Who is the best rock singer 1960's - 2012

Who is the best rock singer hmmmmmm I would have to go Steve Perry. 

For me that depends on the (sub) genre.

For prog-rock, Jon Anderson. Seriously. His lyrics are cr@p but his voice was so there.

For straight up rock, Bob Seeger maybe.

David Coverdale

I don't have the guts to name one as the best,  Rogers and Gillan are my favourites.
There are so many brilliant ones in different genres that even trying to name only one tells the person hasn't heard many rock singers :o/ :o)
And how to define "rock singer"? Say, David Bowie is a fantastic interpretor and performer, and can produce a huge variety of feels, but is he "rock"? Mick Jagger if definately "rock", but not a shouter type, technical boaster. Then there are gazillion of technically superb talents, who haven't found the songs yet to make them known internationally, or who haven't got the soul.

Ian Gillan
Robert Plant
Paul Rogers
Elvis
Dio
Bruce Dickinson
John Lennon
Paul McCartney
Mick Jagger
Freddiev Mercury
almost every singer of any internationally know AOR-band (Journey, REO Speedwagon whatever)
and about 50 others that I hear every now and then but can't remember the names.
Then there are the brilliant talents in every country, who are not
known internationally because they don't sign in english or haven't got an international record deal.

Roy Orbison

I can't name a best although I'm very tempted to submit Ian Gillian
but Rod Evans is the one.
I think he layed it down and many others referenced him to gauge
how they were doing- including Gillian.
Not only did he lay down vocals that will forever be heard in Book Of Taliesyn but
demonstrated again that he was at the top of his game with the first two
Captain Beyond albums.
Big commercial success? No but that is not really defines "best" is it?

Easy enough to list excellent vocalist but hard to name any that could get heavier than
Evans....although Gillian is right there too. JMO.

Hi,

Wow ... just when you think that there is no topic here that we can say anything, and we find out that our lead singer Bapu has a sore throat, and we have to postpone a few shows ... !!!!!

I am not sure that there is such a thing as a "rock singer".  Based on what rock singers do, I have this feeling that they could make Wagnerian singers look and sound like children if they ever tackled that kind of stuff. The rock singers have more energy, strength and power, than most opera singers, and they are much sexier to look at, too!

All in all, I really have no favorites, and I don't describe these as "rock singers" as much as I describe them as really good ... word actors ... people that really know how to sue the words to a very strong effect all around.

Peter Hammill
Roy Harper
Jim Morrison
Robert Plant
Roger Daltrey
Bob Dylan (earlier the better)

In terms of women, I would say:
Sandy Denny
Kate Bush
Annie Haslam

I include Robert and Roger, because what they did with their bands was original, important and valuable at the time, and they really were a voice of a generation, that has died without its "parents" to appreciate and love. A whole generation killed by the media, and people that were so stoned senseless in order to make the whole thing as valuable and important as it ever was. This is why Jimi playing the anthem in front of trash is so important ... for all of us ... all this music has become trash in one way or another and the expression is senseless now!

All in all, as an art form the rock music of today added "attitude" and "expression" to the music that was already there. There still is, a lot of work to do on that history of music, that is still in denial as to the sensibilities of what singing is and can do, to add to the music ... but the composers of today are not bothering with that old stuff and such.

Peter Hammill and Jim Morrison -- the two best word poets out there, in terms of using them to really make them special. No one can copy these or try to do any of these properly and allow the words to live like they did.

Roy Harper -- unreal, nonstop poet, rather than musician, if there is such a thing. What he does, including free form his way left and right non stop is quite insane. Sometimes truly inspiration and beautiful, other times not as great, but still intense. All of his earlier material all the way through "Unknown Soldier" and "Jugula +4" is worth the listen.

Robert and Roger -- they are not usually thought of as important, but as time goes by, one can see that what they did, was not just "singing", but really was an expression and personal feeling that helped a whole generation learn to feel what they were about. It was important in that there was not a whole lot of stuff they sang about that was frivolous, and most of it was really honest and straight forward, be it Robert talking about his love for the girls or Roger screaming his heart out to get you to learn whi the ___ you are and what are you doing about it! Both of these, were NOT pretentious aspirations in my book, or ideas about rock fame. It was about the music, the work and the expression.

