20 Greatest Rock Singers Of All Time

14. John Lennon

Axl Rose of Guns n' Roses on stage during the Freddie Mercury tribute concert at Wembley.    *23/08/02 Axl Rose of Guns 'n' Roses on stage during the Freddie Mercury tribute concert at Wembley.: The band, who haven't played live in the UK
Uncredited/AP

Far from the screeches and sexual wailing of more overtly metal music, John Lennon's voice was intimate and impassioned but no less charismatic.

He never shouted - aside from flirting with noise in some earlier, more raucous Beatles songs - but his band's songs live on forever because of the irresistible intimacy of his vocal story-telling. And the fact that his technical prowess often gets forgotten is a travesty.

In this post: 
Axl Rose
 
First Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

WhatCulture's former COO, veteran writer and editor.