# Dope Idol - Lead Singers Who Can't Sing **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 8, 2011, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-idol-lead-singers-who-cant-sing/595609 "2011-09-08T13:34:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-idol-lead-singers-who-cant-sing/595609/41 "2011-09-09T20:18:28Z")
Stephen Pearcy of Ratt. Even back in my hairband days, we called his style “singing by speaking in one note.” ---
**Author:** ![Billy\_Baroo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/76d3ee/32.png) [@Billy\_Baroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billy_Baroo)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-idol-lead-singers-who-cant-sing/595609/42 "2011-09-09T20:55:56Z")
Anthony Kiedis (Red Hot Chili Peppers). His tone and pitch are ruinous. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-idol-lead-singers-who-cant-sing/595609/43 "2011-09-09T21:03:42Z")
Liam Gallagher, Oasis George Thorogood Ozzy Osbourne Bob Welch, mid-period Fleetwood Mac Not that I don’t like them. Or Dylan and Tom Waits, who are so deliberately and ludicrously bad that I’ve always assumed it was something of an affectation. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-idol-lead-singers-who-cant-sing/595609/44 "2011-09-09T21:19:42Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > Myself, I would nominate the guys in Phish. I’m judging solely by _Round Room_ and _Undermind_, but it seems to me that none of those guys can sing their way out of a paper bag. The Grateful Dead didn’t have a true lead singer for most of their tenure. But they did have three guys who tried to sing. Jerry Garcia didn’t have range but I can see why people liked his voice. I don’t think anyone should have ever allowed Phil Lesh or Bob Weir to sing. Weir’s voice has gotten even worse with age, too. > [@Billy\_Baroo](#): > > Anthony Kiedis (Red Hot Chili Peppers). His tone and pitch are ruinous. Another legit nomination, I think. Most of their slow songs are pretty painful for this reason. I do like Soul to Squeeze because- well, Flea is Flea. > [@Haunted\_Pasta](#): > > In my view, the gentleman who sings for the Rolling Stones has a voice that is iconic, that IS the Rolling Stones, and that may be a lot of other things, but is not actually, you know, good. From a technical standpoint I’m sure he isn’t, and I’m not big Stones fan to begin with. But he does have personality and his voice fits their music. > [@Blaster\_Master](#): > > And Kurt Cobain. I guess it fits the whole punk thing, but his voice is just awful. I think his voice is very expressive. I’ve been listening to more Nirvana recently than I have in a long time. What I’m hearing is that while he’s not singing a lot of notes and you don’t always know what he’s singing (because he didn’t want you to), there is a lot happening in that voice. It’s intense and it’s gripping. > [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Neil Young I didn’t used to like his singing, particularly the high-pitched stuff, but now I do. I just finally heard the right song and saw how the falsetto stuff fits into what he is going for. Lots of people have covered Neil Young songs but I think it’s hard to imagine some other voice fitting on the originals. > [@The\_Tooth](#): > > David Byrne. But that’s fine, because he’s David Byrne. Is famous for talk-singing, but can definitely sing. > [@Dogzilla](#): > > Bob Dylan […] Tom Petty I think Petty based his vocal style heavily on Dylan’s, so this makes sense. 😉 > [@Don\_Draper](#): > > Jimi Hendrix famously remarked that one of the biggest influences on his career was Bob Dylan. Most especially because Hendrix believed he could never make it as a solo performer because of his rotten singing vioce, then he heard a few Dylan records and thought (paraphrasing) “Well if that cat can get that far, with that voice, then…” I was thinking about Hendrix’s voice recently, and while I don’t think a lot of people have him on their list of favorite singers, I will say that some of his lyrics are _very_ wordy and I think a lot of other singers would have struggled to make them fit with the music. Hendrix made it work. I don’t think he was ever fully confident in his singing. His best performance might’ve been the version of Bleeding Heart" on the recent outtakes album - he forgets the words a couple of times, but the vocals themselves are pretty strong. ---
**Author:** ![Billy\_Baroo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/76d3ee/32.png) [@Billy\_Baroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billy_Baroo)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-idol-lead-singers-who-cant-sing/595609/45 "2011-09-09T21:41:06Z")
Very few of these nominees make sense. It’s not “lead singers you don’t like”. Ozzy and DLR are two of the greatest heavy metal singers of all time. Bob Dylan and Tom Waits can sing, they just choose to sing not so pretty. Phish doesn’t have a lead singer. And they are actually pretty good singers for a jam band. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-idol-lead-singers-who-cant-sing/595609/46 "2011-09-09T23:13:55Z")
Most of my favourite singers are mentioned in this thread… Rather that attempt to refute what is, obviously, personal opinion, I shall just be sad, and listen to some recent Dylan. I will point out that I consider there to be a difference between whether you consider someone’s voice to be attractive, and whether you consider that they use the voice they have effectively. The latter is emphatically what I would consider when judging whether someone can sing. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-idol-lead-singers-who-cant-sing/595609/47 "2011-09-10T02:10:09Z")
