I have a short list.

Elvis #1 always
Mick
Bowie
Sam Cooke (good call BowieStones)
Otis
Buddy Holly
Bono
Freddie M

Frank Sinatra








Everyone else:
Dean Martin-nice smooth voice, at times i prefer him to sinatra
Daltrey-great range
Jagger
Otis
smokey robinson
these are all i can think of at the moment

ok - i've never admitted this before, and I completed expect to get a ton of crap for this, but.....

I've never really liked Frank Sinatra's voice. I don't hate it, but it does nothing for me. sometimes you can hear a good singer and still not like their voice, but know they have talent, I just don't get it. Never have.

What about Stevie Wonder ?

__________________________

CindyC Wrote:
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> ok - i've never admitted this before, and I
> completed expect to get a ton of crap for this,
> but.....
>
> I've never really liked Frank Sinatra's voice. I
> don't hate it, but it does nothing for me.
> sometimes you can hear a good singer and still not
> like their voice, but know they have talent, I
> just don't get it. Never have.

I know what you mean

Elvis and Marvin Gay have the same effect on me.
I know they can or could sing but just not my kind of thing.
They always seem to be holding something back.

Nothing they ever did made my toes curl.

Look at Bob Dylan I know he is a great Lyricist but he cannot sing for Toffee
I far prefer his stuff done by other people.
No way could I sit through 2 hrs of Him alone.

Annie lennox & Freddie Mercury do it for me to name a couple
both eccentric and weird but always seem to give their all on stage or in the studio.

Anyone who can do that gets my vote.

The Stones its more a combination Mick is not the best singer on the planet but definately one of the best performers and combined with Charlie, Ronnie and Keith
They are definately the best live act ever.

performer/vocalist,jagger.vocals,howard kaylan by a landslide.check out dust bunnies,you'll agree.

john scialfa

ok i saw chuck d and the singer from rage against the machine on here and they are rappers. they barely sing. i guess some of you are unfamilar with who i named on the first post so here are some songs you should check out by them so you can see why i listed them as the best, give them a chance.

jeff scott soto-"i'll see the light tonight"by yngwie malmsteen, "living the life" and "stand up and shout" from the rock star move soundtrack, any song he sings solo

rob halford-"ressurection" by halford, "blood red skies" by judas priest, "exciter" by judas priest(wait for the end), "victim of changes" by judas priest

bruce dickinson-"run to the hills" by iron maiden, "can i play with madness" by iron maiden,"flight of icarus" by iron maiden

eric adams-"nessun dorma" by manowar, "courage" by manowar, "kingdon come" by manowar

geoff tate-"someone else" by queensryche, "queen of the reich"by queensryche, "silent lucidity" by queensryche

ronnie james dio-"man of the silver mountain" by rainbow, "heaven or hell" by black sabbath, "mob rules" by black sabbath, "all the fools sailed away" solo

tim owens-"burn in hell" by judas priest, "red baron" by iced earth, "greenface" by iced earth

king diamond-"family ghost" solo, anything by mercyful fate

doro-"whiter shade of pale" solo, anything by warlock

sebastian bach-"wasted time" by skid row, "i remember you" by skid row, "quicksand jesus" by skid row

jim gillette-anything by nitro

haha, Ronnie James Dio....who wrote that one? How did this guy ever crack the scene? Him and that silly hair and that mumu that he weeears! "I give you the evil horned sign!" Cornuto! " LOL He started the heavy metal sign, ya know..

"...no longer shall you trudge 'cross my peaceful mind."

ChelseaDrugstore Wrote:
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> haha, Ronnie James Dio....who wrote that one? How
> did this guy ever crack the scene? Him and that
> silly hair and that mumu that he weeears! "I give
> you the evil horned sign!" Cornuto! " LOL He
> started the heavy metal sign, ya know..

so the way he looks means even though he has a huge vocal range, a lot of vibrato technique and sang his balls off in rainbow and black sabbath and his solo stuff that he's a bad singer? hell he's almost 60 now and has more of a vocal range than mick jagger ever had.

NICOS Wrote:
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> What about Stevie Wonder ?


Stevie is one of my all time favorites.
His songwriting, his arranging, he's a master at piano, harmonica, drums,...
Also: he's a fantastic singer. But when it comes to the all time greatest vocalists he just falls out my list.
I mentioned people like Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke, Al Green. I think they are better vocalists, but I love Stevies music more.
So if I had to pick a full package: no doubt Stevie will be in my top 3. But this is about vocals alone... he's a brilliant singer, but not brilliant enough to compete with the all time greats.

some quite hilarious definitions of 'great singers' in this thread!

