This second playlist concerns singers for World Voice Day, first, my top 10 singers in order from lowest to highest, then performances and songs that have stuck with me as the years have gone by.
10-Ronnie Van Zant-I think it’s fair to say the modern incarnation of Country music wouldn’t exist without 1970s Lynyrd Skynyrd. Ronnie stated his feelings in music and was fierce and gentle, the kind of guy who’d punch your teeth out, but pay for it with a smile, the kind of guy who’d unfurl the stars and bars, but also wear a Jimi Hendrix T-shirt. His message was mostly to keep watch over the blessings in your life, because you may lose them beyond your control, and always focus on God and try to be the best you can be. I always like this clip because Ed King and Artimus Pyle would go on and help Billy Ray Cyrus write his memorial to Ronnie and “Free Bird” is a mammoth All-American anthem.
9-Miley Cyrus-I’m not sure if “FLOWERS” is my favorite Miley song, but I have more down the playlist. What I like the most about Miley now is she will try any genre she wants and collaborate with raw, amazing talent across the music business. In the last 8 years, she has done psychedelic with her Dad, country, Elton John covers, worked with Elton John and Andrew Watt on an emotive Metallica cover, sang pop with Ariana Grande, made rock with Andrew Watt, Billy Idol and Taylor Hawkins and pop songs with Brandi Carlile, Lil Nas X and Beyonce. She is open to many styles of self-expression and succeeds at all of them.
8-Stevie Nicks-I’ve off and on been interested in Fleetwood Mac because of the song “Landslide,” but it was this performance of “Rhiannon” that really made me take notice. Nicks starts relatively mellow, then goes fierce and bold, bringing crazy amounts of energy into her performance. Recently, she has performed and collaborated with Carrie Underwood, Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton, who are also among my favorite singers, which really makes me see her in a “Queen of Rock and Roll” light, like she is an entity of rock and roll who deigns to sing with the little people.
7-Ozzy Osbourne-The Godfather of Heavy Metal holds a special place for me musically due to his unrelenting discography of furious songs. Whether his work with Black Sabbath, Randy Rhoads, Zakk Wylde or his Patient Number 9 album, there’s usually a Metal classic there ready for headbanging, peace signs and singing along. I’ve always loved “Iron Man” since I was young, so it seemed like a good fit to represent Ozzy, but there’s more Ozzy later on.
6-Sammy Hagar-This song started as a jam session and wasn’t even going to be on the Sammy Hagar and the Circle (Sammy Hagar, Vic Johnson, Michael Anthony, Jason Bonham) album “Crazy Times,” but the producer insisted. Sammy was born so poor, his Mom had to make payments on his first guitar, which was $27, so a lot of The Circle’s material deals with misers, which is welcome at this point in history. He also has a bluesy quality to his voice, which helps the “hard luck, yet hopeful” message come through.
5-Brandi Carlile-Brandi’s not just one of my favorite singers, she is one of my favorite human beings for how she expresses herself. A Grammy-winner from the Seattle area, Brandi is both a lesbian and loves the Jesus story, which influences her love songs and songs about life. This is a Grammy-winning-song where she lets her voice get wild, encouraging the listener to try to be bold. It was apparently named after something her daughter Evangeline said.
4-David Coverdale-It’s amazing to me that David Coverdale’s been part of two famous hard rock bands, Deep Purple and Whitesnake. The music in both is incendiary, sweet and darn fun to listen to. David Coverdale’s also earned a reputation on Twitter as a memelord, posting funny pictures, clips and comics on a regular basis. I always love hearing him belt out “’Ere’s a song for ya!”
3-Robert Plant-One of the original frontmen, Robert Plant was a blues and rock fanatic from Birmingham, UK when Jimmy Page approached him and John Bonham to be in his new Yardbirds project. Bonham needed some convincing, but Plant’s lyrics and bluesy screams opened hard rock doors to haunting songs and furious rock and roll. Plant took influence from Tolkien and other authors for his lyrics, composing worlds through his words that he would invite audiences to take part in. This song is from a show in a building I’ve actually been in 12 years before I was born about a woman who asked Robert Plant to choose between her and his music.