Sandy, Kate and Annie. I feel sad, that I do not include in this group the one woman whose feeling expression was so important to me, that I always felt she died because of it. We read hundreds of stories and there is always something about someone who loved so much ... that it hurt and killed them ... and then you have ... Janis Joplin. And hearing that part of hers in Woodstock, is not only courageous, it is insane and outstanding at the same time ... a veritable suicide, right in front of you ... when she is trying to tell you something ... that is being replaced by cardboard and plastic signs and meaningless words, that the majority of popular music has become. She was "real" .. like it or not. But I doubt there will be that many who have the courage to let it all out as hard as this lady did and lived long enough to leave us a few memories.

Sandy had the prettiest voice ever, and if you have never heard "Reynardine" (make sure you find out who the guitarist is, btw!), or "Quiet Joys of Brotherhood" ... you really should.

Kate Bush is a different talent, but she doesn't write because it is "another song" and her attitude towards music is very different than anyone else's ... and she is strictly about her own work, and her own expression.

Annie Haslam, is a much more classic singer by definition and range, but she did her work really well and produced a lot of very nice things for a band called "Renaissance". Much of the work done by this band was written by various poets and writers, and not just themselves or rock musicians, which gave the music and its interpretation a rather different flavor all around.

Freddie. Though it was not my preferred band, by the time you see "Behind the Music" that was done just before he left us, you know one thing about this band and music ... this was not fake, and it was not just another band. And there were way too many special moments that we still remember, and there were many people that did not appreciate the work they did until they became a massive hit with that stadium song and such. At the time, Night at the Opera got trashed and was thought to be pretentious, and a bad copy (or satire) of 10CC ... and no one took them seriously until later when the whole "glam rock" thing started getting bigger and bigger. In my book, Freddy is an excellent rock singer, period.

There are so many Monster vocalist in that time frame but at this moment I go with Robert Plant. Chris Steve Perry second till I listen to a Journey song.

While I agree with craigb that "there is no greatest rock singer" I still have to say (as I've said many times before) that you'd be hard pressed to find a more lasting, durable, malleable, powerful, kick ass, respected, genre hopping, consistently critically acclaimed mutli-generational singer than Tom Jones.

Anyone who can out "Prince" Prince...out "Randy Newman" Randy Newman...take on almost any genre and rip it a new one...usually stunning everyone in the process...and is still going strong (just listen to Burning Hell)...is THE MAN.  YMMV.

bitflipper

1. Freddie Mercury

Honorable mentions:
. . .

A good could argument could be made for designating Mr. Mecury as best.  But I'd suggest that the lead singer for Muse (don't have his name handy) could give him a good run for the money.

bitflipper

Geddy Lee (yes, I am serious)

You will get no arguement form me on Geddy's inclusion - for that matter you could include all three members of Rush on any top lists, be it bands, instrumentalists, live acts, ...

bitflipper 

 
Janis Joplin 

Good call on Janis.  My wife recently introduced me to an artists named Beth Hart - she appeared on Joe Bonamassa's "Dust Bowl" album and his recent project with her titled "Don't Explain" as well as having a solo career and appearing many years ago on Ed McMahon's "Star Search" back in the 90's. She is very influenced by Janis, even going as far as playing her in an Off-Broadway musical.  If you like Janis, you should give her a listen - she has the power, the voice, the energy, and unfortunately in her early life some of the same problems that Janis had, but it's probably part of what made them both so good at what they do/did.

+1 Dio/Coverdale/Mercury

I'd add:

Bon Scott

Rob Halford

Jake Burns

Paul Weller

Stevie Nicks

Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb
Don Henely
Michael McDonald
Philz

Mike

Favorite singers.... well...what day is it? 

So many good ones with such unique voices. 

Who is the best male vocalist? I've heard it said everyone wished they could sound like Roy Orbisson. He had a way about his singing.  

Beyond that, there are any number of really talented male singers..... most of my listees would be in the country genre.  George Jones, Merle Haggard, Conway, George Strait, Alan Jackson, and Trace Adkins.... to name a few. 

On the ladies side...

Sandy Denny, Nicolette Larson, Linda Ronstadt, Trisha Yearwood.....  just a few of the really  good ones. 

But my all time favorite female singer is Emmy Lou Harris... the voice of an angel. Hearing her sing still sends chills down my spine. 

craigb


There is no "best" rock singer.

You are probably right.


I retract my previous thoughts in post #3.