Robert Plant Tops Best "Metal" Singer Poll
Band Photo: Led Zeppelin (?)
Who are the best singers in heavy metal history? According to Hit Parader magazine, Robert Plant from Led Zeppelin and Rob Halford from Judas Priest are the two best men for the job. The magazine has published their list of "Heavy Metal's All-Time Top 100 Vocalists," and the editors said, "Assembling our list certainly presented a daunting task, considering the breadth and scope of the metal empire during its 35-year reign as rock's most powerful and enduring force. We tried our best not to turn this into some sort of popularity contest where only the most famous (or infamous) frontmen in metal lore were recognized."
Most names included in the list are neither metal singers nor performers in a metal band. They are Queen's Freddie Mercury, the Who's Roger Daltrey, Mick Jagger from the Rolling Stones, Ann Wilson from Heart, Kurt Cobain from Nirvana, Rod Stewart, David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, Ray Davies from the Kinks, Joan Jett, Steve Marriott from the Small Faces and Humble Pie, and Steve Perry from Journey.
The Hit Parader Top 10 Singers:
1) Robert Plant from Led Zeppelin
2) Rob Halford from Judas Priest
3) Steven Tyler from Aerosmith
4) Chris Cornell from Audioslave and Soundgarden
5) Bon Scott from AC/DC
6) Freddie Mercury from Queen
7) Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden
8) Ozzy Osbourne from Black Sabbath
9) Paul Rodgers from Free, Bad Company, and the Firm
10) Ronnie James Dio from Rainbow and Black Sabbath
Source: Therockradio.com
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74 Comments on "Robert Plant Tops Best 'Metal' Singer Poll"
Former Contributor
Former Contributor
Member
5. writes:
Rob Halford I'll pay that, the man has *quite* a set of lungs. Ozzy and Ronnie also.
I dunno Cynic, James Hetfield doesn't sing, he kind of grunts. KD has that awesome squeal that makes the cat bolt from the room when you turn the stereo up.
The most awesome voice *combo* at the moment in metal, imho, is the two guys from Tribal Dissent - http://www.tribaldissent.com/ - I'm never quite sure which singer is which but you would swear that one of them is David Bowie and it's quite an interesting overall effect.
6. writes:
can't blame on having a bias on your particular favorites.. i'm in the same boat in that respect.
it's a damn good list, though. i wouldn't disclude any of them. personally, i would like to have seen a larger list, or at least a few of my own favorite singers. who knows exactly what the contributing factors were in choosing the final 10..?
they are all long standing pillars in the world of great music, and have affected so many who have followed. i give them that credit, and so much more!
7. writes:
Grr... I always disliked Hit Parader. They're kinda a poser metal magazine... Slipknot is not metal now nor will they ever be >;_>;
It would be okay if they just reported on them once in a while and featured some metal bands in it, but Slipknot's been on the cover of over half their issues. Also I do believe they own the magazine or at least put a lot of money into it.
Man though, I remember this one issue, they *actually* mentioned a more underground Jazz Fusion metal band, and said they weren't quite metal. It was painful... >;_>; (Note that if you've ever heard Ephel Duath - The Painter's Pallette, You'll realize it's most definitely truly metal, not to mention it definitely should be metal to those who consider slipknot metal.)
But yeah, reporting on bands that aren't metal in a metal magazine/website - Fine and/or Good
Focusing most of the attention on a nonmetal band and calling itself a metal-based magazine - Not Good
Supporter
Supporter
16. writes:
looks to me like..bradisanidiot...WTF are you thinking.??? Robert Plant is undeniably the greatest singer in the history of music...!!!! All others fall short of his talent.. I personally dont think Chris Cornell even belongs in the top 20 much less #4...Hell, for that matter Ian Gillian should have made top 10 and the list would be about perfect...maybe not in that order but close...!!! Ha...!!! Cornell my ass...I'd put Sully and Draiman ahead of Cornell...!!!
this is just my opinion though...
17. writes:
bruce d***enson gets my vote as number one. plant is good but hes not the best. he just cant touch the rage of d***enson. king diamond is also high on the list too. halford and ozzy are also good choices. and i agree with godlike in that draiman is a very good vocalist. and if were talking about heavy vocals, i think phil labonte of all that remains is one of the best in the past 5 years. he can do the hardcore screaming, death metal growls and black metal screaming. and on top of that he can also sing decently, now his singing is far from perfect but still not bad.