2-Glenn Hughes-Glenn Hughes is a legend of the singing craft, earning the nickname “The Voice of Rock” through his journeys with Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Black Country Communion, The Dead Daisies and as a solo artist. I finally managed to see him at this show with the Dead Daisies in 2021 and this was one of the better songs of the evening. The drummer is also from the Ozzy Black Sabbath video, Tommy Clufetos of Detroit, MI. Glenn’s singing and bass-playing are almost unparalleled and I always look forward to his projects.
1-Rob Halford-Even without hearing Rob sing, the opening notes make me think of Guitar Hero or Rock Band. Like several names on this list, Rob’s been singing since the 1970s, however, I think he might’ve gotten better with age. His music sounds fiercer, more ready to confront the darkness that is front and center in our lives and ready to lead us in battle, introspection and to the light. I’m not exaggerating when I say that I think Rob Halford is the best Christian songwriter alive right now.
Yellow Submarine-I'm not sure where I'd put the members of The Beatles on my list of favorite singers. They feel like Rock and Roll royalty and while Ringo Starr is my favorite, I feel The Beatles were at their best when they used harmonies, like on "She Loves You," "Day Tripper," and the chorus here. I also really liked the harmonies on the chorus of "Now and Then," where Ringo sang backup with Paul on John's original recording, Ringo doesn't often sing backup.
Don’t Dream It’s Over-A cute moment from 2017 that started with these two in pajamas at the Backyard Sessions in 2015. I don’t know when I heard the song itself first, but Miley and Ariana are adorable together here and Ariana has a good voice for Pop music. I think Miley might have a crush on her because she hugs her here and goes a little further in the next one.
Don’t Call Me Angel-Miley and Ariana do great here, too, and also co-wrote this song. Lana del Rey also delivers a breathy bridge and Miley lets us know she’s really into Ariana by licking her cheek. She is also really into spaghetti by eating it from her fist while standing up. This just looks like it was fun for the three young women involved, like a rock concert.
Nothing Else Matters-I hate the self-centered imbeciles you run across in social media. This song is why I’m okay listing Miley Cyrus up there with Rob Halford and Ozzy Osbourne as favorite rock singers and I point that out in plain, distinct English and people still don’t get it and think I’m the idiot who just lost all rock friends I could ever have. This is one of the best covers I’ve ever heard and may even be better than the original. The video is captivating and haunting, the vocals between wailing highs and gruff lows, it’s pure metal.
Crazy Train-This is mainly for the amazing guitar prowess of
Randy Rhoads, but overall, the song is a metal classic and Ozzy always brings his
best singing these lyrics. This is often
used at sporting events and is also used just for a good time in rock
concerts. I’ve seen the bassist, Rudy
Sarzo, perform this in concert and the drummer, Tommy Aldridge, play with
Whitesnake. He played on the earlier Whitesnake track, in fact.
Flying High Again-Ozzy in full form as “The Madman” in 1989 with Zakk Wylde, Geezer Butler and Randy Castillo. It’s a real treat to hear Wylde play one of his heroes, Randy Rhoads, and see Geezer Butler going wild on bass. Ozzy also sings and performs in a captivating way that helps show why he was one of the most beloved and biggest rock stars on the planet, truly creating an amazing show. I’ve seen Ozzy and Geezer with Black Sabbath and Zakk with Generation Axe.
Breaking the Law-A live performance of Judas Priest’s biggest hit, showcasing Rob Halford’s mastery of metal singing. His snarling delivery and dual guitar leads of Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner really make this a standout live performance, helped with things like the flaming Priest logo. This song has endured for 4 and a half decades due to performances like this and its powerhouse original recording.
Poor Everybody Else-This is from the concert I saw in March 2023, I always liked Carrie Underwood’s voice, she has a good voice for every genre, and her Freddie Mercury microphone stand and drumming at the end. She is one of my favorite modern artists for making her shows a thorough experience with her voice and surrounding instrumentation and I think this is a good showcase of that.
