The arris Poll THE HARRIS POLL #20 Wednesday, April 22, 1998 BARBRA STREISAND, GARTH BROOKS, WHITNEY HOUSTON AND FRANK SINATRA TOP LIST OF MOST POPULAR SINGERS A Ian Jackson, Alabama, the Beatles, George Strait, Reba McEntire and Boyz I1 Men also in the top ten. by Humphrey Taylor Barbra Streisand is the most popular singer among adult Americans of all ages -- in that she is mentioned more often than any other singer or musical group when a cross section of adults are asked to name their favorite singer or group. This is the result of a nationwide Harris Poll of 1,010 adults surveyed last November. Barbra Streisand moves up from the second spot in an earlier poll, to the No. 1 position in this survey. She displaces Reba McEntire who falls back to No. 9 in the latest poll. Garth Brooks is in second place, up from the eighth spot a year earlier; he had previously occupied the second place in 1994. Whitney Houston retains her third place and is still No. 1 with African-Americans. Frank Sinatra comes back into this new list in equal third place with Whitney Houston. His rankings have been quite volatile; he was No. 1 in 1995 and dropped out of the top ten in 1996 before bouncing back in this new listing. Alan Jackson (#5), the Beatles (=#6), Alabama (=#6), George Strait (#8), Reba McEntire (#9), and Boyz II Men make up the rest of the top ten. Louis Harris & Associates, Inc. 111 Fifth Avenue NYC (212) 539-9600 Popularity of Singer bv Tvpe of Music d When it comes to categories of singer, poplrock singers (Whitney Houston, the Beatles, Elton John, Celine Dion, etc.) are mentioned by the largest number of people (34%), followed by country singers (Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Alabama, George Strait, Reba McEntire, etc.) with 20°/0, and Easy Listening singers (Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, etc.) in third place with 11%. It is worth noting that popularity is not the same thing as music sales. In this survey, everyone has one "vote" for a favorite, whether they buy hundreds of CDs and tapes, or none. Humphrey Taylor is the Chairman of Louis Harris & Associates, Inc. TABLE 1 FAVORITE SINGING STAR "Who is your favorite singer/musician or musical group?" Latest Position in: Ranking 1994 1995 1996 Barbra Streisand Garth Brooks Whitney Houston Frank Sinatra Alan Jackson Beatles Alabama George Strait Reba McEntire Boyz II Men * Not in top ten. Dropped Out of Top Ten in 1997 Vince Gill (was #7) Mariah Carey (was =8) Statler Brothers (was =8) Rolling Stones (was =8) Favorite SingerIMusical Group Among Various Groups Men: Garth Brooks Women: Barbra Streisand 18-29: Garth Brooks 65 and over: Frank Sinatra White: Garth Brooks African-American: Whitney Houston Hispanic: Beatles TABLE 2 FAVORITE SINGER/MUSICIAN/GROUP BY TYPE OF MUSIC Country Easy Listening R&B Other None Not sure 5 6 5 --- *Category not included in previous years. Methodology This Harris Poll was conducted by telephone within the United States between November 19 to 23, among a nationwide cross section of 1,010 adults. Figures for age, sex, race, education, number of adults and number of voiceltelephone lines in the 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. These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls. Contact Louis Harris and Associates, Inc. 111 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10003, or by fax (212) 539- 9669, for complete demographic details for the questions in this release. Voice (2 12) 539 - 9697 Compuserve address: 76702,2063 Other E-mail: achurch @ Iha.gsbc.com COPYRIGHT 1998 CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC. ISSN 0895-7983 .