Music Makers Poll

Sometime in June, the Intelligencer Journal assigned their ace investigative reporter, David Sturm, to conduct the “Music Makers Poll” which was an ambitious survey seeking to determine Lancaster Countians opinion’s on the world’s best band, best album, best radio station, the County’s best band, and – alas – the county’s best night club. The paper promised the poll would be used, among other things, to point the paper in the right trendy direction. The results were to be published in early summer.

Sure enough as we went to work on Thursday morning, right before a big holiday weekend at the 340 Club, the results appeared on the papers prominent back page. Here are some of the results:

World’s Best Band: Rolling Stones (Jagger at 38 reigned supreme; today at 65 he is still tops among the boomers) with 15 votes; The Who 8; Beatles 6; The Clash 5; Abba, Bruce Springsteen, Led Zeppelin all scored 4; AC/DC, Fleetwood Mac, and Yes weighed in with 3 while Pink Floyd had two votes. The following bands all got a vote: Genesis, Foreigner, Allman Brothers, Doobie Brothers, Lynrd Skynrd, XTC, The Cars, Utopia, Kansas, Ian Drury and the Blockheads, Tangerine Dream, Queen, Scorpions, Styx, Steely Dan, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and – last but certainly not least – Randall Stoltzfus.

America’s Best Band: Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, 15; Styx, 10; The Eagles, REO Speedwagon, 5; The Doors, 4; The Grateful Dead, Talking Heads, 3: .38 Special, Neil Young, Todd Rundgren/Utopia, Boston and Steely Dan, 2; Supertramp, AC/DC (?), Fleetwood Mac, Blondie, George Thorogood and the Destroyers, J. Geils Band, Jefferson Starship, Beach Boys, Alice Cooper, Hall & Oates, Cars, NRBQ, Devo, Chicago, Aerosmith, Heart, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Truth, Van Halen, Foreigner (?), Marshall Tucker Band, Pretenders, Ramones, Blue Oyster Cult, the Sharks and Randy Stoltzfus.

Britain’s Best Band: The Clash, 18; Rolling Stones, The Who, 17; Queen, 4; Beatles, Yes, 3;
The Kinks, Wings, Pink Floyd, Moody Blues, Led Zeppelin, 2; Genesis, Gang of Four, Elvis Costello, Police, XTC, Rumour, Fleetwood Mac, Hawkwind, Supertramp, Bad Company, Jethro Tull and Randall Stoltzfus.

Lancaster County’s Best Band: The Sharks, 25; West Philly Speedboys, 7; Susquehanna River Band, 6; Hunter, 5; Blame, 4; Justus, Randall Stoltzfus, 2

The above four questions make me wonder aloud - Who is Randall Stoltzfus? Lastly, there was a question on what was Lancaster County’s best night club? Old Colony, 9; The Village, 8; David K’s, 6; Pequea Inn, 5; 340 Club, 4; Tom Paine’s Back Room, The Treadway, The Library, 2; Your Place, Scruples, John’s Bar, Rasputin’s, Maxwell’s, Indian Springs, and the Young Republican’s, 1.

Other questions sought the most exciting performer: The Boss whipped Mick, 23 to 5 with Sam Lugar and Randall Stoltzfus getting one vote each. Randall Stoltzfus got one vote in the dance band category. The curious Mr. Stoltzfus got one vote for sexiest performer.

So, there it was the 340 Club’s bonafides were now firmly established for 1981 by the vote of the people. By the way, Randall Stoltzfus, who got at least one vote in seven different categories, turned out to be the 340 Club’s very own Randy Brown.