Little Richard is the greatest vocalist in rock and roll history.  He is the man that was James Brown’s #1 influence, the man Paul McCartney copied, the man who first employed Jimi Hendrix, and the man that arguably started rock and roll with the second he let out his primal rock and roll roar for the first time.  Little Richard had the voice of a super-being out of a comic book.  His vocal chords were just blessed with the most perfect construction necessary to start a world wide revolution, and they did.  Oh yea, he also played a mean piano as you can see in the glorious video below.  Yea, this was an odd early 90s promo video for the John Goodman movie King Ralph, but God bless that movie for giving Little Richard another spotlight to elevate his classic hit “Good Golly Miss Molly,” to an absurd level of perfection.  He just tears the roof off, proving that even at an advanced age, he hadn’t lost a lick of talent.  Richard’s voice really was one of the most remarkable miracles in the history of music, and there is no one that can take away from him.  Watch the hell out of this video below and just try to find someone with a better voice.  It’s impossible.

There is no tonal quality more life affirming, more charging, and more powerful than the one found in John Lennon’s voice during his rendition of the Isley Brothers tune, “Twist and Shout.”  It’s the vocal performance that electrified the ears of the world; a singularity of rock and roll perfection, and simply among the greatest expressions of human joy ever performed.  There are just so many layers to the sound of John’s voice in this take; joy, beauty, pain, dominance, and thunder.  The superlatives I have for this performance are endless, and if this was the only song of the Beatles we ever had, it might have been enough.  Not only does the song present John’s best lead singing ever, it also showcases what the Beatles did best, group singing.  Paul and George’s backing vocals are authoritative and fun, and when all 3 boys come together for the “ahhhhh” bridge, it’s as if the Beatles were trying to crack the Hoover Dam with their exuberant power.  So now you’re asking what voice could possibly top the the greatest group of the recorded sound era?  Well, stay tuned tomorrow for the thrilling conclusion to the definitive list of rock’s greatest vocalists.

Elvis was simply great, like a human tornado of cool, and one of the most original Americans in history.  Was he musically original?  Not exactly, but his instinct for sexing up rock and roll was brilliant.  His originality was mainly found in his person, the archetype of the post World War II teenager; rebellious, greasy black hair, lover of rock and roll, fast cars, and women.  Not only did he look the part, he invented the part.  All the stereotypes of 50s cool that birthed endless imitators and evolved into the dominant 60s style all came from Elvis, the ground zero of cool perfection.  So here you have this utterly original and perfect looking young man, knocking down buildings with his stare, and what happens when he begins to sing?  The knocked down buildings turn to dust and get blown away to sea.  His voice was somehow even more perfect than his look, at once both growling and authoritative, yet vulnerable and honey dipped.  He had all the makings of a hypnotist, mesmerizing the world with his sight and sound.  This is why he’s called the King, because if he a little more brains, and a little more ambition, he could have conquered the world.  Instead, he just settled for rock and roll and movies, the latter being nowhere near as good as the former.  Below I have “Heart Break Hotel,” the best Elvis video available on the internet, and then I have “Hound Dog” from the Milton Berle show, where his dance moves created a scandal.  Both videos display Elvis’s timelessness and magic, proving that his act works in any time, and probably on any planet.  Enjoy.

Never mind the image of the Muppets and Gonzo up there, that’s just some funny picture I found, this post is dedicated to the golden pipes of the late great Freddie Mercury, the fourth greatest vocalist in rock and roll history.  Possessing the voice of a fallen angel, rocking vociferously as he descends to the center of the Earth, Freddie was one in a billion.  “Bohemian Rhapsody” was Freddie’s unqualified masterpiece of rock.  Influenced heavily by opera and “A Day in the Life,” the lyrics were crafted out of ambiguity, and their personal meaning remained a personally guarded secret by Freddie.  The guitarist Brian May speculated that the words alluded to Freddie’s numerous personal traumas.  The song was one of the most complex and expensive recordings in rock and roll history.  Another interesting note is that the opening harmonies, though shown to be sung by the whole group, was actually all Freddie.  Like many, I love the way the song vamps along between balladry, operatic chamber rock, and hard rock nirvana, before giving way to a sweet surrender, highlighted by Brian May’s double tracked guitar line, one of the most bittersweet guitar melodies of all time.  The song became a massive hit again in the early 90s thanks to “Wayne’s World,” and because of its humongous double exposure, it became a bit rote in recent years.  However, I was at a Korean Karaoke last Spring, queued this song up, and reveled in the unlimited fun this song provides, remembering fully why it’s so powerful and great.  The thing about the top 5 rock vocalists is anyone of them could be #1, and Freddie is no exception.  He was a talented genius if there ever was one, and this is his shining monument of glory.  Stay tuned tomorrow as I continue to amp up intensity with an even greater rocker….Who could it be?

Did you know “Piece of my Heart” was originally recorded by Aretha Franklin’s older sister Erma?  I didn’t even know Erma existed and had a music career.  Thanks Wikipedia.  Well, we all know Janis Joplin and Big Brother and the Holding Company’s classic version.  The video I have below is the most hard rocking and punkiest take I’ve ever seen.  Janis and the boys deliver this one with some extra kick and funk, blasting it out for hard core blues addicts.  The tempo is super-charged, and the atmosphere is damned manic, I’ve never seen a Janis performance like this.  The next bonus song, “To Love Somebody,” is taken from the Dick Cavett Show in 1969.  This one is just a pure showcases for Janis’s unbelievable talent and energy.  It reminds you that Janis was, and remains, the greatest female rock vocalist, and in the overall top 5 of greatest rock vocalists ever.  I have her as #5.  I came out about this number extremely scientifically, having gone through the long process of spontaneously coming up with the concept as I’m writing this sentence.  This is bound to be fun, so stay tuned tomorrow and watch me pull #4 out of my ass.