who is the worst vocalist to have "made it"

[Johnnytheboy]

Lord Marylebone said:

I was one of the earlier posters in this thread, however I would like to retract all my previous suggestions and replace them all with just one:

Lemmy from Motörhead.

Absolutely horrific. No words can adequately describe how bad he was. Literally could not sing a note. Could barely even speak a note. Just coughed, wheezed and croaked his way through every song like he’s just lost his voice.

To make matters worse, he couldn’t even sing ‘on beat’. Just wheezed along sloppily at a different pace to the actual music.

Awful.

Hmm... I saw them live in c.1995 and he was terrible. I could barely hear him, but dogs in the neighbourhood were going nuts.

I think his voice is bang on back in the early Motorhead days... for the material

This famous live version of Bomber blows the studio version away:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4RcnMwiU4M

[popeyewhite]

Johnnytheboy said:

Lord Marylebone said:

I was one of the earlier posters in this thread, however I would like to retract all my previous suggestions and replace them all with just one:

Lemmy from Motörhead.

Absolutely horrific. No words can adequately describe how bad he was. Literally could not sing a note. Could barely even speak a note. Just coughed, wheezed and croaked his way through every song like he’s just lost his voice.

To make matters worse, he couldn’t even sing ‘on beat’. Just wheezed along sloppily at a different pace to the actual music.

Awful.

Hmm... I saw them live in c.1995 and he was terrible. I could barely hear him, but dogs in the neighbourhood were going nuts.

I think his voice is bang on back in the early Motorhead days... for the material

This famous live version of Bomber blows the studio version away:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4RcnMwiU4M

Lemmy's singing wasn't terrible, it was exactly the kind of singing a band named 'Motorhead' required. Fuelled by years of speed, joints and whisky his voice and lungs were wrecked - but it was that real, lived, heavy rock lifestyle above other rock wannabees that gave Motorhead its credibility. His voice did get worse - somehow - over the last 20 years but why on Earth anyone would expect good singing at a Motorhead concert is beyond me.

[gazza285]

popeyewhite said:

Lemmy's singing wasn't terrible, it was exactly the kind of singing a band named 'Motorhead' required. Fuelled by years of speed, joints and whisky his voice and lungs were wrecked - but it was that real, lived, heavy rock lifestyle above other rock wannabees that gave Motorhead its credibility. His voice did get worse - somehow - over the last 20 years but why on Earth anyone would expect good singing at a Motorhead concert is beyond me.

This. His voice was a perfect fit for the music, and while there was no vocal gymnastics, I never notice him particularly out of tune, or off beat.

[Johnnytheboy]

His voice just got higher as his career went on, that's all.

[Halmyre]

gazza285 said:

popeyewhite said:

Lemmy's singing wasn't terrible, it was exactly the kind of singing a band named 'Motorhead' required. Fuelled by years of speed, joints and whisky his voice and lungs were wrecked - but it was that real, lived, heavy rock lifestyle above other rock wannabees that gave Motorhead its credibility. His voice did get worse - somehow - over the last 20 years but why on Earth anyone would expect good singing at a Motorhead concert is beyond me.

This. His voice was a perfect fit for the music, and while there was no vocal gymnastics, I never notice him particularly out of tune, or off beat.

His performance at Glastonbury 2015 wasn't great. He appeared to be struggling to get the words out.

[crofty1984]

Katy Perry.
The songs are catchy and suit her target audience, but there's no way you could call her any better than adequate. Still, she's made a decent living off it, so fair play to her.

[crofty1984]

Halmyre said:

gazza285 said:

popeyewhite said:

Lemmy's singing wasn't terrible, it was exactly the kind of singing a band named 'Motorhead' required. Fuelled by years of speed, joints and whisky his voice and lungs were wrecked - but it was that real, lived, heavy rock lifestyle above other rock wannabees that gave Motorhead its credibility. His voice did get worse - somehow - over the last 20 years but why on Earth anyone would expect good singing at a Motorhead concert is beyond me.

This. His voice was a perfect fit for the music, and while there was no vocal gymnastics, I never notice him particularly out of tune, or off beat.

His performance at Glastonbury 2015 wasn't great. He appeared to be struggling to get the words out.

