The musician Brian Johnson called “the epitome of what every rock singer should be”
When it comes to running a rock band, every musician is an integral part of what makes up the band, but the two most important aspects have to be the lead guitarist and the lead singer. This will likely anger a lot of music lovers, but when you think of classic rock bands, the guitarist and the singer always spring to mind first. Slash and Axl Rose, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, and, of course, Brian Johnson and Angus Young.
Brian Johnson is the pinnacle of what it takes to be a rock frontman. Not only is his voice gritty and full of emotion, but the way he performs owns the stage and injects personality into every second of a gig, which means it’s impossible to take your eyes off him. He and Angus Young team up to form one of the most engaging live performances on the planet.
Naturally, as someone who has a specific mastery over his art, many people will have influenced Brian Johnson throughout his career. However, there is one singer who he believes embodies everything that there is about being a rock singer, and it’s someone whom a lot of other rock musicians also look up to — Paul Rodgers.
Paul Rodgers has fronted a number of different bands throughout his career and has also seen a good deal of success as a solo artist. In doing so, he has cemented himself as one of the best rock vocalists on the planet, something that legends of the genre have reaffirmed.
“I can’t believe it was 50 years ago that I first heard Paul Rodgers’s velvet voice singing ‘The Hunter’; it became the anthem for every pub, working men’s clubs and city halls across the UK,” said Johnson. “Paul was the epitome of what every rock singer should be; he had the looks, the moves and a soul voice that made everything swing; that’s not an art; it’s a gift.”
Johnson isn’t alone in his praise for Rodgers; it was reciprocated by Jimmy Page, who played in The Firm with Rodgers for several years. “With Paul, his phrasing is totally different [from Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant]. I would think that Robert was like a vocal gymnast, and Paul, I’ve never heard him sing a wrong note; he’s such a technical singer,” he said. “He really is. And yet he has a quality within his voice that, on the ballads he does, is really caressing. And yet it’s really vibrant in a way.”
Not only is Rodgers praised for his ability as a vocalist, but he is also an excellent writer. A lot of the songs he was responsible for are exceptional, as Johnson states, “He also wrote the coolest songs,” he said, “From ‘All Right Now’, ‘My Brother Jake’, ‘Bad Company’, ‘Feel Like Making Love’, all still classics to this day.”
Having the right frontman at the helm of a rock band is incredibly important. Some would argue that Brian Johnson is precisely that, but Brian Johnson would turn those people towards the work of Paul Rodgers, who is considered one of the best rock singers ever to take to the mic.
