Well, I hope you have been enjoying the first part of my three part list of the top 25 Rock Vocalists of All Time. In the first part, I discussed a rather diverse group from Pat Benatar to Ronnie James Dio to David Coverdale. Well, here in part 2, my list continues from numbers 17 to 11.
Ready for more great singers? I hope so. Here goes:
17. Sammy Hagar
Sammy Hagar has had an awesome musical career since 1968. He is known for being a member of Montrose, his own solo career, and a member of Van Halen from 1985 to 1996 as a replacement for David Lee Roth. He left Van Halen and had a solo career. He currently is playing in a band called Chickenfoot with former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony. Hagar’s voice is amazing, with a great range. His voice graces classics such as “Three Lock Box,” ” I Can’t Drive 55,” and such Van Halen songs as “Why Can’t This Be Love,” ” Dreams, ” and “Right Now.” He is an excellent performer onstage as well.
16. Ozzy Osbourne
[adinserter block=”2″]Ozzy Osbourne is known for being the original lead singer for the band, Black Sabbath, and for his own solo act. He is a legend of the genre of heavy metal, whose career spans over four decades. Osbourne is from Birmingham, England. In his prime, he was an awesome performer, and his voice was pretty distinct in performing Sabbath classics such as “Iron Man,” “War Pigs, ” and “Paranoid.” When Osbourne had his solo career, he would sing great songs such as “Crazy Train, ” “Suicide Solution, ” and “Bark at the Moon.” He has had a controversial career, but he is an incredible performer both on record and onstage.
15. Alice Cooper
Known for being one of the pioneers of glam rock, or shock rock, Alice Cooper is known for his over the top stage shows, as well as his hits such as “No More Mr. Nice Guy,” “School’s Out, ” “Poison,” and “I’m Eighteen.” He used props in his shows such as a guillotine, baby dolls, electric chairs, and fake blood. His act would influence groups like KISS, and Motley Crue. His stage show from what I have seen on the videos looked amazing. He has a pretty cool voice, but his shows are what carries him.
14. Jim Morrison
The Doors’ Jim Morrison was a dynamic performer on stage, and a poet as far as lyricist, and as a vocalist. His voice graced the bands hits such as “Light My Fire, ” ” People Are Strange,” and “L.A Woman, ” plus many others. He was known as the “Lizard King,” and “Mojo Risin'” as that word was an anagram of his name. He would use the spoken word as poetry in the songs as well.
13. David Lee Roth
Now, if this was just a list for Best Front man, Diamond David Lee Roth would be battling for the number one spot, as the Van Halen front man is the ULTIMATE front man with his kicks, and jumps, and his stage raps. However, vocals have to come into play, and he has a real cool voice. The man embodies Van Halen. Yeah, you had Eddie with his groundbreaking guitar style playing guitar like hardly anyone has played it. Eddie’s brother Alex was pounding in the background on the drums, and original bassist, Michael Anthony was on bass (now it’s Eddie’s son, Wolfgang.) . However, David gave that band personality with his vocals, and his stage performances. Contrast that with Sammy Hagar who was technically a better singer, I felt the band became a generic pop band, and lost both their hard edge, and their personality. Now that Dave is back, so is the personality.
12. Paul Stanley
Known as the primary lead vocalist of the glam rock band KISS, Paul Stanley has one of the most underrated voices of rock. Stanley has a very versatile range, and can sing a variety of styles from the hard rock songs of “Detroit, Rock City, ” “King of the Night Time World, ” “Love Gun,” “I Want You,” etc to a dance style such as “Sure Know Something,” and “I Was Made For Lovin’ You” to musical theater when in 1999, he performed as the Phantom in the “Phantom of the Opera” in Toronto. He also did a duet with diva Paul is an amazing onstage performer, and has a great command of the audience as I have seen him with KISS forty six times, and I have had the pleasure of seeing him as the Phantom in Toronto. He is amazing. Unfortunately, he does not get the recognition by so called music “critics” or the media because the media gets caught up in the band’s image and makeup, and live shows. Nonetheless, Paul’s singing career spanning forty years stands for itself.
11. Brad Delp
[adinserter block=”1″]Brad Delp, lead singer for the 70’s band Boston, is just about the best pure singer on this list so far. That man’s voice was just stunning. His sad and tragic passing in March of 2007 robbed Boston, and rock fans of a man with so much more to offer as a singer. His voice graced one of the greatest albums ever, Boston’s self titled “Boston,” which featured such classics as “More Than A Feeling,” “Peace of Mind, ” “Rock and Roll Band, ” etc The follow up album “Don’t Look Back,” while not as successful as the debut, featured great vocals by Delp, particularly on the title track, “Don’t Look Back, ” and “A Man I’ll Never Be”. His voice was great on “Third Stage” as well. I have seen Boston on the “Third Stage” tour in September of 1987, and they were fantastic. Now, Delp is not a dynamic front man, but he is up high on this list for that magnificent voice. Just love it.
Well, that is the end of part 2. Are we ready for the Top Ten? Let’s head on over to Part 3.
Terri Bey currently blogs for CamelClutchBlog.com about Wrestling, NFL, and other sports/pop culture related subjects. Her work has appeared in BleacherReport and for F4WOnline.com. Terri can be found here at Facebook- http://www.facebook.com/TerriBey and at Twitter- http://www.twitter.com/missedgehead