To be fair to him he was in his late 60s and dying of cancer at that point.
Agree with the others, perfect for Motorhead, but in the annals of rock singers who were technically great singers, You'd not stand him up to the likes of someone like Freddie Mercury.

[So]

crofty1984 said:

Halmyre said:

gazza285 said:

popeyewhite said:

Lemmy's singing wasn't terrible, it was exactly the kind of singing a band named 'Motorhead' required. Fuelled by years of speed, joints and whisky his voice and lungs were wrecked - but it was that real, lived, heavy rock lifestyle above other rock wannabees that gave Motorhead its credibility. His voice did get worse - somehow - over the last 20 years but why on Earth anyone would expect good singing at a Motorhead concert is beyond me.

This. His voice was a perfect fit for the music, and while there was no vocal gymnastics, I never notice him particularly out of tune, or off beat.

His performance at Glastonbury 2015 wasn't great. He appeared to be struggling to get the words out.

To be fair to him he was in his late 60s and dying of cancer at that point.
Agree with the others, perfect for Motorhead, but in the annals of rock singers who were technically great singers, You'd not stand him up to the likes of someone like Freddie Mercury.

I heard Freddie Mercury hit his fair share of bum notes when performing live.

[popeyewhite]

crofty1984 said:

To be fair to him he was in his late 60s and dying of cancer at that point.

I saw Motorhead for the umpteenth time in 2014 (first saw them in the 70s!), and Lemmy wasn't well. Infirm and slightly out of sync. Very sad.

[gazza285]

popeyewhite said:

crofty1984 said:

To be fair to him he was in his late 60s and dying of cancer at that point.

I saw Motorhead for the umpteenth time in 2014 (first saw them in the 70s!), and Lemmy wasn't well. Infirm and slightly out of sync. Very sad.

I stopped going, it was obvious he was on his way out, I think he wanted to go out with a bang on stage, so kept going, even though it was plain to see he was not a well man.

[popeyewhite]

gazza285 said:

popeyewhite said:

crofty1984 said:

To be fair to him he was in his late 60s and dying of cancer at that point.

I saw Motorhead for the umpteenth time in 2014 (first saw them in the 70s!), and Lemmy wasn't well. Infirm and slightly out of sync. Very sad.

I stopped going, it was obvious he was on his way out, I think he wanted to go out with a bang on stage, so kept going, even though it was plain to see he was not a well man.

I wish I'd not gone If I'm honest. They only did a couple more gigs after that, one of them Glastonbury IIRC. I watched the TV coverage and they were dreadful. Some young rock fan on here posted how fantastic they had been, I think the whole Glasto experience must have gone to his head.

[Yetski]

popeyewhite said:

gazza285 said:

popeyewhite said:

crofty1984 said:

To be fair to him he was in his late 60s and dying of cancer at that point.

I saw Motorhead for the umpteenth time in 2014 (first saw them in the 70s!), and Lemmy wasn't well. Infirm and slightly out of sync. Very sad.

I stopped going, it was obvious he was on his way out, I think he wanted to go out with a bang on stage, so kept going, even though it was plain to see he was not a well man.

I wish I'd not gone If I'm honest. They only did a couple more gigs after that, one of them Glastonbury IIRC. I watched the TV coverage and they were dreadful. Some young rock fan on here posted how fantastic they had been, I think the whole Glasto experience must have gone to his head.

Can't remember how many times I saw Motorhead over the years, but I always preferred them at indoor venues, never got the full experience at festivals IMHO
The last time I saw them was at Hyde Park in 2014, and it was painful to watch, Lemmy only did the 1st and last 30% while Mickey Dee did a drum solo to fill in the middle, I said to my mates, this is probably the last time we'll see him and unfortunately I was correct, but there was only ever 1 Motorhead and that was Lemmy, nobody else's voice would have fit that roll.

[FN2TypeR]

What's the verdict on Ozzy? A prolific solo career and the best known front man for one of the biggest heavy metal acts of all time.

I'd put him in with Lemmy in that his range isn't particularly broad and that his proficiency as a singer is only so so but his style and voice are absolutely one of a kind and suit the music perfectly.

[gazza285]

FN2TypeR said:

What's the verdict on Ozzy? A prolific solo career and the best known front man for one of the biggest heavy metal acts of all time.

