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Top Three Male Rock Vocalists?

earlevel

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Liked many of the choices, but so subjective, of course, and many ways to bend it (best now? best at their peak? best over a long haul? best at a style? best singing anything?...)

So, I'll subvert the question to "Top Three Male Progrock Vocalists", and put up my contenders:

Greg Lake (already mentioned—not only ELP, but the fact that In the Court of the Crimson King was the blueprint for prog)
Peter Gabriel (can we get more prog than early Genesis? With more vocal experimentation?)
John Wetton (impressive body of work over many bands, and what a voice)

Honorable mention to Jon Anderson. All these guys are instantly identifiable, even if they sang another style completely.
 

ADU

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and no, I wouldn’t consider James Taylor to be a rock vocalist.

So folk-rock isn't rock then? Because that would cut alot of folks out of the mix, including Dylan, and many popular bands of the 60's and 70's.

Led Zepellin, Pink Floyd and The Stones probably wouldn't qualify either, because they're more blues-oriented. And most alternative rock bands (including metal bands) probably wouldn't qualify either. Because they aren't "true" rock and roll either.

What you'd be left with then is mostly old-school rockers like Elvis, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, and Bill Haley.

But wait a second... Because those folks were also influenced by folk, gospel, jazz, swing and R&B music. So I guess none of them are real rock & rollers either... Which leaves us pretty much nowhere. (?)
 
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ADU

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Unmentioned, but also belonging in the conversation of best male rock vocalist are (imho) Jimi Hendrix, Lenny Kravitz, and The Artist Formerly Known as Prince.
 

Kuppenbender

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So folk-rock isn't rock then? Because that would cut alot of folks out of the mix, including Dylan, and many popular bands of the 60's and 70's.

Led Zepellin, Pink Floyd and The Stones probably wouldn't qualify either, because they're more blues-oriented. And most alternative rock bands (including metal bands) probably wouldn't qualify either. Because they aren't "true" rock and roll either.

What you'd be left with then is mostly old-school rockers like Elvis, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, and Bill Haley.

But wait a second... Because those folks were also influenced by folk, gospel, jazz, swing and R&B music. So I guess none of them are real rock & rollers either... Which leaves us pretty much nowhere. (?)
I clearly have too much time on my hands, and am over-thinking things here, but your argument depends on whether you consider folk-rock to be a sub genre of rock music, or rock and folk-rock as two related but distinct sub genres of popular music.

There will always be overlaps in such arbitrary and subjective taxonomy (sometimes even in the same song - Stairway to Heaven), but no one should ever accuse James Taylor of getting close to crossing that line. I appreciate that many would consider him to be a perfectly competent vocalist (folk rock vocalist, if you must), and I respect that opinion, but not a rock vocalist.
 
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Jimbob54

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I have two more lists. Newer vocalists and a bit older.
Daniel Tompkins
Mattis
Matthew Healy

Bruce Soord
Gino Vanelli
Mark Hollis
Don't know the rest but good shout on Mark Hollis. As with the female version of this thread, distinctive seems to count for more than technical proficiency. Which I think is a good thing.
 
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ADU

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I clearly have too much time on my hands, and am over-thinking things here, but your argument depends on whether you consider folk-rock to be a sub genre of rock music, or rock and folk-rock as two related but distinct sub genres of popular music.

There will always be overlaps in such arbitrary and subjective taxonomy (sometimes even in the same song - Stairway to Heaven), but no one should ever accuse James Taylor of getting close to crossing that line. I appreciate that many would consider him to be a perfectly competent vocalist (folk rock vocalist, if you must), and I respect that opinion, but not a rock vocalist.

Thanks for the reply, Kuppenbender. I'm not exactly sure what my point what was in that post. :) But I think it was probably that your criteria for what constitutes a "rock vocalist" seemed a bit arbitrary.

Rock has its roots partially in folk music. So suggesting that a folk-rock singer is not a rock singer seems rather arbritrary (and frankly a bit silly) to me. Because traditional rock and roll music is/was largely a fusion of folk, and R&B music. It was basically hillbilly music that was "hipped up" to appeal more to urban and suburban white teenagers in the 1950's. (This is where the term "rockabilly" comes from, for those who don't know.)

