Absolute Best Black Male Singers of All Time
Who are the Best Black Male Singers? Perhaps a great part of great talent is great pain. I realized at least five of the women on yesterday’s list had suffered from some kind of addiction problem and four of the seven men on this list have also suffered from addiction. It proves that all that glitters is not gold and there is another side to show business that people rarely see. This is probably why the show UNSUNG is such a huge hit.
David Ruffin (January 18, 1941 – June 1, 1991)
He may have had some major ego and drug issues and he may not have gotten along with the other Temptations but NOBODY can deny that David Ruffin has to make the list of one of the Best Black Male Singers. It’s most unfortunate the all too familiar drug addiction situation destroyed his chances at a greater career as a solo artist but his music with the Temptations will be etched with a permanent place in the great history of music. Ruffin died at age 50 from a drug overdose in Philadelphia.
Biggest Hits: “My Girl,” “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,” “I Wish It Would Rain” (all with The Temptations). Ruffin did not write these songs — they were penned by Motown’s in-house songwriting team, including Smokey Robinson and Norman Whitfield. He did not own the publishing on his hits; Motown retained the publishing rights.
Luther Vandross (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005)
Luther Vandross was an amazing vocalist spending over a decade behind the scenes recording for Chic, Change, David Bowie and as a background singer for Roberta Flack before finally getting his own record deal. Luther is an undeniable best black male singer of all time and he was a smash out the gate with a stellar resume of music to follow years later. He passed away at age 54 from complications of a stroke he suffered in 2003.
Biggest Hits: “Never Too Much,” “Here and Now,” “A House Is Not a Home,” “Dance with My Father.” Vandross was a skilled songwriter and co-wrote many of his biggest hits, including “Never Too Much” and “Dance with My Father.” He also wrote songs for other artists, including Aretha Franklin. His estate later sold a stake in his publishing catalog, master recordings, and name and likeness rights to Primary Wave Music in a reported $40 million deal.
Marvin Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984)
Truly one of the greatest vocalists and one of the best black male singers in the history of music. His early 70s music was when he did his best material. Marvin’s personal life was always up and down and his relationship with his father, who eventually shot him to death, was incredibly strained. It’s amazing how some people’s relationships with their own parents can be so destructive. He was shot and killed by his father just one day before his 45th birthday.
Biggest Hits: “What’s Going On,” “Let’s Get It On,” “Sexual Healing,” “Mercy Mercy Me,” “I Heard It Through the Grapevine.” Gaye was a prolific songwriter who wrote or co-wrote many of his biggest hits, including “Let’s Get It On” and the entire What’s Going On album. He died intestate (without a will), so the copyrights to his music passed to his children — Nona, Frankie, and Marvin Gaye III — who have vigorously defended the publishing estate, most famously winning a landmark $7 million infringement verdict against Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams over “Blurred Lines” in 2015.
Sam Cooke (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964)
His gospel vocals transcended to R&B and made him a huge star. There has never been anyone like him. His untimely death was most unfortunate — he was shot and killed at age 33 at a Los Angeles motel under disputed circumstances. He certainly had a lot more hits left in him.
Biggest Hits: “You Send Me,” “A Change Is Gonna Come,” “Twistin’ the Night Away,” “Wonderful World,” “Chain Gang.” Cooke wrote most of his own hits and was a true pioneer in Black music ownership. As early as 1959, he founded his own publishing company, KAGS Music, and in 1961 launched his own record label, SAR Records — making him one of the first Black artists to own and control his masters and publishing. His business acumen was as revolutionary as his voice.
Bobby Womack (March 4, 1944 – June 27, 2014)
Once Sam Cooke’s best friend, Bobby Womack’s interpretation of songs hit the nail on the head so hard you could actually feel what he was singing about. No other man on the best black male singers list could take a song and do what Womack was able to do with it. He passed away at age 70 from complications of Alzheimer’s disease and colon cancer.
Biggest Hits: “Lookin’ for a Love,” “That’s the Way I Feel About ‘Cha,” “If You Think You’re Lonely Now,” “Across 110th Street.” Womack was a prolific songwriter who wrote many of his own hits. Notably, he and his brothers (the Valentinos) originally recorded “It’s All Over Now” — a song the Rolling Stones later made famous worldwide. He also wrote “I’m in Love” for Wilson Pickett and many other hits for fellow artists. Womack did not retain the publishing on all his catalog, particularly early works released on SAR Records, though he co-wrote much of his later material.
Peabo Bryson (Born April 13, 1951)
Bryson was born to sing yet underrated. His range is probably the best out of all the singers on this list. Some of his best R&B work rarely charted but he had huge success with his pop duets in the 80s and 90s. His album I Am Love is some of his best work and unfortunately it flopped. Peabo Bryson is still living as of this writing.
Biggest Hits: “Tonight, I Celebrate My Love” (with Roberta Flack), “A Whole New World” (with Regina Belle), “Beauty and the Beast” (with Celine Dion), “Can You Stop the Rain.” Bryson is a singer-songwriter who has co-written some of his material, though his biggest commercial hits — particularly the Disney duets — were written by outside songwriters. The Disney soundtrack songs were published and owned by Walt Disney Music Company, with Bryson receiving performance royalties rather than publishing ownership.
Philip Bailey (Born May 8, 1951)
Philip Bailey was extremely underrated. His amazing falsetto voice was featured all over Earth Wind and Fire’s greatest hits. His biggest solo hit was with Phil Collins on “Easy Lover” before he later rejoined EWF. Philip Bailey is still living as of this writing.
Biggest Hits: “Shining Star,” “September,” “Reasons,” “That’s the Way of the World” (with Earth, Wind & Fire); “Easy Lover” (solo, with Phil Collins). Bailey is a credited songwriter on many of Earth, Wind & Fire’s greatest songs, co-writing alongside bandmates Maurice White and Al McKay. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame for his work with the band. EWF’s publishing was largely administered through Sagittarius Music, the band’s own publishing entity, giving Bailey a degree of ownership in the songs he co-wrote.