10 of the most Famous Rock Singers

Photo by Michael Dinger. Wikimedia Commons.

10 of the most Famous Rock Singers

Many elements make a truly great rock singer. At the top of the list are a powerful vocal range and captivating stage presence. A perfect combination of range, power, articulation and control is needed to become one of the greatest vocalists of all time. All of those can be taught but the natural ability to have that golden voice, as all of these great rock vocalists possess, is nothing that can be learned.

These rock singers are legends who have all the above. They have managed to shape rock music from the 19s up to right now. Let us therefore look at the 10 of the most Famous Rock Singers.

1. Robert Plant

Robert Plant fronting Band of Joy at Birmingham Symphony Hall, 27 October 2010. Photo by Egghead06 . Wikimedia Commons.

Robert Plant is a legendary rock singer who featured in the band Led Zeppelin from 1968 to 1980. He was born in Staffordshire, England, and exposed early to American blues music. By 17, he was singing for a group called Band of Joy, a cover band.

He soon came to the attention of Yardbirds guitarist Jimmy Page, who hired him and drummer John Bonham in 1968. With that, Led Zeppelin was born. Plant sang a distinctive tenor voice.

His incredible vocal range would propel Led Zeppelin into supergroup status throughout the late 1960s and 1970s. The song “Stairway to Heaven” is considered one of the greatest rock songs ever recorded.

2. Freddie Mercury (Queen)

Freddie Mercury’s unmatched four-octave vocal range and front man theatrics made him one of the greatest rock singers in history. Born Farrokh Bulsara in Tanzania, Mercury formed Queen in 1970 with Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon.

By 1975, they had reached international success with songs like “Killer Queen” and “Bohemian Rhapsody.” The latter is now the most-streamed song of the 20th Century.

3. Elvis Presley

Photo by CBS Television. Wikimedia Commons.

Elvis Presley is one of the most influential icons of the 20th Century. He had a stage presence and rockabilly style that turned him into the legendary “King of Rock and Roll.” Presley is recognized in the Guinness World Records as the best-selling solo music artist of all time by selling over 500 million records worldwide.

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. Born in 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi, Presley released his first single “Heartbreak Hotel” in 1956 and it would become a number-one hit for RCA Records.

4. Bruce Springsteen

Springsteen has become one of the world’s best-selling music artists, having sold more than 150 million records worldwide. He is known for his heartland rock style of music celebrating the life of working-class Americans.

Springsteen knew he wanted to be a musician at the age of seven after seeing Elvis Presley on The Ed Sullivan Show. Springsteen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999. In 2016, President Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

5. Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan, onstage in Victoria-Gasteiz, at the Azkena Rock Festival. Photo by Alberto Cabello. Wikimedia Commons.

Bob Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman in Duluth, Minnesota. He started out as an acoustic folk musician with early anti-war anthems. In 1965, Dylan went electric and helped shape the rock and roll genre.

His song “Subterranean Homesick Blues” was accompanied by one of the first-ever music videos. Dylan has sold more than 125 million records over a six-decade career, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time.

He has received numerous Grammy Awards, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, a Nobel Prize in Literature, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.

6. Steven Tyler (Aerosmith)

Steven Tyler was born Steven Victor Tallarico in Manhattan, New York. He became the colorful front man for the rock band Aerosmith. Tyler’s on-stage acrobatics, high screams, and wide vocal range helped Aerosmith to secure its place among the best rock bands of the 1970s.

They made hits which included “Dream On,” “Sweet Emotion,” and “Walk This Way.” Tyler was included in Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Singers and was third on Hit Parader’s Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time. In 2001, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Aerosmith.

7. Tina Turner

Tina Turner’s magnetic charisma and powerhouse vocals took her from Nutbush, Tenn, to stages worldwide. As a teenager named Anna Mae Bullock, she heard Ike Turner sing and was drawn to the sound.

He hired her, renamed her Tina Turner and married her. She escaped the marriage and partnership because of abuse. Her solo career started out a little rocky, but 1984’s “Private Dancer” made her a superstar.

8. Janis Joplin

Photo of Janis Joplin performing from a trade ad for her “Greatest Hits” album, which was released after her death. Photo by Columbia Records. Wikimedia Commons.

Janis Joplin’s raw, soulful vocal style has made her one of the most legendary rock vocalists of all time. She first gained fame as the singer in the rock band Big Brother and the Holding Company.

However, she experienced even greater success as a solo artist. Sadly, she passed away in 1970 at age 27. Her single “Me and Bobby McGee” was a posthumous number one hit.

9. Ann Wilson

Singer-songwriter Ann Wilson and her sister guitarist Nancy Wilson joined the band Heart in the early 1970s. They became one of the most successful Canadian bands of all time.

Heart has sold over 20 million albums and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013. Ann Wilson released her first solo album “Hope & Glory” in 2007. In 2015, she embarked on a solo tour as “The Ann Wilson Thing.”

10. David Bowie

Tony Defries and David Bowie at Pork at London’s Roundhouse 1971. Photo by Djmehow. Wikimedia Commons.

Born David Robert Jones in London, England in 1947, he became David Bowie at the age of 18. He did that to separate himself from another local singer, Davy Jones, who would later front the band, The Monkees.

Influenced by the likes of Little Richard, Elvis Presley, and Chuck Berry, Bowie was known for his artistic persona transformations. From the androgynous Ziggy Stardust of the early 1970s to the mainstream success in the 1980s, Bowie frequently experimented with musical styles.

Bowie collaborated with Queen to create the smash hit “Under Pressure” in 1981, and followed that two years later with his greatest commercial success, “Let’s Dance.” The title track hit number one on both the UK and US charts.