Rolling Stone's Top 100 Singers

100 Mary J. Blige
99 Steven Tyler
98 Stevie Nicks
97 Joe Cocker
96 B.B. King
95 Patti LaBelle
94 Karen Carpenter
93 Annie Lennox
92 Morrissey
91 Levon Helm
90 The Everly Brothers
89 Solomon Burke
88 Willie Nelson
87 Don Henley
86 Art Garfunkel
85 Sam Moore
84 Darlene Love
83 Patti Smith
82 Tom Waits
81 John Lee Hooker
80 Frankie Valli
79 Mariah Carey
78 Sly Stone
77 Merle Haggard
76 Steve Perry
75 Iggy Pop
74 James Taylor
73 Dolly Parton
72 John Fogerty
71 Toots Hibbert
70 Gregg Allman
69 Ronnie Spector
68 Wilson Pickett
67 Jerry Lee Lewis
66 Thom Yorke
65 David Ruffin
64 Axl Rose
63 Dion
62 Lou Reed
61 Roger Daltrey
60 Björk
59 Rod Stewart
58 Christina Aguilera
57 Eric Bourdon
56 Mavis Staples
55 Paul Rodgers
54 Luther Vandross
53 Muddy Waters
52 Brian Wilson
51 Gladys Knight
50 Bonnie Raitt
49 Donny Hathaway
48 Buddy Holly
47 Jim Morrison
46 Patsy Cline
45 Kurt Cobain
44 Bobby "Blue" Bland
43 George Jones
42 Joni Mitchell
41 Chuck Berry
40 Curtis Mayfield
39 Jeff Buckley
38 Elton John
37 Neil Young
36 Bruce Springsteen
35 Dusty Sprinfield
34 Whitney Houston
33 Steve Winwood
32 Bono
31 Howlin' Wolf
30 Prince
29 Nina Simone
28 Janis Joplin
27 Hank Williams
26 Jackie Wilson
25 Michael Jackson
24 Van Morrison
23 David Bowie
22 Etta James
21 Johnny Cash
20 Smokey Robinson
19 Bob Marley
18 Freddie Mercury
17 Tina Turner
16 Mick Jagger
15 Robert Plant
14 Al Green
13 Roy Orbison
12 Little Richard
11 Paul McCartney
10 James Brown
09 Stevie Wonder
08 Otis Redding
07 Bob Dylan
06 Marvin Gaye
05 John Lennon
04 Sam Cooke
03 Elvis Presley
02 Ray Charles
01 Aretha Franklin

im not a fan of RS, in fact i think the magazine is shit, least they have someone good topping the list, iggys 75? least he's on there, tho i think even iggy would say he's not great technically, i dunno

Ha! Sounds familiar.

MOJO also did a best singers poll voted for by singers and producers. The Ig made number 46 in that one.

And our voters weren't idiots who ignored Frank Sinatra, either.

http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/mojo_p2.htm

I've just realised that Black Francis/Frank Black is in neither of those lists (I forgot to mention him), he's one of the most inventive rock vocalists there's ever been! But as always Kurt Cobain over shadows him, a shame since Black's scream can only be matched by Iggy. And wheres Lydon? He was a great influence in that "he can't sing but he can".

Sinatra's voice wasn't great but his timing was fantastic which made up for it. He shouldn't be ahead of Presley though.

thanks for the link paul, i trust mojo, its the only music magazine i like, so ill go by that

tho they got the first 10 or something the same, yeh overlooked old blue eyes

homesickjameswilliamson wrote:

iggys 75? least he's on there, tho i think even iggy would say he's not great technically

who cares about technical prowess? well ok some people do...emotion is more vital though, and the range of emotion Iggy gets on something like 'No Fun' is incredible...starting off so downbeat, then slowly building up, becoming barely restrained, then just letting go and exploding into that gigantic scream...then coming back down a bit but retaining that feverish intensity - that's the kind of vocal performance that truly matters, that really means something. That range, and variety of tone...THAT's talent!
Actually I'm not sure what 'technical' vocal prowess equates to...maybe it means different things in different genres - or should???

edit: actually I don't think Iggy's such a great singer nowadays as he was in his younger days, as he himself has noted!

Iggy is a technically good vocalist though. From deep croons in "The Passenger" or "I Felt The Luxury" to higher vocals in songs like "Search And Destroy".

Iggy was the first white performer to exploit grunts and screams in his songs. "Down On The Street" is a great example.

In the opening notes (and this was the opener on "Fun House") he whoops, howls and screams. And all this is utterly deranged and commited, its all carefully planned but sounds incredibly unexpected.
Then he sings in one of the most menacing ways I've ever heard. Then he screams and howls some more its thrilling then is back to singing. Then he screams some more incoherrently. He makes that "birring" sound which I've not ever heard again.
But my favourite bit of any Iggy vocal ever is when is when he whimpers the "ooo, no, oh no, oh no" part, its beautiful. Finally its back to his crooning.

