Singers
At long last, "Hell Weeks" are over. I hope, anyway.

The longest extended period of mandatory overtime that I've seen in my years at my workplace came to an end this morning, and thank goodness. Eight twelves in nine days wasn't all that much fun. Sure, the work is never remotely taxing, but there are other factors. The hour commute each way, combined with the time spent preparing for work, and the time necessarily devoted to sleep leaves precious little in a 24-hour period. So for the next week, we'll be catching up on neglected household chores and whatnot. But Saturday was for vegging out. Katie had a sleepover at a friend's house Friday night, and came home nice and tired. Which was good. Because the three of us slept all day. And I mean all day. It was glorious.

Anyways, I want to discuss the newest issue of the Stone, which is devoted to one of those "lists" they're always putting in their magazines to provoke discussion. This time out, it's the 100 Greatest Singers.

Such a topic is one naturally designed to promote discussion and dissent. What makes a singer good is so highly subjective anyway. It depends on what you go for in a vocalist. Is talent relevant? And if it is, how much so? Do you prefer a singer who is smooth or a rougher-edged sound? It just depends.

RS polled a bunch of musicians and other people connected to "the industry" and had them list their favorite twenty singers, and the list appearing in the mag is compiled from that.

First of all, the notable omissions.

Bob Seger? Not on the list. Ditto for Sting, Ronnie James Dio, Chris Cornell, Eddie Vedder, Ann Wilson, Chrissie Hynde, Layne Staley, Ronnie Van Zandt, Maynard James Keenan, Bruce Dickinson, and...well, I could go on.

Let's take a look at their list then, with my critiques of it.

