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As I bought tickets for my son and I to see a Chicago Cubs game before he goes back to college and there’s now a 100 percent chance of thunderstorms, I started singing this song. I had to play the video so my son would know it.
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Good darn question. In no particular order:
Paul McCartney
John Lennon
Freddie Mercury
Roger Daltrey
Paul Rogers
Except for the first two, this list will change in one hour.
In the FWIW category I saw a chart once comparing Freddie Mercury’s highest sung note (not a scream, but a sung note) and Paul McCartney’s. Both covered FOUR FULL…Read More -
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I’m not really a rock guy so my picks would probably the standard icons. However, there is this one guy in the deathcore genre (you know, just screams and grunts, no clean ‘allowed’), Will Ramos from the band Lorna Shore. The things he does with his voice are out of this world.
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He had a great voice. I was just talking about his voice the other day when I was out with my family and a Boston song came on. Of course, Tom Scholz guitar and organ playing was also excellent. Foreplay/Longtime was a staple of my childhood and everything about that was perfect, IMO.
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Freddy Mercury
Brad Delp
Steve Perry
Robert Plant
Ian Anderson (prior to voice issues, circa 1970 and before)
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I know that @peter-ik have discussed this one before (not in social media, but privately). The late Terry Kath of Chicago. His studio version of “25 or 6 to 4” is a masterpiece. I realize that some of you will say that I’m biased (because Chicago is my hometown), but I have been in love with this guitar work since I was a kid. Hey, even Jimi…Read More
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Agreed of course, since you know how I love his work especially on that song. That song and copping a bunch of his techniques was a good part of how I got into the music school of my dreams… Ah to be that 17 year old again…
Sorry I didn’t realize hitting enter would submit, duh. I know this is the question of a different day already but I…Read More
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Okay, side note, I only intended the title “Question of the Day” to be kind of a silly theme about me coming up with a question — not even on a daily basis. I hope people will respond to them whenever they see them. So I suppose maybe I should rename it. Suggestions? Question of the Week??? I’m open. My goal is just to create something fun that…Read More
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Only underrated by “young me”. When I was growing up on the Great Plains I was a cultural snob and hated country music, probably because that genre was most popular there. I personally didn’t appreciate guys like Jerry Reed and Roy Clark at the time (remember Hee-Haw?). Both great talents.
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He is massively rated on the English folk scene (despite now living in the US 😉 ) but Richard Thompson has never acquired the wider recognition he so Rich(ly) deserves. I must admit the first time I saw him playing acoustic I didn’t get it but then I saw him electric with a full band and I very much did! An astonishing player whom I have seen…Read More
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If it weren’t for a certain other guitar player in his band, I think Pat Sansone would get a bit more credit.
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I love Wilco. I even did a cover of “Radio Cure” and considered “On and On.” But your mentioning one of the band members name caused me to realize that I’ve never really thought of the guitar on a critical level in the band, and that’s super rare for me. I have to go back and listen more critically. Any songs that you think stand out as really…Read More
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Obviously “Impossible Germany”. I should point out that Pat Sansone does most of the lead work during the verses, which is overshadowed by Nels Cline’s Solo, most of which is improvised on any given night. I’d also recommend looking for a live version of “Bird Without a Tail/Base of My Skull” which features those two trading licks. Also look up…Read More
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Thanks, I will be doing that. I’m driving my son back to college tomorrow or Weds. and will listen to my Wilco playlist on the ride back.
On a Wilco related note, I got turned on to the music of @reidjamiesonmusic because some of the Wilco guys are fans and got one of his songs played on a Chicago radio station back in the 00s (WXRT, if you are…Read More
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I am from Chicago originally so I am familiar with “Chicago’s Finest Rock”, although I was more of a Loop fan in high school during the 80s. I was aware of a lot of the alt-country artists, liked a few tracks here and there, but didn’t follow any of them. One day I heard “Box Full of Letters” on the air and had to pick it up. Of course at that…Read More
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The Loop and Johnny B! I listened to The Loop too (unfortunately, they’re long gone and WXRT is more about playing oldies and classic rock, not what made them great). But back in the 80s and 90s XRT was great and exposed me to a lot of off-the-beaten-path rock bands as well as jazz, fusion, and blues on the weekends when they had shows that would…Read More
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MUSIC or LYRICS ?
