‘Rolling’ with the best
Five Jamaicans have made Rolling Stone Magazine’s 200 Greatest Singers of All Time list, published on January 1. Dennis Brown, arguably reggae’s most influential vocalist, heads the quintet at number 67.
Luciano is named at 143, Barrington Levy at 119, Bob Marley at 98 and Toots Hibbert at 94, complete the Jamaican presence on the controversial list that sees soul legend Aretha Franklin at number one, followed by Whitney Houston at number two and Sam Cooke at three.
Of Levy, the Rolling Stone review read: “If an air horn could sing, it’d sound like Barrington Levy: cutting, commanding, and a signal that the next tune is about to be massive. Levy became a Jamaican dancehall star at 14. A series of local hits followed. Next came classic albums like 1979’s Shaolin Temple and 1982’s Poor Man Style. Then international smashes like Black Roses and the iconic Under Mi Sensi. In the four decades that followed, Levy’s class of dancehall brethren petered out. But somehow, Levy managed to keep that horn of his loud as hell, and very much in tune.”
The publication also gave the Crown Prince of Reggae, who died in 1999 at age 42, high marks.
“Dennis Brown was a child star — his first hit, 1969’s No Man Is an Island, came at age nine — who matured into homegrown superstar. 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. Even in his later years, when his voice showed the ravages of prolonged cocaine use (he died at age 42), Brown’s soulfulness was unimpeachable — no less an authority than Bob Marley once declared Brown his favourite reggae singer.”
Like its predecessors, the latest Rolling Stone ‘greatest’ list has drawn strong criticism. Readers questioned the lofty placement of Beyonce (number eight) over legends such as Marvin Gaye (20), Freddie Mercury (14) and Al Green (10).
Others noted the absence of Celine Dion, and the low placings of Rhythm And Blues greats like David Ruffin (66) and Teddy Pendergrass (42).
