Who are some of your favorite singers?

charlesmao

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To a large extent, singers are born not made. So whereas most anyone can learn how to play an instrument (maybe not well, but play) most people no matter how hard they work will never be great singers.

So are you saying that almost anyone can play an instrument competently if he/she puts in the effort, whereas in singing, it's either you have it or you don't?
 

Maze Runner

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Hey Ken, look what I found. Just came across it this early hour. Only a couple minutes into it myself, but it looks like two of Anita's live concerts. If I recall, Anita had a problem with her voice from a botched tonsillectomy that left her with not much of a vibrato, but she had that great time. Here's that link, hope it's worth a look and a listen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyRByrx0fwU

AND, looks like a documentary was done on her life.

Here's the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=DKGWjrSfW5M
 
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Ken

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Watched the first set: Sweet Georgia Brown.
Definitely will be watching the rest real soon.
Seems like an interesting bio. Hopefully I'll get a
chance to watch the whole thing. Kinda seems like
she has an original style. Abruptly stopping and starting ...
Thnx for the links !
 

williemeikle

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Listening to Bessie Smith tonight on remastered editions that have smoothed out a lot of the hiss and crackle. Lovely.
 

Liralen

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For pure voice, it's hard to ignore Freddy Mercury and Sinead O'Connor. Meatloaf and Ian Astbury aren't exactly slouches either. Oh, and Annie Lennox. Eva Cassidy. Amy Lee. Robert Plant, to me, fits in the list as well.

But most of the time I gravitate toward those whiskey-soaked, gravel road voices; Lucinda Williams, Tom Waits, James Hetfield, Marianne Faithful, Johnny Cash, Nick Cave . . .

Then I'll swing to extremes, like Loreena McKennitt, with her honey mead voice, and Darrell Scott, like a smooth, aged Kentucky bourbon.
 

Liralen

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I should have added Tori Amos (truly a spectacular voice), Sarah Brightman and Ben Harper in that list. :)

Jim Morrison had an exceptional voice, I think, but it gets overshadowed by the myth he became.


Those great old jazz, torch and blues singers and pure entertainers have a place all their own! Don't forget Lena Horne, Pearl Bailey, Eartha Kitt . . .
 
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Maze Runner

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I saw Lena Horne in concert once, opening for Tony Bennett. I knew her performance of Stormy Weather and a few others, and even though we're from the same neighborhood (her father was big time bookmaker, Teddy Horne) I'd always considered her more of a pretty face than a singer. And I am a big Tony Bennett fan, but that night Lena was a tough act to follow. An electrifying performer, and so sexy in her sixties that it was frightening. What a woman- thanks for reminding me.

I don't know if Anita Baker, Phyllis Hyman (also from the Hill) and Donny Hathaway have been mentioned in this thread, but either way, they bear repeating.

Phyllis http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6dVunfuYvY

Anita http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPKprbzN1jo

Donny http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9cRvg1jaBk
 
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Ken

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... Bessie Smith is cool.
Have listened to her in the past.
She was supposedly THE singer.
Like you say, lots of crackle.
Remastering recordings must be an art in itself.
Eliminating what doesn't belong, while preserving what does.
Wonder how that's managed? By computer I suppose.
 

blacbird

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Singers who grab me every time I hear 'em:

Patsy Cline
Roy Orbison
Ray Charles
Joe Cocker
Bob Seger
Nat King Cole*
Sam Cooke
Aretha Franklin
Burton Cummings

It ain't all about voice, which is something the producers and aficionados of American Idol and The Voice don't get, or care to get. It's about the ability to articulate a song in an unforgettable way, and for me, all these people have done, on a consistent basis.

caw

* ahead of Sinatra any day of the week.
 

Maze Runner

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Singers who grab me every time I hear 'em:

Patsy Cline
Roy Orbison
Ray Charles
Joe Cocker
Bob Seger
Nat King Cole*
Sam Cooke
Aretha Franklin
Burton Cummings

It ain't all about voice, which is something the producers and aficionados of American Idol and The Voice don't get, or care to get. It's about the ability to articulate a song in an unforgettable way, and for me, all these people have done, on a consistent basis.

caw

* ahead of Sinatra any day of the week.

