Train's Pat Monahan Names His Five Favorite Vocalists

Consequence Vocalist Week is going full steam ahead with Pat Monahan and his five favorite vocalists of all time. Be sure to check out the 100 Best Vocalists of All Time, and stay tuned for more throughout the week. Pat Monahan’s voice has been soundtracking moments from our lives, big and small, for a quarter of a century. To celebrate 25 years of Train’s seminal album, 2001’s Drops of Jupiter, Monahan and co. announced a tour that is set to kick off on July 8th in West Palm Beach, Florida. Barenaked Ladies and Matt Nathanson will support the tour. Buy Train Ticketsj Pat Monahan spoke to Consequence about his five favorite vocalists of all time, including a rock legend, a pair of jazz greats, a hard rock pioneer, and a contemporary rapper — but likely not the first name you think of. Advertisement Robert Plant I was the last of seven kids. My siblings listened to everything from the Beatles to James Taylor and jazz. When my brother played me Led Zeppelin’s album, I was like, “That’s my guy.” I fell in love with the entire band. Girls liked singers better, so I switched over to the Robert Plant role. He gave me a great life because I admired him so much. We actually re-recorded Led Zeppelin II in its entirety and gave it to charity, and Led Zeppelin gave us their blessing on it. It was a pretty cool moment for us. Nina Simone She sang a Jacques Brel song called “Ne Me Quitte Pas” and when I was a house painter in San Francisco, my friend Don Baker played it for me for the first time. I couldn’t work for 15 minutes because I couldn’t believe what magic was coming out of a human. Ella Fitzgerald Ella was such a huge part of my growing up through my dad. She could sing anything and she would sing Johnny Mercer songs better than anyone in the world could ever sing them. I have a huge admiration and love for Ella. Advertisement J. Cole He is my favorite vocalist who’s doing it right now. I think he is smart and funny and interesting and clever and I could listen to J. Cole all day every day. Ian Gillan (Deep Purple) He was tremendous. Load More