Trying my hand at this "Mt. Rushmore" thing....
Ian Gillan, Steven Tyler, Geddy Lee and Robert Plant
What do y'all think of that?
Ian Gillan, Steven Tyler, Geddy Lee and Robert Plant
What do y'all think of that?
Mount Rushmore of Rock Vocalists?
- Thread starter The Tradition
- Start date
Freddy Mercury
David Bowie
John Lennon
Jello Biafra with a crazy vocal tremolo for my most biased pick
David Bowie
John Lennon
Jello Biafra with a crazy vocal tremolo for my most biased pick
Freddy Mercury is indeed a worthy nominee.
Bowie? Eh. He had a distinctive style, but that by itself doesn't make one great.
Lennon? I see him more as a great songwriter and performer, but not an especially great vocalist.
Never heard of Jello. Just googled him. Sorry, not worthy of this list.
Bowie? Eh. He had a distinctive style, but that by itself doesn't make one great.
Lennon? I see him more as a great songwriter and performer, but not an especially great vocalist.
Never heard of Jello. Just googled him. Sorry, not worthy of this list.
One of the greatest rock vocal performances of all time, IMO:
* Note, the guy in the video is not Ian Gillan, but he's lip synching Gillan's performance. So, just ignore the video and listen to the voice.
* Note, the guy in the video is not Ian Gillan, but he's lip synching Gillan's performance. So, just ignore the video and listen to the voice.
Paul Rogers of Bad co. needs to be there, then Plant and then it really doesn't matter.
I'm one of the biggest Rush fans on this board. You cannot put Ged on that list.
My. Rushmore of bass players, without a doubt yes. Vocalist? No.
I disagree. One of the most amazing vocalists in rock. Did you know they recorded the music for Hemispheres, and when Geddy went to lay down the vocals he realized all the music was in the wrong key, forcing him to sing higher than he intended? He pulled it off anyway and it was (is) awesome.
It was Lee who pushed hardest for Rush's Eighties transformation, after hitting prog overload with 1978's Hemispheres. Among other problems, they wrote and recorded the backing music for the entire album without checking whether Lee could sing over it. "We wrote it in such a ****ed-up key," he says, his frustration still fresh 37 years later. "It was just the worst two weeks of my life recording vocals."
Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/from-rush-with-love-cover-story-20150616#ixzz3qvLOKTHm
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Lotsa good ones, but I'll put Ann Wilson ahead of many of those.
Quality of singing and vocal performance. Extra points for originality. I could care less how good someone is at dancing or putting on a show. It's all about the voice for this thread.
Agree. Women can be part of the discussion. Janice Joplin should probably get a nomination, too.
Elvis Presley
Robert Plant
Mick Jagger
Chris Cornell - because I saw him the other day and he still sounded great.
Robert Plant
Mick Jagger
Chris Cornell - because I saw him the other day and he still sounded great.
Really surprised only 1 person has said Morrison. As far as vocal quality he has to be in the top 4.
IMO Morrison and Mercury are locks.
John Lennon was not even the best vocalist in The Beatles. Might have been third best come to think of it.
- The guy from Journey
- The guy from AC/DC
- Billy Joel
- Frampton or whoever it was that sang form CCR
If I'm going with best vocalist meaning the ones with the best voice my top 4 would be:
1. Freddy Mercury
2. Dennis DeYoung
3. Jim Morrison
4. Ian Gillan
I agree with a few on here, are we talking voice, tone, and pitch, or just the whole package? Some of the best Rock Vocalists had horrible chops.
Although dynamic, Perry, Lee, Rose, and Cobain belong no where near the top of that list. Distinctive, yes. In fact, Cobain would probably be last in the group of him, Vedder, Staley, and Cornell.
Elvis aside, I believe the list starts at Morrison. Cornell may be the most talented, and for me, Vedder's voice and tone gets him on the list. I guess you could argue the fourth amongst Mercury, and Plant. I would probably favor Plant.
Give me any one of those, with Neil Peart, Tom Morello, and Lee, or McCartney to play bass, and possibly back up, and you have my super group. As long as the bass player would let me pre-mic their strings.
Although dynamic, Perry, Lee, Rose, and Cobain belong no where near the top of that list. Distinctive, yes. In fact, Cobain would probably be last in the group of him, Vedder, Staley, and Cornell.
Elvis aside, I believe the list starts at Morrison. Cornell may be the most talented, and for me, Vedder's voice and tone gets him on the list. I guess you could argue the fourth amongst Mercury, and Plant. I would probably favor Plant.
Give me any one of those, with Neil Peart, Tom Morello, and Lee, or McCartney to play bass, and possibly back up, and you have my super group. As long as the bass player would let me pre-mic their strings.
Mercury, Morrison, Elvis, Jagger.
And about 30 who are very close to 3 of the 4 here. But Freddie had a voice unmatched in rock history. I don't really think it's close. The guy pretty much was an opera singer.
And about 30 who are very close to 3 of the 4 here. But Freddie had a voice unmatched in rock history. I don't really think it's close. The guy pretty much was an opera singer.
Totally agree with you on Freddie Mercury. I listed Dennis DeYoung not so much as a rock performer, but his voice was (and still is) one of the best I've heard live. I had the good fortune of seeing him perform "Pilate's Dream" from "Jesus Christ Superstar" as well as a couple of Styx concerts, and then as a solo performer.
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