Like his heartland rock rival Bruce Springsteen, Bob Seger wrote impassioned, blue-collar anthems with an across-the-board appeal which he delivered with a raspy voice and a gutsy urgency. However, he employed it to devastating effect on a series of dramatic radio hits such as “White Wedding,” “Rebel Yell,” and “Eyes Without A Face,” all of which became MTV staples and yielded multi-platinum sales. The distinctive baritone of Generation X frontman turned 80s solo star Billy Idol owed a debt of gratitude to both Jim Morrison and David Bowie. All three had distinctive voices, but Helm’s higher-pitched, reedy burr always added grace and gravitas to the songs he put his inimitable stamp on, such as “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” “Up On Cripple Creek,” and the band’s signature hit, “The Weight.”
Influential later titles Doc At The Radar Station and Ice Cream For Crow, however, found him blending elements of blues, free jazz, rock, and the avant-garde with spectacular results.ĭrummer and co-founder of The Band, Levon Helm shared lead singer duties with pianist Richard Manuel and bassist Rick Danko.
He was renowned for his growling, Delta blues-influenced delivery, and his band’s initial albums reflected their leader’s love of pioneering bluesman Howlin’ Wolf and Robert Johnson. However, he was also an extremely accomplished singer, in possession of a forceful, but melodic timbre that was perfect for Cream’s driving blues songs and rich psychedelic rock.ĭon Van Vliet (aka Captain Beefheart) possessed a remarkable, five-octave vocal range that was so powerful that he reputedly shattered a studio mic while recording “Electricity’ for the Magic Band’s debut album, Safe As Milk. On the only album released during his lifetime, 1994’s spellbinding Grace, he made full use of his four-octave vocal range both on magnificent self-penned original songs (“Dream Brother,” “Last Goodbye”) and haunting covers of James Shelton’s “Lilac Wine,” Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” and Benjamin Britten’s “Corpus Christi Carol” – the latter sung entirely in a high falsetto.Īs one-third of rock’s first supergroup, Cream, Jack Bruce is predominantly recalled for his virtuosic bass playing and his dextrous songwriting skills. Jeff Buckley’s accidental death, at the age of 30, curtailed what should have been a brilliant career.
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