I was recently vacationing with extended family at a lake house in the Olympic mountains. This debate arose during a game of Kubb (lot of fun BTW). My son-in-law believes that lyrics are more important than music in a song. His brother and I took the other side.
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Great question @Brian For me it is definitely the music – much of the music I love is purely instrumental and I consider that it reaches parts that words cannot reach. However I am also a lover of folk music and in that genre (excluding instrumentals obviously!) the words can be as, or more, important.
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It depends on the song. Ideally a song has both. But then, there are so many song great songs with meaningless lyrics that we all love. Songs that have it all are ideal and rare. Songs that have stood the test of time with meaingless lyrics or lyrics about a subject that really is not very meaningful include:
“I Am the Walrus” — it’s…Read More
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RE: Stranglehold, Norwegian wood also ends with a bit of arson.
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I’ll also put in that there’s no shortage of songs out there which would be pointless without the lyrics. “Positively 4th Street” and “Sometime Around Midnight” being some good examples.
On the other hand, “Apache” needs no lyrics.
Then of course there are the songs that are only popular because people misunderstand the lyrics like “Every…Read More
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I think most instrument players are going to side with “Music” over lyrics. Good point about the “nonsense lyrics” @Peter– I had not thought of that. In support of lyrics, we agreed that “Rap” is all about lyrics. Same can be said for any novelty song (Weird Al, etc) that is reusing a melody. Many places I have seen the quote to the effect:…Read More
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Okay, my two most anticipated movies of 2025 are Spinal Tap 2 and this… I was and remain a huge fan of Jeff Buckley. He was pure musical magic. An unbelievable talent.
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Name a band or solo artist widely seen as a one-hit wonder that you feel has been greatly underappreciated.
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I’ll go first. There are a number of bands seen as one-hit wonders that I believe are underappreciated. But one that immediately comes to mind is Living Colour.
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Tangential, but how do we even define a “Hit” these days? Spotify plays? Do Billboard lists still exist (or matter?) . The way publishers attack (foolishly IMO) any use of “their” music on media sites like YouTube, how do people “discover” “new” (to them) music, aside from personal recomendations?
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Billboard remains the industry standard for the recording industry, — and we carry Billboard magazine articles here at LinkedMusicians in the Knowledge Hub. But measurement has become significantly more complex than it was in the days when radio and vinyl dominated. Today, Billboard determines hits based on radio airplay, audio impressions,…Read More
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The song that comes to my mind is Life in a Northern Town by Dream Academy. Love the harmonies and the feel of that song. Here is a little tidbit, David Gilmour did some sound effect/tape effects for the song.
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Coincidentally, I was just listening to Dream Academy yesterday. I’m big on rock trivia. The band’s big inspiration was Nick Drake — I love his music. What songs beyond their big hit do you like? “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” is one of my favorite comedies, and their cover of a Smith’s classic is featured in the movie:…Read More
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@peter I have just been listening to an excellent doc about the making of 5 Leaves Left
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This reply was originally much longer but I had ‘posted an inappropriate word’ I assume it may have been BBC!
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Nope obviously not that one! It will forever be a mystery!
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Too be honest, Life in a Northern Town is the only song I really listened to by them. I really should looked at them closer, something I will rectify real soon.
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Good call @doug – as a young lad from the deadly dull town of Hartlepool in north east England I loved that song. The place is significantly less dull now with a folk festival and several music venues but the only good night out in those days was the excellent folk club (the best I have ever been to in my life and not just because it was my first!)
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Great thread @peter – sorry I am late to the party – been away for over a week and then had a mountain of emails to get through. I still haven’t posted my holiday pics on Facebook.
My one hit wonder is renaissance who were, and still are, one of my favourite bands. I started off well with their Live at Carnegie Hall double album which gave me a…Read More
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Renaissance never crossed my radar which is surprising because I am a huge prog fan. I truly love Annie’s voice. Great share!
