Pop/Rock Singer of the Day thread (I wanna hear you scream)

[Mladen]

I don't find him as charismatic as many people do, he's not one of my favorite front men, but he' still pretty badass. As a singer, he is fine. 

[mikeyd23]

I don't find him as charismatic as many people do, he's not one of my favorite front men, but he' still pretty badass. As a singer, he is fine. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yKvp_fsP18

[Podaar]

^ Energetic!

[Stadler]

James is one of the greats, no question. His voice and charisma helped set Metallica apart from so many other metal bands.

Not in my top ten favorite singers, but that's okay, because he is certainly in my top THREE coolest, bad-ass mofos in rock and roll (and probably the coolest still delivering the goods on a nightly basis). 

He is what Kerry King wishes he was (if he wasn't such a cartoon).   

I think even Chuck Norris would think twice about messing around with Het.   

Man among men.   

He's probably the one guy I want to see a solo album from; him, an acoustic guitar, no thrash, but more like...an album full of songs like his cover of the classic Waylon Jennings song "Don't You Think This Outlaw Things Done Got Out of Hand".   He's the quintessential outlaw, without actually being one.   

Can I stop now? 

  Great post. Seriously though - I've had conversations with buddies about the coolest rock stars or whatever (this was mostly back in college after several beers) and I always point people to the Metallica Moscow 91 gig. That to me, is one of the most captivating performances by a rock/metal performer (James specifically) ever. Period.

I started a thread over at another place, and the premise was:  ROCK STARS.  Not "famous people in rock and roll", but ROCK STARS.  Those guys that are a breed apart.    The kind of guys that could wear dumb shit - like spandex - and still make it cooler than crap.   The kind of guy that women drooled over, men idolized, and if they came to your house, drank your dad's liquor, banged your girlfriend, and pissed off the back deck, after they left all you could say was "Dude that was so fucking cool.  I love that guy."

David Lee Roth:  ROCK STAR
Eddie Vedder:  NOT a rock star
Freddie Mercury:   ROCK STAR
Rob Halford:  NOT a rock star
Jimmy Page:  ROCK STAR
Nils Lofgren:  NOT a rock star

[mikeyd23]

I started a thread over at another place, and the premise was:  ROCK STARS.  Not "famous people in rock and roll", but ROCK STARS.  Those guys that are a breed apart.    The kind of guys that could wear dumb shit - like spandex - and still make it cooler than crap.   The kind of guy that women drooled over, men idolized, and if they came to your house, drank your dad's liquor, banged your girlfriend, and pissed off the back deck, after they left all you could say was "Dude that was so fucking cool.  I love that guy."

David Lee Roth:  ROCK STAR
Eddie Vedder:  NOT a rock star
Freddie Mercury:   ROCK STAR
Rob Halford:  NOT a rock star
Jimmy Page:  ROCK STAR
Nils Lofgren:  NOT a rock star

Beautiful, I love the list. Seems just about right.

[Podaar]

Jimmy Page:  ROCK STAR

No better proof than the "Dragon Suit". Anyone else wearing it would look like a nozzle.

[Stadler]

Jimmy Page:   dragon suit, raging heroin addiction, and Alistair Crowley disciple, and convinces a 14-year-old's parents to let her come live with him while on tour. 

ROCK STAR. 


Three of the four of those would have gotten me time and a felony record. 

[TAC]

The thing about Hetfield is that he is a great host. It's like this is his party and we're all invited. 

[erwinrafael]

The cool thing about James is that he's doing all the impressive rhythm guitar work while singing and Kirk is being useless.

[Kotowboy]

The cool thing about James is that he's doing all the impressive rhythm guitar work while singing and Kirk is being useless.

Kirks' rhythm is fine. It's his lead playing that has deteriorated.

[mikeyd23]

Jimmy Page:   dragon suit, raging heroin addiction, and Alistair Crowley disciple, and convinces a 14-year-old's parents to let her come live with him while on tour. 

ROCK STAR. 

....and sold his soul to the devil. Super rock star.

The cool thing about James is that he's doing all the impressive rhythm guitar work while singing and Kirk is being useless.

I won't touch the Kirk thing, as Kotow said, his rhythm playing has actually always been really good live. He just gets compared against the greatest right hand in metal, Hetfield. But more to your point about his impressive guitar work, that might be the thing I think is most impressive about James' vocals. He's singing while playing those guitar parts. I struggle to play some of his stuff sitting by myself in the basement, not singing. To do both at the same time is pretty rad.

[Lowdz]

When I saw the Die! Die! Die! In the title I came here expectingThe Mighty Eric Adams.

 

Yeah, James is fine.

[Bertielee]

When I saw the Die! Die! Die! In the title I came here expectingThe Mighty Eric Adams.

 

Me too!

[KevShmev]

I started a thread over at another place, and the premise was:  ROCK STARS.  Not "famous people in rock and roll", but ROCK STARS.  Those guys that are a breed apart.    The kind of guys that could wear dumb shit - like spandex - and still make it cooler than crap.   The kind of guy that women drooled over, men idolized, and if they came to your house, drank your dad's liquor, banged your girlfriend, and pissed off the back deck, after they left all you could say was "Dude that was so fucking cool.  I love that guy."