Member
Former Contributor
26. writes:
Is this about HEAVY METAL? C´mon, AC/DC is no metal. And I love Queen, but it´s got nothing to do with heavy metal (like the most others). Halford and d***inson are OK, but Manowar´s Eric Adams is missing, one of the greatest metal voices of all time. And if you take Robert Plant, there has to be an Ian Gillan of Deep Purple.
Supporter
29. writes:
Wow... because God knows there's nothing more metal than Aerosmith or Queen. Nothing against those two bands, but this is not their genre. Maybe including the vocalists in Alice in Chains, Slayer, Motorhead, or as someone mentioned above, Tool would have been better choices. But if you are going to include classic rock voclists in with metal vocalists, I would have to assume that numbers one and two would be the singers from Pink Floyd and Queen.
But hey, at least they're showing a little love for Dio.
30. writes:
There are some great vocalists on this list. It looks like this list hard rock to heavy metal and Rod Stewart and Roger Daltary should be in the top ten. There are vocalists that have a crisper sound than Robert Plant, but no one has Plant's range. Robert Plant is a vocal gymnist and deserves the number 1 billing
Supporter
34. writes:
I agree with you Oz.... Zeppelin is by far my favorite band of all time...but I dont consider them metal at all... Robert Plant is more of a blues singer than anything... along with Paul Rodgers and Steven Tyler too...
But, Plant has held that spot on these lists since the 70s when they were still together and touring..
Now, as far as them being labeled as metal.. I think at the time, no one really had a name for what they were doing.!!! Still, to this day, I dont think there is a band out there, that is as diverse in their writing and playing as Zeppelin was... They definatly were not metal when compared to Sabbath or Blue Cheer..but I think they were just lumped into a category because no one had experienced anything like them before, or since for that matter...!!!
36. writes:
Plant is the best! Must always remember 68 with communication breakdown, 69 with WLL, 70 Immigrant Song, 71 Black Dog, 73 The Ocean 75 Trampled under Foot 77 Achilles 79 ? don't know any metal -point is, he set the tone and any of the others have not created anything new under the sun! It is all about Plant!!!!!!!
44. writes:
hit parader blows its such a f***ing waste of paper, korn is like on every cover. i belive it was them who did a 100 best metal guitarist and kerry king was way back in the 90's i mean wtf thats when i stopped reading. good calls on chuck billy and king diamond
45. writes:
It is all right! Plant was the first! He was in metal even little befor Ozzy. Remember the words of Tony Iommy, he said that they listened Zeppelin hours and hours in 68-69? All othe voices in the list are the great too! This top does not mean, who is best, it means who was first in real metall ( when it became a separate style) and we thank them, we proud of them, people, who gave us HMR. THANKS TO METALL UNDEGROUND for list!
46. writes:
One name... Danzig ...Should be enuf said but it obviously isnt because he' not even mentioned !?!? yes yes Im sure all the ignorant haters will discredit this entry but Glenn's vocal abilties are undeniable and rival anyone on that list and completley blow away a few them and that includes Ozzy (not that Ozzy isn't a Legendary ''FRONTMAN'' with a great voice for what he does Im just stating a fact that from a vocally talented point of veiw sometimes the CREME DE LA CREME IS OVERLOOKED due to another man's antics, reputation as a wildman, Major Publicity ei Commercials/T.V.Show/ fun with bats/ the visit to the alamo and in Ozzy's case all of those PLUS being the lead singer for the first true H.M. Band that hit it big [instantly solidifing him as a Metal God] doesn't hurt either
49. writes:
That is a very good description there Mr rattlehead.... I dont think I have ever heard an asthmatic cat with laryngitus before.. But I have heard the noise they make when they get stepped on.....!!!!! :-D
Axl is an idiot...and yes, there are lots of people that sound good on albums but suck a$$ in live performances....That is possibly, why they are not on the list.
50. writes:
African-Americans created rock and roll. And they created Blues/Rock. There is no Metal without Blues/Rock. And Led Zeppelin was a Blues/Rock band that helped create a new rock genre: Heavy Metal. Therefore, Robert Plant was a Blues/Rock vocalist who influenced all the Heavy Metal vocalists of the late 1970s and early 1980s and 1990s. You might not consider him to be a Heavy Metal vocalist, however, his work as a vocalist was done years before this new genre was created in the late 1970s. You might not like his World Music/Blues/Rock approach to his work, however, that's your problem. In addition, he wrote almost all of Led Zeppelin's lyrics over those years.
