Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Mr. McMac

Suspended
Dec 21, 2009
2,968
363
Far away from liberals
Cornell. Awesome range. That voice that just keeps going up and up.

Agreed. He sounds a bit like Paul McCartney (in his young Beatles days) when he pushes his voice hard. Listen to I'm Down (Beatles) and Bleed Together's chorus for example(Soundgarden) They both have a very similar raucous style quality.
 

snberk103

macrumors 603
Oct 22, 2007
5,503
91
An Island in the Salish Sea
Still touring. Occasionally with Randy Bachman as "Bachman and Cummings". They released an album called Jukebox in 2007. I wouldn't call it a great album, too much ego I think. But their reinterpretation of American Women is amazing. There are a couple of other good tunes too.

An interesting compilation is the original version, the Lenny Kravitz version, and then the Jukebox version.

Time to go listen to some Guess Who - it's the weekend, eh?
 

tigres

macrumors 601
Aug 31, 2007
4,213
1,326
Land of the Free-Waiting for Term Limits
Most Unique. Geddy Lee
Fav- Robert Plant for range, and David Gilmor one of my favs.

But, I have such a broad range of taste being my age- you'll laugh but I just started appreciating Led Zeppelin this past couple of years. (I am over 40).
 

Mr. McMac

Suspended
Dec 21, 2009
2,968
363
Far away from liberals
Most Unique. Geddy Lee
Fav- Robert Plant for range, and David Gilmor one of my favs.

But, I have such a broad range of taste being my age- you'll laugh but I just started appreciating Led Zeppelin this past couple of years. (I am over 40).

I'm a 60 year old rocker who grew up with the greatest rock bands. Getty Lee, Robert Plant, and David Gilmore are favs of mine as well. But it's hard to pick an absolute favorite, don't you agree??
 

snberk103

macrumors 603
Oct 22, 2007
5,503
91
An Island in the Salish Sea
.... it's hard to pick an absolute favorite, don't you agree??

Multiple thumbs up! That is the best part about about rock... we may all have our personal favourites... but I think we can agree that the names that are not on our personal list are also great vocalists. It just this week, today, I would rather listen to .... instead of ....
 

Huntn

macrumors Core
May 5, 2008
23,396
26,521
The Misty Mountains
I'm a 60 year old rocker who grew up with the greatest rock bands. Getty Lee, Robert Plant, and David Gilmore are favs of mine as well. But it's hard to pick an absolute favorite, don't you agree??

I agree and don't have a single favorite, there are so many distinct voices out there. One of my big complaints from about 1990 on is the tendency for "rock" vocalists to all sound generically alike. They don't have nearly the spectrum that they had in the Golden Age of Rock'n Roll. Admittedly I basically listen to no contemporary "rock"... is there such a thing? ;)

I do like lead vocalists for Queen, The Who, Led Zepp, Steppenwolf, Neal Young, Heart, Eurythmics, Pat Benatar, John Fogerty, Beatles, Rolling Stones, and many more.
 

designs216

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Oct 26, 2009
1,046
21
Down the rabbit hole
Hmmmmm, Freddie Mercury.

What a voice and what a showman. He had fantastic range and who knows what he could have accomplished had he lived. Like John Bonham, Layne Staley, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin and many others, he was too fast to live...

----------

Most Unique. Geddy Lee
Fav- Robert Plant for range, and David Gilmor one of my favs.

But, I have such a broad range of taste being my age- you'll laugh but I just started appreciating Led Zeppelin this past couple of years. (I am over 40).

Although I find Lee's voice quite annoying, I've still got to give Rush great respect. All 3 band members are multi-instrumentalists and are quite technically adept. Lee's lyrics are honest and quite cerebral compared to most in rock.
 

designs216

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Oct 26, 2009
1,046
21
Down the rabbit hole
Fav- Robert Plant for range...).


Led Zeppelin is hard to beat as well. Though each band member was highly talented, the effect of their combined efforts far exceeded the individual members. Plant had amazing talent, a love of the blues and a willingness to experiment. They stand as my fav band of all time and it's easy to see why they are often considered one of the gold standards by which all modern-day bands are measured. Do any of these truly hold a candle?

----------

Not a rock fan but if it qualifies..

Amy lee

Man, her voice is haunting. It sends a shiver up my spine.
 

rdowns

macrumors Penryn
Jul 11, 2003
27,397
12,520
Robert Plant and Roger Daltrey are two of my favorites. many others deserve a mention.
 

Shrink

macrumors G3
Feb 26, 2011
8,929
1,727
New England, USA
There are more, but Janis Joplin leaps to mind.

Also Jerry Lee Lewis, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, and Dr. John (Mac Rebennack) also pop up.
 

bradl

macrumors 603
Jun 16, 2008
5,916
17,395
Robert Plant and Roger Daltrey are two of my favorites. many others deserve a mention.

True..

But is it me, or is it funny that most of the mentions here skip an entire decade?

60s are covered. 70s are covered. 80s are completely skipped. 90s are covered. 2000s are covered.

We definitely know what was maligned in rock, though I tend to disagree (diehard That Metal Show fan here).

With that said, let's see here.. Rob Halford. Bruce Dickinson. Mercury definitely gets the nod here, as he had a good 4 octave range. Staley? Hmm.... If you listen to Jerry Cantrell's solo album, you'll see how close he and his backing vocals sound exactly like Staley, and that was when Staley was in his drug-induced haze. That makes me think that Staley didn't do much vocally (I know he did, but it makes you wonder who really had the voice in Alice in Chains).

There are plenty others, and I'll post those in a bit (on my phone).

BL.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.