Once you reach a certain level of greatness, in any art, I think it becomes subjective. IMO, Nat King Cole has a great timbre, but he sings everything pretty straight. I tell you one thing though, he was one of the best bebop piano players ever- most who know his work in both areas, believe he was by far a better piano player than a singer. That said, I love Nat King Cole, if for no other reason than his voice quality and his economical choices.

I'm starting to feel like the only Sinatra fan on this board- which is strange considering he's probably the most popular of his genre. However, Frank did not have the best voice, he was not the best improvisor. He did not sing the amount of jazz that I would have preferred, and almost exclusively sang with a big band when the few times he worked or recorded with a combo, he did it well-- though he didn't have the head voice of say a Tony Bennett which lent more to that kind of intimacy. Another guy who I don't think has been mentioned on this thread is Mel Torme, who was a very creative singer. But, Frank did all of these things well enough, and the one thing I think he had over all others of his genre, was taste. Plus, and this is very important, Frank was a big enough moneymaker that he could call his own shots in the studio. Since he left Columbia and especially when he started his own label in Reprise, he had control over what songs he sang and how they were arranged. A lot of these other guys would have potentially been just as big as Frank if they'd had his juice. Few did.
 

Vito

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Some of these artists have delivered...uh, "uneven" vocal performances in recent years, but all of 'em have made recordings that I really dig:

Van Morrison
Bob Dylan (1965 through 1976 only, for me).
Sheryl Crow
John Fogerty
Otis Redding
Bruce Springsteen
Felix Cavaliere (main lead singer in The Rascals)
Stephen Stills
George Harrison
Chris Robinson
Carole King
Rob Tyner (the MC5)
Steve Earle -- I love his country stuff but don't like his rock albums, for some reason
 

Humble Squid

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i'm answering this with the caveat that there's a difference between a "favorite" singer and those i feel are supremely talented. For example, I LOVE Isaac Brock's voice but he is a terrible singer by all contemporary standards. I also like Jerry Garcia, Doug Martsch, and Stephen Malkmus a lot.

Some singers i dig who are considered great voices: Chris Robinson, Robert Plant (duh), and Jim James (Yim Yames).
 

Shadow_Ferret

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No one compares to Bing Crosby. Even just talking his voice was smooth and melodious. And I don't think he ever sang off key, even when he'd start at one note then slide to another, up or down, he never lost pitch. Hard to do and few singers can do it.
 

Conte Remo

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I absolutely love singers such as:

Tarja Turunen [ex-Nightwish singer, now a solo artist]: LINK

Lori Lewis [from the band Therion; also every other Therion singer is good]: LINK

Floor Jansen [ex- After Forever singer, now the singer of Revamp and Nightwish]: LINK

Vibeke Stene [ex- Tristania singer]: LINK

Liv Kristine [Ex-Theatre of Tragedy singer, now singer of Leaves' Eyes]: LINK

Doro Pesch [ex- Warlock singer, now a solo artist]: LINK

Roy Khan [ex- Kamelot singer]: LINK

Anneke van Giersbergen [ex- The Gathering singer, also in some Devin Townsend songs]: LINK

Malena Ernman [solo singer]: LINK

Sharon den Adel [Within Temptation]: LINK

I tend to prefer female singers, if you haven't noticed.

EDIT: I would add Freddie Mercury, but everyone already knows who he is :p
 
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EricJames

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Some of these are new guys:

Jai Paul
Florence Welch
How to Dress Well
Thom Yorke
John Legend
Lana Del Rey
Corinne Bailey Ray
Mikky Ekko
Toro Y Moi
James Blake
Jack Johnson and John Mayer (similar enough that I had to put them in the same line)
And of course Ed Sheeran
 

MinorNinth

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Once you reach a certain level of greatness, in any art, I think it becomes subjective. IMO, Nat King Cole has a great timbre, but he sings everything pretty straight. I tell you one thing though, he was one of the best bebop piano players ever- most who know his work in both areas, believe he was by far a better piano player than a singer. That said, I love Nat King Cole, if for no other reason than his voice quality and his economical choices.