1. Aretha Franklin
I'm not going to knock Aretha as a vocalist. The woman can sing. Even way past her prime, I watched her absolutely mop up the stage with Mariah Carey on VH1's Divas show back in the mid-nineties. But is she number one? I'm not a huge fan in terms of actually sitting down and listening to her stuff, so I'd say no.
2. Ray Charles
I wouldn't have him second, but I'd find room for him on the list. I absolutely love his song "The Night Time Is The Right Time," which you may know by way of The Cosby Show (it was the song the family lip-synched for the grandparents as part of their anniversary present on an episode, with Rudy doing the "Baby!" parts). Ray was pretty bad-ass. Distinctive voice.
3. Elvis Presley
Yeah, he was good, but how much better would he have been if he'd taken his music career seriously and hadn't let the Colonel have him do all those godawful movies with their godawful songs? No one has ever squandered more talent.
4. Sam Cooke
I like his stuff okay, but there are tons of R&B vocalists I'd rather listen to. "Cupid" was good, and of course "You Send Me" and "A Change Is Gonna Come," but when it comes right down to it, I'd much rather listen to Otis Redding or Wilson Pickett or Marvin Gaye.
5. John Lennon
When I think of the Beatles, I don't really give much weight to the vocal performances, so Lennon wouldn't rate highly on my list. But of the four Beatles, he was easily the best singer. His harmonies he added to different songs ("With A Little Help From My Friends" and "Eleanor Rigby" to name two) made them much better, and in terms of a lead vocalist, I'd say my favorite performances of his would have to be "A Day In The Life" and "Come Together."
6. Marvin Gaye
Speaking of Marvin, here he is. This is right about where I'd have him on my own personal list. With Marvin you got the power and the smoothness. He had so many incredible performances. It's impossible for me to listen to "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" and not jump in and sing along, no matter how bad I sound by comparison. What else? Favorites of mine include "What's Goin' On," "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby," and "I Heard It Through The Grapevine."
7. Bob Dylan
I'm not merely being obtuse or contrarian here. I am completely baffled and mystified by people's continuing insistence that (A) Dylan is all that important, or (B) could sing at all. His voice is atrocious, and that, to me, renders his supposed songwriting skills moot. And anyway, this isn't about songwriting or songs, it's about vocals. Dylan's voice sounds like an asthmatic playing a kazoo. However, if forced at gunpoint to pick a piece that points to Dylan's skills as a singer, I'll go with either "Lay Lady Lay" or "Love Sick."
8. Otis Redding
Now this guy could sing. Just listen to a song like "I've Been Loving You Too Long." He just brings it. He's best known, or course, for his posthumous hit "Sittin' On The Dock Of The Bay," and that's a great tune too. I love listening to it and the inflections in his voice and how he pronounces different words. He had a very unique style. He didn't have tremendous range, but he had tremendous soul.
9. Stevie Wonder
Beautiful, beautiful voice. It's hard to listen to Wonder's songs and not get caught up in the joy he obviously felt in making them. "Sir Duke" is probably my favorite song of his. He gives a great vocal there, but the horns are the real draw. In terms of an actual vocal performance, I'd say my favorite of his is "I Was Made To Love Her." He throws down all over that one.
10. James Brown
I've always thought of JB as more of a bandleader than a vocalist, but yeah, the guy could sing too. My favorites of his are his seventies, funk-infused songs that are less about the vocals, but in terms of an actual vocal performance, I guess it would be hard to top "It's A Man's, Man's, Man's World."
11. Paul McCartney
Lennon's voice always hit my hear better than McCartney's. That's not to say that McCartney didn't have some good vocal performances. His work on the suite that closes out Abbey Road, particularly "Golden Slumbers," is excellent. His subdued vocal on "Eleanor Rigby" is perfect too. In fact, that's probably where he excelled ("A Day In The Life" would be another example of that). He got silly when he tried to sound too rocking, like on "Why Don't We Do It In The Road." Lennon could have pulled that one off though.
12. Little Richard
I'm not a huge fan, but I won't deny that he's a powerhouse singer. The whooping and hollering and all that? Incredible. And you just knew I'd say my favorite of his was "Long Tall Sally," didn't you?
13. Roy Orbison
He was okay, I guess. I'm just not a big fan. Yeah, he could sing, but nothing he really did really blew me away. Well, if I had to pick something as a favorite, I'd say it would be his verse on "The End Of The Line" from his days in The Traveling Wilburys.
14. Al Green
Ah, the Reverend Green. He's another one of my favorite R&B singers, and two of his tunes, "Let's Stay Together" and "Here I Am (Come And Take Me)," have permanent status on my MP3 player. He's another one of those singers who just sounds like pure joy. The parts in "Here I Am" where he just seems to be ad-libbing and departing from the song's structure altogether are my favorites. He just let it all out.
15. Robert Plant
He should have been number one. I'm biased, I admit it. I'm just saying. For me, this is where singing starts. Plant took it all, the blues, the acoustic sounding stuff, the Elvis-rockabilly type stuff, everything, and did it all better than anyone else. Picking favorite vocals of his is a chore, as there are so many, but to name three, I'd say "Stairway To Heaven," "Big Log," and "How Many More Times."
16. Mick Jagger
He's another guy that I don't think of when I think "Hey, that guy can sing." He does what he has to do, and does it well enough, but there's no way he's the 16th best singer. No range at all, and there's a sameness to many of his vocals. But if I have to pick some favorite vocal performances of his, I'd say "Almost Hear You Sigh," "Salt Of The Earth," and "Paint It Black." Oh, and "Ruby Tuesday."
