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#32 in Mojo poll
Posted on Fri, Apr 23 1999
by David T. <[email protected]>
From John McIntyre:

I was walking through the newsagents today when I noticed the latest issue of MOJO on sale. I picked it up and saw that they had the results of a "100 greatest singers of all time" poll, so naturally I picked it up to have a look. Starting from the back I noticed no sign of Moz (not even in the "those who didn't quite make the list" bit) and assumed that he wouldn't be in it. You can imagine my surprise when I saw Morrissey at number 32. (surprise only because I didn't realise people still had taste) There was a small picture along with a piece on how it's the flaws in his singing style that make him so good at conveying emotions. The highlight they chose was at the end of "Well I Wonder" where he's singing the "please keep me in mind" bit.

Sorry if this is a bit vague but I had to rush off to catch the train, and couldn't spend more time reading it, I also didn't get any further along the list so I've no idea who is number one.

Comments / Notes


MOrrissey Should have been number one If i had it my way! But oh well at least he made the lisT
MOzCHk (spider-wc053.proxy.aol.com)
cali - Fri, Apr 23, 1999 at 15:49:12 (PDT)


Well i wonder is thee most underated song the Smiths ever produced period.
Paul Piazza <[email protected]> (p251.amax15.dialup.det1.flash.net)
Michigan, USA - Fri, Apr 23, 1999 at 21:33:18 (PDT)


I agree with Piazza on "Well I Wonder," it happens to be my favorite Smith's song. I wonder why it never made any of the best CD's....Well I Wonder.
Javier Obregon <[email protected]> (abd01ffa.ipt.aol.com)
Montclair,CA - Sun, Apr 25, 1999 at 21:29:43 (PDT)


The very first time I heard Well I Wonder I nearly started to cry. I work in a record store in Cedar City Utah and I have a favorite customer who is an older gentleman, nearing retirement age. He and I have become friends because we both have a deep love of collecting old LP's from the 50's and 60's. We both like Henry Mancini and so one day I showed him the Moz's Moon River. He said Morrissey has one of the most beautiful voices he's heard in years and remarked on what a true talent Moz is. I told him I agreed.
Jeremy <[email protected]> (gwstudent.suu.edu)
- Mon, Apr 26, 1999 at 22:00:01 (PDT)




I bought this after seeing it on here cos I'm such a trainspotter and like those silly all time polls! this was voted for by readers, but I think they recently did a critics poll of best singers(there's a bit about how readers regretted Sandy Denny's absence from the singers poll so they voted for her) Our Moz did VERY well I reckon, he also got a short blurb describing why he was so good, they only did this with a few artsits, the magic moment they picked was Well I Wonder, they seem to be going for the more obscure ones, some singers got a longer blurb and more than one magic moment, much as I love Well.... the obvious best ever performance is I Know It's Over, I'm glad he got this recognition as a singer, he seems to be an accquired taste(isn't everything?), I'm often arguing with non-fans and they say they don't like him cos of his voice - they say it's not clear enough and too "cotton wooly"(!) but his voice is possibly the main reason I've liked him. Anyway, here is the top 40 of the poll, what they wrote about Moz, and a few others who were lower down I put either cos of their popularity or cos they were famed for their vox.

40. Tim Buckley
39. Neil Young
38. James Taylor
37. Ray Davies
36. Jeff Buckley
35. Smokey Robinson
34. Billie Holiday
33. Michael Stipe
32. Morrissey

"If his technique is flawed, then it's the flaws that produce the degree of sincerity that makes what he sings so believable. Morrissey doesn't sing for the sake of it, but in order to communicate what he has to say in a natural and original way.

Sublime moment: Well I Wonder (The Smiths Meat Is Murder) The final chorus. His voice, in the very process of discovering the true extent of its range, is tremulous, fragile, ethereal, as if drawing on its last breath, rising and falling almost imperceptibly between the repeated phrases "Well I wonder" and "Keep me in mind" Andrew Molloy, Southampton

31. Richard Manuel(The Band)
30. Jim Morrison
29. Steve Marriot(Small Faces)
28. John Fogerty(???!)
27. Nina Simone
26. Roger Daltrey
25. Tom Waits
24. Ella Fitzgerald
23. Howlin' Wolf
22. Freddie Mercury
21. Eric Burdon(Animals)
20. Capatain Beefheart
19. Joni Mitchell
18. Brian Wilson
17. Sam Cooke
16. Mick Jagger
15. Sandy Denny
14. Dusty Springfield
13. David Bowie
12. Marvin Gaye
11. Van Morrison
10. Ray Charles
9. Robert Plant
8. Otis Redding
7. Paul McCartney
6. Roy Orbison
5. Bob Dylan
4. Frank Sinatra
3. Aretha Franklin
2. Elvis Presley
1. John Lennon

other notable ones :

98. Kurt Cobain
88. Al Green
87. Paul Weller
86. Tracey Thorn
85. Liam Gallagher
83. Prince
79. Ian Curtis
77. Beth Gibbons(Portishead)
76. Nick Drake
75. Tori Amos
73. Janis Joplin
71. James Brown
63. Elvis Costello
62. Scott Walker
56. Rod Stewart
55. Patsy Cline
52. Nat King Cole
51. Barbra Streisand
50. Thom Yorke
46. KD Lang
42. Stevie Wonder
John <[email protected]> (spider-to084.proxy.aol.com)
Glasgow, Scotland, UK - Fri, Apr 30, 1999 at 12:18:46 (PDT)


Great to see Morrissey and Nick Drake...
BUT WHAT ABOUT STUART MURDOCH !!
Jordiet <[email protected]> (abonado-195-53-42-177.cat.es)
Barcelona - Tue, May 04, 1999 at 08:52:21 (PDT)



* return to Morrissey-solo