Gary and Norm talk about Rolling Stone Magazine’s “100 Greatest Singers of All Time,” television, movies and more.
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Gary and Norm talk about Rolling Stone Magazine’s “100 Greatest Singers of All Time,” television, movies and more.
Previous post: Chatting With A Veteran
Next post: Thursday This And That
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I don’t think its just about hitting the notes Simon, I mean Gary. I think its what they do with their voices that is important. If the voice is unique, even better. I love Neil Young’s voice. I encourage you to relisten to Old Man and Heart of Gold. His voice is exquisite.
I know people who can sing, or hit the right notes, but their voices are are mundane. Joe Cocker’s voice is not mundane. His cover of A Little Help from My Friends rocked because of his voice and how he used it in a rearranged version. But I sure don’t want to hear Josh Groban , who “can” sing, cover it. David Bowie gets one of my votes as one who can hit the notes and has a beautiful voice to go with it.
One thing that turns me off about the TV show American Idol is that it seems that all they want to hear is someone who can belt out a long sustained high note with lots of vebrato. We already have that covered with Barbra and Celine Dion. Actually, Barbra got it down, so Celine….
I haven’t seen the list. Was Joni on it?
Off the top of my head, some of my favorite female voices are controversial: Senead O’Connor and Courtney Love. In the norm: Kate Bush and Amy Grant - yes the Christian music singer. And hello? Karen Carpenter does have one of the best voices. I encourage you to take another listen to The Carpenters. Of course you know I love Patti Smith, and so does Rolling Stone. In the same RS issue that lists the best 100, Jonathan Lethem even refers to her in his article about what makes a great singer.
Male voices: Again off the top of my head without any real digging: David Bowie, Tom Petty, Damon Gough (Badly Drawn Boy), Elliott Smith, Beck (Beck and Steve Wynwood both sound like they have a bubble in their throats at times), and Bush, and since I am in the B’s, what about Burton Cummings? Now, Burton has reminded me of Eric Burdon (sp?)………and the list grows…
My choices do not mean that I don’t agree with many you listed in your vidcast, especially Smokey Robinson.
Of course, a more informed list will begin to evolve once I send this, but hey, maybe we can keep it going, right? Because really, their are too many singers to choose from, and we have diverse opinions about them. In the end, we may most likely agree that choosing the best is impossible, but the process of trying to, was fun and enlightening.
Yes, Joni Mitchell is on the list . . . at #42.
Oh we don’t have to listen to the Carpenders again (Karen is at #94). Gary and I played all their hits over and over again in the 1970s. She has one of the most perfect voices in music.