17. Tina Turner
I don't really like Tina either. If that's your thing, fine. She sounds like a smoother, blacker Katherine Hepburn to me. I have to call it like I see it. Even in her younger days, songs like "Nutbush City Limits" and her Vegas trainwreck rendition of "Proud Mary" were way overrated.
18. Freddie Mercury
Freddie probably would have made my top ten. What a powerful voice. I guess the best story would be the one of how a dying Mercury went in to record "The Show Must Go On" for the band's final album with Freddy. He could barely walk, so the story goes, but you'd never know it listening to the end result. Naturally, other great examples of his vocal prowess would have to include "Bohemian Rhapsody," "Somebody To Love," and "We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions."
19. Bob Marley
I've never thought of Marley as a great singer, even as I absolutely love his music. His vocal is never the highlight of any song. "Get Up, Stand Up" is set off by Peter Tosh's angry lyric, while "Is This Love" wouldn't be nearly as good without the harmonies of the I-Three's lilting in the background over everything. In terms of Marley's singing, I guess my favorite of his would have to be "Three Little Birds" or "Could You Be Loved."
20. Smokey Robinson
I know it sounds crazy to say, but my favorite of his is actually one of his more recent songs. "One Heartbeat" from 1987. I love that song. Nobody was ever smoother than Smokey. His vocals on "The Tracks Of My Tears" are absolutely beautiful. I love "Cruisin'" too, though to be fair, I think D'Angelo did it better.
21. Johnny Cash
He did so much with a limited vocal range and a band that played essentially the same arrangement on every song. I guess my favorite of his is "I Walk The Line." I love how it starts out in mid-range and gradually works its way into the lower parts of his register. "Jackson" was great too. Even in his later years, he still did great stuff. His vocal on "The Wanderer" on U2's Zooropa album was excellent, as was his song "When The Man Comes Around," featured on the album of the same name.
22. Etta James
Never heard any of her stuff, so I can't really comment.
23. David Bowie
He sucks. For an indication of how bad he is as a vocalist, listen to either his collaboration with Mick Jagger ("Dancing In The Streets") or Queen ("Under Pressure") for an indication of how poorly he holds up with both an average singer and an excellent one. Picking a favorite vocal performance of his is like asking which Spears daughter is less of an embarrassment to the parents. I guess I'd go with "Young Americans."
24. Van Morrison
Van the Man. He'd be in my top five, easily. Where to start? Everything he's done has been at least good, and much of it has been top-notch. "Into The Mystic" has to be my favorite vocal of his. I love how he lets out an exhalation right after he sings the line "You know I'll be coming home." It just sets it off. Even in his later days, with a diminished vocal range, he still gets the job done. "Real Real Gone" from 1991 is a classic. I just love his singing on it. It's just pure joy.
25. Michael Jackson
He's a pretty good singer I guess. I can't say much for his Jackson 5 days, because boy kid singers tend to be annoying. His early solo stuff was pretty good before he became a self-parody. Hell, pick a song from Off The Wall or Thriller and you can't go wrong. As a personal favorite in terms of his singing, I'd pick "Rock With You."
26. Jackie Wilson
How can you listen to "Higher And Higher" and not feel happy? His singing on that song is just phenomenal. He blends the power and the smoothness perfectly, and those falsetto parts are just crazy. This song takes me to my happy place when I hear it, which is a high compliment for any song.
27. Hank Williams
Truthfully, I think his son is a much better singer. Sorry, that's just how I see it. Williams Sr.'s voice was just too high and whiny for me, and that little hiccup thing he did was annoying. As for a favorite, I guess I'd go with "Lost Highway" or "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry."
28. Janis Joplin
This woman couldn't sing. Period. Having said that, I really enjoy her performances on "Piece Of My Heart" and "Move Over." Just don't call it singing. When she did try to sing in the more melodic, mellower sense, she failed utterly. Most people cite "Me And Bobby McGee" as an outstanding performance, but really, the lack of loud music only draws attention to how bad her voice is.
29. Nina Simone
Can't really say.
30. Prince
Now here's a singer. I'd have him in my top ten for sure. What doesn't he have? He has a great voice, and an insane range. Just listen to "The Most Beautiful Girl In the World." He puts his full range on display, from the lowest lows to the highest highs. As far as an absolute favorite vocal of his, it would be really hard to choose. "Purple Rain" is great. His remake of the Stylistics' "Betcha By Golly Wow" on the Emancipation album was excellent. Or maybe something like "When 2 R N Love" from the Lovesexy album. I don't know.
A brief summary of the rest.
31. Howlin' Wolf-don't really know
32. Bono-overrated, but I love the falsetto vocals on "Lemon"
33. Steve Winwood-should have been higher..."Gimme Some Lovin'," "Arc Of A Diver," "Can't Find My Way Home"...the man can seriously sing
34. Whitney Houston-I guess she has talent, but she's never impressed me with it
35. Dusty Springfield-"Son Of A Preacher Man" is one of the sexiest vocals ever
36. Bruce Springsteen-more of a songwriter than a singer, but I really like his singing on "Cover Me" and "Spirit In The Night"
37. Neil Young-I happen to like his voice, and would have rated him higher than this...love his singing on "Heart Of Gold" and "Harvest Moon"