I'm starting to feel like the only Sinatra fan on this board- which is strange considering he's probably the most popular of his genre. However, Frank did not have the best voice, he was not the best improvisor. He did not sing the amount of jazz that I would have preferred, and almost exclusively sang with a big band when the few times he worked or recorded with a combo, he did it well-- though he didn't have the head voice of say a Tony Bennett which lent more to that kind of intimacy. Another guy who I don't think has been mentioned on this thread is Mel Torme, who was a very creative singer. But, Frank did all of these things well enough, and the one thing I think he had over all others of his genre, was taste. Plus, and this is very important, Frank was a big enough moneymaker that he could call his own shots in the studio. Since he left Columbia and especially when he started his own label in Reprise, he had control over what songs he sang and how they were arranged. A lot of these other guys would have potentially been just as big as Frank if they'd had his juice. Few did.

Would you agree that Frank had better articulation and phrasing than the singers mentioned above? I'm a big Sinatra fan and, whilst I have listened to Crosby, Torme, Bennett and other Jazz singers, I have yet to hear someone who can consistently (and that distinction is important) phrase words as to transmit their fullest meaning and emotion to the listener. Take, for example, Sings for Only the Lonely, I cannot imagine any other singer performing that album. Yes, Torme and Crosby could sing the songs perfectly well, but I don't think they could reach the emotional depths that Frank could; Torme and Crosby, in my opinion, had amazing voices but both lacked any real emotion in them. Indeed, Torme and Crosby agreed with this statement. Perhaps the only singer I could envisage performing that album would be Billy Holiday. What does everybody else think ?

By the way, this isn't to say that other singers from other genres couldn't attempt the album, but I'm focusing on 'Jazz' singers in my argument. I'm a huge fan of Willie Nelson, Aretha Franklin and Al Green, and believe that, within their respective styles, they could perform the album equally well .

Just my two cents.

As an example, here's Frank singing Where or When - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX3xfjnBzic

Talking about Jazz singers, has anybody heard of Mark Murphy ?
 
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Maze Runner

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There was a Downbeat issue sometime in the 50s that polled musicians for their favorite singer. Frank got over half the votes. Frank sang with more emotional depth, because he HAD more emotional depth than most, jazz singers or not.

I agree with everything you said. A lot of these guys/gals, from the way they sang with no connection to the lyric, you'd never know if they were singing of about romantic conquest or someone contemplating suicide.

Billie, absolutely, yes, and Tony Bennett moves me an awful lot, but for me, no one had the emotional connection to a lyric that Frank did. It's said that he was a manic/depressive, which might explain why he could take us to such high highs and low lows. His son once said that Only The Lonely should only be sold by prescription. Stock up on the Jack Daniels before you listen to that one.
 

oxygentent

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To name a few:

David Bowie
David Gilmour
Roger Waters
Thom Yorke
Neil Young
Bob Dylan
Elvis Presley
John Lennon
Paul McCartney
Robert Plant
Lou Reed
Matthew Bellamy
 

JimAnnison

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Favourite singers eh?

On the male side, I think I would have to plump for:

Peter Gabriel
Paul Rodgers (Free; Bad Company)
Ronnie James Dio (strangely enough, 'Long Live Rock'n'Roll' by Rainbow has just come on the radio)
Edwin Starr
Jon Anderson (Yes)
Phil Lynott (Thin Lizzy)

And for the ladies:

Marcela Bovio (Stream of Passion)
Beth Hart
Liv Kristine (Leaves Eyes)
Kate Bush
Sharon den Adel (Within Temptation)
Maddy Prior (Steeleye Span)
Tarja Turunen (Nightwish)
Annie Haslam (Renaissance)
Sonja Kristina (Curved Air)