Pete over at Blogness did a post today that shares Bruce's top 20 singers of all time which was included in the "100 Greatest Singers of all Time" list in Rolling Stone.
Are your favorite singers listed?
My top 20 greatest (i.e. FAVORITE) singers and (where they fall on Rolling Stone's List)
1. Jim Morrison (47)
2. Jeff Buckley (39)
3. Bono (32)
4. Marvin Gaye (6)
5. Michael Hutchence
6. Cat Stevens
7. Johnny Reznik
8. Bruce (36)
9. David Bowie (23)
10. Annie Lennox (93)
11. Daryl Hall
12. Billie Joe Armstrong
13. Janis Joplin (28)
14. Prince (30)
15. Ann Wilson
16. Kurt Cobain (45)
17. Paul Rogers (61)
18. Donavan
19. Robert Plant (15)
20. Roger Daltry (61)
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28 comments:
I saw this. And Bono's was written by Billie Joe. Kidlet and I loved that. Her people writing about my people. Actually Green Day is my second favorite band so technically they are all my people =)
And a big old HELL YES to the Boss including Joe Strummer.
Hey Billie Joe is on my list and as I type this I am listening to "Wake Me Up When Sept. Ends" You and kidlet have excellent taste :)
But only two women on Bruce's list? Seriously?
Erin, there were only three on mine...I just like male voices better. Does that make me sexist? I hope not...but its no secret that I do love men :)
I know, I shouldn't have said that. I just am tired and touchy. Sorry. ;-)
I did 2 thursday thirteens like 2 years ago. Top 13 front men and women.
I actually have a LOT of women who I think could go on the list. Etta James and Billie Holiday right off the top of my head.
Aretha number one? Please, gimme a break. She's good, don't get me wrong, but the best of all time? I don't think so.
The first commenter on the RS article hit the nail on the head when he/she mentioned Pat Benatar and Ann Wilson, both of whom could kick Aretha's ass in a sing-off.
I hated Elvis with the intensity of 1000 suns, and I never thought he was a good singer.
While I was somewhat a fan of Nirvana, Kurt Cobain was just ok as a singer. Frankly, I think Dave Grohl is a better singer.
With all due respect to Mr. Zimmerman, he couldn't sing his way out of a wet paper bag.
If we're talking about singers with the natural gift(along with the aforementioned Ms. Benatar and Ms. Wilson), there are/were no better than the late Marvin Gaye, Jackie Wilson and Sam Cooke. 'Nuff said.
Most lists are totally subjective. However, RS's list is total crap. There is not a semblance of credibility to it. Any list without Frank Sinatra the top 5 is stupid. Any list without Tony Bennett on it is just stupid. Ditto with Karen Carpenter in the 90s. While I wasn’t always a fan of her songs the superior quality of her voice is absolutely undeniable. Whoever compiled this list appears to have based it on whether they like the singer’s overall recorded output and not on the quality of the voice. It also appears to have been created just for the controversy. While else would Frank & Tony be missing? Just so the people who put this together can bring show off their phony smug superiority.
Speaking of travesties, I don't see Ella Fitzgerald on the list. She should be in the top 10 & where is Billie Holiday or did I just miss them?
Why is Springsteen on the list? As wonderful as his songwriting is, and as wonderful as the E Street Band is, The Boss has never been a good vocalist.
Overall this list is repulsive and their hatred of jazz singers (or ignorance of their existence which is even worse) tells you everything you need to know about the authors.
All lists like this are subjective. I have to wonder what the criteria was for RS. For me it was simply "who's voice makes me feel good" This is why I don't get PAID for my opinions, they are far from professional, in fact they are borderline emotional. But that's just me :)
I am with you Barbara. Mariah Carey has a technically incredible voice. I'd rather eat glass than listen to her :P
As I said when you posted about "best" singers a few weeks back, it's impossible to objectively assess taste.
That said, I agree with the comments above that the RS list is wacko.
