He could have been a pretty big deal, but at the time his voice just didn't really stand out the way that Chuck Berry or Elvis' voices did. I think voice matters a lot in terms of popularity. Not necessarily how good you sing, he was a very good vocalist, but it puts a certain signature on your sound when your voice is sort of "one of a kind". Michael Jackson, Elvis, the members of The Beatles, Mick Jagger, and even Bob Dylan even though his voice is pretty bad, you name the most popular artists and all of them have a signature vocal that you can't really mistake with anyone else's.
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