November 12, 200817 yr Aretha Franklin beats Elvis as Rolling Stone's greatest SHE's already the Queen of Soul but now Aretha Franklin has been named the greatest singer of the rock era. In a poll conducted by Rolling Stone magazine, Franklin, 66, came in ahead of Ray Charles at No.2, Elvis Presley at No.3, Sam Cooke at No.4 and John Lennon at No.5, according to the magazine's survey of 179 musicians, producers, Rolling Stone editors, and other music-industry insiders. The 100-strong list will be published on Friday, when Rolling Stone hits the newsstands with four different covers. The issue includes testimonials from musicians. R&B singer Mary J. Blige, for example, writes that Franklin is "the reason why women want to sing". Former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant, who was No.15 on the list, describes Presley's voice as "confident, insinuating and taking no prisoners". Besides Franklin, the only other living people in the top 10 were Bob Dylan at No.7 and Stevie Wonder at No.9. Marvin Gaye was No.6, Otis Redding No.8, and James Brown No.10. Other notables included Paul McCartney at No.11, one place ahead of his idol, Little Richard; and Mick Jagger at No.16, also one ahead of a key influence, Tina Turner. Among the top 25, 50-year-old Michael Jackson was the youngest, coming in at No.25. Voters included Metallica frontman James Hetfield, folk singers David Crosby and Yusuf Islam, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, punk rock veteran Iggy Pop and English pop star James Blunt. They each submitted their top 20 choices, and an accounting firm tabulated the results. Reuters Rolling Stone's Top 10 1. Aretha Franklin 2. Ray Charles 3. Elvis Presley 4. Sam Cooke 5. John Lennon 6. Marvin Gaye 7. Bob Dylan 8. Otis Redding 9. Stevie Wonder 10. James Brown What do you think? Link
November 12, 200817 yr My first thoughts were....a lot of Americans amongst the top 10.....and ...where is Freddy Mercury (Queen) ?...and who the heck is #4 Sam Cooke LaoPo
November 13, 200817 yr I think Steven Demetre Georgiou should be shot just for "I Love My Dog" and then his opinion wouldn't have been asked for. Bob Dylan at No 7, don't make me laugh, he sang in the key of yale. Elvis Presley was a face and a pelvic thrust, nothing more. I agree with the first two positions, but, as LP said..... where the heck is Freddy?
November 13, 200817 yr Apparently Rolling Stone makes a distinction between a singer and a vocalist. Their list includes a lot of folks who could deliver the goods alright, put not alwyas in such a pretty package, which of course isn't always necessary or even to be desired.
November 13, 200817 yr Aretha Franklin beats Elvis as Rolling Stone's greatest SHE's already the Queen of Soul but now Aretha Franklin has been named the greatest singer of the rock era. In a poll conducted by Rolling Stone magazine, Franklin, 66, came in ahead of Ray Charles at No.2, Elvis Presley at No.3, Sam Cooke at No.4 and John Lennon at No.5, according to the magazine's survey of 179 musicians, producers, Rolling Stone editors, and other music-industry insiders. The 100-strong list will be published on Friday, when Rolling Stone hits the newsstands with four different covers. The issue includes testimonials from musicians. R&B singer Mary J. Blige, for example, writes that Franklin is "the reason why women want to sing". Former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant, who was No.15 on the list, describes Presley's voice as "confident, insinuating and taking no prisoners". Besides Franklin, the only other living people in the top 10 were Bob Dylan at No.7 and Stevie Wonder at No.9. Marvin Gaye was No.6, Otis Redding No.8, and James Brown No.10. Other notables included Paul McCartney at No.11, one place ahead of his idol, Little Richard; and Mick Jagger at No.16, also one ahead of a key influence, Tina Turner. Among the top 25, 50-year-old Michael Jackson was the youngest, coming in at No.25. Voters included Metallica frontman James Hetfield, folk singers David Crosby and Yusuf Islam, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, punk rock veteran Iggy Pop and English pop star James Blunt. They each submitted their top 20 choices, and an accounting firm tabulated the results. Reuters Rolling Stone's Top 10 1. Aretha Franklin 2. Ray Charles 3. Elvis Presley 4. Sam Cooke 5. John Lennon 6. Marvin Gaye 7. Bob Dylan 8. Otis Redding 9. Stevie Wonder 10. James Brown What do you think? Link I would agree...Freddy Mercury deserves to be in the top five. Sam Cooke, for you younger folks, was a great balladeer from the 60's who was shot by a jealous husband. He died too young and I really think he did not have enough of a career to be rated as highly as number four...that's where I would have put Freddy. I have no problem with Aretha as Number One...it is a fitting tribute to a woman who could sing all the genres...Elvis was always underrated as a singer but when you listen to his cuts today he had a great strong voice and could move effortlessly between ballads and rock 'n roll numbers. When you look at the body of work of John Lennon, I believe he would be number one on the list of complete singers/songwriters. Marvin Gaye certainly deserves to be in the top ten, but I also have a serious problem with Bob Dylan being in the top ten...that really should be have been Mick Jagger's slot. Otis Redding was a great talent who produced some of the great soul ballads. His life was cut short by a fatal traffic accident. Stevie Wonder and James Brown? Well that's a matter of taste. Robert Plante would have gotten my vote at 9 and Eric Clapton would have gotten my vote for number 10. I know that British artists were heavily influenced by black rythme and blues singers from the late 50's and early 60's, so perhaps that is one of the reasons why Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye and James Brown were ranked so highly...because the Brits paid homage to them by voting for them.
