I agree with some of the usual suspects, in particular Robert Plant, but I never liked Freddy Mercury's singing.
Roger Daltry would also be a frontrunner for me. I'll throw in one wildcard, who has a very unique voice that I really like; Steve Winwood. He lacks the charisma of the great rockers though. |
Robert Plant
Freddie Mercury
Thom Yorke (Radiohead)
Mike Patton (Mr Bungle, Faith No More, Tomahawk)
Little Richard
Honorable mention: Chuck Berry, Roy Orbison,Jerry Lee Lewis, Ian Anderson(Jethro Tull), Ian Gillian(Deep Purple), David Bowie, Peter Gabriel(Genesis) , Maynard (Tool), Mick Jagger, Jello Biafra, Greg Lake |
a couple i'll toss in:
steve marriott (small faces, humble pie)--the great white soul shouter
jim james (my morning jacket)--i've got very mixed feelings about their recent records, but the guy has an incredible, hypnotic voice
robin zander (cheap trick)--always though he was the best of the classic rockers. mega lung power.
alex chilton (box tops/big star)--definitely an acquired taste, but a really expressive, unconventional singer
ian curtis (joy division)
david thomas (pere iubu) |
Both as a writer and a vocalist... Frankie Miller |
While I did not scan all the responses, did anyone mention Ann Wilson of Heart or Steve Perry? I can't say I much appreciated Steve Perry until I have heard others try to sing Journey songs and miserably fail. |
The OP's list does not contained any Rock & Roll singers. That's what 'caused' me to comment.
R&R was a genre aimed primarily at young juveniles. It was very good for dancing. It was happy and fun and dealt mostly with young people's notion of love / romance with subtle sexual suggestion.
It did not glorify drugs or violence or hate and certainly was not political in nature. The arists did not have to look, act and dress weird or have prison records.
some R&R singers are:
Elvis --- Chuck berry ---- Fats domino ---- little richard --- jerry lee lewis ---- most, but not all of the motown groups. And many more I am tooo old to remember. The genre did not last long before it was taken over by no talented 'bands' that made a lot of noise and looked strange.
I should have been clearer in my post.
Cheers. |
Rok2id, if you are going to make such a statement, then examples would be uesful. |
Rock and Rock & Roll are not the same thing. Very few, if any Rock & Roll singers mentioned so far. |
Elvis Presley, Jim Morrison, Little Richard, Ian Gillan, Alice Cooper. |
axl has become a clown, but at one point, he was the man..just listen to 'you're crazy' off G&R Lies. --that 2 day session (spawned 4 cuts) was the band's peak, and axl's finest moment. awesome. |
To Steve's point. Axl Rose right now is more shot than he was before. I'm a GnR fan of the old and new line-ups. I saw Axl and crew in 2006 and his voice wasn't that bad. Since then with the 3 hour + bloated shows now and constant touring his voice is sounding more worn down. I wish he'd just take some time off and or cut the excess from his shows. |
Toss out Axl Rose. Have you heard him sing lately . And I could accept your other top 4 Jonathan.
Steve. |
OK since this sting has come to life again, I am going to "refresh" my list, in no order:
Freddy Mercury
Steve Perry
Paul Rogers
Roger Daltry
Ann Wilson |
Ian Gillan's vocal capacity as evidenced in his primal wailing and screaming abilities in his prime were perhaps unmatched.
Rock is supposed to be loud, so being the best ever at screaming and wailing must be an important qualification for anyone claiming to be the best "rock" vocalist ever! |
Jesus, how did I forget Ian Gillan?
No pun intended....
I'd place him as my #3 favorite rock vocalist, at least back in his early 70's Deep Purple and Jesus Christ Superstar prime. |
I would pick two "traditional rock" singers:
Robert Plant and Roger Daltry.
Add two more mellow "acoustic rock" singers:
Steve Winwood (very unique tone of voice that I really like) and David Crosby.
