# Who are the five worst singers of pop music in the second half of the 20th century? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 1, 2017, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-five-worst-singers-of-pop-music-in-the-second-half-of-the-20th-century/776037 "2017-01-01T11:24:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2017, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-five-worst-singers-of-pop-music-in-the-second-half-of-the-20th-century/776037/61 "2017-01-03T21:04:53Z")
I’m going to add to the pile-on of Billy Corgan. That Landslide cover is just horrendous. Horrendous! I heard that in my office building lobby a couple weeks ago and I thought Billy himself must be utterly embarrassed of that song. Five or ten years ago I would have said Geddy Lee. And there are Rush songs that I think don’t fit his voice. Tom Sawyer comes to mind, although I’m sure many will disagree. But other song really do work for him, like Limelight, Subdivisions and many others. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2017, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-five-worst-singers-of-pop-music-in-the-second-half-of-the-20th-century/776037/62 "2017-01-03T21:12:12Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > I’m going to add to the pile-on of Billy Corgan. That Landslide cover is just horrendous. Horrendous! I heard that in my office building lobby a couple weeks ago and I thought Billy himself must be utterly embarrassed of that song. I really think it’s a gorgeous cover, FWIW. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2017, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-five-worst-singers-of-pop-music-in-the-second-half-of-the-20th-century/776037/63 "2017-01-03T21:42:19Z")
[quote=“drad\_dog, post:59, topic:776037”] I agree on all points. Also: Adam Duritz is really bad. And tasteless. Eddie Vedder is just tasteless. Adam makes the list but Eddie doesn’t. Here’s some bad: -A band who imitates another band I didn’t like anyway, and badly at that. Check out the singers line endings- Rancid. [/QUOTE] What do you mean by tasteless? ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2017, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-five-worst-singers-of-pop-music-in-the-second-half-of-the-20th-century/776037/64 "2017-01-03T23:04:31Z")
I absolutely love Leon Russell’s voice and can’t stand Song for You sung by anyone else! I nominate the melisma girls. (Mariah, Celine, Cristina, etc.) Technically good, I suppose, but …not for me. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2017, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-five-worst-singers-of-pop-music-in-the-second-half-of-the-20th-century/776037/65 "2017-01-03T23:34:49Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > What do you mean by tasteless? Emoting, whining, grunting, and/or eyeball rolling, without the material to support it. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-five-worst-singers-of-pop-music-in-the-second-half-of-the-20th-century/776037/66 "2017-01-04T00:34:34Z")
I’ve never understood the appeal of Kim Carnes. I’ve read various sources that describe her voice as “throaty” or “raspy” as if it’s a good thing…it sounds to me like she’s got a really sore throat. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-five-worst-singers-of-pop-music-in-the-second-half-of-the-20th-century/776037/67 "2017-01-04T06:39:08Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > He actually was a great singer with an amazing vocal range. People only know his falsetto, but he could do so much more. Yes, as has been discussed in earlier threads. He was a genuine crackpot (it was no act), but also a _very_ good singer. And a walking encyclopedia of early 20th century popular music. ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-five-worst-singers-of-pop-music-in-the-second-half-of-the-20th-century/776037/68 "2017-01-04T09:09:16Z")
Florence Welsh from Florence and the machine. I liked her album. Her voice seemed distinctive and interesting. Then I saw her perform live on SNL one time. Truly the most embarassing display of vocals I have ever seen. We are talking X Factor joke candidates. I only assume they mix the hell out of the album vocals to make it sound bearable. But she really thinks she can sing, but she really really can’t. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-five-worst-singers-of-pop-music-in-the-second-half-of-the-20th-century/776037.md?page=3)