Alternative
Ozzy Osbourne, Axl Rose, Rob Halford included in Rolling Stone’s 200 greatest singers of all time list
Some Beatles, Chris Cornell, Eddie Vedder, Ronnie James Dio and Glenn Danzig also made the list – though no heavy metal singers made the top 100
Major US media outlet Rolling Stone has published a star-studded list of what it considers to be the 200 greatest singers of all time – and a host of rock and metal greats have made the cut.
The list, topped by soul icon Aretha Franklin, includes singers from across pop, rock, metal, jazz, soul, r’n’b and more, with everyone from Beyoncé to Glenn Danzig represented (albeit the latter just sneaking in at number 199).
Some of the most notable rock music frontpeople to appear include Beatles alumni John Lennon and Paul McCartney (with Lennon appearing a full 14 places higher than his Beatles bandmate), Led Zeppelin legend Robert Plant (a surprisingly low-ish entrant at 63) and heavy metal hero Ronnie James Dio, who is all the way down at 165. In fact, the list makes for somewhat slim reading for heavy metal fans, with Ozzy Osbourne the genre’s highest entry at 112.
“This list was compiled [by] our staff and key contributors, and it encompasses 100 years of pop music as an ongoing global conversation,” Rolling Stone explain, “where iconic Indian playback singer Lata Mangeshkar lands between Amy Winehouse and Johnny Cash, and salsa queen Celia Cruz is up there in the rankings with Prince and Marvin Gaye.”
Either way, as always with these things, it’ll certainly spark some debate. Check out where rock singers fared in the list below, and read the full 200 over at Rolling Stone.
12 – John Lennon
14 – Freddie Mercury
26 – Paul McCartney
32 – David Bowie
52 – Mick Jagger
63 – Robert Plant
80 – Chris Cornell
82 – Steve Perry
105 – Eddie Vedder
109 – Roger Daltrey
112 – Ozzy Osbourne
129 – Rob Halford
134 – Axl Rose
165 – Ronnie James Dio
176 – Iggy Pop
181 – Bob Seger
199 – Glenn Danzig
Source: loudersound.com
