According to Rolling Stone magazine, the late Crown Prince of Reggae Dennis Brown was the greatest Jamaican singer of all time.
Brown is the highest-ranked Jamaican artist, ranking 67th among the 200 greatest vocalists of all time.
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Given that he came in ahead of more well-known worldwide singers such as Michael Jackson (No. 86), Johnny Cash (No. 85), Dianna Ross (No. 87), and Barbara Streisand (No. 87), it is an impressive achievement for the Jamaican (No 147).
Bob Marley, the King of Reggae, was voted 98th, four positions below Toots Hibbert of Toots, and the Maytals.
Barrington Levy and Luciano, two living Jamaican musical giants who were placed 119 and 143, respectively, also reached the prestigious Rolling Stone list.
Aretha Franklin is the greatest vocalist of all time, as stated by the magazine.
Whitney Houston (No. 2), Sam Cooke (No. 3), Billie Holiday (No. 4), Mariah Carey (No. 5), Ray Charles (No. 6), Stevie Wonder (No. 7), Beyonce (No. 8), Otis Redding (No. 9) and Al Green round out the top ten (No 10).
On January 1, Rolling Stone announced its list of the best singers of all time, but it was met with significant criticism, mostly because prominent vocalists such as Celine Dion and Nat King Cole, widely regarded as the “golden voice,” did not make the cut.
Furthermore, there were no spaces on the list for Lalah Hathaway, Vanessa Williams, Natalie Cole, Dionne Warwick, Sarah Vaughn, Levi Stubbs of The Four Tops, and other well-known vocalists.
Others have argued that Adele (No. 22), Luther Vandross (No. 31), Ella Fitzgerald (No. 45), Lady Gaga (No. 58), Michael Jackson (No. 86), Taylor Swift (No. 102), Christina Aguilera (No. 141), Alicia Keys (No. 188), and Kelly Clarkson (No. 196) were rated too low.
Some, on the other hand, claimed that artists like Mary J. Blige (No. 25), Ariana Grande (No. 43), and Rihanna (No. 68) were put too high on the list, ahead of superior voices.
In the midst of the debate, Rolling Stone advised its readers to “keep in mind that this is the greatest singers list, not the greatest voices list.”
It continued, “In all cases, what mattered most to us was originality, influence, the depth of an artist’s catalog, and the breadth of their musical legacy.
“A voice can be gorgeous like Mariah Carey’s, rugged like Toots Hibbert’s, understated like Willie Nelson’s, slippery and sumptuous like D’Angelo’s, or bracing like Bob Dylan’s,” noted Rolling Stone.
“But in the end, the singers behind it are here for one reason: They can remake the world just by opening their mouths,” it noted.
Rolling Stone contributor Michaelangelo Matos noted Dennis Brown’s rise as a kid star with 1969 single, ‘No Man is an Island’ in reference to the No. 1 ranked best Jamaican vocalist.
“With a voice as tough-yet-velvety as suede, he was one of Jamaica’s smoothest love men ever, not to mention a dispense of homespun wisdom on the immortal 1981 hit ‘Sitting and Watching’,” Matos authored.
Matos wrote of Brown in his final years, before his death at the age of 42, “Brown’s soulfulness was unimpeachable – no less an authority than Bob Marley once pronounced Brown his favorite reggae vocalist.”
Toots Hibbert “possessed a rough-edged, fierce voice that gave fire to the incarceration chronicle ’54-46 That’s My Number’ and added a slyly endearing wink to the wedding-jitters chronicle, ‘Sweet and Dandy’.
“My voice was developed going to church with my family,” Hibbert remarked in an interview quoted by Johnston in his eulogy to the man who fronted the band Toots and the Maytals until his death on September 11, 2020.
Bob Marley, the late reggae king, invented a down-to-earth yet heraldic idiom that reflected the struggles and aspirations of tens of millions of people throughout the world,” according to John Dolan, another writer for Rolling Stone.
Even on smooth songs like “Could You Be Loved,” he admitted, “his voice was lovably ragged, but his command of the dramatic octave leap that signifies our shared search for a better tomorrow had few peers.”
Barrington Levy began his dancehall career at the age of 14, and in the four decades that followed, he “managed to keep that horn of his loud as hell, and very much in tune,” despite the fact that his “class of dancehall brethren petered out,” according to Rolling Stone contributor Noah Shactman.
Barrington Levy would sound like an air horn if it could sing, continued Shactman, “cutting, commanding, and a signal that the next tune is about to be massive.”
As for Luciano’s live performances, even while he’s flipping off speakers, Rolling Stone contributor Michael Goldwasser noted, “I’ve never heard a bad Luciano performance.”
The Jamaican star is as vibrant in the studio.
Goldwasser said, “The first time I produced Luci, I noticed his ability to instantly come up with a melody that seemed classic.”
It’s Me Again Jah and Sweep Over My Soul, two of Luciano’s songs, were instantly included in the reggae canon when he first appeared on the scene in the 1990s.
“Luciano once sang that he had ‘the voice of a trumpet’. If anything, that’s an undersell; he’s got a range that extends from a rich baritone up to a strong falsetto.
“And he’s a master of the lost art of harmonizing — Luciano would be a top vocal arranger in NY or LA if he weren’t so committed to the roots,” shared Goldwasser.
