Best Rock voices

[jumbodbassman]

i have seen a few posting over the last month or so mentioning Steve Marriot.  For me the list is rather short for best rock voices but Steve Marriot is clearly in my top 5 and maybe top three.  I never saw this video of him with a 3 peice band but I saw him with and without the Pie.  He is so clearly underrated in my book.  though not in this video but he was a decent harp player too....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPnh0BsrJd8&feature=related

[Highlander]

This guy is well up there for me...


I saw Bad Co play this one in '77 and the place just shook as everyone stomped their feet in time...


I never saw this band, a big regret...

[Rhythm N. Bliss]

David Coverdale is Ze Best Rock Singer!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZ7lpKktey4

Dave Meniketti is just as good & Ze Best Rock (& Blues!!) Guitarist too:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU2HNu1J7HA&feature=related

[uwe]

Coverdale, Halford, Gillan, Hughes, Dio, Paul Rodgers, Steve Perry, Robert Plant, Paul McCartney, Steve Marriot, Graham Bonnet, Rod Stewart, Noddy Holder, Axel Rose (yes, he's technically a very good singer) etc if you like people that actually sing well.

If an original, immediately recognizable and not easy to copy voice is good enough for you, even without acrobatics, then add Ozzy, Jagger, Bowie, Ric Ocasek and Tom Petty, Neil Young, Ian Hunter to the list.

Me, I have developed a weakness for Ex-J. Geils man Peter Wolf. He has a bit of Jagger in him, but not nearly as mannered and more masculine. His voice seems to get better and better with age and the new solo album is a treat.

And if you like several singers in one person then give Scott Weiland a listen!

[Aussie Mark]

Some great names mentioned already, but I'd like to add Roger Daltrey - to me he is the frontperson's frontperson.  Also, David Byron from Uriah Heep had an amazing rock voice IMHO.

[Freuds_Cat]

Rock voices. Mine would be Paul Rogers, Marriot, Warren Haynes, Plant, Noddy.  Special mention for Brian Connolly who deserves more recognition for his vocals than he gets IMHO.

[Barklessdog]

I really like Devin Townsend-



Hyde- looks good considering he's in his 40's


Atsushi from Buck-Tick - so much like Bryan Ferry, not quite hard rock though
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M83qG1zWWk&feature=related

[Big_Stu]

Rock voices. Mine would be Paul Rogers, Marriot, Warren Haynes, Plant, Noddy.  Special mention for Brian Connolly who deserves more recognition for his vocals than he gets IMHO.

Brian Connolly would have gone on to better things I think, but he was attacked and kicked in the throat in the mid-70's & never full recovered from it.

If Coverdale can get a mention here, is he more "metal" than rock? Then I reckon Lemmy must be up there as one of the most distinctive.

But right up there, and as a life-long Slade fan I say way better than Nod was is "Dangerous" Dan McCafferty. damn, that guy must have gargled on razor blades ..........

and then there's this one, a ballad that they made their own, mis-titled on Youtube, it's actually "Love Hurts".

............. and to prove how good he is, he can STILL sing like that FORTY years later, still with Pete Agnew on bass, and Pete's son on drums.

Now I'm off to see when their next tour is ...................

[gweimer]

And if you like several singers in one person then give Scott Weiland a listen!

AMEN! We just watched a cable concert of STP in Chicago.  He's really one of the best these days.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned James Dewar yet.

[uwe]

Weiland is very varied, too varied for some people and most rock audiences probably. Axel Rose only has one voice, but it's immediately identifiable and his vocal melodies are never off the wall. Velvet Revolver's commercial failure, IMHO, was largely down to Weiland defying rock fans' expectations as to what the vocal melodies on Slash songs should be. In fact, he made an art of avoiding the obvious. And it's no wonder that the new Slash solo album has largely very conventional vocal melodies.

The new STP album is great as was Weiland's recent solo album.

[lowend1]

"Best Rock Voice" is kind of a broad category, no? Are we talking pure singers here? Frontmen? Entertainers? Singer/songwriters? What are the criteria? Certainly, Glenn Hughes is a talented vocalist, but he has limited appeal and relatively little commercial success. No comparison to Paul Rodgers (my personal favorite), Lou Gramm (in his prime), Mickey Thomas, Bobby Kimball, Brad Delp, Peter Cetera (on the early Chicago stuff). Freddie Mercury was/is considered by many to be the consummate rock frontman, although I never enjoyed his schtick. Having said this, almost anybody with an unmistakable sound could be considered a great singer, especially if they have made a good living with their gift.
Mickey Thomas - Roughly 30 years apart... and in the original key.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XShFaWiy58&feature=related

[Basvarken]

One of my favorite singers is Kelly Holland. He only made one album with Cry Of Love.
The guys combines Soul with Rock and Blues. Think Aretha Franklin meets Bon Scott.
I guess he got fed up with touring and stardom. He is now a drummer(!) in a local cover band in Raleigh NC.

Here he is with Cry Of Love singing an extended version of their 1993 single Bad Thing:



Another all time favorite of mine is Rob Lamothe. He has a very soulful voice. In his early career he ws sometimes compared to David Coverdale or Ronnie James Dio. But I think neither of these comparisons do his voice justice. His singing is less "over the top".
Here he is with a very early Riverdogs song Toy Soldier:


And this is a later Riverdogs song: Shadow Of You.


And a more recent recording of Rob singing a beautiful version of an older song (with his son on drums)



Another favorite is the late Ray Gillen. A high octane singer with a very recognizable style. His career really came off the ground when he sang for Black Sabbath. He recorded the demo for The Eternal Idol album. (Tony Martin copied his vocals note for note.)
His major breakthrough was with Badlands. A bluesy hard rock band featuring Jake E Lee on guitar.

Here is Ray Gillen with Badlands singing The River:



Frankie Miller has to be one of the greatest voices in rock of the past century.
Again another soulful singer who makes you feel every note.
A brain haemorrhage put him in a wheel chair about 10 years ago. It was the end of his singing career.

Here a cool old Rockpalast recording of Frankie at his best (IMHO)


and another (later) Rockpalast recording

[lowend1]

Another favorite is the late Ray Gillen. A high octane singer with a very recognizable style. His career really came off the ground when he sang for Black Sabbath. He recorded the demo for The Eternal Idol album. (Tony Martin copied his vocals note for note.)
His major breakthrough was with Badlands. A bluesy hard rock band featuring Jake E Lee on guitar.

Yeah, Ray was something special, for sure. I first met him in 1978-79, when he was playing in a local "rival" band and also dating an ex-girlfriend of mine. Over the years, our paths crossed many times, for a variety of reasons, so we naturally wound up doing some light writing and jamming together. He was always a better than average singer, but when he started working with a local voice teacher, Bob Fitzgerald, his talent and ability really blossomed. Ray had a gift for something that eludes many singers - he was able to come up with REAL vocal melodies almost on the spot. Some of the stuff was truly "lightning in a bottle". FYI, there is a biography of Ray in the works:
http://www.myspace.com/seasonsinadream

[GonzoBass]

Loved the Badlands albums
and caught them live once.
Too bad he's gone...

[patman]

Burton Cummings - The Guess Who