Hear Me Out: Jack Black is the best singer in rock music (2024)

In 2007, Jack Black, Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly took to the stage at the Oscars to sing about the disheartening sensation of being a comedian there. “A comedian at the Oscars,” they sang, “The saddest man in the world.” The song was merely poking fun at critics general inability to hand acclaim to those in the game of making us laugh, and while the whole sketch was just a bit of fun, it does carry some relevance to it.

There is no denying that Jack Black is an incredibly successful musician and actor. In fact, he is probably one of the most recognisable people in the world. However, when discussing who the best rock vocalist is, he never gets so much as a mention. Well, enough is enough; it’s time to add him to the conversation. His comedic repertoire likely plays into people’s hesitancy to recognise him as such a tremendous vocal talent. Still, when you consider the qualities that make a good singer and that people mention when they bring up those who they think are the best of all time, Jack Black possesses them all.

When someone is singing a song about becoming the devil’s sex slave, their poster of Dio coming to life and convincing them to move to LA, or a track called ‘Fuck Her Gently’, it is hard to get through the laughs and find the beauty, but it’s there. Jack Black has one of the best vocal ranges in rock music, with a gravelly vocal tone and a beautiful, low-sounding voice. He can hit high notes better than some of the best glam rock singers ever to pick up a mic.

Those laughs do often get in the way, so one of the best ways you can truly appreciate the majesty of Jack Black’s voice is in covers that he’s performed on. As such, here are some of the best covers that Jack Black has performed, which show just how prominent a singer he is.

Jack Black’s greatest covers

‘Immigrant Song’ – Led Zeppelin

“I still got a little throat sauce for one more jam,” says Jack Black when on stage for Dave Grohl’s birthday. Forming the supergroup to end all supergroups, Slash starts to play the introduction to Led Zeppelin’s ‘Immigrant Song’, and the crowd erupts. Jack Black greets the screeching intro like an old friend, and as the rest of the piece unfolds, the singer has no intention of letting up.

Each note is delivered perfectly, as Black can channel Robert Plant in his prime. On top of that, including rhythm guitar by Dave Grohl and a lead solo by Slash, you have the makings of one of the best covers ever performed.

‘When Doves Cry’– Prince

Shortly after Prince passed away, Tenacious D played Rock Am Ring. During the outro, as Jack Black thanked each band member, the music was cut. Usually, during this period, Black would do a bit of nonsense riffing and then thank the crowd for coming out; however, this time, he did a quick cover of ‘When Doves Cry’.

The whole piece was done entirely a capella, and the crowd watched in stunned silence as Jack applied gritty rock vocals to the hit. The band are also taken aback as guitarist Kyle Gass places both hands on the body of his guitar and watches on, smiling. This is Jack Black’s voice; he can stun an audience of tens of thousands into silence as he quickly riffs on somebody else’s song. It is truly astounding.

‘Wicked Game’– Chris Isaak

The consensus tends to be that works with extensive belting notes are the hardest to sing, and while that’s true, there is also the colossal difficulty that comes with performing songs where a lot of emotion needs to be conveyed. The haunting sound of Chris Isaak’s ‘Wicked Game’ is an excellent example of this, as it requires a lot of emotion but is something Jack Black gets on top of easily.

The way that he solemnly sings the verse and manages to squeeze every drop out of the words, “What a wicked thing to do, to make me dream of you,” is nothing short of perfect. Not to mention, how he quickly moves from high to low notes is inspiring and would melt the thorniest of hearts.

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