Never heard of Sam Cooke before! Certainly he has a very fine voice, even though that song's vocal range is very limited. On the other hand, I learned on a quick google check that he led an extremely sad life. His son drowned when only 18 months old, he went into an out of control drink and womanising spiral and was killed by gunfire in a cheap motel when only 33. Since voices develop over time, had he lived he could very well have been right at the very top of the tree for decades.Smiles wrote:I'll take Sam Cooke any old day: a voice of exquisite control.
But more generally, doesn't the title "best singer ever" depend to a huge degree on the type of music you actually like? I know it's passe, but I remain a huge Sinatra fan - Frank that is. The Michael Buble's of the world are excellent but their voices just cannot match that of Sinatra.
If you happen to be a fan of classical music, you can forget the likes of Pavarotti, Domingo and Carreras. Arguably the finest voice of the last century, like Sam Cooke Fritz Wunderlich died young aged only 35, tragically from a fall down stairs. Even if classical is not your thing, listen to this very short Schubert song and hear how fabulous a true voice can sound.