He displays such a range in that one song its frighteningly brilliant.

Paul T wrote:

Ha! Sounds familiar.

MOJO also did a best singers poll voted for by singers and producers. The Ig made number 46 in that one.

And our voters weren't idiots who ignored Frank Sinatra, either.

http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/mojo_p2.htm

Rolling Stone breaks out these "Best Of" lists a couple times a year to try to increase their ever-decreasing sales. Easy to write, with simple, canned, mini-bios, and sure to create a little discussion on the Internet.

Johnny Thunders didn't even make their 100 Greatest Guitarists list. (But Jack White beat Richard Thompson, Frank Zappa, and nearly every other virtuoso in history...)

I found this (http://www.azcentral.com/ent/music/articles/2008/11/14/20081114rollingstonebestsingers.html) on a forum elsewhere:

Here's how the Top 10 shook out, with soul singers crushing the rock singers 7 to 3.

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

I would have put a different Elvis in the Top 10, but apparently, a singer had to have a record out by 1963 to crack that Boomer-rific Mount Olympus. As for Lennon's legendary sparring partner, Paul McCartney, he's in at No. 11.

Fuck Rolling Stone and Long Live MOJO! (However, MOJO - not being a US mag - put The Boss all the way down at 99...I can't believe he was all the way down at 36 on the Rolling Stone list)

I am guessing this is the ballot used by musicians for that RS top 100, and this was Iggy's (not sure if this was posted elsewhere).

Awesome that he included Eric Burdon!

I always thought Rolling Stone was an extremely overrated pile of shit myself. A bland pile of crap that worships bland crap.

I like Stephen King books, but one ended with a guy getting his story published, "in Rolling Stone", and I thought, that's supposed to be a good thing?

Mojo's pretty good tho.

I can take those polls with a large dose of salt, however I do find it hideous that Bonio is so far ahead of Iggy, when he plundered his style wholesale (and "The Edge", fuck what a stupid name!) from 'Dirt'.

I have to agree that Rolling Stone is pretty much a waste of natural resources, and that Jann Wenner is a pretentious knob.

It does boggle the mind how these polls end up the way they do.

thanks for posting iggys ballot

interesting choices & handwriting!

any handwriting analysers on here, not to be too much of a nuts fan lol, though its weird theyre all lower case

who's no. 6?

and....
neil diamond? lol dunno what he's like as a singer, never listened to him

homesickjameswilliamson wrote:

thanks for posting iggys ballot

interesting choices & handwriting!

any handwriting analysers on here, not to be too much of a nuts fan lol, though its weird theyre all lower case

who's no. 6?

and....
neil diamond? lol dunno what he's like as a singer, never listened to him

No. 6 is Brian Wilson

Neil Diamond has been around since the sixties - hugely successful singer-songwriter in the US. Probably best known for his tune 'Sweet Caroline', as well as 'Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon' (covered by Urge Overkill - heard in Pulp Fiction).

thanks

yeh, i know who neil diamond is, was actually thinkin of gettin his recent album, sounded alright

didnt know girl was his song, love it, well urge overkills version

This isn't much considering Christina Aguilera is #58... it's a surprise she's on the list... but 58 !? oh brother....

by the way, Iggy spelled Kurt Cobain's name wrong (he put Curt) just wondering if anyone else noticed.

Cheers !

Quote :

by the way, Iggy spelled Kurt Cobain's name wrong (he put Curt) just wondering if anyone else noticed.

yeh, made me laugh


that and the neil diamond thing lol

who's number 12?

Quote :

who's number 12?

Eric Burdon

thanks again

thaats the animals guy isnt it?

weird the way theres no women

Yeah. Burdon is one great singer...

If these lists were truly reflective of the 'talented', then that list of 100 would be vastly reconstructed in my opinion, but again, it is what it is.

Frank Sinatra is missing
..on Iggy's list

Burdon's albums from 67/68 are stunning

I just noticed that Iggy scratched off Roger Daltrey on No. 19 and put Neil Diamond instead. Now that I would have to disagree with...

Tough one...I do like some Neil Diamond stuff myself, and the way he sings...I mean he croons like Iggy does, so you can see why Iggy did that!

However having seen and heard Roger singing amazingly in London - while now in his late 60's and having a cold at the time! - last December, I would have put Roger higher than Neil too.

One Who album that I constantly return to again and again is Quadrophenia. Amazing from start to finish. Roger's vocal work is tremendous!

to many dead dudes.

where is mark lanegan?

dylan, rose? now thats funny!!!

BOY I hate Cracklin' Rosie. And I don't put any merit in a list of top singers that does not include the original Chairman of the Board. You KNOW Iggy had Sinatra someplace on his own list.