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Greatest Rock Vocals Ever: Freddie Mercury, Robert Plant, Ian Gillan, Rob Halford,..?

post #1 of 126
3/10/07 at 4:59pm
Thread Starter 
I wonder who do you think are the greatest
Rock/Metal vocalists ever?
We consider lead singers, solo singers, ...
We are focusing on male singers, but if you want females go ahead.

Who is the greatest one?
Who are your Top Three, Top Five or, say, Top Ten?

Here is my Top 10 listed, more or less, according to my preference:

Freddie Mercury (Queen)
Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin)
Ian Gillan (Deep Purple - Mark II)
Rob Halford (Judas Priest)
Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden)
Ozzy Osbourne (Black Sabbath, solo)
Jim Morrison (The Doors)
Bon Scott (AC/DC)
Elvis Presley - the King
Ronnie James Dio (Rainbow, Dio, ...)

Digression #1:
Upon a time three lads from Birmingham, England :
Geezer Butler (bass), Tony Iommi (lead guitar) and Bill Ward (drums) needed a lead singer.
Somewhere they spotted a big ad: 'Ozzy needs a Gig'.
Geezer told Tony and Bill that hopelfully this was not Ozzy he had heard before,
because he did not have a good voice/ could not sing well.
The audition time arrived and guess who showed up: The man himslef - Ozzy Osbourne!
Geezer loudly commented: Oh, no! It's him ...and the rest is History!

Digression #2
Ronnie James Dio took the most diffucult job in the history of rock music -
"to replace" Ozzy Osbourne as a frontman of Black Sabbath.
I don't think that he succeded because, as far as I am concerned,
there was no more Black Sabbath after Ozzy was fired in 1978.
However they reunited on several occasions, most notably in 1997.
There is one Ozzy, one Tony, one Geezer, one Bill and therefore only one Black Sabbath.


Extra list in no particular order:

Roger Daltrey (The Who)
Roth David Lee (Van Halen)
Eric Burdon (The Animals)
John Fogerty (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
Joe Co-cker (solo)
Van Morrison (solo)
Axl Rose (Guns N' Roses)
David Coverdale (Deep Purple - Mark III)
Ian 'Lemmy' Kilmister (Motorhead)
Mick Jagger (The Rolling Stones)

I think that Freddie Mercury (Queen) had the greatest voice!



What is your list?

P.S.
I needed to put the hyphen in Co-cker because the sytem is intelligent and puts asterisks.

P.S. #2
I corrected my typo. Of course, it should be Rob Halford.
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post #2 of 126
3/10/07 at 5:16pm
I'm just going to throw my top two out here:

1. Ian Curtis (Joy Division)
2. Morrissey (The Smiths)
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post #3 of 126
3/10/07 at 5:53pm
My Top 5:

Ian Gillan - Deep Purple
Bruce Dickinson - Iron Maiden
James LeBrie - Dream Theater
Mikael Akerfeldt - Opeth
Don Dokken - Dokken

Jim
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post #4 of 126
3/10/07 at 6:35pm
Freddie Mercury(Queen)

Ann Wilson(Heart)

Lou Gramm(Foreigner)

Steve Perry(Journey)

Klaus Meine(Scorpions)

David Coverdale(Whitesnake,Deep Purple...)


I'm not sure about the order,but Mercury is the first,and Wilson among the three best.
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post #5 of 126
3/10/07 at 7:53pm
In no particular order, these are my favourite rock and Hard Rock/Metal vocalists:

Hard Rock and Metal:

Bon Scott - AC/DC
Andrew Dickson - Tricky Woo
Tomas Lindberg - At the Gates
Mikey Heppner - Priestess
Robert Plant - Led Zeppelin

Rock

Gary Brooker - Procol Harum
Peter Gabriel - Genesis
Harry Nilsson (Solo, sorta)
Ian Anderson - Jethro Tull
Freddie Mercury - Queen
Dave Davies - Kinks
Brian Wilson - Beach Boys, Solo
George Harrison - Beatles, Solo
Joe C0cker - Solo
Janis Joplin - Solo
Jimi Hendrix - Solo/The Experience
Donovan - Solo
Pete Townshend - The Who (yes, I'm serious)
Elvis Costello - Solo/The Impostors/The Attractions

I could keep going, but I'd end up thinking and typing for hours. Gary Brooker and Harry Nilsson both make me melt FAR more than a man should be able to.
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post #6 of 126
3/10/07 at 8:07pm
1. Bruce Dickinson
2. Ian Gillan
3. Jeff Buckley
4. Pete Townshend
5. Roger Daltrey

edit: holy guacamole, i'm not the only Pete Townshend vocal fan out there! the best is when the two sing together, i.e. Magic Bus.
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post #7 of 126
3/10/07 at 8:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thelonious Monk View Post
edit: holy guacamole, i'm not the only Pete Townshend vocal fan out there! the best is when the two sing together, i.e. Magic Bus.
Absolutely. I think the most striking thing about Pete is that despite his weak vocals, there's the aspect of passion that Daltry - the superior vocalist - just couldn't possibly get out.