David Lee Roth:  ROCK STAR
Eddie Vedder:  NOT a rock star
Freddie Mercury:   ROCK STAR
Rob Halford:  NOT a rock star
Jimmy Page:  ROCK STAR
Nils Lofgren:  NOT a rock star

Well done. 

I don't think I would have thought to put him on this list if I were Kev, but I can't really argue with it.

To be clear, this is not a thread of the best pop/rock singers ever; it's a list of pop and rock singers, good or bad.  In theory, there are so many that I could do one every day and make this thread last years.

[TAC]

Stadler AND Kev...How in the hell is Rob Halford NOT a rock star?? This guy single handedly set the heavy metal fashion trend.

I know you guys know better.

I mean maybe..

    The kind of guy that women men drooled over, men women idolized, 

...but still.

[KevShmev]

I was going by the standard Stadler set.  Halford strikes me as the major rock star on stage, but not the banged your girlfriend and pissed off your deck kinda guy.  Now...David Lee Roth...yeah.

[KevShmev]

Speaking of singers with attitude...

Pat Benatar



Pat Benatar brought a swagger and attitude, in both her stage demeanor and singing, which hadn't really been seen in rock music from a female singer.  I'm really not a big fan of that many of her songs, although Shadows of the Night is one of the greatest pop rock hits of the 80s, but she had some pipes.  That chorus to Shadows of the Night could have fallen flat in the throat of the wrong singer, but Benatar sang it with such power and such energy that it became one of the greatest choruses I have still ever heard.

[TAC]

Her first two, and half of her third are amazing stuff. Amazing.

But Myron Grombacher was the strangest drummer going. Still have trouble trying to air drum to songs I've heard for over 35 years.
The Lovely Mrs TAC is a huge Pat Benatar fan, so it's not uncommon for us to have her on in the car.

[King Postwhore]

My top 2 female singers of all time (Ann Wilson being #1).  She can belt it out and she is amazing live.

[Stadler]

Stadler AND Kev...How in the hell is Rob Halford NOT a rock star?? This guy single handedly set the heavy metal fashion trend.

I know you guys know better.

I mean maybe..

    The kind of guy that women men drooled over, men women idolized, 

...but still.

Nah, see, Kev has it.  I had this same problem last time I did this.  As I said, I don't mean "Famous guy - star - in rock and roll".  I mean the euphemism "Rock star".   I mean the guy that wears his bandmates girlfriend's panties (not HIS girlfriend, because he either doesn't have one or has like 15, and not the girl he banged 18 minutes ago, because she wasn't wearing any) around and you think it's cool.   The guy who gives an interview, and you sort of wonder if perhaps in printing, they screwed up the "Questions" part and the "Answers" part.  Or, more likely, doesn't give interviews at all, because the bottle of Jack keeps jingling against his rings and makes it impossible to record the conversation.     

I'll give you that Halford is close - only a rock star can walk out on stage, trill his "r's" and claim, while dressed in a full sub bondage outfit, to be the "Mettle (because that's how he pronounces it) God".   But he's far too normal off stage.  "Rock stars" in this sense don't play golf, and don't live in Arizona.  They live in a castle somewhere where there were human sacrifices back in 1677.   Or a block off Sunset (Lemmy!  Rock Star!  Walks around wearing Nazi memorabilia, and no one ever accuses him of being an anti-Semite.  EVER.)

[Stadler]

Benatar is an AMAZING singer, but she suffers with me because of her material.  Shadows... is a great song, as is Hit Me...    But she lost me with "Love Is A Battlefield" and "We Belong".   I don't know; maybe I was too into Zeppelin and Maiden then.    But she's the female Rod Stewart; UNBELIEVABLE singer, but not a lot of material - songs - I want to listen to. 

[T-ski]

after you started the thread with Ann Wilson, the next name that popped into my head was Pat Benatar.

both are great singers.

[TAC]

Stadler AND Kev...How in the hell is Rob Halford NOT a rock star?? This guy single handedly set the heavy metal fashion trend.

I know you guys know better.

I mean maybe..

    The kind of guy that women men drooled over, men women idolized, 

...but still.

Nah, see, Kev has it.  I had this same problem last time I did this.  As I said, I don't mean "Famous guy - star - in rock and roll".  I mean the euphemism "Rock star".   I mean the guy that wears his bandmates girlfriend's panties (not HIS girlfriend, because he either doesn't have one or has like 15, and not the girl he banged 18 minutes ago, because she wasn't wearing any) around and you think it's cool.   The guy who gives an interview, and you sort of wonder if perhaps in printing, they screwed up the "Questions" part and the "Answers" part.  Or, more likely, doesn't give interviews at all, because the bottle of Jack keeps jingling against his rings and makes it impossible to record the conversation.     

