The time of the turn of the year is list time. Most clicked, best bought, voted for by fans. The American ROLLING STONE goes one step further. After the big voting in 2008, the editors in New York are now devoting their attention once again to human voices.
It was the great (and late August 2018) Aretha Franklin who — spoiler alert! – was able to place quite prominently in the RS list. As she did 15 years ago, she leads the ranking of the best singers of all time. Franklin once described her role as follows:
“I hold out my hand and hope someone takes it.”
This deep, empathetic bond between artist and listener is the most fundamental connection, and not just in pop music. ROLLING STONE sees its voting of the 200 greatest singers of all time as a homage to that connection. Many of these have defined our lives. From the meek and crooners, to the rowdy shouters. From gospel to punk. From Sinatra to Selena Gomez to SZA.
Greater emphasis on editing and authors
In 2008 there was already a list of the 100 greatest vocal artists. In a complex voting process, well-known musicians also voted. Results back then tended towards classic rock and singers from the sixties and seventies.
The new list is based on the editors’ favorites and those of regular authors. It encompasses around 100 years of pop music as a continuous global sweep. The iconic Indian playback singer Lata Mangeshkar slides between Amy Winehouse and Johnny Cash. Salsa queen Celia Cruz appears in the rankings alongside Prince and Marvin Gaye
There are no Maria Callas or other great voices of classical opera on this list. That’s because of their self-imposed limitation to “pop music in the broadest sense.” Some chosen ones are also crossover stars who have made popular music for large mainstream audiences.
The US editors point out that this is a list of the greatest singers – and not the list of the greatest voices. Many of those named here were born with great volume, perfect pitch and limitless vocal range. Others have rougher, stranger, or more delicately tuned organs. The comment about the man who landed at number 112 says:
“Ozzy Osbourne doesn’t have what most people would call a good voice BUT he certainly has a great one!”
This dictum could apply to more than a few of the chosen ones.
What counts above all is originality, influence, the depth of an artist’s catalog and the breadth of his musical legacy. A voice can be beautiful like Mariah Carey’s, raspy like Toots Hibbert’s, understated like Willie Nelson’s, smooth and lush like D’Angelo’s or powerful like Bob Dylan’s.
But ultimately, the singers are here for one reason: they can reshape the world just by opening their mouths!
We list the first ten votes of the US colleagues. A nod to jazz, soul and R’n’B … rock music follows later in the US tableau:
01. Aretha Franklin
02. Whitney Houston
03. Sam Cooke
04. Billie Holliday
05.Mariah Carey
06. Ray Charles
07. Stevie Wonder
08. Beyonce
09.Otis Redding
10. Al Green
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