January 24, 2010

Greatest Singers of All Time?

Rolling Stone magazine released the list. Apparently they surveyed current recording artists, industry folks etc. for their opinions and then formed the list based on the responses. The top singer on the list is Aretha Franklin. While I would not classify myself as an Aretha fan, I realize that she can sing or rather SANG, which is the term used to express a skilled passionate singer. Also, she "represented" for us bosomy gals by ALWAYS wearing whatever the hell she wanted to in TV appearances, much to the dismay of the networks. There was no such thing as a top too low cut for Miss Aretha. If a B cup could wear it, why not a G?

What I appreciate most about the list is how it features a mix of singers from various genres. Some examples: Johnny Cash is #21, Michael Jackson is #25 and Karen Carpenter is listed at #94. While I do believe there are some glaring omissions (Hello Rolling Stone, where is Frank, Barbara, Donna and Judy G?) the list does has some good picks. Check it out at: http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/24161972/page/103.

Oh,and one final thought, if you consider yourself a music devotee and have never heard of some of the artists on the list, take a moment to delve into music history. You might find it rewarding.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I was familiar with about 95% of the artists. I did check out the songs of some of the unknowns and on most of them I was familiar with their main song. There were three that I had no prior knowledge of Nina Simone, Curtis Mayfield and Mavis Staples. They sounded OK to me but I didn't like them enough to branch out and purchase their music.

One of the comments mentioned was that the list catered more toward great performers rather than just singing ability. I would agree because look at the great people they missed.