (Warner Bros.)

"More articles on Elvis, Stones, reggae, Kix, and 16-year-old girls.

—Mark Richard Pittsburgh, PA

BEST R&B SINGLE

1. Start Me UpRolling Stones (Rolling Stones Records)

2. Super Freak—Rick James & The Stone City Band (Motown)

3. Centerfold—J. GeilsBand (EMI America)

4. Being With You— Smokey Robinson (Motown)

5. Controversy—Prince (Warner Bros.)

6. Endless Love—Diana Ross & Lionel Richie (Motown)

7. Oh, No—Commodores (Motown)

8. Slowhand—Pointer Sisters (Planet)

9. Tempted—Squeeze (A&M)

10. Too Hot—Kool & the Gang (De-Lite)

BEST R&B ALBUM

1. Tattoo You— Rolling Stones (Rolling Stones Records)

2. Street Songs—Rick James & the Stone City Band (Motown)

3. Controversy—Prince . (Warner Bros.) ^

4. Breaking Away—AlJarreau (Warner Bros.)

5. Koo Koo—Debbie Harry (Chrysalis)

6. Black & White—Pointer Sisters (Planet)

7. More—George Thorogood & the Destroyers (Rounder)

8. Raise! —Earth, Wind & Fire (ARC/Columbia)

9. Dedication—GaryU.S. Bonds (EMI America)

10. Ghost In The Machine— The Police (A&M)

BEST REISSUE

1. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap—AC / DC (Atlantic)

2. Hooligans—The Who (MCA)

3. Collection Of Great Dance Songs—Pink Floyd (Columbia)

4. New York Dolls— New York Dolls (Mercury)

5. Sucking In The Seventies— Rolling Stones (Rolling Stones Records)

6. Best Of Blondie—Blondie (Chrysalis)

7. Phil Spectors Christmas Album (Pavillion)

8. Raw Power—Iggy & the Stooges (Columbia)

9. Motown $5.98 Series

10. Party Mix—B-52s (Warner Bros.)

"Im still waiting for Steely Dan to tour.

—Martin Aaronson Houston, TX

BESTJAZZ ALBUM

1. The Man With The HornMiles Davis (Columbia)

2. As Falls Wichita, So Fails Wichita Falls—Pat Metheny (ECM)

3. Breaking Away—AlJarreau (Warner Bros.)

4. Joe Jacksons Jumpin Jive— v Joe Jackson (A&M)

5. Blythe Spirit—Arthur Blythe (Columbia)

6. Mecca For Moderns— Manhattan Transfer (Atlantic)

7. Collection—George Benson (Warner Bros.)

8. Freelancing—James Blood Ulmer (Columbia)

9. The Clarke-Duke Project— Stanley Clarke & Georqe Duke (Epic)

10. Social Studies—Carla Bley (Watt/ECM)

FLESH & BLOOD

TOPTHREE GROUPS

1. Rolling Stones

2. The Clash

3. Van Halen

4. The Kinks

5. The Pretenders

6. AC/DC

7. Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band

8. Led Zeppelin

9. The Police

10. Rush

11. The Who

12. Journey '

13. The Ramones

14. Squeeze

15. The Cars

16. Def Leppard

17. The Jam

18. Tom Petty & Heartbreakers

19. Devo

20. Elvis Costello & the Attractions

21. Foreigner

22. Judas Priest

23. Talking Heads

24. Blue Oyster Cult

25. Adam & the Ants

TOP THREE LIVE GROUPS

1. The Rolling Stones

2. Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band

3. Van Halen

4. The Kinks

5. AC/DC

6. Rush

7. The Pretenders

8. The Clash

9. The Ramones

10. The Who

11. Journey

12. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

13. Devo

14. Elvis Costello & the Attractions

15. The Plasmatics

16. Judas Priest

17. The Police

18. Cheap Trick

19. The Tubes

20. Def Leppard

21. Blue Oyster Cult

22. Rick James & Stone City Band

23. U2

24. Foreigner

25. ZZ Top

BEST MALE SINGER

1. Bruce Springsteen

2. Mick Jagger

3. David Lee Roth

4. Steve Perry

5. Elvis Costello

6. Robert Plant

7. Ray Davies

8. Billy Squier

9. Joe Strummer

10. Robin Zander

Paul Natkin/Photo Reserve

BEST FEMALE SINGER

1. Pat Benatar

2. Chrissie Hynde

3. Stevie Nicks

4. Debbie Harry

5. Joan Jett

6. Grace Slick

7. Belinda Carlisle

8. Rickie Lee Jones

9. Wendy O. Williams

10. Yoko Ono

MAt least this year 1 got laid!

—Brent Braniff Minot, ND

"Hey, our lead singer wears pajamas !" brags the avant-garde Clash !

BEST R&B SINGER

1. Mick Jagger

2. Rick James

3. George Thorogood

4. Prince

5. George Benson

6. Smokey Robinson

7. Southside Johnny Lyon

8. Stevie Wonder

9. Muddy Waters

10. Grace Jones

Michael Putland/Retna Ltd.

"I still love the Stones, but God—they look like hell!

