The ballots are in, the votes are counted, and the winners of the first Friday readers` poll now are immortalized in the box to the right.
It was music`s year of the Big Three–Michael Jackson, Prince and Bruce Springsteen–but Springsteen was our big winner.
”In an age when the average concert is only a light show with big amps, Bruce Springsteen`s Rosemont stint was a welcome change,” wrote Mary-Alice Esterhammer, 26, of Chicago. ”Springsteen and the E Street Band presented their fans with a four-hour, foot-to-the-floor show. This was rock and roll at its finest, heart and soul intact, and anyone who missed Springsteen while he was at the Horizon missed out on one of the kickingest events 1984 had to offer.”
Prince and his movie, ”Purple Rain”, also did well (though he has his detractors–see story below), placing second in five categories–three of them behind Springsteen. But the Jackson fever seems to have peaked–only three readers picked him as rock performer of 1984.
More than 100 readers responded, some voluminously, to our request to pick their favorite entertainers and events of 1984. The average median age of our respondents was 27 1/2; the youngest was 11, the oldest 64. Friday readers proved they were a diverse lot by nominating 1,183 performers and events in 37 categories of bests and worsts. As a result, the winners` totals in some categories are small (especially in the On the Town categories where we did not declare ”winners” in our box), and we make no claims beyond the obvious –that this is how those Friday readers who responded voted:
Movies: In a year without a dominant movie, 38 films got votes. Our winner, ”Amadeus,” picked up 11 votes to 8 for both ”Ghostbusters” and
”Purple Rain.” Trailing our trio of top vote-getters were ”This Is Spinal Tap” and ”The Natural,” and many of the movies released at Christmas time–”The Killing Fields,” ”Starman,” ”Cotton Club” and ”Passage to India”–might have placed higher had our respondents had time to see them.
No actor dominated our poll, either. In fact, Bill Murray for
”Ghostbusters” won with only 9 votes, half a vote ahead of F. Murray Abraham in ”Amadeus” and only 3 ahead of Prince in ”Purple Rain.” Right behind them were Tom Hulce in ”Amadeus,” Robert Redford in ”The Natural,” Jeff Bridges in ”Starman” and Harrison Ford in ”Indiana Jones.” A total of 32 performances received votes.
Sally Field was a clearer winner as favorite actress in ”Places in the Heart” with 15. Meryl Streep in ”Falling in Love” was second with 9, followed by Jamie Lee Curtis in ”Love Letters” and Peggy Ashcroft in
”Passage to India” with 5 each. Twenty other actresses also received votes.
Music: Does anybody out there agree on favorite song? Prince and Bruce Springsteen were at a disadvantage because their fans split their votes among their various songs. Prince led in total mentions with 11 (five songs), followed by Springsteen with 8 mentions (four songs).
But the winner–among a whopping total of 54 songs mentioned–was Stevie Wonder`s ”I Just Called to Say I Love You” (5), a scant vote ahead of Phil Collins` ”Against All Odds” and Springsteen`s ”Dancing in the Dark.”
Favorite album was Springsteen`s ”Born in the U.S.A.” (13), followed by Prince`s ”Purple Rain” (9 1/2) and Huey Lewis and the News` ”Sports” (6); 36 other albums received votes.
The same one-two order followed for rock performer, but after Springsteen (18) and Prince (13), there was a big drop to our No. 3, Culture Club (4);
37 other rockers also were mentioned.
The vote for country and western performer was nip-and-tuck with Kenny Rogers (11) edging Alabama (10). None of the other 24 nominees came close.
Rhythm and blues/soul artist honors went to Tina Turner (11), followed by Prince and Lionel Richie (5 each); 26 others received votes.
Fewer than half of our respondents voted in the jazz category, but among those who voted Wynton Marsalis and Herbie Hancock (7 each) edged out Pat Metheny and Ramsey Lewis; 23 others were nominated.
And a similar response occured in the classical category, although the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (17) was an overwhelming choice over Wynton Marsalis (5) and 17 others, including a Mr. W.A. Mozart and the category-expanding Spinal Tap.
Because votes were so scattered among 36 contenders, we did not pick a winner among local groups/performers. Mentions ranged from Ministry to Stanley Paul, Steve Goodman to Steve Dahl.
Finally, we come to concert of the year with the Big Three one-two-three: Springsteen (13), Prince (9 1/2) and Michael Jackson/The Jacksons (5). Neil Diamond (4) and 32 others trailed behind.
On stage: There seemed to be some confusion about the ”touring show”
category. We meant non-Chicago shows that toured Chicago, though some readers nominated touring shows which haven`t hit Chicago yet (”La Cage Aux Folles”) or Chicago shows presented elsewhere (”Balm in Gilead”).
After sorting all this out, we came up with a three-way tie among
”Dreamgirls,” ”42nd Street” and ”Torch Song Trilogy” (9 each). Close behind was ”Death of a Salesman” (7). A dozen others received mention.