And close out the list with Eddie Veder |
not my favorite band but Robert Plant vocals just screams rock and roll
a very close second(and NO ONE has listed him?) Joe Strummer
John Lennon does a few nice turns
Chrisse Hynes / Patti Smith |
not for nothing,if you don't have freddy mercury in your top ten,you're in dire need of an auditory/grey matter exam. |
1-Mike Matijevic
2-Ian Gillan
3-Geoff Tate
4-Steve Perry
5-Tony Harnell
I could have easily put a dozen other vocalists in the 5th spot, but decided on the least known. |
Gregg Allman
Robert Plant
John Lennon
Paul Rogers
Mick Jagger |
For some reason I just re-read my post and somehow I made a huge ommision:
Steve Perry
wow, how did I do that? |
the guy from bad company can really sing |
I'll admit that Bruce may not have the greatest singing voice in the world but he sure has done a lot with what he's got. |
Bruce?? Really, this is singers, not rock stars. Springsteen is great in spite of having a TERRIBLE voice. |
Impossible for me to name 'THE' best 5 but my personal favorites are;
- Bruce Springsteen
- John Mellencamp
- Liam Gallagher
- Eddie Vedder
- Elvis Presley |
Love them or hate them, but Paul Stanley of Kiss should be listed in the top 5. |
Macdad-- You can put anyone you want on your list. If you think Otis Redding, Solomon Burke, and Marvin Gaye are Rock singers, enjoy that. Don't give in to the Crowd that says these are SOUL singers. They are Rock singers to you, and what else matters?" |
LOL, That's Laugh, out, loud. |
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Marvin and Otis are in!!
Garn509, you are OUT!!! |
Macdadtexas
Yes I can, watch me !! All y'all are violating rules of logic.
Can we include the wolf into a list of favorite dog types because the wolf is a canine and a root species of the dog?
If it's ok to say Marvin Gayer or Otis Redding are rock singers, then it is OK to say Grace Slick and Jim Morrison are soul singers. Once that free for all starts, it is meaningless to have types or classes of music. |
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Otis, my man!!
You can't keep those guys out, they are the beggining of Rock and Roll. What about Marvin Gaye?
Good call Bongo. |
bongofury- the distinction remains even if source is known. Cooke, Burke,and Redding are widely regarded as Soul or R&B performers. Who would call them rock n roll singers ? |
Garn509: I thought rock was the white man's take on blues? Hard to include Robert Plant and Mick Jagger without acknowledging their source. Harder still, not to include Solomon Burke and Sam Cooke as the essence of the roots. |
Jim Morrison
Grace Slick
Robert Plant
Mick Jagger
Christine McVie
All respect to Solomon Burke, Sam Cooke, and Otis Redding, but the category is RnR. |
Chris Cornell
David Clayton-Thomas
Pete Rivera ( Rare Earth)
Doug Ingle ( Iron Butterfly)
Jim Peterik (Ides of March) |
Contemporary: Matthew Bellamy of Muse. Also regarded as one of the top rock guitarists of all time. |
Greg Dulli (Afghan Whigs/Twilight Singers/Gutter Twins) |
Elvis Presley, Ian Gillan. Can't come up with five.
People like Sir Paul and John Lennon sing well lullabies not rock. |
top 5 male vocalists:
Justin Hayward; Elvis Presley; Roy Orbison; Brian Ferry & Brad Delp --honorable mention: Colin Blunstone
top female vocalists: Annie Haslam; Sandy Denny; Loreena McKennitt; Sarah Brightman and Eva Cassidy---honorable mention Sarah Vaughn |
Sam Cooke, now that IS the ticket |
sam cooke is #1.
after that: meatloaf (!), robert plant, roger daltrey & freddie mercury. |
1. Dan McCafferty (Nazareth)
...rest in no particular order -
Rob Halford, Robert Plant, Freddie Mercury, Van Morrison and Elvis Presley...and Janis Joplin...(I can't count to five)... |
One of the BEST vocalists in rock that is rarely mentioned is the late GREAT James Dewar of Robin Trower!! Listen to Bridge of Sigh album (great recording by the way) Long Misty Days, Victims of the Fury....ect... |
R.B. of Muse
Solomon Burke RIP
John Rotten Lydon
Dave Alvin
Roy Orbison |
Jandek
Geddy Lee of Rush
Dorothy & Bett Wiggin of The Shaggs
Kenneth Higney
Jimmy & Dennis Flemion of The Frogs |
Jimi Hendrix. I have always thought he had a cool voice and am always surpriesed that it is just guitar-guitar-guitar, when he was a really good singer too.
The chick from Heart - is that Nancy Wilson ?
The dude from Supertramp?
Marie Osmand
Pat Benitar
Robert Plant
David Lee Roth
Neil Young.
Grace Slick
There is allot more to being a "front man" that just voice alone, of course. :) |
Plant
Layne Staley
Freddie Mercury
Ozzy
Eddie Vedder |
My favorites
1. John Lennon
2. Paul Carrack
3. Peter Gabriel
4. Elton John
5. Jim Morrison
6. Robert Plant
7. Jon Anderson
8. Freddy Mercury
9. John Fogerty
10. Roger Daltry
11. Elvis
12. Paul McCartney
13. Roy Orbison
14. Bob Dylan
15. GAry Brooker
16. Paul Rodgers |