I'll give you that Halford is close - only a rock star can walk out on stage, trill his "r's" and claim, while dressed in a full sub bondage outfit, to be the "Mettle (because that's how he pronounces it) God".   But he's far too normal off stage.  "Rock stars" in this sense don't play golf, and don't live in Arizona.  They live in a castle somewhere where there were human sacrifices back in 1677.   Or a block off Sunset (Lemmy!  Rock Star!  Walks around wearing Nazi memorabilia, and no one ever accuses him of being an anti-Semite.  EVER.)

Then take Jimmy Page off the list, then.

[hefdaddy42]

Benatar is an AMAZING singer, but she suffers with me because of her material.  Shadows... is a great song, as is Hit Me...    But she lost me with "Love Is A Battlefield" and "We Belong".   I don't know; maybe I was too into Zeppelin and Maiden then.    But she's the female Rod Stewart; UNBELIEVABLE singer, but not a lot of material - songs - I want to listen to.

Not me.  I would listen to Pat Benatar sing my grocery list.

[Adami]

Benatar is an AMAZING singer, but she suffers with me because of her material.  Shadows... is a great song, as is Hit Me...    But she lost me with "Love Is A Battlefield" and "We Belong".   I don't know; maybe I was too into Zeppelin and Maiden then.    But she's the female Rod Stewart; UNBELIEVABLE singer, but not a lot of material - songs - I want to listen to.

Not me.  I would listen to Pat Benatar sing my grocery list.

Really? Seems like "Scotch....Cigars.....let the wife pick up everything else" would get boring after a bit.

[hefdaddy42]

lol

[cfmoran13]

One of the best female rock singers out there (IMO).  Her 1993 album, Gravity's Rainbow, is a really solid rock album.  That's probably my go-to of hers.  And, she can still belt it out. 

[Podaar]

Great voice, awesome live (to this very day), and her long lasting love affair with Neil is one of the best stories in rock and roll.

Much respect for Patricia!

[King Postwhore]

One of the best female rock singers out there (IMO).  Her 1993 album, Gravity's Rainbow, is a really solid rock album.  That's probably my go-to of hers.  And, she can still belt it out.

I love that album.

[KevShmev]

Greg Lake



Amongst the all of the craziness of ELP's 70s music, one of the first things that caught my ear about them was how amazing Greg Lake's voice was.  For all of the bombast, Lake's voice was often like the calm around the storm.  I remember seeing footage of them and was hard to believe that such a powerful voice came out of such a little man (this was before he blew up in the 90s ).  Despite his recent passing, he is a guy who still doesn't get his due as one of rock's greatest singers ever. 

[bl5150]

Did ELP have any "hits" as such?   The only stuff I own with Lake on it is with Gary Moore.    Funnily enough , supposedly not knowing any ELP , I just checked someone's "best of" on Youtube and his No 2 was Fanfare For The Common Man .    Sports shows down here were using that for highlights packages all through my childhood and I never knew it was ELP

[TAC]

I don't think Lake was that great. I liken him to Rodgers actually.  Very steady and identifiable.
I actually saw ELPowell in 1986. While not owning a single ELP album, I enjoyed the show very much.

The only stuff I own with Lake on it is with Gary Moore.   

Nuclear Attack!

[bundy]

Really enjoy Lake's work. As with those who've already posted, I wouldn't consider him one of the GREAT vocalists, (Mercury, Dio, Jon Anderson, David Surkamp) but for me, he's pretty damn good. As a whole I actually prefer his work with KC to what he did later with ELP. Favourite tracks (thinking Lake's vocals here rather than the track as a whole) :
KC: Epitaph, In the Wake of Poseidon
ELP: Pirates

"In air, fire, earth and water                       
World on the scales.
Air, fire, earth and water
Balance of change
World on the scales
On the scales."   

[Podaar]

From the first time I heard it when I was kid, to just last week, I get chills every time I hear, "Welcome back my friends, to the show that never ends. We're so glad you could attend, come inside, come inside."

Props from me. 

[Stadler]

Did ELP have any "hits" as such?   The only stuff I own with Lake on it is with Gary Moore.    Funnily enough , supposedly not knowing any ELP , I just checked someone's "best of" on Youtube and his No 2 was Fanfare For The Common Man .    Sports shows down here were using that for highlights packages all through my childhood and I never knew it was ELP

The biggest was probably Lucky Man (which Lake wrote)

But these were all played fairly regularly on Classic Rock radio for a while:
From The Beginning
Still... You Turn Me On
Karn Evil No. 9: First Impression, Part II (the "Welcome back my friends, to the show that never ends..." part)

I loved his singing.  LOVED it (and Wetton's too; they both had that warm tenor voice.  It's no surprise they were interchangeable in two bands!).   One of my concert going highlights was seeing ELP in New Haven in '93, being third row center (Palmer winked and pointed at me with a drum stick at one point.  Of course it was me!  Who else would it be??) and having Mr. Lake sing "Pirates", one of my favorite ELP songs, from 20 feet in front of me.  CHILLS, I say, CHILLS.