re: Who is on the Mt. Rushmore of country music?

One of the great songwriters of any music genre. Inducted into multiple hall of fames and songwriting hall of fames. Came up with a distinct sound that was so simple but groundbreaking. One of the founding members of 50s rock with Elvis, Lewis and Perkins. Out sold the Beatles with a live album at a prison. Brought country music around the world while others in the past could not. Superb when it came to novelty songs such as a boy named sue and one piece at a time. Saved the arse of Nashville many times from irrelevance. Never predictable and his albums reflected different genres from rock, country and folk. One of the very few Nashville artists that spoke out against the Vietnam war and his Ballard of Ira Hayes almost cancelled him for good. His work attracted other artists to Nashville such as Bob Dylan that gave them exposure to a bigger audience.

His bass-baritone voice makes him a perfect narrator and fits well with a lot of his songs that were dark and depressing.