Rolling Stone — The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time

Just got Rolling Stone issue number 1066 in the mail today.

First, I was shocked that Obama wasn’t on the cover. Rolling Stone has a serious boner for Obama and puts him on the cover seemingly every other issue.

Second I noticed that this issue was a special “100 Greatest Singers of All Time” issue. Of course they clarify that by “all time” they really mean “the rock era”.

To determine who the 100 greatest singers of the rock era are, Rolling Stone invited a bunch of singers, producers, journalists, and critics to list their 20 favorite vocalists from the rock era in order of their importance.These ballots were recorded and weighted according to a methodology developed by Ernst & Young.

So….the singers weren’t really judged solely on their singing abillity, but rather on their “importance.”

The Top 10 are pretty solid (with one huge noteable exception for me):

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

1-4 are all solid. I would probably slot Stevie Wonder and James Brown next.

My one big exception is Bob Dylan.

Now, don’t get me wrong…I love Bob Dylan. But never in a thousand years would I have put him on any list of even marginally good singers….much less the greatest singers ever. Same goes for Janis Joplin, who is number 28 on the list.

I would move Nina Simone (#29) up into the Top 10, too (who in their right mind would ever call Janis Joplin a better singer than Nina Simone?).

Other interesting inclusions:

• Bobby “Blue” Bland (#44) — one of my all time favorite musicians, but I was still surprised to see him on this list, as I think he’s mostly unheard of by most people. When Bobby Bland sings “Stormy Monday Blues”, it doesn’t get much better than that.
• Christina Aguilera (#58) — I laughed when I saw her name on the list, mostly because I always lump her into the same group as Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson. I guess I’m just not familiar with her singing, because my wife assured me that Ms. Aguilera can truly belt it out.
• Björk (#60) — really? Björk? You guys think she’s a good singer? Everything I’ve ever heard from her sounds like nails on a chalkboard. Honestly, I’d pay her not to sing. Worst singer on this list. By far. Yes…worse than Steven Tyler (#99).

Notable (to me anyway) exclusions:

• Lyle Lovett — not only should Lyle be on this list, he should be in the top 20.  Standout hits include “If I Had a Boat”, “This Old Porch”, and “Nobody Knows Me.”
• Grayson Capps — there are only three or four artists on the current list who have as much soul in their voice as this Alabama-bred southern troubadour. His live performances are filled with sanctified Southern soul, howling back-country stomp and raucous roadhouse blues. He might not be widely known, but those who know him understand what I’m talking about.