The arris Poll

THE HARRIS POLL 1995 #78 For Release: Wednesday, December 13, 1995

FRANK SINATRA, STATLER BROTHERS AND REBA MclNTYRE TOP LIST OF AMERICA'S FAVORITE SINGERS

Whitney Houston and Garth Brooks slip down list of top ten.

by Huniphrey Taylor

Frank Sinatra is now the nation's most popular musical star. He is mentioned most often when adult Americans aged 18 and over are asked to name their favorite singer, musician or musical group. Last year, he was in tenth place. This year's number one spot is probably attributable to the attention that his 80th birthday is receiving in the media.

The Statler Brothers, who were not in ,the top ten last year are now nurnber two, followed by Reba Mclntyre who moves up from fourth place to number three. Both recorded crossover songs this past year, which became hits and widened their country audience to a more popular one.

These are the results of a nationwide Harris Poll of 1,007 adults surveyed between November 2 and 6.

Last year's number one, Whitney Houston, is in fifth place this year, behind Garth Brooks who is down from last year's number two position. The other singers or groups in this year's top ten include a mix of both singers who have been popular for a long time and relatively new singers. They are Vince Gill, Barbra Streisand, The Beatles, Alan Jackson and Michael Jackson.

Three singers or groups jump into the top ten this year from lower positions in 1994 -- the Statler Brothers, Alan Jackson and Michael Jackson.

The three who drop out are Alabama, George Strait and Pavarotti.

Louis Harris & Associates, Inc. 1 11 Fifth Avenue NYC (212) 539-9600 d It is interesting that seven of the this year's top ten were in the top ten last year, although their position has moved. In a business where new groups, musicians and sounds are more the norm, it is surprising that these artists have such staying power.

Boyz II Men top the list among younger people aged 18 to 29. Michael Bolton is first with Hispanic Americans. Neither is in the top ten.

When the replies are grouped by the type of music played, PopIRock musicians come top of the list with 32%, followed by country music with 23%. Easy listening tops the list among people aged 65 and over.

Humphrey Taylor is the Chairman and CEO of Louis Harris and Associates, lnc. TABLE 1

FAVORITE SINGING STAR

"Who is your favorite singer, musician or musical group?"

Frank Sinatra (10) Statler Brothers (not in top ten in 1994) Reba Mclntyre (4) Garth Brooks (2) Whitney Houston (1) Vince Gill (6) Barbra Streisand (3) Beatles (9) Alan Jackson (not in top 10 in 1994) Michael Jackson (not in top 10 in 1994)

Dropped Out of Top 10 in 1994

Alabama (5) George Strait (7) Pavarotti (8)

Favorite SingerIMusical Group Among Various Groups

Men: Frank Sinatra Women: Statler Brothers and Reba Mclntyre (equal)

18-29: Boyz II Men 65andover: FrankSinatra

White: Statler Brothers Black: Whitney Houston Hispanic: Michael Bolton

Note: Figures in parenthesis show placement last year. TABLE 2

FAVORITE SINGER/MUSICIAN/GROUP BY TYPE OF MUSIC

AGE SEX RACE 18- 25- 30- 40- 50- 65- 4 TOTAL 24 29 39 49 64 Over Male Female White Black Hispanic Yo % % Yo Yo Yo Yo Yo Yo Yo Yo Yo

Country 23 20 15 23 24 27 24 20 25 27 3 13

Easy Listening 10 1 3 2 7 21 27 7 13 12 4 12

Classical/Opera/ Symphonic 2 2 2 2 4 2 1 2 1

Jazz/Blues/ Reggae 1 2 2 1 3 1 2 1 1 6

Religious-Gospel,

Contemporary 4 Christian, etc. 1 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 6

Other 8 14 9 11 6 6 2 8 8 7 11 18

None 13 12 7 6 12 13 26 12 13 14 9 9

Not sure 5 1 2 5 5 3 11 5 4 5 4 6

*Less than -5% METHODOLOGY - This Harris Poll was conducted by telephone within the United States between November 2 and 6, among a nationwide cross section of 1,007 adults. Figures for age, sex, race, education and number of adults in household were weighted where necessary to bring ,them into line with their actual proportions in the population.

In theory, with a sample of ,this size, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the results have a statistical precision of plus or minus 3 percentage points of what they would be if the entire adult population had been polled with complete accuracy. Unfortunately, there are several other possible sources of error in all polls or surveys that are probably more serious than theoretical calculations of sampling error. They include refusals to be interviewed (non-response), question wording and question order, interviewer bias, weighting by demographic control data and screening (e.g., for likely voters). It is difficult or impossible to quantify the errors that may result from these factors.

This statement conforms to the principles of disclosure of National Council on Pub- lic Polls.

Contact Louis Harris and Associates, Inc., Information Services, 11 1 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10003, (212) 539-9697, for complete demographic details for the questions in this release.

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