Which Beatle Had The Best Voice? (In Your Humble Opinion)

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by saborlord123, Nov 11, 2019.

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  1. bherbert

    bherbert Forum Resident

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    South Africa
  2. captwillard

    captwillard Forum Resident

    Location:
    Nashville
    They are all equal.
     
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  3. stuguy

    stuguy Forum Resident

  4. PhoenixWoman

    PhoenixWoman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lancaster, NY
    You can even hear his nasal tone starting to take over a year earlier on "I'm Only Sleeping". John seemed to then want to try every production trick in the book on his voice, and that made things even less approachable for me. I still like most of John's late-Beatles songs but find his solo work unlistenable because I so dislike what his voice became and he didn't have the others to play off him.

    Me, I like George.
     
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  5. CraigBic

    CraigBic Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Zealand
    I think that as a vocalist Paul had the most talent of all of them. I'd put George on the same level as John and Ringo I think just doesn't have the range that the other 3 have. I just think Paul has the edge on John and George in terms of range. I think the instinct to place John ahead of John just comes from the people who prefer John's music for being "deep" or whatever. Paul is an entertainer, so what they are all entertainers just because George got it into his head that his guitar has some sort of spiritual meaning doesn't make him any better than Paul.
     
  6. MagneticNorthpaw

    MagneticNorthpaw Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago, IL USA
    John is my favorite and has, for lack of a better word, the most "character." Paul is technically the best singer and had the widest range - his falsetto was better than John's. George was the "most improved." His early vocals were nasal and flat, the Beatle's voice that most betrayed the Scouse accent. By "Something," he had developed a better tone and was more assured in his higher register. Ringo's voice is generally effective for the type of material he was given. It's certainly limited with what it can do, but it's nice that he was included. Having heard some of his more recent songs, his voice has improved by leaps and bounds over the course of his solo career.

    The package wouldn't feel complete if you removed any one of the voices.
     
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  7. kokishin

    kokishin Forum Resident

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    Silicon Valley
    Voted for John.

    However, Paul and George have amazing moments too.

    The three of them harmonizing on This Boy is special.
     
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  8. owlshead

    owlshead Forum Resident

    Location:
    Philly burbs
    i think that is right, tough call, did not vote... :shake:
     
  9. Hadean75

    Hadean75 Forum Moonlighter

    Ringo

    Paul, John, and George all had fantastic voices, and they all had their various songs that showed their vocal prowess very well.

    Ringo on the other hand--he was the odd one out. Distinctive. Different. Ordinary. Not as terrible as some make him out to be. Just different. And that's what I like about his voice.
     
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  10. LilacTeardrop

    LilacTeardrop "Roll It Over My Soul...and Leave Me Here"

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    Correcting my grammar, before grammar police come for me :hide:...meant less perfect/or more imperfect! :winkgrin:
     
    Last edited: Nov 12, 2019
  11. Naughty Chord

    Naughty Chord Hole in my Socrates

    Location:
    Sub-Tropo Texas
    I'm primarily a George fan but Paul had the best, most versatile voice.
     
  12. peteham

    peteham Senior Member

    Location:
    Simcoe County
    Tie between John & Paul.
     
  13. Ringo wasn't even the best singer in the Beatles.
     
  14. PhoenixWoman

    PhoenixWoman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lancaster, NY
    I don't get either but for rather different reasons. Lennon doesn't have enough personality, nasality aside, for my tastes. Mercury tries to inject more personality and just winds up sounding campy, which is a big negative for me.
     
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  15. Celebrated Summer

    Celebrated Summer Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    On both that song and "Yes It Is," I hear George going flat while singing the lowest harmony. His singing must have improved because when they returned to three-part harmonies in "Because," he sounds a lot more together. Maybe they just had more time to work it all out and/or do more takes.
     
  16. DTK

    DTK Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    Lennon without a doubt. The rocker. Paul less impressive but perhaps more versatile.
     
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  17. Rojo

    Rojo Forum Resident

    I think Paul was the better singer and had the most versatile voice but I prefer John's singing -- particularly his vocals in the early years (63/65).

    I'm not so fond of John's thinner voice, heard from "Sgt Pepper's" onwards although he was still a brilliant singer, capable of delivering very emotional vocals.

    To summarize, I would pick John from 1963 to 65 and Paul from 1966 onwards.
     
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  18. I like John's voice the best, though Paul had a wider range and more variety. Both were great.
     
  19. kokishin

    kokishin Forum Resident

    Location:
    Silicon Valley
    Flat, sharp, or otherwise, when they sang This Boy LIVE on Ed Sullivan, it sounded spot on to me.

    Even if George momentarily went flat on the studio recording, it would have been like George to do it on purpose. He was into minor key changes.
     
    Last edited: Nov 12, 2019
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  20. schnitzerphilip

    schnitzerphilip "Modern Dad" Unlocked Award

    Location:
    NJ USA
    Lennon would be slammed today for his Auto-Tuning ways, wouldn't he? Tons of echo, reverb, spinning speakers, tape speed tinkering, double tracking, delay, backwards masking, every tech trick in the book back in the day. The man himself apparently understood the vocal limitations he faced.
     
  21. Chrome_Head

    Chrome_Head Planetary Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA.
    Yes, you've made your opinion on that clear with every other post. Except none of those studio techniques you mentioned have anything to do with "Auto-Tuning".
     
    Last edited: Nov 12, 2019
  22. CousinCheebo

    CousinCheebo Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Hit the nail right on the head here - I agree wholeheartedly with all of it.
     
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  23. DTK

    DTK Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    The usual narrative is that he was insecure about his voice, he didn't need any tricks. He sounded awesome with just a mike and a guitar. Big difference to today's highly processed vocals. But you know that.
     
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  24. lobo

    lobo Music has always been a matter of Energy to me...

    Location:
    Germany
    Schnitz, always good to have your unbiased well thought out perspective in order to calm down the heated discussions a little bit
     
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  25. nick99nack

    nick99nack Forum Resident

    Location:
    Spotswood, NJ
    Paul had the best voice, followed by George, John and Ringo, in that order.
     
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