A couple of years ago, Billboard and Ultimate Classic Rock published lists of the greatest rock and roll singers ever. Billboard chose 50 and UCR picked 40 for reasons that elude the mortal man.
We here at Audiophix are doing our somewhat altered version of Billboard and UCR. My fellow music lover Joel Wagler and I have each come up with our own list of the greatest female singers in rock history. Like Billboard and UCR, we have arrived at two numbers and lists.
Of course, there are bound to be some replications, and there is one very significant one near the top of our respective countdowns, but, by and large, we came up with these independently of each other and reached some different conclusions.
Who are the greatest female vocalists in rock & roll history?
Billboard/UCR came up with 77 names in their rankings of all rock vocalists. Only 13 singers appeared on both countdowns. You can do the math, but it would seem that when rankings are made of great singers, a lot of subjectivity comes into play. I’m sure this is true of guitarists, drummers, and electric jug players, but somehow, I think vocalists divide fans more than any.
Beauty, after all, is in the ear of the listener.
One thing is undeniable when looking at these lists – and plenty of others just like them. Men get more love than women. On the Billboard list, 14 female vocalists were mentioned – 13, if you come down on the political side of the argument that will not allow for Laura Jane Grace to be counted. By my math, that’s just over a quarter of the names.
UCR had even less representation, with seven out their 40 spots going to women.
This is understandable. For much of rock and roll’s history, female artists were viewed as novelty acts or pop acts masquerading as rock and roll. That prejudice still exists, though it is becoming increasingly more complex to sustain.
My rankings are entirely subjective. I don’t mind being subjective. Anyone who has the audacity to write something down which purports to choose the “best” of anything has to come to terms with the fact that plenty of people will vehemently disagree. That’s part of the fun.
What I find harder is narrowing the focus into something useful. What exactly qualifies as a “rock singer?” A debate just like this has been tearing the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame apart for a while now, as rock-adjacent artists are being considered for induction.
Was Cher a rock singer? Is Adele? Pink? Gwen Stefani? Do we consider Sister Rosetta Tharpe, who was a dominant influence on rock & roll but was at her core a gospel singer? For the record, none of these incredible voices are included here.
I’ll admit that I decided to be stricter than usual in determining who I would put on this list. A few of my choices may flirt with the edges of rock, but I firmly believe that each of the following 20 singers had a substantial body of rock and roll material, even if they did other types of music during their careers.
And so, with that out of the way, on to the list…
20. Genya Ravan
Whether fronting Goldie and the Gingerbreads or Ten Wheel Drive, Genya Ravan could do sweet lyrical numbers or belt out bluesy rockers with the best of them. As Goldie, her cover of Herman’s Hermits’ “Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat” adds a touch of swagger to what Peter Noone did in the popular original.
A few years later, with the more psychedelic Ten Wheel Drive, she proved to be one of the best channelers of Janis Joplin on songs like “Ain’t Gonna Happen” and “Morning Much Better.”
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