38. Elton John-Great singer...I like how he's managed to still have it even as his range has diminished and he can't employ that killer falsetto like he used to..."Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" has to be my favorite of his
39. Jeff Buckley-"Hallelujah" and "Last Goodbye" are simply gorgeous...shame what happened to him
40. Curtis Mayfield-love that falsetto of his..."Freddie's Dead" and "Superfly" were awesome
41. Chuck Berry-Never thought of him as much of a singer...there's a real sameness to his vocals on all of his songs
42. Joni Mitchell-Don't really care for her at all
43. George Jones-"He Stopped Loving Her Today" is an incredible performance...the story goes that he hated the song and bet his producer a hundred bucks it wouldn't be a hit...guess he's glad he lost that one
44. Bobby "Blue" Bland-don't know
45. Kurt Cobain-Any of the Seattle singers (Eddie Vedder, Layne Staley, Chris Cornell) should have been included before him, but he was in Nirvana and shot himself, so there you go...his singing on "Something In The Way" was pretty good
46. Patsy Cline-Beautiful voice..."I Fall To Pieces" is a great great vocal.
47. Jim Morrison-Even though it isn't my favorite Doors song, I'd have to say that his performance on "L.A. Woman" is probably his best. He just lets loose on there.
48. Buddy Holly-I'm just not a big fan
49. Donny Hathaway-wouldn't know
50. Bonnie Raitt-She's pretty good...Sal's a big fan of "Something To Talk About"...I guess my favorite of hers would have to be "Thing Called Love."
51. Gladys Knight-Pretty good...I'm not a huge fan or anything
52. Brian Wilson-Can't really say...how much of what the Beach Boys did was his singing and how much was the other guys or the ensemble as a whole?
53. Muddy Waters-He was okay...I like "Mannish Boy" all right.
54. Luther Vandross-His song "Dance With My Father" is absolutely heartbreaking...other than that, he seemed to squander a great deal of talent on crappy songs
55. Paul Rodgers-can't believe he's singing with Queen now
56. Mavis Staples-She's okay I guess
57. Eric Burdon-Great voice...I love "Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"
58. Christina Aguilera-Yeah, she can sing...but 58?
59. Rod Stewart-Way too low...would've made my top five or six or seven
60. Bjork-What?
61. Roger Daltrey-I'm not a big fan of the Who, but Daltrey can belt...his performance on "Love, Reign O'er Me" is insane
62. Lou Reed-I'll have to wait for him to actually sing instead of doing that talking thing he does before I can judge
63. Dion-He's okay
64. Axl Rose-Should have been higher...few singers exhibit the kind of range and ability he does...he can scream, sing low, and sing the ballads as well, and do all of them well
65. David Ruffin-His work on "My Girl" is excellent, but how much of it is the fact that he had a home run for a song. Who couldn't have made that one work? I think Levi Stubbs of the Four Tops was a better frontman
66. Thom Yorke-I like Radiohead, but it isn't because of Yorke's vocals
67. Jerry Lee Lewis-great piano player, annoying vocalist
68. Wilson Pickett-Dude could throw down..."Mustang Sally," "In The Midnight Hour"...great songs
69. Ronnie Spector-What?
70. Gregg Allman-He's pretty good, but my favorite Allman songs were generally the ones that Dickey Betts sang ("Blue Sky," "Ramblin' Man")
71. Toots Hibbert-Don't know
72. John Fogerty-Would be number two on my list...the blackest sounding white man that ever lived...Favorites would include "I Put A Spell On You," "Up Around The Bend," "Travelin' Band," and...well, damn near everything else
73. Dolly Parton-No.
74. James Taylor-He's pretty good...there's a sameness to his singing...but it's not offensive or anything..."Fire And Rain" is great
75. Iggy Pop-Nope.
76. Steve Perry-Can't believe RS gave love to one of these guys...now where in the hell is Peter Cetera on the list?
77. Merle Haggard-Great voice...and even though it embraces a political point-of-view that is opposite of mine, I love "Okie From Muskogee"
78. Sly Stone-I love Sly's music, but it's for the music...I've never thought much of him as a vocalist...except for maybe on "Family Affair."
79. Mariah Carey-She's got talent...but I don't like her at all
80. Frankie Valli-Annoying
81. John Lee Hooker-One of the better blues singers..."Boom Boom Boom Boom" is badass
82. Tom Waits-What?
83. Patti Smith-Double What?
84. Darlene Love-She's okay...not top 100 good, but okay
85. Sam Moore-Was Sam that much better a singer than Dave?
86. Art Garfunkel-Was Art that much better than Paul?
87. Don Henley-Should have been much higher...if only for absolutely carrying Stevie Nicks on "Leather And Lace."
88. Willie Nelson-Very distinctive voice, and weird delivery. Ever notice how he doesn't know how to sing on the beat?
89. Solomon Burke-He's okay
90. The Everly Brothers-Now wait a minute. How do we count them both as one? If that's the case, then where are the Bee Gees? Would either Don or Phil be on this list as solo singers? No...it's their harmonies that made them good.
91. Levon Helm-Great great voice. I wish I could find his version of "Summertime Blues" anywhere (I heard him do it on an old episode of SCTV, but have never been able to find a recorded version of it).
92. Morrissey-What did he do that Robert Smith of the Cure didn't do better?
93. Annie Lennox-Good, but she doesn't belong on this list
94. Karen Carpenter-I like "Rainy Days And Mondays" but she's not a great singer
95. Patti Labelle-Great talent, but I just don't like her music
96. B.B. King-Love that growl of his
97. Joe Cocker-Should have been much higher...his cover of "The Letter" by the Box Tops is just devastating.
98. Stevie Nicks-At least two Mac vocalists (Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie) should have made this list before Nicks.
99. Steven Tyler-Great singer...his performance on "Angel" is bananas
100. Mary J. Blige-I like her okay, even though my favorite song of hers ("Family Affair") is more about the beat than her vocals.


That's that.