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OT: Best Female Rock Singer (before music was obviously forever ruined)

OT: Best Female Rock Singer (before music was obviously forever ruined)

  • Stevie Nicks

    Votes: 26 17.6%
  • Pat Benatar

    Votes: 19 12.8%
  • Ann Wilson

    Votes: 43 29.1%
  • Linda Rondstadt

    Votes: 26 17.6%
  • Janis Joplin

    Votes: 16 10.8%
  • Debbie Harry

    Votes: 2 1.4%
  • Joan Jett

    Votes: 8 5.4%
  • Tina Turner

    Votes: 8 5.4%

  • Total voters
    148

MtNittany

Well-Known Member
May 29, 2001
42,601
34,793
1
Stevie Nicks:
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Pat Benatar:
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Ann Wilson:

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Linda Rondstadt:

linda_ronstadt_oct_1968_6xyOy8R.sized.jpg


Janis Joplin:
4474160_orig.jpg


Debbie Harry:

2hgr4aa.jpg


Joan Jett:

a-1.jpg


Tina Turner:

06_tina_turner_010208.jpg
 
Annie Lennox and Chrissie Hynde were on my list, but had no chance of winning. Ann Wilson trumps them both and she hasn't received a vote yet.
 
Mary Travers and Karen Carpenter, although both would be considered Folk I guess. Ann Wilson was smoking hot back in the day and I always liked Cindy Lauper.

This is too hard as Carol King, Joni Mitchell and boy could I go on and on...
 
Mary Travers and Karen Carpenter, although both would be considered Folk I guess. Ann Wilson was smoking hot back in the day and I always liked Cindy Lauper.

This is too hard as Carol King, Joni Mitchell and boy could I go on and on...
Carole King and Joni Mitchell are uber talented, but by no means are hard rockers. Cyndi Lauper had a lot of ability, somewhat overshadowed by her being so off-the-wall.

As a young woman Ann Wilson was gorgeous. She took a LOT of abuse through her career because of her weight, which was a damn shame. She's a musician, not a fashion model. Just appreciate her awesome talent.
 
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Ann Wilson- she does so many covers and does them well ,Stairway To Heaven is just as good as Led Zeppelin's.
 
It's tough. Linda Ronstadt had the best voice, but she was very country. If it was just about voice, I'd have included Cass Elliot, and she was very pop. Ann Wilson is the best rock singer, imo, and it's pretty hard to argue otherwise (maybe Stevie Nicks - but...). Those voting for Joan Jett realize this is about singing right?
 
It's tough. Linda Ronstadt had the best voice, but she was very country. If it was just about voice, I'd have included Cass Elliot, and she was very pop. Ann Wilson is the best rock singer, imo, and it's pretty hard to argue otherwise (maybe Stevie Nicks - but...). Those voting for Joan Jett realize this is about singing right?
That's the thing. What is Rock and Roll? A Rap group just got elected to the R&R HOF. Linda ran the gamut of music. She did rock, country, big band, soul, sang in Spanish, the American Song Book, Musicals, plus she's bat shit crazy, like most rockers.
 
Voted for Debbie Harry, but not sure she's 'rock' (but she's easily my favorite performer in your poll). For pure rock, I'd put PJ Harvey and Karen O up against anyone.
 
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Mary Travers and Karen Carpenter, although both would be considered Folk I guess. Ann Wilson was smoking hot back in the day and I always liked Cindy Lauper.

This is too hard as Carol King, Joni Mitchell and boy could I go on and on...
Karen Carpenter was not a "rock" singer, but when anyone asks me(and I am a former touring guitarist and vocalist) I tell them the truth: Karen Carpenter was the greatest PURE SINGER, in the history of popular music, hands down. Absolute perfect pitch, tone, vibrato, breath control, phrasing, chest voice and head voice.
 
Karen Carpenter was not a "rock" singer, but when anyone asks me(and I am a former touring guitarist and vocalist) I tell them the truth: Karen Carpenter was the greatest PURE SINGER, in the history of popular music, hands down. Absolute perfect pitch, tone, vibrato, breath control, phrasing, chest voice and head voice.
Agree wholeheartedly. Incredible talent. And if autotune was around then, they would have calibrated the autotune to Karen.
 
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Another great, great singer that nobody is mentioning here is Laura Nyro. What an incredible singer AND songwriter.
Laura Nyro kicked ass. The Fifth Dimension covered so many of her greatest songs - 'Wedding Bell Blues', 'Stoned Soul Picnic', 'Sweet Blindness' and Barbra Streisand had 'Stoney End' and "Time and Love'. Everyone forgets the writer and original performer.

Let me add one more dark horse candidate. Made only a small mark in America, but was an immense star touring in Europe - Chi Coltrane.

 
Joan Jett to me. She is rock and roll more than the rest of them. Oozes rock and roll attitude.
 
Joan Jett to me. She is rock and roll more than the rest of them. Oozes rock and roll attitude.
One of my best friends out west worked with Cherie Currie, also of the Runaways. The Runaways actually had three singers who were very stylized and cool: Cherie, Joan, and Lita. It always pisses me off when critics call them a "producers creation" because that band was all talent, there was nothing fake or prefabricated about them. The only reason they say that, is because a svengali-type put them together in the studio when they started.
 
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I like them all, really like Stevie Nicks and Linda Rondstadt, but out of them all, no one has the range and rock heart of Ann Wilson. Ann Wilson all the way.
 
Super list of female superstars. Grace Slick is well worth consideration..
 
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