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.