Elvis
Sinatra
Al Green
The Temptations
Sam Cooke
Ray Charles
Marvin Gaye

as far as latter-day, white rock stars go, whilst I've never bought any of his records, Freddie Mercury had a singing voice thats much underrated IMO



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2006-08-10 12:47 by Gazza.

keefriffhard4life Wrote:
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> Anderson Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > To keefriffhard4life: If not the very best
> maybe,
> > Jagger surely is one of the best rock singers
> > ever. You don't at all have to be technically
> > perfect or have a range the greater the better
> to
> > be a good rock singer. Rythm, sound, phrasing,
> > energy, uniqueness, inventiveness and lots more
> > has as much to say!
>
> theres a difference before a singer and a front
> man or performer. you just described a performer
> or front man. i singer has lots of technique. look
> at who i named i bet no one here knows any of
> them.
I am not discribing a frontman or performer. Then I would have mentioned stuff like communication with the audience, movements etc. I now some of those people, and I tell you, I don't rank Sebastian Bach a great rock singer just because of his technique and range. Not at all. He sounds bad and over dramatizes, and more. I could be impressed by his range, but that doesn't necessary make him a great rock singer, or singer for that matter. There are a hell of a lot more parameters than that. Mick Jagger is a way better rock SINGER/VOCALIST because of what I mentioned before; Rythm, sound, feeling, phrasing, energy, uniqueness and more. And an OK range. Some of these are techniques, mind, som are not. Geddit?

Anderson

i do get it. other than his falsetto i feel jagger kinda just shouts or whispers or phrases words differently. look at exile on main st. the man does everything with his voice but literally what is described as singing a note or verse. he shouts, yells, whispers, talks, or does his jaggerism phrasing. if you listen to freddie mercury singing "we are the champions" or something like that jagger never uses any vibrato or holds a sustained note really. jagger is the only guy a know who sings for 45 years in a rock band and drinks and does or use to smoke and sounds exactly the same. its because he didn't do anything that really strains a vocal chord to do anything. even with perfect techniue and training pavorotti sounds different now because of what he was doing with his voice, i love listening to the stones and i love jaggers voice but lets face it he'll never be invited to sing on a broadway show except maybe for namesake. but oh wait sebastian bach did 3 different broadway shows. i listed more singers than him though like jeff scott soto and rob rock and dio. btw here are a few people i forgot lou gramm of foreigner and steve perry of journey and meatloaf.

Jagger wouldn't fit in a Broadway musical, thank god! I don't think fitting in in a Broadway kind of musical has anything to do with being a great rock singer. Two totally different genres!
Mind, I love Freddie Mercury, but more for pop or ballad work, and agree he probably would fitted in a musical. Still, I don't think he's as good a rock singer as Mick. He doesn't score high enough on the other parameters for that.
I think we have to agree to disagree to what extend classic technicallyties matter to be a good rock singer!?
Also, mind; Mick doesn't sound the same today as for say, 25 - 30 years ago. His voice is thinner, and his growls and screams are weaker. Rangewise, possibly as good as ever. I mean, even 17 years ago, his voice was lot's more powerful than today; pull out Atlantic City 89. That's wear and tear for you, and not in a good way.

Anderson!

I'd like to add Roy Orbison to the list. And John Hiatt, too, but that's just personal preference.

Rick Danko/Levon Helm/Richard Manuel

For hard rock rock its gotta be Bon Scott

Oh and Ronnie James Dio IS awesome

just my tuppenceworth....

Anyone hear of a guy named Johnny Cash?

No, i've never heard of him.

Roy Orbison - beat that!

redrum Wrote:
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> Roy Orbison - beat that!


Elvis is better than Roy.

Elvis is better yes...of course, he's what singers are measured against, but Roy certainly is amazing.

Mick Jagger

Howlin' Wolf (one of the very best)
Otis Redding
Sam Cooke
Elvis Presley
Neil Young (he really is a great singer)
John Fogerty
etc.

x



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2006-12-07 03:37 by Beelyboy.

x



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2006-12-07 03:36 by Beelyboy.

Beelyboy Wrote:
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> edit again; sorry; too many good ones..just can't
> do it...


Yes, that's the truth...after all these people who has sung through the years, it's impossible to make a conclusion about THE best.
I'll settle with Elvis, because he is such an icon in this singing-game.
The answers here, makes me wonder....I don't think anyone has mentioned girls...

x



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2006-12-07 03:36 by Beelyboy.

I'd like to include Joni Mitchell.

x



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2006-12-07 03:36 by Beelyboy.

Emmylou Harris, maybe?

Willie Nelson...yes. Willie Nelson. They know their stuff too. Not NUMBER-ONE for most people...but still great, right?

Keith Richards.