Metal is arguably distinct from that tradition though. And there are many who I think would consider it (in its present form anyway) to be its own separate genre of music, apart from traditional rock music. Since I grew up listening to alot of more laid-back rock groups in the 60's and 70's, I think of metal (or at least some of it) that way myself a little. Though I wouldn't try to sever it from the rock genre completely.

I guess my point is that if you're going to start dividing the genre up along such seemingly arbitrary lines, then the only ones who would probably qualify as the genuine rock article are some of the more folk and R&B-oriented artists that originated the genre... Which doesn't really make a whole lot of sense.

Folk-rock makes up a fairly large percentage of what I think people would consider to be traditional or classic rock music though. While the same cannot be said of metal. So if you start cutting folk-rock singers out of the mix, then to be fair, I think you'd also have to think about cutting some of the metal and maybe also the more blues-oriented singers out as well. No? If you start doing that though, then its hard to see what you'd be left with.
 
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Kuppenbender

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Thanks for the reply, Kuppenbender. I'm not exactly sure what my point what was in that post. :) But I think it was probably that your criteria for what constitutes a "rock vocalist" seemed a bit arbitrary.

Rock has its roots partially in folk music. So suggesting that a folk-rock singer is not a rock singer seems rather arbritrary (and frankly a bit silly) to me. Because traditional rock and roll music is/was largely a fusion of folk, and R&B music. It was basically hillbilly music that was "hipped up" to appeal more to urban and suburban white teenagers in the 1950's. (This is where the term "rockabilly" comes from, for those who don't know.)

Metal is arguably distinct from that tradition though. And there are many who I think would consider it (in its present form anyway) to be its own separate genre of music, apart from traditional rock music. Since I grew up listening to alot of more laid-back rock groups in the 60's and 70's, I think of metal (or at least some of it) that way myself a little. Though I wouldn't try to sever it from the rock genre completely.

I guess my point is that if you're going to start dividing the genre up along such seemingly arbitrary lines, then the only ones who would probably qualify as the genuine rock article are some of the more folk and R&B-oriented artists that originated the genre... Which doesn't really make a whole lot of sense.

Folk-rock makes up a fairly large percentage of what I think people would consider to be traditional or classic rock music though. While the same cannot be said of metal. So if you start cutting folk-rock singers out of the mix, then to be fair, I think you'd also have to think about cutting some of the metal and maybe also the more blues-oriented singers out as well. No?

If you start doing that though, then its hard to see what you'd be left with.
I just think that the ‘rock’ part of rock and roll is not a simple abreviation, but relates to the louder, angrier, more aggressive aspect of popular music. I have no problem including vocalists such as Robert Plant or Freddy Mercury who were equally adept across a range of vocal styles. I would only exclude vocalists limited to the gentler end of the spectrum. James Taylor, Peter Cetera, Cat Stevens etc…, nice voices, but not rock vocalists.
 
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ADU

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I just think that the ‘rock’ part of rock and roll is not a simple abreviation, but relates to the louder, angrier, more aggressive aspect of popular music. I have no problem including vocalists such as Robert Plant or Freddy Mercury who were equally adept across a range of vocal styles. I would only exclude vocalists limited to the gentler end of the spectrum. James Taylor, Peter Cetera, Cat Stevens etc…, nice voices, but not rock vocalists.

I can see where you're comin from on that. But would have to disagree.
 

dorirod

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If you also consider versatility, and if I imagine just vocals with no instruments, I would go with
Freddie Mercury
Elvis Presley
Chris Cornell
 

groovybassist

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Freddy Mercury
Jeff Buckley
Morrisey/Boz Scaggs/Bryan Ferry tied for 3rd
 
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Walter

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Lemmy, Tom Araya and James Hetfield

and no, I wouldn’t consider James Taylor to be a rock vocalist.
LOL, never in my life did I expect to see Lemmy Kilmister on a list of best vocalists. OK, maybe "best male rock vocalist after just finishing a three hour set in Phoenix, Arizona in July, a bottle of whiskey, a case of beer, and two packs of cigarettes". He'd get on that one by default because he and Iggy Pop would probably be the only two left standing.
 
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