Best Male Singers of the 20th Century

Don't know if anyone has mentioned this yet, but here goes.

The Smithsonian Institution commissioned a study to address this very question. They first made up a set of criteria, and then began ranking all the singers they could find. Of course, they expected Frank Sinastra to come out on top, but surprise! Fred Astair: someone known as a dancer, not a singer. I can't recall at this moment all the songs he popularized, but if you dig into it you will be astonished.

As the Holywood studio said at the time of his screen test:
"Can't act, can't sing, dances a little". Some "little".

This is the description of a CD available from acousticsounds.com

It was Irving Berlin, perhaps the greatest American composer, who observed, "It's nothing new to say that Fred Astaire is a great dancer... what is even more important to those of us who ever wrote songs for him was that he was also a great singer. Fred introduced and was responsible for more hit songs than many of the top singers. He knew the value of a song and his heart was in it before his feet took over."

A sample...

1. Let's Call the Whole Thing Off
2. The Way You Look Tonight
3. Fascinating Rhythm
4. They Can't Take That Away From Me
5. Funny Face
6. Top Hat, White Time and Tails
7. Night And Day
8. Let Yourself Go
9. Easter Parade
10. Cheek To Cheek
11. Puttin' on the Ritz
12. Let's Face the Music and Dance
13. Foggy Day
14. I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket
15. Nice Work If You can Get It