My Vinyl Countdown has found its favorite rock vocal performances.
Here’s a list of the Top 3 overall, followed by a list of Top 3 male vocal performances (not including the Top 3 I previously named.) And, yes, Top 3 female vocal performances.
This is highly subjective. When I say performance I don’t mean necessarily live – it could be live or a studio version. Here we go, short and sweet.
1) Joe Cocker ‘With a Little Help from Friends.’ Live at Woodstock. This cover of the Beatles song was turned inside out and milked to an explosion of emotion. Seeing him sing it makes it all the more potent as he writhes and sways as he pulls out deep feelings and blasts them into the souls of listeners who know not what is happening
2) Janis Joplin “Me and Bobby’ McGee.’ The cover of the Kris Kristofferson song came as a surprise. No one thought the shrieking hellhound from Texas could wrench so much emotion out of what was a deceptively well-written vagabond song. She gets under and over the notes in an amazing show of restraint letting it out, cathartically, at the end with the most natural sounding ‘na na na’ chorus this side of Wilson Pickett’s Land of a 1,000 Dances.
3) Sly Stone ‘If You Want Me to Stay.’ With its thumping thunking bass line forcing you on your feet, This mid-tempo Sly song covers all the bases vocally, from yodel flip to falsetto and back to heavy chest vibrating low octaves. It has soul and it is making the soul work.
Quick hits male and female:
Top 3 (Male vocal performance other than the above)
1) Prince “The Beautiful Ones.’’ Oh my! Nothing to say when you get to the end.
2) Wilson Pickett Hey Jude Beatles version is great but Pickett with guitar session help from Duane Allman tears the cover off.
3) Elvis Presley Fever (I also considered Jailhouse Rock and Kentucky Rain.}
Top 3 (Female vocal performance other than the above)
1) Eva Cassidy“Over the Rainbow” a pop ballad, not really rock. But when you hear this live version of the classic song, sung in a DC area night club with only Eva’s voice and acoustic guitar, you instantly are told by the chills down your neck that this is singing. And Magic. Singer died too young.
2) Gayle McCormick “Baby, It’s You.” The Shirelles did it, the Beatles did it but nobody did this song better than the lead singer of A Group Called Smith.
3) Tina Turner “Better be Good to Me’ Tina was the real deal, singer, performer, and role model.
Honorable mentions Aretha Franklin ‘R-E-S-P-E-C-T and Hocus Pocus by Focus singer Thijs van Leer.
Hocus Pocus is one weird vocal.
And in signing off I’ll cheat with one more cannot be ignored vocal: Little Richard Tutti Frutti/Long Tall Sally
Suggestions, critiques – all welcome.
Also published in AL.com here.
BONUS QUESTION: Which one of these artists on the list are from Alabama. (Scroll down to see).
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Wilson Pickett born in Prattville.