Mike Patton.
Mike Patton is the greatest singer the world has ever known.
Period.
And I don’t even like his music.
You may or may not have even heard of him, he’s never sat still long enough to be much of a star but at the same time that’s a huge part of what’s so amazing about him, he’s been in literally two dozen bands in all genres and of all types. His greatest success has been with his Los Angeles based experimental/rock/rap/funk act Faith No More but even they only ever had one hit.
He’s been the singer I am most impressed with since I was about 15.
A couple years ago some people from MIT wrote a computer program and let it loose “listening” to all big artists on all streaming services to find the singer with the greatest vocal range from low to high. Originally the answer was Axl Rose, after an article came out however a bunch of Patton fans got in touch with the developers and said “Yeah no, it’s Mike, trust us” so they pointed the program at Mike’s 24 different bands and yup, no other singer had anything near the range Mike has.
He can do literally anything. He can do the multitone Mongolian throat singing (he spent a year there learning how), he can beatbox, he can sing incredibly deep but also has several insanely high voices, he can even do the whistle notes that Mariah always does, he can sing above C6, he can sing jazz and opera very respectably.
His bands encompass everything, rock bands, funk bands, rap bands, he’s recorded albums of Italian opera, he has a 30 piece band that does 1960’s Italian pop orchestral stuff, he has a death metal band, a 70’s soul band, he has had a beatboxing band, a blues band, and so many avant garde bands, so many experimental bands with song after song of Mike making noises, seriously, he has never had a country band as far as I know but otherwise he’s done it all.
He uses his voice and the microphone like a tool, no rules, bending it over and over to make new things.
He’s also had more fun doing it than anyone else I could imagine, his entire life has been a big continual wink at the world, he’s avoided fame and carved an amazing place for himself. I know of no better definition of success than the life Mike has created for himself and I’ve never heard an unkind word said about him.
I have included a playlist with three songs but like I said I’m not a big fan. Better than the songs here are a couple YouTube react videos by a couple vocal coaches who were unfamiliar with him.
Rebecca Vocal Athlete (don’t miss the last example)
Beth Roars
I like both of these YouTubers, I also think you would make better singer react videos than either one of them do.
A Bit Gone 