Best Male Singers of the 20th Century


There is an interesting current discussion about the best female vocalists on CD. I have my own ideas about the best male singers (any category) of the 20th Century, but would like to hear other opinions.
sdcampbell
Merle Haggard. I ignored this thread thinking it was all about opera types. Sam Cooke as someone says above had the best voice and comes in second in my book. Merle Haggard.
We're all responding to this topic for an important reason. We are audiophiles and we love music. I don't think it's cool to knock anyones' favorites, so don't look for slags here. To overlook Pavarotti would be a crime. One listen to "Nessun Dorma", and you know why people go nuts. If you don't respond to that, you simply don't have a pulse and should call your local coroner. I love McCartney. The man has been responsible for some of the most exciting moments in Rock history. You can go back a little further to the early 50's......there's this guy by the name of Elvis something or other......some people called him the King. I haven't even started with the great Motown singers. Was anyone cooler than James Brown? You get my point by now I'm sure. There is just simply too many. If I were stranded on the proverbial island, I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't hear the late, great Pete Ham of Badfinger singing some of the purest, sweetest pop songs ever written.