I'd put him in with Lemmy in that his range isn't particularly broad and that his proficiency as a singer is only so so but his style and voice are absolutely one of a kind and suit the music perfectly.

Tony Iommi was the frontman for Black Sabbath, Ozzy got to stand at the side. I guess he had his revenge there.

What he lacks in ability he more than makes up for in enthusiasm.

[popeyewhite]

gazza285 said:

FN2TypeR said:

What's the verdict on Ozzy? A prolific solo career and the best known front man for one of the biggest heavy metal acts of all time.

I'd put him in with Lemmy in that his range isn't particularly broad and that his proficiency as a singer is only so so but his style and voice are absolutely one of a kind and suit the music perfectly.

Tony Iommi was the frontman for Black Sabbath, Ozzy got to stand at the side. I guess he had his revenge there.

What he lacks in ability he more than makes up for in enthusiasm.

That's true. He's manic live. I don't think he's a particularly poor vocalist . Have to say though the Sabbath gig I enjoyed the most was way back on the Heaven and Hell tour, with Ronnie James Dio.

[FN2TypeR]

popeyewhite said:

That's true. He's manic live. I don't think he's a particularly poor vocalist . Have to say though the Sabbath gig I enjoyed the most was way back on the Heaven and Hell tour, with Ronnie James Dio.

I never got to see H&H, or Dio in any musical form Tremendous singer though, the live videos and recordings are all superb. This is amazing:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rABJl9qCt34

[marcosgt]

Gecko1978 said:

So said:

Florence Welch.

She either can't sing, or she sings in such a clever way that it's beyond my understanding. I think it's the former.

I actually think she has a great voice the lyrics are all over the shop but I like it.

I agree, but nearly all my favourites come up in these lists; Florence, Macy Grey, Bernard Sumner, Mick Jagger (OK, he has got a pretty dreadful voice), Jess Glynne (Not a brilliant singer, but decent enough, catchy tunes and very enjoyable live), etc, etc and then people bang on about what a brilliant singer Mariah Carey is and all I can hear when she 'sings' is stupid warbling and a sound not dissimilar to cats fighting in a dustbin.

I'm not a trained singer, so it's quite possible all my favourites are technically dreadful and Carey is the best vocalist ever to have walked the earth, but I hate her voice and do, I'll admit, have a penchant for the 'different' in terms of vocals.

So, I won't list anyone as I admit I have no qualification to judge, but some vocalists just 'work' for me, while others are totally lost on me.

I don't care whether a vocalist is 'good' or not, just whether I enjoy listening to them or not.

A list of singers we don't like is fairly pointless, but Freddie Mercury, the aforementioned Carey and Kate Bush will all figure highly in mine.

M

Edited by marcosgt on Thursday 9th July 16:52

[Magnum 475]

paulguitar said:

gazza285 said:

Supernova190188 said:

As for the suggestion of Whitney Houston, just ridiculous, often regarded as one of the greatest female vocalists there has ever been!

She deserves a mention after the hatchet job she did on I Will Always Love You.

That's a fair point, it was quite a pleasant song before she abused it. It also led to this sort of thing, later on, which is really rather sad:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4f_hG-AiiI

The thing with WH was that she could sing quite well, if she stayed within a limited vocal range. The problem was that she very rarely actually stayed in that range with the result that half of her music sounded more like screaming than singing.

[Billsnemesis]

Has anyone mentioned Taylor Swift yet? The live lounge she did was like fingernails down a blackboard

[anonymous-user]

marcosgt said:

A list of singers we don't like is fairly pointless, but Freddie Mercury, the aforementioned Carey and Kate Bush will all figure highly in mine.

M

Edited by anonymous-user on Thursday 9th July 16:52

Freddie Mercury wasn't a bad singer, not brilliant but was a great showman.
Kate Bush regarding her early career had a distinct voice which you either tooked to or not cared for, I was a big fan, I'm not a big fan of Mariah Carey or should I say I'm not a fan of the songs she sings but I think she has a great voice, her range is incredible.
Mick Jagger's voice went home soon after Goats Head Soup going by some of the live clips on Youtube.
As there's a Live Aid thread running, sorry Zep fans but Plant's voice was going home by the time they got to Knebworth in 79, his voice at Live Aid was chronic, great in is heyday mind you. Up to 1977 perhaps?