Fred Schneider of the B52s Peter Garrett of Midnight Oil Both these guys are awesome performers, that I’d pay money to see any day of the week. Fred Schneider presumably knows damn well he can’t sing, which is why he mostly talks, with only the occasional foray into musical vocalisation. Peter Garrett gets by on enthusiasm and stage presence. This thread should have been “lead singers who can’t sing _but nonetheless create great music_”. Then it would have been much more interesting. Much shorter though. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-idol-lead-singers-who-cant-sing/595609/48 "2011-09-10T17:26:51Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > Nick Cave and Tom Waits, IMO, are indeed testing the listening public’s definition of singer. I get it’s their style, and I do think it works, but it’s hard on my ears. Excellent post. I don’t think it “works” though. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-idol-lead-singers-who-cant-sing/595609/49 "2011-09-10T18:28:24Z")
> [@Haunted\_Pasta](#): > > In my view, the gentleman who sings for the Rolling Stones has a voice that is iconic, that IS the Rolling Stones, and that may be a lot of other things, but is not actually, you know, good. Change Rolling Stones to U2 and you’ve described Paul “Bonovox” Hewson ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-idol-lead-singers-who-cant-sing/595609/50 "2011-09-10T19:26:27Z")
> [@charmstr](#): > > The wonderful and evocative song stylings of Tom Waits. I didn’t know who Tom Waits was, so I googled him. I immediately thought “He sounds like a muppet! Oscar the Grouch? No, not quite… oh, Cookie Monster!” So I then googled for “Tom Waits sounds like” and Google has “…like Cookie Monster” as the only auto-complete choice. Then I found [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5X4N2exOsU). Perfect. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-idol-lead-singers-who-cant-sing/595609/51 "2011-09-10T19:38:11Z")
> [@Biffer\_Spice](#): > > I would add Axl Rose I could not disagree with you more. Rose has an extremely broad vocal range and is uniformly spot on with the melody in all of those ranges. Which Rose are you talking about? The anthemic hard driving voice he uses on Paradise City? The tuneful baritone crooner on So Fine or Patience? The soft-then-hard alternation of Civil War? The slow build from a sad love song to an anguished falsetto howl on Don’t Cry? Rose’s voice is one of the best things about G n’ R. I can’t think of many lead vocalists whose voice was more adapted (and adaptable) to the other aspects of the band’s sound. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-idol-lead-singers-who-cant-sing/595609/52 "2011-09-10T21:25:27Z")
Ian Brown, my god! and yet…The Stone Roses first album is superb. My 4 year old was bopping along like a mentalist to “she bangs the drum” just today. At the end he waited a beat then said…“I LIKE that one daddy!” Of course he does, how can he not? To be honest, the technical excellence of the lead singer is a minor contribution. It really doesn’t matter. A bad singer can’t spoil a great song, but a good singer can’t make a bad song good. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-idol-lead-singers-who-cant-sing/595609/53 "2011-09-10T21:51:23Z")
> [@Huerta88](#): > > I could not disagree with you more. > > Rose has an extremely broad vocal range and is uniformly spot on with the melody in all of those ranges. > > Which Rose are you talking about? The anthemic hard driving voice he uses on Paradise City? The tuneful baritone crooner on So Fine or Patience? The soft-then-hard alternation of Civil War? The slow build from a sad love song to an anguished falsetto howl on Don’t Cry? > > Rose’s voice is one of the best things about G n’ R. I can’t think of many lead vocalists whose voice was more adapted (and adaptable) to the other aspects of the band’s sound. Aww GD Duff did lead vocals on (and wrote) So Fine. But my point remains. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-idol-lead-singers-who-cant-sing/595609/54 "2011-09-10T23:54:56Z")
I second Jagger. I had a radio once that separated his singing. It was just terrible. Zero range. ---
**Author:** ![Catfood\_Purrito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Catfood\_Purrito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catfood_Purrito)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2011, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-idol-lead-singers-who-cant-sing/595609/55 "2011-09-11T18:48:34Z")
Colin Meloy of The Decemberists. I love their music. LOVE it. Went to see them in concert in July and it was really excellent. But the dude does horrible things with vowels that needs correction. ---
**Author:** ![MisterPeabody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@MisterPeabody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MisterPeabody)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-idol-lead-singers-who-cant-sing/595609/56 "2012-06-05T02:18:29Z")
Hey guys. If it’s rock and roll it’s not suppose to sound gooood. One name not mention yet but I absolutely loathe to hear sing is Scott Stapp from Creed. Fingernails on a . . . . ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-idol-lead-singers-who-cant-sing/595609/57 "2012-06-05T02:35:01Z")
> [@Billy\_Baroo](#): > > Anthony Kiedis (Red Hot Chili Peppers). His tone and pitch are ruinous. How on earth did it take 42 posts to get to this? Kiedis often slides his way up to notes in the attempt to find the right pitch, and yet misses. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-idol-lead-singers-who-cant-sing/595609/58 "2012-06-05T02:36:20Z")
And while Nick Cave absolutely cannot sing, he’s still one of my favorite singers. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![montag01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@montag01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/montag01)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-idol-lead-singers-who-cant-sing/595609/59 "2012-06-05T04:19:54Z")
Wayne Coyne. I love the Flaming Lips, and I think Coyne’s voice works very well for their material. But any time I’ve heard him do a cover, I think it sounds awful–tinny, thin and pitched just a bit too high. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-idol-lead-singers-who-cant-sing/595609/60 "2012-06-05T16:05:18Z")
Nobody mentioned Brian Ferry yet! :eek: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-idol-lead-singers-who-cant-sing/595609.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dope-idol-lead-singers-who-cant-sing/595609.md?page=4)