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Religious Affiliation of the
Greatest Artists and Artistic Creators of the 20th Century
creators of the works of art listed in
The 20th Century's Greatest Hits: A Top 40 List, by Paul Williams,
whose book is subtitled "What works of art should be remembered and why?"


Related pages:
- Religious Affiliation of World's Greatest Artists
- Top 100 Rock & Roll Artists
The table below is from the book The 20th Century's Greatest Hits: A Top 40 List, by Paul Williams, published by Forge (2000). The titles of the works of art, the credited creators, and the date for each are from the book. The column noting religious affiliation has been added by our website.

Rank Title of Work of Art type Creator Date Religious Affiliation of Creator
1 "Things We Said Today" song The Beatles recorded 2 June 1964 Anglican/Catholic (John Lennon); Catholic (Paul McCartney); Catholic/Hindu (George Harrison); Transcendental Meditation, etc.
2 "Sister Ray" song The Velvet Underground recorded September 1967 Jewish (Lou Read)
3 Girl Before a Mirror painting Pablo Picasso painted 14 March 1932 Catholic
4 The I Ching or Book of Changes translation of ancient text Richard Wilhelm (translator) completed Summer 1923 Confucian (author); translator ?
5 Ulysses novel James Joyce published 2 February 1922 Catholic (lapsed)
6 "God Bless the Child" and "I Cover the Waterfront" songs Billie Holiday recorded May 9 and August 7, 1941  
7 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights text Eleanor Roosevelt (chairwoman) and Drafting Committee of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights adopted 10 December 1948 Episcopalian
8 Winnie-the-Pooh children's book A. A. Milne published 1926  
9 Martian Time-Slip novel Philip K. Dick published 1964 Episcopalian
10 "Howl" poem Allen Ginsberg written August-October 1955 Jewish; Buddhist
11 Pet Sounds album The Beach Boys recorded January-April 1966  
12 Old Path White Clouds: Walking in the footsteps of the Buddha book Thich Nhat Hanh published 1991 Buddhist
13 Dance painting Henri Matisse painted winter 1909-spring 1910 Catholic
14 2001: A Space Odyssey movie Stanley Kubrick released April 1968 Jewish
15 7 April 1966 concert performance of Umm Kulthum concert performance Umm Kulthum 7 April 1966 Muslim
16 "The Bear" and "Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech" (10 December 1950) story; speech William Faulkner published May 1942 Presbyterian
17 Renaldo & Clara movie Bob Dylan released January 1978 Jewish; temporarily "born-agan Christian"
18 Gravity's Rainbow novel Thomas Pynchon published 1973 Catholic; agnostic
19 16 September 1995 concert performance of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan concert performance Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan 16 September 1995 Sufi Muslim
20 The Anatomy of Dependence book Takeo Doi, M.D. (or Doi Takeo) published 1971 Japanese Christian
21 On the Road autobiographical novel Jack Kerouac 1957 Catholic; Buddhist
22 For a Few Dollars More movie Sergio Leone filmed Summer 1965  
23 "Mr. Costelo, Hero" and "And Now the News . . ." short stories Theodore Sturgeon written mid-1953 and early 1956 Christianity
24 Horses album Patti Smith recorded August-September 1975 Buddhist
25 Two-Lane Blacktop movie Monte Hellman filmed August-September 1970  
26 concert performance of The Grateful Dead concert performance The Grateful Dead Jan. 26, Feb. 19, and Feb. 27, 1969 Episcopalian/Catholic/Urantian (Jerry Garcia); Jewish (Mickey Hart)
27 Krazy Kat Sunday Page comic strip George Herriman published 13 June 1920  
28 "Smokestack Lightning" song Howlin' Wolf recorded January 1956  
29 God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, or Pearls Before Swine novel Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. published April 1965 Humanist
30 Impressions, side one album John Coltrane recorded 3 November 1961 and 18 September 1962 Islam
31 Stranger in a Strange Land novel Robert A. Heinlein published 1961 raised Baptist; atheist
32 "The Lottery in Babylon" and "The Wall and the Books" story; essay Jorge Luis Borges published 1941 and 1950 Catholic; Quaker; agnostic
33 The Little Prince children's book Antoine de Saint-Exupery written 1942  
34 Gandhi movie Richard Attenborough (director) and Ben Kingsley (star) released December 1982 Jewish Hindu Quaker (Kingsley)
35 The Rolling Stones, Now! album The Rolling Stones released February 1965 Catholic (Mick Jagger); Charlie Watts (Jewish)
36 Dune novel Frank Herbert published 1965 Catholic; Zen Buddhism
37 "Oh Happy Day" song by Edwin Hawkins Singers featuring Dorothy Combs Morrison (formerly the Northern California State Youth Choir) released May 1969  
38 Kundun (biopic about Dali Lama of Tibetan Buddhism) movie Martin Scorsese released 25 December 1997 Catholic (lapsed former seminarian)
39 A Private Correspondence letter collection Lawrence Durrell and Henry Miller published 1963  
40 "Lost Highway" song Hank Williams recorded 1 March 1949 Baptist
Webpage created 5 December 2005. Last modified 5 December 2005.
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