—Gail Goolgasian Pawtucket, RI

BEST R&B GROUP

1. The Rolling Stones

2. Rick James & Stone City Band

3. J. Geils Band

4. George Thorogood & the Destroyers

5. Soutf^side Johnny & the Asbury Jukes

6. Earth, Wind & Fire

7. The Commodores

8. The Blues Brothers

9. Talking Heads

10. Muddy Waters Band

BEST GUITARIST

1. Edward Van Halen

2. Keith Richards

3. Jimmy Page

4. Angus Young

5. Mick Jones (Clash)

6. Bruce Springsteen

7. Pete Townshend

8. Tom Verlaine

9. Dave Davies

10. Andy Summers

BEST KEYBOARD PLAYER

1. John Paul Jones

2. Roy Bittan

3. Jonathan Cain

4. Greg Hawkes

5. Keith Emerson

6. RickWakeman

7. Steve Nieve

8. Ian Stewart

9. Brian Eno

10. Mickey Gallagher

BEST BASS PLAYER

1. John Entwistle

2. Bill Wyman

3. Geddy Lee

4. Sting

5. Paul Simonon

6. Michael Anthony

7. John Paul Jones

8. Tina Weymouth

9. Nick Lowe

10. Robbie Shakespeare

BEST DRUMMER

1. Neal Peart

2. Charlie Watts

3. Alex Van Halen

4. Keith Moon

5. Topper Headon

6. Stewart Copeland

7. John Bonham

8. Martin Chambers

9. Bun E. Carlos

10. Max Weinberg

BEST HORN PLAYER

1. Clarence Clemons

2. Chuck Mangione

3. David Bowie

4. Sonny Rollins

5. John Entwistle

6. Junior Walker

7. Miles Davis

8. Duncan Kilbum

9. Alto Reed

10.Andy MacKay

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

1. Keith Richards

2. Edward Van Halen

3. Jimmy Page

4. Pete Townshend

5. Mick Jagger

6. Bruce Springsteen

7. Angus Young

8. Mick Jones (Clash)

9. Ray Davies

10.Bob Seger

"Ray Davies is skinny but also a genius.

—Jerry OSullivan Lindenhurst, NY

BEST PRODUCER

1. The Glimmer Twins

2. TedTempleman

3. Jimmy Page

4. Nick Lowe

5. Steve Lily white

6. Roy Thomas Baker

7. Ray Davies

8. Brian Eno

9. Robert JohnMutt Lange

10. Jimmy Iovine

BEST NEW GROUP

1. The Go-Gos

2. Loverboy

3. Billy Squier

4. Adam & the Ants

5. U2

6. Blizzard Of Ozz

7. Quarterflash

8. Iron Maiden

9. The Stray Cats

10. Iron City Houserockers

WORST GROUP

1. Van Halen

2 . The Plasmatics

3. Journey

4. Styx

5. AC/DC

6. Kiss

7. Rush

8. REO Speedwagon

9. Air Supply

10. Adam & the Ants

BEST SONGWRITER

1. Jagger / Richards

2. Ray Davies

3. Strummer/ Jones

4. Bruce Springsteen

5. Elvis Costello

6. Page/Plant

7. Pete Townshend

8. Tom Petty

9. Chrissie Hynde

10. Sting

BEST INSTRUMENTALIST

1. Ian Anderson

2. Brian Eno

3. Magic Dick

4. Jean Luc Ponty

5. Joe Jackson

6. Charlie Daniels

7. David Bowie

8. Wendy O. Williams

9. Fred Schneider

10. Cindy Wilson

˜Thanks for Judie Tzuke, and Carlene Carter— a girl who looks like a girl! So howbout Martha Davis, Marianne, Kate Bush, R. Welch...even Susan Whitall. They dont have to be nude.

John Everdon Plymouth, IN

SUNDRY

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

1. Bob Marley's Death

2. Pretenders II

3. Led Zeppelin didnt reform.

4. The Who

5. The Rolling Stones

6. Ronald Reagan

7. Rockpile break-up.

8. CREEM price hike

9. Debbie Harrys Koo Koo

10.PiL

DRUG OF THE YEAR

1. Marijuana

2. Alcohol

3. Cocaine

4. TV

5. Quaaludes

6. Rock n roll

7. Speed

8. Caffeine

9. LSD

10.Love

HERO(INE) OF THE YEAR

1. Bruce Springsteen

2. Mick Jagger

3. David Lee Roth

4. Keith Richards

5. Wendy O. Williams

6. Edward Van Halen

7. PatBenatar

8. Jim Morrison

9. Chrissie Hynde

10.Yoko Ono

COMEBACK OF THE YEAR

v 1. The Rolling Stones

£ 2. The Kinks

J 3. Gary U.S. Bonds

° 4. Ozzy Osbourne

£ 5. The Moody Blues

j 6. The Doors

Jj 7. REO Speedwagon

3 8. King Crimson

9. Yoko Ono

10. Jerry Lee Lewis

MOST PATHETIC OF THE YEAR

1. David Lee Roth

2. Dave DiMartino

3. Ronald Reagan

4. Journey

5. Adam Ant

6. REO Speedwagon

7. Wendy O. Williams

8. Van Halen

9. Pat Benatar

10. Queen

"If Rick Johnson wins Rock Critic Of The Year again, Ill kill myself.

