Axl Rose’s favourite singers of all time
Axl Rose has frequently been considered one of the best rock and roll singers of all time for his wide-ranging vocal ability and his distinctive yelping, as exemplified on Guns N’ Roses’ debut album, Appetite for Destruction. With Rose at the head of the band, their debut shot them into stardom, becoming one of the best-ever selling records.
Rose’s talent as a singer also saw him take on the role of guest vocalist for AC/DC in 2016 when Brian Johnson briefly left the band because of hearing difficulty. Rose has been the only constant member of Guns N’ Roses, and it’s just impossible to imagine anyone at the helm other than him.
Back in 2014, Rose was named the “world’s greatest singer”, though the study that called him such was not based on opinion; it was concluded from data that drew together several singers’ highest and lowest notes that they had ever recorded.
Rose’s lowest note had been recorded on the Chinese Democracy track ‘There Was a Time’, reportedly an F1, while the highest that he had ever reached on record was a Bb6, when Guns N’ Roses recorded a cover of the Dead Boys’ ‘Ain’t It Fun’ on their 1994 covers album The Spaghetti Incident.
In response to being named the world’s great singer, Rose responded by saying: “From what I could tell, the original article was for the most part only talking about the professionally recorded vocal range of the singers they compared calling the entire group ‘The World’s Greatest Singers’. It’s very flattering and humbling to be included in such an illustrious ensemble.”
He added: “If I had to say who I thought the best singers were, I’d say first that I don’t know there’s a definitive answer as in my opinion it’s subjective, and second that my focus is primarily rock singers.”. He added that they are mostly 1970s rock singers and that he would rather listen to any of them than listen to himself.
However, it appears that of all the singers listed, Rose would pick Queen’s Freddie Mercury as the best of the lot. In 2018, he said, “For me, it’s easy. Queen is the greatest band, and Freddie is the greatest frontman of all time. The band are the greatest because they embraced so many different styles.”
Axl Rose’s favourite singers of all time:
- Freddie Mercury
- Elvis Presley
- Paul McCartney
- Dan McCafferty
- Janice Joplin
- Michael Jackson
- Elton John
- Roger Daltrey
- Don Henley
- Jeff Lynne
- Johnny Cash
- Frank Sinatra
- Jimmy Scott
- Etta James
- Fiona Apple
- Chrissie Hynde
- Stevie Wonder
- James Brown