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Look at that, we spend so much time on deals that I didn’t realize that you were a huge prog fan too. I great up as a huge fan of Yes, Genesis (up to, Invisible Touch), King Crimson, Rush, ELP, Kansas… My first major rock concert was ELP, a birthday gift from my youngest sister. At maybe age 7 – 9, I was completely in love with ELP’s Trilogy…Read More
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Yes was one of my first loves. Strangely enough, it was I’ve Seen all Good People that turned me onto them. It is decidedly not what I would consider a prog song except maybe the last half but that part didn’t make the radio edit. ELP was never into making “hits” so it not surprising that Lucky Man is the only song that charted. Funny, Genesis…Read More
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I think ELP’s Pictures At An Exhibition may have been the album that got me into prog! I was a classical fan from about 11 when I first heard Holst’s The Planets at school – the only good part of a music lesson I can remember – the rest of my memories were of the sadistic Scottish music teacher forcing us to learn the recorder (which I later came…Read More
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I used to love Rush around the time of the Permament Waves & Spirit of Radio albums but wasn’t so keen before or after that. I saw them at Southampton Town Hall when I was living in nearby Winchester and they were one of the the most disappointing band I have seen – they prided themselves on getting the exact sound of the albums but of course that…Read More
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@Doug Really glad that you enjoyed it! Annie has my favourite female voice ever possibly apart from English folk singer Nancy Kerr whose voice is also sublime but in a very different way! Check out Renaissance’s Live AT Carnegie Hall, Scherezade, Ashes Are Burning, Prologue, Turn of The Cards, Novella and Song For All Seasons – after that hey got…Read More
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Semisonic. Most people only know them from “Closing Time”, but their first album, “Great Divide” is a nice collection of power pop with a slight hippy influence.
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I agree! And I think their album “All About Chemistry” is also really good.
My wife (then girlfriend) and I saw Semisonic and did a meet and greet for their tour supporting “All About Chemistry.” Dan Wilson was really cool and down to earth. We got into a discussion on songwriting and our mutual fondness of Carole King’s songwriting (he co-wrote…Read More
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I can’t believe I forgot about Neil Finn / Crowded House. The band is mainly known for the song, “Don’t Dream It’s Over” and possibly, “Something So Strong.” So, they’re not exactly seen as one hit wonders, but close. And I think Neil is a superb singer/songwriter. Crowded House and Neil Finn solo have many, many great songs.
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I remember “Locked Out” and “Distant Sun” getting some play when they were released. My favorite album of theirs is “Woodface”, though. It’s packed with so many greats, from “Fall at Your Feet” to “Four Seasons in One Day”, and of course “Weather With You”.
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This was unexpected: a drummer swap between two major bands. The Foo Fighters former drummer, Josh Freese, is joining Nine Inch Nails, while Nine Inch Nails former drummer, Ilan Rubin, is joining The Foo Fighters. Josh also formerly played drums with Nine Inch Nails during the 00s.…Read More
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I was chatting with a developer friend the other day and he was telling me how impressed he is with SoundPaint’s CS-80 library, as it represents a developer more extensively sampling one of these instruments than any other developer has ever done. To be very candid, while I’m friends with the 8Dio / Soundpaint folks, I was tied up with other…Read More
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News flash! We’re increasingly seeing developers registering for LinkedMusicians. Clearly, the word is starting to spread. If you’re a developer, or an employee or contractor of a developer or retailer that sells music-related products or services, please be sure to read our Community Rules (linked near the bottom of the navigation bar) before…Read More
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What language is that above the Chinese?
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The message at the bottom is in several languages. From what I can tell it’s Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish and I’m not sure of the others. You might appreciate that it was created by a bunch of residential neighbors in Chicago after a hate crime in the neighborhood and the people banded together to show support for the diverse neighborhood,…Read More
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I do appreciate the sentiment. I was mostly curious because there are two languages which look like Arabic.
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Freddie Mercury
Paul Rodgers
Robert Plant
Steve Wash
Steve Perry
There are a lot more I would include, but they aren’t so well known or didn’t have much output, such as Jeff Buckley.
HONORABLE MENTIONS – not all technically great, but these singers have tremendous character in their voices.
Chris Cornell
Ann WIlson
Steven Tyler
Roger Daultry…Read More