THE 100 GREATEST LEAD SINGERS. This post: #1. Countdown concludes with this update.

As the focal point for the groups they sing out front of, these figures loom larger than the other members. Caffè Lattè pays tribute to the all-time…

100

GREATEST LEAD SINGERS

1

🎤Freddie Mercury   

[Queen]

Who else but Mercury could defy the odds and simultaneously become an icon for so many disparate segments of the public? Queen enjoys a strong following with fans of hard rock and guitar-powered music. They revered Mercury’s lead vocals on staples such as “Hammer To Fall” and “Tie Your Mother Down”. Pop audiences ate up his lead on hits such as “Somebody To Love” and “Don’t Stop Me Now”. Mercury also injected flamboyance and pomp into his delivery, as evidenced on “Killer Queen” and “I Want To Break Free”. He accomplished that without alienating any among the crowd.

 

Mercury held his own while he and David Bowie waged a vocal duel on the thrilling duet “Under Pressure”. And who can forget his magnum opus: “Bohemian Rhapsody”. Only Mercury could envisage such an aural delight and persist until it became a reality on disc.

He enjoyed solo success and also collaborated with Spanish soprano Montserrat Caballé. His death in 1991 left a void that Queen struggled to fill (although Adam Lambert comes close). No group has had as dynamic and versatile a frontman as Queen had with Mercury.