Written: November 24, 2008

Rolling Stone Magazine issue number 1066 features a list of the 100 greatest singers of all time. 179 experts make up the panel behind the ranking.

After names like Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley and

John Lennon, comes Johnny Cash at a very

respectable 21 place. The magazine has the following

to say about Johnny Cash: "The Man in Black's rolling,

stentorian baritone is one of the defining voices in

American music, from his earliest singles for Sun

Records through his commercial prime in the Sixties

and Seventies to his Nineties rebirth."

Behind Cash we find names like Michael Jackson,

Bono, Whitney Houston and Bruce Springsteen.

The top 10:

1. 1.Aretha Franklin
   

2. 2.Ray Charles
   

3. 3.Elvis Presley
   

4. 4.Sam Cooke
   

5. 5.John Lennon
   

6. 6.Marvin Gaye
   

7. 7.Bob Dylan
   

8. 8.Otis Redding
   

9. 9.Stevie Wonder
   

10. 10.James Brown
    

And of course, number 21: Johnny Cash!

Rolling Stone spent the summer asking a lot of artists, including Bruce Springsteen, Jim James, Alicia Keys, Mary J. Blige and many others, a long with journalists and music industry insiders, who their favourite singer were. All of the ballots were gathered and the result has been verified by Ernst & Young.