Favorite local play was a holdover from previous years, ”E/R” (8), followed by ”Shear Madness” (6). Thirty-six other plays received votes, and a 28-year-old reader in Riverside asked ”Does Michael Jordan count?” Yes, he counts for a lot. But not in this category.
There was a big dropoff in votes in the dance category, but among the third of you who voted, the Hubbard Street Dance Co. (8) edged out ”The Nutcracker” (7) among the 14 nominees.
On the Town: Obviously our readers have favorite restaurants–63 of them. As a result, only one got more than 3 votes and that was Le Francais (4). The same thing happened in the bar category, where among 47 favorites only the Ultimate Sports Bar and Grill got as many as 4 votes.
Not as many of you go to dance clubs, but among the 24 such clubs mentioned, Park West (5) led, followed by Paradise and Exit (4 each). And, according to one 31-year-old Western Springs man, we shouldn`t overlook a popular suburban spot: ”My living room on Saturday night.”
Nightclubs also were less popular than restaurants and bars with only Second City (4) emerging with more than 3 votes of the 28 nominees. And among nightclub acts, only Pudgy and the Second City troupe of 29 nominees received similar votes.
We didn`t specify local talent in the comedians category and as a result Eddie Murphy (5) edged out Pudgy (4) and 31 other local and national comedians.
TV/radio: Twenty radio stations got votes, with WXRT (17) well ahead of WBBM-FM (9) and WJMK (7). Steve Dahl, with or without Garry Meier, was your favorite disc jockey (11), followed by Jonathan Brandmeier (7 1/2), Larry Lujack (7) and 31 others.
TV shows? You liked 41 of them. But ”Cheers” (14) was far ahead of
”Hill Street Blues” (7), ”Bill Cosby Show” (6 1/2), ”St. Elsewhere”
(6) and ”Late Night With David Letterman” (5). And, in the how-the-mighty-have-fallen department, not a one of you voted for ”Dallas.”
Letterman (27) was the easy favorite for talk show host, though Oprah Winfrey (15) made an impressive showing and old-faithful Johnny Carson (13 1/ 2) and his sometime replacement, Joan Rivers (9 1/2), did well. Maybe Phil Donahue left town because only 3 of you voted for him. Ten others also received votes.
Music videos was another category with lots of entries (46) and not much unanimity after our leader, ”You Might Think” by the Cars (9). Next closest was ”Girls Just Want to Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper (4).
Miscellaneous: No contest for art event of the year: The ”Day in the Country” exhibit at the Art Institute (27) was far ahead of the 17 other nominees which ranged from the Vatican and Grant Wood exhibits to ”Rick Sutcliffe`s season” and ”Vanessa Williams in Penthouse.”
For cultural spot, the Art Institute (21) was the clear choice among 25 places mentioned, followed by the Museum of Science and Industry (6) and Wrigley Field (5). And, a hearty civic boo to a young Downers Grove entrant who picked ”New York City” as our leading cultural spot.
Cultural event of the year? None of the 36 entrants got more than 3 votes (”A Day in the Country” exhibit and the Cubs winning season). But your choices were interesting: Along with opening night at the Lyric and various exhibits were Royko`s Ribfest, the return of ”Doonesbury,” the re-release of ”Texas Chain-Saw Massacre,” Springsteen`s concerts, ”Murdoch buying the Sun-Times,” President Reagan at the Horizon, and ”Illinois elects senator with big ears and bow tie.”
Sports event? No contest–the Cubs, in various forms, figured in no fewer than 51 mentions, followed by the Olympics (12) and a dozen other sports events.
Strangest event? More of the same. ”Cubs winning” and/or ”Cubs losing playoff” raked in 20 votes.
AND THE WINNERS, PLEASE. . .
MOVIES
Film: ”Amadeus”
Actor: Bill Murray, ”Ghostbusters”
Actress: Sally Field, ”Places in the Heart”
MUSIC
Song: ”I Just Called to Say I Love You,” Stevie Wonder
Album: ”Born in the U.S.A.,” Bruce Springsteen
Pop/rock performer: Bruce Springsteen
Country & western performer: Kenny Rogers
R&B/soul performer: Tina Turner
Jazz performer: Tie–Wynton Marsalis and Herbie Hancock
Classical performer: Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Concert of the year: Bruce Springsteen
ON STAGE
Touring play: Tie–”Dreamgirls”; ”42nd Street”; ”Torch Song Trilogy”
Local play: ”E/R”
Dance production: Hubbard Street Dance Co.
TV/RADIO
Radio station: WXRT
Disc jockey: Steve Dahl
TV show: ”Cheers”
Talk show host: David Letterman
Music video: ”You Might Think,” the Cars
MISCELLANEOUS
Art event: ”Day in the Country,” Art Institute
Cultural spot: Art Institute
Sports event: The Cubs
Strangest event: The Cubs winning