—Claudia Cauchon Dover, NH

ROCK CRITIC OF THE YEAR

1. Rick Johnson

2. Robert Christgau

3. Dave DiMartino

4. J. Kordosh

5. Lester Bangs

6. Susan Whitall

7. Richard Riegel

8. Dave Marsh

9. Jeff Nesin

10. Bill Holdship

ROCK PHOTOGRAPHER OF OF THE YEAR

1. Lynn Goldsmith

2. Bob Matheu

3. NeilZlozower

4. Bob Alford

5. Neal Preston

6. Paul Natkin

7. Michael N. Marks

8. Mick Rock

9. Bob Gruen

10: Larry Kaplan

ALBUM COVER OF THE YEAR

1. Tattoo You (Stones)

2. Escape (Journey)

3. Killers (Iron Maiden)

4. Fair Warning (Van Halen)

5. Face Dances (Who)

6. KooKoo (Debbie Harry)

7. Season Of Glass (Yoko Ono)

8. Sandinista! (Clash)

9. Talk, Talk, Talk (Psychedelic Furs)

10.Hi Infidelity (REO Speedwagon)

"Depression is what's happening."

—Lori Kuwahara Scarborough, Ontario

FAD OF THE YEAR

1. New Romantics

2. Punk/NewWave

3. Rubiks Cubes

4. Assassination Attempts

5. Rolling Stones

6. Preppies

7. Rock Buttons

8. Sony Walkmans

9. General Hospital

10.Urban Cowboy look

FASHION PLATE OF THE YEAR

1. Adam Ant

2. David Lee Roth

3. Wendy O. Williams

4. Pat Benatar

6. Mick Jagger

7. Steve Strange

8. Nancy Reagan

9. Angus Young

10.Nina Hagen

BEST TOUR OF THE YEAR

1. Rolling Stones

2. Bruce Springsteen

3. Van Halen

4. The Kinks

5. Devo

6. George Thorogood

7. AC/DC

8. The Clash

9. Tom Petty

10.The Ramones

TV SHOW OF THE YEAR

l.SCTV

2. Fridays

3. Saturday Night Live

4. Hill Street Blues

5. Bosom Buddies

6. General Hospital

7. Tomorrow

8. Dallas

9. WKRP In Cincinnati

10.Portrait Of A Legend

BEST ROCK N ROLL MOVIE

1. Heavy Metal

2. An American Werewolf In London

3. Polyester

4. The Decline Of Western Civilization

5. Urrgghh!

6. Mommie Dearest

7. Time Bandits

8. Halloween II

9. Cheech & Chongs Nice Dreams

10.Stripes

COUPLE OF THE YEAR

1. Ray Davies & Chrissie Hynde

2. Edward and Valerie (Bertinelli) Van Halen

3. Prince Charles & Lady Diana

4. Mick Jagger & Keith Richards

5. John Lennon & Yoko Ono

6. Ronald & Nancy Reagan

7. Chris Stein & Debbie Harry

8. Keith Richards & Patti Hansen

9. Mick Jagger & Jeri Hall

10.Nick Lowe & Carlene Carter

"How come Canadians never sue you guys for libel?"

—Merryl Lentz Export, PA

"Canada for everyone!"

—Dawn Norton Caughnawaga, Quebec

"Why dont you Canadians just fade into extinction, eh?"

—Doug Gillard Elyria, OH

"Canada exists. Look north—see?"

—Robert DiGiacomo Montreal, Quebec

"I still listen to, and enjoy, Metal Machine Mueicf do you?

—Anthony Fulmes Edmonton, Alberta

RIPOFF OF THE YEAR

1. Record Prices

2. Concert Prices

3. CREEM

4. Ronald Reagan

5. Rolling Stones tour

6. Drug Prices

7. Pat Benatar

8. AC/DC

9. Ticket Scalpers

10.Radio Playlists

"Wendy O. Williams reminds me of a 160-year-old lady giving birth to a tattooed baboon!"

—Joe M. Piotte N. Andover, MA

PUNK OF THE YEAR

1. Wendy O. Williams

2. Iggy Pop

3. Adam Ant

4. Joe Strummer

5. Alexander Haig

6. David Lee Roth

7. Rick James

8. Chrissie Hynde

9. Joan Jett

10.Elvis Costello

SEX OBJECT OF THE YEAR

1. Pat Benatar

2. Wendy O. Williams

3. David Lee Roth

4. Chrissie Hynde

5. Brooke Shields

6. Mick Jagger

7. Bruce Springsteen

8. Debbie Harry

9. Stevie Nicks

10.Edward Van Halen

STREET PHRASE OF THE YEAR

1. Fuck you

2. Fuck off

3. Eat shit and die

4. Take off, eh?

5. Eat me

6. Disco sucks

7. Question authority

8. Spare change?

9. Shit!

10.Rock n roll!