This list by RS isn't as bad as others I've seen. However, there are some puzzling omissions. Each voter was asked to list his or her 20 favorite vocalists from the rock era, in order of their importance. Even though singers like Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett weren't rock and roll, they had prolific recording careers during the rock era (1955- the present) so I am shocked that they weren't included. It makes Hank Williams' inclusion on the list even more puzzling when you stop to consider that he died in 1953 (2 years before the rock era started).
Having said that, it was cool to see singers on the list who I feel don't normally get their due (artists like David Ruffin, Annie Lennox, Darlene Love, and Levon Helm to name a few).
Also, it was clear that singing technique wasn't a requirement (which is fine by me). If it was, singers like Jim Morrison, Dylan, or Lou Reed wouldn't have stood a chance of making the cut.
As for Aretha being #1 on the list, I have no problem with that at all. As much as I like Pat Benatar and Ann Wilson, they wouldn't be kicking the Queen of Soul's ass in a sing-off... sorry, not gonna happen.
I agree--these types of lists are a bunch of crap except for their ability to stimulate discussion. So just for fun, I will add David Crosby to the list. What a smooth, sexy voice. And let's add Warren Zevon, too. Not smooth, not sexy, but raw and soulful. Yes!
I'm with Charlie: not having Ella is near-criminal. Oh well; it's just a list. If I made one, it would better, as would everyone else here in accordance with their own tastes. I just think it's funny that RS always seems to get it so terribly wrong and yet everyone else (in blogs) more or less seem closer to each other with less variance.
LOL Hatter I am listening to Ella and Louis B right now as I work =)
Just listened to some BB King. I'll put him on my list, too; besides being a helluva guitar player, the man has a great set of pipes.
I concur about the RS list being bunkum.
It's completely subjective to the tastes of Jann Wenner and his Kool-Aid drinking disciples at RS.
just listening to tim buckley, wonderful voice, plus joe cocker and the rock god ronnie james dio; what about joni mitchell singing california, no one can go that high and sweet, have you heard jazz singer Kurt Elling, his voice is astounding
To the person who said Jim Morrison could not have stand a chance of making the cut. You are a dumb&*^. Have you heard Jim Morrison sing? I guess not. Listen to Touch me studio or live and tell me the same thing. Yeah he obviously can't sing on Break on through? He can't sing on Crystal Ship? Lol please know what you are talking about before you say dumb things like that. It makes you look stupid. If you don't agree its ok. You probably just don't know what singing is.
James, thanks for leaving this comment....well said I agree with you 100%!!!
James: After reading your comments, I’m going to take a wild guess and say that you weren’t the captain of your high school debate team. Before you start hurling insults, you really should read what I said. To refresh your memory, what I said was that if singing technique was a requirement for the list, Jim Morrison wouldn't have stood a chance of making the cut. I never said that Jim Morrison couldn’t sing. As a matter of fact, I enjoy listening to him (I’ve been a Doors fan for quite some time). However, I don’t think that his singing technique would put him in the category of great vocalists.
The bottom line is that I expressed an opinion and you are free to disagree. However, if your only method of debate is to resort to childish name calling, take it to the playground because I have no time for it.
Game set and match, Malcolm. I almost commented on that but when I saw that James had two blogs, both selling something I decided that reading comprehension was probably not something he was too concerned with.
Jim didn't have technically proficient vocals. Just like Bobby Zimmerman and Janis Joplin. And people with technically proficient voices (think Mariah and Whitney) didn't make it.
It was an interesting list.
Thanks Starrlight. I noticed the same thing about James (two blogs that sell something). I don't know, maybe he's just a Doors fan who scours the Internet looking for anything (good or bad) that's said about them or Morrison.
In addition to being interesting like you said, these lists are also great conversation (or argument) starters. For some reason, this list didn't upset me like some do. I think it's because I knew that it was people picking their personal faves. It's kind of hard to argue when that's the criteria used.
Well the problem with list featuring a set number is that somebody is always going to be missing =)
dennis deyoung from styx,he`s 64 years old and still sounds the same from the late 70`s
you ever hear of dennis deyoung from styx?he has a awsome voice,he`s 64+ of age.
Bozo, thanks for leaving this comment. I agree they left out some deserving people, including Dennis.
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