November 13, 200817 yr I think Michael Stipes has a great voice, so does Mick Hucknell - there are too many to name, me thinks.
November 13, 200817 yr and who the heck is #4 Sam Cooke Sam Cooke - You Send Me Brilliant Moss Good, great in fact, but in my opinion, this is better..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUT1WgHat6I...feature=related
November 13, 200817 yr Yep.Freddie Mercury. Joe Cocker, Janis Joplin. Please don't mention those three names on the same line, well, one of them. Joe Cocker has a good voice, but apart from a duet with Jennifer Warnes (I think) he has never done any original material, ever. He'd be good on 'Pop Idol' or 'American Idol' or whatever Idol is fashionable these days, but to mention his name between two talented song writers/composers is doing them a disservice. Oh, sorry, this is about having a good voice, isn't it...... why didn't this guy get a mention. Apologies for the language at the end.
November 13, 200817 yr For vocalists, I liked the guys that fronted for Robin Trower and Boston, James Dewar and Brad Delp. Sadly, both now deceased.
November 13, 200817 yr I think Michael Stipes has a great voice, so does Mick Hucknell - there are too many to name, me thinks. Michael Stipes in my opinion is the best of the lot. Good, great in fact, but in my opinion, this is better.....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUT1WgHat6I...feature=related My Youtube appears to be playing up, so I can neither agree, nor disagree, but typical comments below the clip. Oh, sorry, this is about having a good voice, isn't it...... why didn't this guy get a mention. I believe this guy was 17teen at the time, is it true? and didn't he die so soon after? Moss
November 13, 200817 yr Yep.Freddie Mercury. Joe Cocker, Janis Joplin. Yep...and I miss Frank Sinatra on the list also. He was of enormous influence for the music in the 50's, 60's and onwards. Strange list by The Rolling Stone. LaoPo
November 14, 200817 yr Author The voting seems to have been done by their peers. Subsequently those influenced by Blues music would choose singers from that genre etc. Any "greatest" list will inspire controversy and heated discussion. We all have our personal preferences, usually the music of our youth... for me the music of Presley, The Beatles, Dylan and Orbison and later the music of my second childhood, the Outlaw Country singers; Nelson, Jennings...
November 14, 200817 yr I believe this guy was 17teen at the time, is it true? and didn't he die so soon after?Moss Sixteen, and still alive and kicking I believe.
November 14, 200817 yr Interesting that Lennon is so high on the chart. I love his music and there is nothing wrong with his voice, but it is not really unique which is how the others seem to have been judged. Also, I can usually tell Lennon and McCartney apart, but their voices are very simular. They really should have been listed together.
November 14, 200817 yr I def. agree that Freddy Mercury and Robert Plant should have both been included.
