Okay, who has the greatest vocal range of all time? Of course, it’s Mariah Carey who is famous for her amazing five octave vocal range. But hold on there Guinness World Records, according to a study posted on concerthotels.com, Guns N’ Roses lead singer Axl Rose has the most range of any singer ever.
Please note that the study concerns vocal range, not necessarily who has the best voice.
So what’s with the study, and how did they come up with Axl? “To create this piece, we took the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time as compiled by Rolling Stone magazine in 2008. To this list, we added some of today’s top singers including the nominees for top male and female artist at the Billboard Music Awards 2014. We cross-referenced the resulting list with vocal range data curated by The Range Place. We included all of the singers on the list for whom the data was readily available.”
Basically, the study took about 50 singers from different genres and time periods and found which song featured their lowest note and which song featured their highest note.
The research ultimately established that Axl has the biggest vocal range. According to the study, Axl hit the F1 in the song There Was a Time as his lowest note. Then, in the tune Ain’t It Fun, the frontman goes all the way up to a B6.
The study isn’t really scientific, however. Death and Taxes Magazine points out that there is no cited source for the study’s information, and they question some of the analysis, “It is a bit odd that the chart claims his low notes were below those of the King of Lows, Barry White, and it would be quite nice if the lovely colors came with some evidence to back such claims. On the high side of the scale Rose can apparently out-pitch the likes of Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant, and those three claims are suspect at best.”
Axl Rose ranked as the greatest vocalist with the widest range. That must have really brought Pavarotti to his sha-na-na-na-na-na-na knees.
— Devin Delliquanti (@DevDell) May 21, 2014
Science says what we've known all along: Axl Rose is the greatest singer of all time. http://t.co/Bsvxz1P1jy
— Nicholas Pell (@NicholasPell) May 21, 2014
Here’s a list of the top ten ranges, and the notes that the study claims that the singers hit:
Axl Rose: F1 – B♭6
Mariah Carey: F2 – G7 (Her G7 is by far the highest note sung by anyone on the list)
Prince: E2 – B6
Steven Tyler: D2 – E6
James Brown: E♭2 – E6
Marvin Gaye: D2 – E♭6
Christina Aguilera:C3 – C#7
David Bowie: G1 – G#5
Paul McCartney: B1 – B5
Thom Yorke: E2 – E6
Freddie Mercury: F2 – E6
What do you think of the list? Is Axl Rose the best rock singer ever?
Image via YouTube Screenshot