Gets me every time when he sings in Tommy - just that element of innocence that lends itself so well to the content!
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post #8 of 126
3/10/07 at 8:18pm
Agree with all of the above....

Would like to add Geddy Lee and Roger Hodgson
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post #9 of 126
3/10/07 at 8:23pm
well, one emotion that Pete can't transmit is holy crap, i just wet myself. mainly referring to the live version of "Won't Get Fooled Again" from The Kids Are Alright. i often cite this as a good example of how awesome The Who must have been live, and Daltrey just blows me away with the supersonic jet cry of "YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" at the climax of the song. i remember one guy in a John Entwhistle biography, An Ox's Tale, who was at that performance. he was sitting on an amplifier and fell off stage during that bit.

it's always great when a band have multiple talented vocalists, though

edit: i'd like to comment that Geddy Lee definitely gets a bad rap. sometimes his voice doesn't fit with the songs at all though.. "Working Man" would have been better as an instrumental. and sometimes he stylizes the vocals in a really annoying way. see: near the end of "The Spirit Of Radio", an otherwise awesome vocal performance.
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post #10 of 126
3/10/07 at 9:08pm
Thread Starter 

Yeah, Ian Gillan of Deep Purple.

It's sad that Ritchie Blackmore did not like
Ian Gillan and fired him (and Roger Glover) (or made them quit).
Gillan's 'screaming' and the long duels between his voice
and Ritchie's guitar playing were triggered by Ritchie on purpose.
Ritchie, in a way, tortured Gillan.They did not talk to each other
for at least one year before they split.
I was not aware about this before.
For me Deep Purple was over after Mark II ceased to exist.

The same was with Black Sabbath - when Ozzy was gone there was no
Black Sabbath (althogh Dio and Ian Gillan were frontmen for Black Sabbath)

Anyway, Freddie Mercury's voice is phenomenal.
I remember seeing a VHS "Queen Live at Wembley".

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post #11 of 126
3/10/07 at 9:12pm
Thread Starter 

Pete of The Who a top vocalist?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Thelonious Monk View Post
1. Bruce Dickinson
2. Ian Gillan
3. Jeff Buckley
4. Pete Townshend
5. Roger Daltrey

edit: holy guacamole, i'm not the only Pete Townshend vocal fan out there! the best is when the two sing together, i.e. Magic Bus.
Get out of here! He is not on my auxiliary list either. Just kidding.
But I give you a lot of credit for Ian Gillan.

Common, you don't have Freddie Mercury? Ha, ha, ....
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post #12 of 126
3/10/07 at 9:19pm
Mercury has a terrific voice, Ian Anderson, Plant, Gillan, Dio, Morrison, Janis, Paul Rodgers, Daltrey...among others
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post #13 of 126
3/10/07 at 9:41pm
Thread Starter 

I am glad to see you here.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sovkiller View Post
Mercury has a terrific voice, Ian Anderson, Plant, Gillan, Dio, Morrison, Janis, Paul Rodgers, Daltrey...among others
Yeah, we like classic rock. Yeah!!!

I like Ian Anderson's fabulous acting , flute playing, composing and I love Jestro Tull.
But I guess that it is politically incorrect to praise Jethro Tull on this site.

And again, Ian Gillan with Deep Purple Mark II. Yes, yes!!!!

Freddie Mercury is perhaps unsurpassed.

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post #14 of 126
3/10/07 at 10:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by AdamCalifornia View Post
But I guess that it is politically incorrect to praise Jethro Tull on this site.
Wha?

By the way, I made a glaring omission earlier, a man who, in my opinion, deserves his own thread:

Mr. Eric Burdon.

A god among men.
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post #15 of 126
3/10/07 at 10:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by AdamCalifornia View Post
Yeah, we like classic rock. Yeah!!!

I like Ian Anderson's fabulous acting , flute playing, composing and I love Jestro Tull.
But I guess that it is politically incorrect to praise Jethro Tull on this site.

And again, Ian Gillan with Deep Purple Mark II. Yes, yes!!!!

Freddie Mercury is perhaps unsurpassed.
I think I made a typo ...... but anyway, I do consider him a good performer and an exceptional front line man...but I meant Jon Anderson from Yes
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