November 14, 200817 yr Aretha Franklin beats Elvis as Rolling Stone's greatest She's already the Queen of Soul but now Aretha Franklin has been named the greatest singer of the rock era. Rolling Stone's Top 10 1. Aretha Franklin 2. Ray Charles 3. Elvis Presley 4. Sam Cooke 5. John Lennon 6. Marvin Gaye 7. Bob Dylan 8. Otis Redding 9. Stevie Wonder 10. James Brown Not a real "rocker" among the top 10, except for Elvis. Lennon maybe (never was a fan of his though). I'm looking at the original Rolling Stone article, trying to see if they define what constitutes the "rock era". You would think the list would be made up of the top Rock & Rollers of the time, not Soul, R&B, Folk and Blues vocalists. They don't define the time period though. "Each voter was asked to list his or her 20 favorite vocalists from the rock era, in order of their importance. Those ballots were recorded and weighted according to methodology developed by the accounting firm of Ernst & Young, which then tabulated and verified the results for Rolling Stone." But on the following pages, they note it is a list of The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. Big difference. Here is the complete Top 100 from Rolling Stone: The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time I see a lot of my favourites (from the "rock" era) aren't on the list. Ian Gillan, Ann & Nancy Wilson, Bon Scott, Meatloaf and numerous others.
November 14, 200817 yr U.S. Only We're sorry. We have detected that you are outside of the United States. This service is currently only available to residents within the United States. Great eh? .... I so wanted to comment.... but right now I really can't be arsed.
November 14, 200817 yr I believe this guy was 17teen at the time, is it true? and didn't he die so soon after?Moss Sixteen, and still alive and kicking I believe. It would appear that he is, I thought he died years ago, his apparent death has been greatly exaggerated. Moss
November 14, 200817 yr I believe this guy was 17teen at the time, is it true? and didn't he die so soon after?Moss Sixteen, and still alive and kicking I believe. It would appear that he is, I thought he died years ago, his apparent death has been greatly exaggerated. Moss I used to go to see his dad Rob Strong, 'The Rob Strong Band'. Same sort of voice that could blast it out. Also had a brass section, really gave a good gig! check this: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=7rD02fpfT9I
November 15, 200817 yr The "Top 100 Singers of All Time"? Well that puts a definite twist on things. No Frank Sinatra, no Mario Lanza, no opera singers at all. What a bogus list. No Billie Holliday. No Matt Munro. No Connie Francis....Christ was is the point of pointing out all the omissions? This is all bullshit and the list of Top 100 Singers of All Time is a total farce.
November 15, 200817 yr The "Top 100 Singers of All Time"? Well that puts a definite twist on things. No Frank Sinatra, no Mario Lanza, no opera singers at all. What a bogus list. No Billie Holliday. No Matt Munro. No Connie Francis....Christ was is the point of pointing out all the omissions? This is all bullshit and the list of Top 100 Singers of All Time is a total farce. You're right....and what about Luciano Pavarotti ? AND................maybe just a little off topic but HOLY MOLY...wasn't he the sensation of the year 2007....?? What a voice.....chicken skin... Britain's own Paul Potts: http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=DelJrP3P7tA&...feature=related LaoPo
November 16, 200817 yr Author U.S. OnlyWe're sorry. We have detected that you are outside of the United States. This service is currently only available to residents within the United States. Great eh? .... I so wanted to comment.... but right now I really can't be arsed. That's strange Thad, I opened it straight away. Could Chiang Rai province have been secretly made the 51st state of the US? Maybe they discovered we have huge oil reserves. This type of list always inspires controversy, peoples favorites omitted, singers they despise ranked highly... I love to see them froth and hiss. I think a list of the judges would make equally interesting reading. Also the comments by RS readers are enlightening.
November 16, 200817 yr Sorry Scea...... I can view the list, but there are some on it that I have never heard of and that is the message I get if I click on the 'Listen' link. Like, who the heck is 71. Toots HIbbert: "Monkey Man"
November 16, 200817 yr I think a list of the judges would make equally interesting reading. The "Voters" (each was asked to provide a list of their 20 favourite vocalists "from the rock era", the results were then compiled and scored by an accounting firm): Voters
November 16, 200817 yr Ginger Baker Cream So, Sporty Baker, Posh Baker, Scary Baker and Baby Baker didn't get a shout then.
November 16, 200817 yr Author I think a list of the judges would make equally interesting reading. The "Voters" (each was asked to provide a list of their 20 favourite vocalists "from the rock era", the results were then compiled and scored by an accounting firm): Voters Thanks Kerry, an illustrious line up to be sure. Many of them are prominent backing musicians who would have some idea I suppose. As I said, it still comes down to personal opinion.
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