51. writes:
no $hit....???? Thanks for the update..MX... or should I say Sherlock..!!!
Is it perhaps the influences of Willie Dixon, Howlin Wolf and Robert Johnson that Robert Plant learned to sing the blues and play the harmonica..??? Oddly enough those are all African/American men...!!!
I wouldnt necessarily say that African/Americans invented R&R..!!!
But it was their own blues music that inspired and influenced the creators of R&R....which were guys like Chuck Berry,Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis among many others...
The beginnings of metal started oh..a decade before "the late 70s" ( '68 and '69 )....Metal's creation was from bands like Deep Purple, Black Sabbath,Blue Cheer, Zeppelin among others... and of course it was from Steppin Wolf's song "Born to be Wild" that the term actually came from....the line "heavy metal thunder"
Yes.., Robert Plant is the best.!!!!! But he cant be given all the credit for influencing all metal singers...Because there was also guys like, Ozzy,Ian Gillan and John Kay that were writing and creating music during the same era...
I am, without a doubt, one of the biggest Zeppelin fanatics you will ever know..!!!!.. And there isnt anything that you could possibly tell me about them that I dont know already know or have forgotten...
But, I cant say that Robert Plant deserves all the credit for influencing all metal singers that have come along....!!! Because that is just not true..!!!!
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Former Contributor
58. writes:
Does it matter what Led Zepplin influenced, what next? Will we go back to the first cave man who banged a stick? Sabbath was the first metal band, the line "Most names included in the list are neither metal singers nor performers in a metal band" describes this list well.
61. writes:
Anselmo came in at #37 which in a truely metal catagory would probably be an honorable rating as for this list I have a new nominee but i wont tell you the name see if you know the lyrics "Ahhh-ooh smokestack lightnin'...shinin' jus like gold...ah don't you hear me cryin'... A whoooo-hooo"
67. writes:
ya what half them just aint metal at all crazy!
david draiman of disturbed gets my voice that guy can do it all very original sound.
but bruce d***inson should atleat be number 2 i mean cmon even if ya dont like maidens music that guy has been around the block,and as far as hard workin voice box award that guy would win it every time!!
70. writes:
godlike: just MX is cool, you can keep Sherlock. Unfortunately, Robert Plant doesn't appear to be the most popular vocalist according to these online critics. They can keep the cake. In regards to the "the late 1970s" discussion about heavy metal, I was just referring to the fact that the Hollywood-based music industry of the late 70s-early 80s did not know how to market this brand of music that had roots in Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath's early works.
71. writes:
Incidentally, the late great Janis Joplin of Port Arthur, TX has never gotten credit for her undeniable influence over heavy metal vocalists. In fact, her influence is quite astonishing: just listen to her last album Pearl 1970 and you can hear from where Axl Rose decided to create a rock career. And Robert Plant stated in recent interviews that he liked her work even though he did not like her band Big Brother & The Holding Company. The point of this post is that Janis Joplin influenced some heavy metal vocalists whether you like it or not. She was, however, a Blues/Rock singer from the 1960s.
72. writes:
catagorize it any way u wish....metal is a denomintaion of rock n roll, which makes this list accurate by my call...ROBERT PLANT has the most amazing voice of our time....but, i am a plantfan all the way, so of course i am a bit biased!
also up there maybe even equally would be freddy mercury/queen, rob halford/priest, and ozzy tho he sings well doesnt show much range...just my opinion...peace
Former Contributor
73. writes:
"metal is a denomintaion of rock n roll" - WTF? No more than rock n roll is a denomination of jazz or pop, no more than pop or jazz is a denomination of classical etc...
I say again, if your going back to Joplin why not go further to the first caveman who cried "UUUUGGGHH!!". The cut off for this list should be singers from metal bands, early NWOBHM included. Can't we.... wait I'm basically writing the same thing as post 58 and no-one cared... I give up. Bottom line the people from Hit Parader are a bunch of monkeys on typewriters.
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1. metalhead644 writes:
ha, yea thats a big slap in the face to so many talented singers who blow everyone of those singers (cept halford and d***inson, who most trained vocalists in metal who are actually good take after quite often, or at least are influenced by...)