The 20 singers that Alice Cooper listed as the best of all time

Rolling Stone magazine listed the 100 best singers of all time back in 2008 with the help of many famous musicians who voted for their favorite artists. Alice Cooper was one of the voters who listed the 20 best singers of all time in his opinion at the time.

The 20 singers that Alice Cooper listed as the best of all time:

20 – Van Morrison

Born in Bellfast, Nothern Ireland back in 1945, Van Morrison began his career in the late 50’s and played many instruments like guitar, harmonica, keyboards and saxophone in several Irish showbands.

He got famous as the singer of Them, Nothern Irish band that mixed rock and R&B. One of their biggest hits were “Gloria” later covered by The Doors. His successful solo career had hits like “Brown Eyed Girl” and “Moondance”.

19 – Jim Morrison

The singer and one of main lyricists of The Doors, Jim Morrison died to soon at the age of 27 back in 1971. He made history with the American band due to his powerful voice, lyrics and on stage performances.

18 – Dionne Warwick

Born in New Jersey back in 1940, Dionne Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest hit makers from 1955 to 1999 acording to her chart history on Billboard’s Hot 100 pop singles chart.

17 – Frankie Valli

Known for his powerful lead falseto, Frankie Valli was the lead singer fo the Four Seasons group. Among their most famous songs are “Sherry”, “Big Girls Don’t Cry”, “Walk Like a Man” and “December 1963 (What a Night).”

16 – Levon Helm

Levon Helm was the drummer and singer of The Band, legendary Canadian group known for songs like “The Weight”, “Up On Cripple Creek” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down”.

15 – Joe Cocker

Born in Sheffield back in 1944, Joe Cocker was known for his bluesy voice and expressive body movements while singing. Among his most famous songs are The Beatles cover “With a Little Help From my Friends” and the cover of “You Are So Beautiful” written originally by Billy Preston and Bruce Fisher.

14 – Chuck Berry

One of the godfathers of Rock and Roll music, Chuck Berry inspired a whole generation of famous musicians in the 50s with singing, guitar playing and “duckwalk” while performing. He was one of the first musicians to be inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

13 – Laura Nyro

In an interview BBC Radio back in 2010 Alice Cooper talked about Laura Nyro, saying: “Laura Nyro may be the most underrated songwriter of all time. But her first two albums, every song is a hit. The second album ‘Eli and the Thirteenth Confession’ just crushed me, had me by the throat, like a Burt Bacharach, you know. So she was the female Burt Bacharach, that album, I worn it out ten times.”

12 – Paul Simon

Born in New Jersey back in 1941, Paul Simon was one of the voices of the famous duo Simon & Garfunkel that released songs like “Sound of Silence”, “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and “Mrs. Robinson”.

Simon also had a successful solo career with hits like “You Can Call Me All”, “Graceland” and “Me and Julio by the schoolyard”.

11 – Stevie Wonder

Stevie Wonder is one of the best-selling musicians in history with more than 100 million records sold. Blind since shortly after his birth, Wonder was a child prodigy known as Little Stevie Wonder, leading him to sign with Motown’s Tamla label at the age of 11.

10 – Steven Tyler

Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler is known as the “Demon of Screamin’” due to his high screams and his wide vocal range. The American Hard Rock band has many hits like “Dream On”, “What It Takes”, “Draw The Line”, “Angel” and “Sweet Emotion”.

9 – Smokey Robinson

Smokey Robinson was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief songwriter and producer.

He led the group from its 1955 origins as “the Five Chimes” until 1972, when he announced his retirement from the group to focus on his role as Motown’s vice president. However, Robinson returned to the music industry as a solo artist the following year. After the sale of Motown Records in 1988, Robinson left the company in 1990.

8 – Bob Dylan

Back in 2010, in an interview with BBC Radio Alice Cooper talked about Bob Dylan, saying:

“Bob Dylan, the poet laureate of America, he is just so ragged and yet you listen to him and there is so much going on with this guy as a lyricist of course, he is way up there. So I had to pick one song, but I could have picked 50 different Dylan songs. But this song for some reason always haunted me,” Alice Cooper said.

7 – Elvis Presley

Called the “King of Rock and Roll”, Elvis Presley was born in January 8, 1935 and died August 16, 1977. He is recalled as one of the most important cultural icons of the 20th century. The singer inspired a whole generation of musicians that would become successfull in the following decades.

6 – Freddie Mercury

Considered one of the best singers of all time due to his four-octave vocal range, Freddie Mercury made history as Queen’s vocalist. He wrote many of the bands hits like “Killer Queen”, “We Are The Champions”, “Don’t Stop Me Now” and “Bohemian Rhapsody”.

5 – John Lennon

John Lennon is considered one of the most important musicains of all time due to his work with The Beatles and on his solo career. The musician is responsible for many important songs from the 60s and 70s.

4 – Brian Wilson

In an interview BBC Radio back in 2010, Alice Cooper listed the 8 songs he would take to a desert island and he talked about The Beach Boys, saying: “When I was 12 I lived in Van Nuys, California and The Beach Boys were the thing pre-Beatles. ‘I Get Around’ came out and it was unique to anything that was out there and for some reason it spoke for every kid, you know, ‘I’m gettin’ bugged driving up and down the same old strip, I gotta finda new place where the kids are hip’.

“It just spoke to me and to this day. So everytime that song comes on I turn it up, it was sort of my 12 year-old first in love with the girl in my class and it was just that era.”

3 – Mick Jagger

Mick Jagger is an English singer, songwriter, actor, and film producer who has gained worldwide fame as the lead singer and one of the founder members of the Rolling Stones.

2 – Ray Charles

One of the most important American musicians of all time, Ray Charles was often called by friends “Brother Ray”. Charles was blinded during childhood due to glaucoma and pioneered the soul music genre back in the 50s with the combination of blues, jazz, rhythm and blues, and gospel styles into the music he recorded for Atlantic records.

1 – Paul McCartney

The Beatles bassist and singer Paul McCartney is considered one of the best songwriters and musicians of all time. He was responsible for many classics of the Fab Four and several other hits in his solo career.

Also became a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1965 and received knighthood in 1997 for services to music. In addition, McCartney is one of the wealthiest musicians in the world with an estimated fortune of £800 million.