Rolling Stone's Top 100 Singers of all time...what a crock of s**t....
Oh My GAWD...
Rolling Stone's latest issue lists what they have determined are the top 100 singers of all time...
They had a panel of 147 insiders - musicians, producers, writers, RS editors i.e. the usual suspects - who made the determination.
Guess what? They AREN'T EVEN CLOSE...
There's just something totally WRONG when people who, let's be totally honest here, couldn't carry a tune to save their lives despite being fantastic songwriters - Morrissey, Tom Waits, Gregg Allman, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Bob Dylan - are on this list, while so many deserving people are left out.
Here's the entire list, from 100 to 1:
100 Mary J. Blige
99 Steven Tyler
98 Stevie Nicks
97 Joe Cocker
96 B.B. King
95 Patti LaBelle
94 Karen Carpenter
93 Annie Lennox
92 Morrissey
91 Levon Helm
90 The Everly Brothers
89 Solomon Burke
88 Willie Nelson
87 Don Henley
86 Art Garfunkel
85 Sam Moore
84 Darlene Love
83 Patti Smith
82 Tom Waits
81 John Lee Hooker
80 Frankie Valli
79 Mariah Carey
78 Sly Stone
77 Merle Haggard
76 Steve Perry
75 Iggy Pop
74 James Taylor
73 Dolly Parton
72 John Fogerty
71 Toots Hibbert
70 Gregg Allman
69 Ronnie Spector
68 Wilson Pickett
67 Jerry Lee Lewis
66 Thom Yorke
65 David Ruffin
64 Axl Rose
63 Dion
62 Lou Reed
61 Roger Daltrey
60 Björk
59 Rod Stewart
58 Christina Aguilera
57 Eric Bourdon
56 Mavis Staples
55 Paul Rodgers
54 Luther Vandross
53 Muddy Waters
52 Brian Wilson
51 Gladys Knight
50 Bonnie Raitt
49 Donny Hathaway
48 Buddy Holly
47 Jim Morrison
46 Patsy Cline
45 Kurt Cobain
44 Bobby "Blue" Bland
43 George Jones
42 Joni Mitchell
41 Chuck Berry
40 Curtis Mayfield
39 Jeff Buckley
38 Elton John
37 Neil Young
36 Bruce Springsteen
35 Dusty Sprinfield
34 Whitney Houston
33 Steve Winwood
32 Bono
31 Howlin' Wolf
30 Prince
29 Nina Simone
28 Janis Joplin
27 Hank Williams
26 Jackie Wilson
25 Michael Jackson
24 Van Morrison
23 David Bowie
22 Etta James
21 Johnny Cash
20 Smokey Robinson
19 Bob Marley
18 Freddie Mercury
17 Tina Turner
16 Mick Jagger
15 Robert Plant
14 Al Green
13 Roy Orbison
12 Little Richard
11 Paul McCartney
10 James Brown
09 Stevie Wonder
08 Otis Redding
07 Bob Dylan
06 Marvin Gaye
05 John Lennon
04 Sam Cooke
03 Elvis Presley
02 Ray Charles
01 Aretha Franklin
People who have no business being on this list, IMHO - Morrissey, Patti Smith, Tom Waits, Gregg Allman, Bjork, George Jones, Neil Young, Jeff Buckley, Bob Dylan and about two dozen other questionable people.
People who got shafted, and placed much lower than they deserved because of the above inclusions - Steven Tyler, Joe Cocker, Patti LaBelle, Karen Carpenter, Annie Lennox, Axl Rose
People who deserve to be on the list, but not NEARLY as high as they are: John Lennon, Robert Plant, Mick Jagger, Prince, Bono, Whitney Houston, Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison and several others, mostly blues singers, not noted for their singing as much as their music...
Criminally Overlooked and far more deserving than most of the above:
Josh Groban
Taylor Hanson
Joe Elliot
Michael Matijevic
Kip Winger
kd lang
Alison Moyet
Idina Menzel
Sarah MacLachlan
Jann Arden
Jason Mraz
Celine Dion
Crystal Lewis
Jonny Lang
Joe McIntyre
Jordan Knight
Jon Bon Jovi
Kevin Max Smith
Michael Tait
Country stars like:
Marie Osmond
Tanya Tucker
George Strait
Garth Brooks
Kenny Rogers
Vince Gill
Gary LeVox
And classics like:
Paul Simon
Johnny Mathis
Frank Sinatra
Andy Williams
Carly Simon
Phoebe Snow
Nat King Cole
When you look at who was left OFF the list, you can then see why a good number of those ON the list don't deserve to be there...
But then again, consider the source - a magazine that is on its last legs, its circulation plummeting like a stone (the REAL reason for the recent redesign to the smaller format), unable or unwilling to drag themselves into the 21st century...so I guess it's not a surprise, is it? Most of the lists RS has done in the last 20 or so years have been completely wrong about things...so what else is new?
