FEATURE:
It’s All in the Voice…
IN THIS PHOTO: Aretha Franklin
Rolling Stone’s 200 Greatest Singers of All Time: The Top 40
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THIS was actually published…
IN THIS PHOTO: Marvin Gaye/PHOTO CREDIT: Jim Britt/Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images
on 1st January, but I have been thinking about Rolling Stone’s list of the 200 greatest singers ever. There was a lot of debate and contention when the article was shared. I guess it would always split people, but there are some true legends and amazing younger artists in the list. I wanted to mark this much-discussed poll with a playlist of songs from the top 40 – as it might be a bit much having a playlist of 200 songs! Before that, this is how Rolling Stone explained their selection criteria:
“Aretha Franklin described her mission as a singer like this: “Me with my hand outstretched, hoping someone will take it.” That kind of deep, empathetic bond between artist and listener is the most elemental connection in music. And you can think of our list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time as a celebration of that bond. These are the vocalists that have shaped history and defined our lives — from smooth operators to raw shouters, from gospel to punk, from Sinatra to Selena to SZA.
When Rolling Stone first published its list of the 100 Greatest Singers in 2008, we used an elaborate voting process that included input from well-known musicians. The results skewed toward classic rock and singers from the Sixties and Seventies. This new list was compiled our staff and key contributors, and it encompasses 100 years of pop music as an ongoing global conversation, where iconic Indian playback singer Lata Mangeshkar lands between Amy Winehouse and Johnny Cash, and salsa queen Celia Cruz is up there in the rankings with Prince and Marvin Gaye. You might notice that, say, there isn’t any opera on our list — that’s because our purview is pop music writ large, meaning that almost all the artists on this list had significant careers as crossover stars making popular music for the masses.
IN THIS PHOTO: Mariah Carey
Before you start scrolling (and commenting), keep in mind that this is the Greatest Singers list, not the Greatest Voices List. Talent is impressive; genius is transcendent. Sure, many of the people here were born with massive pipes, perfect pitch, and boundless range. Others have rougher, stranger, or more delicate instruments. As our write-up for the man who ended up at Number 112 notes, “Ozzy Osbourne doesn’t have what most people would call a good voice, but boy does he have a great one.” That could apply to more than a few people here.
In all cases, what mattered most to us was originality, influence, the depth of an artist’s catalog, and the breadth of their musical legacy. A voice can be gorgeous like Mariah Carey’s, rugged like Toots Hibbert’s, understated like Willie Nelson’s, slippery and sumptuous like D’Angelo’s, or bracing like Bob Dylan’s. But in the end, the singers behind it are here for one reason: They can remake the world just by opening their mouths”.
The forty songs below are from supreme singers. I would argue there are artists placed lower that should be higher. A few that are high up the list but maybe should be lower. Regardless, these are incredible voices that I wanted to assemble into a playlist. I start at the fortieth-placed artist and work my way down to the number one. From Soul greats to American Pop, right through to classic Rock, the Rolling Stone list covers all musical corners. Here is a playlist feature a song from…
IN THIS PHOTO: Aaliyah
THEIR favourite 40.