Take Hold Of The Flame-Geoff Tate was listed in my Top 10 singers the first time, but that's mostly because it was all males aside from Miley. However, he does hold a special place in my heart and if there were a way to fit 11 in the top 10, he'd easily be in there (I suppose that makes him number 11, then). His acoustic show was a great, cathartic experience and I think his era was the best of Queensryche.
The One You Love to Hate-Geoff Tate with Rob Halford, two of my favorite metal singers singing together. There's also Bruce Dickinson, but he kept this project from becoming a CD by demanding Ronnie James Dio instead of Geoff Tate and has recently insulted Metallica and U2, so despite being my first Metal vocalist to see live, I don't like him nearly as much as I used to.
Headbangeeeeerrrrr-I have no idea where I'd put non-English singers if I were to rank them among English-speaking singers, but Su-Metal, MoaMetal and MomoMetal have good voices, making the harmonies, exuberant shouts and choreography of BabyMetal great. Moa is my favorite because she is the most adorable with her giant pigtails, and this was a show where they let her get the vocal spotlight on this song.
PROMISE U-When I listen to K-Pop, it's usually these two, Solar and Moon Byul or their group, MAMAMOO, which is a quartet. This is their side project, MAMAMOO+, which is just the two of them, which has good chemistry on and off stage with the animated Moon Byul and the more solid, but still rather silly, Solar. Moon Byul is the one who does the rap-style singing while Solar sings in more of a typical pop fashion.
Thousand Miles-This was one of my favorite songs from last year, starting as an idea for Miley to write a song about how much she loved Noah, her sister, and going onward into self-introspection and enjoyment of a partner or a friend. The harmony vocals by Brandi Carlile give it a nice boost and make the song overall beautiful and one of my overall favorites.
Edge of Midnight-The writers of “Midnight Sky” credited Stevie Nicks because they felt part of it was close to “Edge of Seventeen,” here, the singers of both sing both songs in a mashup, showing that Stevie Nicks is just as capable a singer in the 2020s as she was in the 1970s and 1980s and Miley’s love of the classics. Because of this, often when I hear Edge of Seventeen in a mashup, like Jess Harnell’s mashup with “Eye of the Tiger” or Petty Or Not’s Medley with “Stop Dragging My Heart Around” and “Running Down A Dream,” I will often sing “The Midnight Sky is the road I’m taking” after “Just like a white-wing dove, sing the song she’s always singing, ooh, ooh, say, ooh.”
Crack Cocaine-One of my favorite metal songs of this year, this was completely unexpected since Ozzy’s guitar hero pileup album “Patient Number 9” seemed to finish his singing and recording career. I guess Billy Morrison can be persuasive and Ozzy sings it very well, while the solo is delivered by Steve Stevens, who did the guitar work for Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell” and SSgt (ret) Mark Plummer and Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Do What I Do.”
What Has Rock and Roll Ever Done For You-One of my favorites off the “Rockstar” album, not sure where to find the original Stevie Nicks version, you can’t find it on either iTunes or Amazon, just YouTube and I don’t know where they found it. Love the little banter between Stevie and Dolly at the beginning and end, I imagine this was fun to record.
Bygones-Another of my favorites of Dolly Parton's "Rockstar" album, this is a duet between her and Rob Halford, who were both inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022. This also features Motley Crue guitarist John 5 and bassist Nikki Sixx on the instrumentation. You wouldn't think this would work, but it was one of my two favorite metal songs from last year, up there with BabyMetal's "METALI" with Tom Morello.
Free Bird-Yet another of my favorites off the “Rockstar” album, Dolly Parton with the Artimus Pyle Band, Gary Rossington on guitar and an archival recording of Ronnie Van Zant. It is a great conclusion to the album, a great conclusion to my World Voice Day playlists and Dolly Parton sounds excited and enthusiastic. Love it very much.
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