She does have a good voice. I'm not a fan of Whitney Houston. Really it's more that whole genre of music.
There are good singers from all genres of music. Michael Kiske started his career with the band Helloween in 1986. 30 years later he still sounds just as good then as he did then.
I am not necessarily a big fan of Whitney Houston's songs, although I do like the one I posted, and a few others. I have come to the conclusion though that she is the greatest singer we have seen. She had the best voice of anyone. I watched a video of Christina Aguilera singing a medley of Houston's songs at a tribute show, and I don't think Christina is that close to Whitney.
I remember when she first come out in 1987. She was just another pop singer. I have to give her credit, as her career went along, her singing abilities improved. When she first started, I wouldn't really call it singing. Especially when we compare it to what she became. There is no comparison.
Perhaps you should classify the type of music, and by using the word "ever" you open up the possibility of naming famous opera singers such as Gigli or Caruso or Pavarotti, Joan Sutherland or Marian Anderson. Although Houston's signature song is hard to beat, I think you have to consider a whole career rather than just a song. In that regard, for pop music, I'd put Frank Sinatra ahead of her. Perhaps also consider different categories such as male or female (or whatever, which I guess is appropriate to say these days).
I admit she could really belt it out, but think of Joan Baez's voice.
Sinatra had more than a pleasant voice, he had a style that really made his songs special, and that style followed him to the end. Think of him in old age singing "My Way" - it was still special (but of course that song was the story of his life).
A few years after Sinatra died one of my nephews got married. He and his bride chose "All The Way" as their wedding song and had a Frank Sinatra impersonator sing it at the reception as the first dance. To see these young people respect that music like that sent a chill up my spine.
There was just something about him that no one else has or had. He and Liza really get into New York New York. Saw a homeless man (who was black) sing "My Way" and sounded just like him.
They had a sound and style like no other, and one that never seems to go out of style. Even today their songs are very popular. I never met any of them in person, but, I saw many interviews about them and Andy always kind of stood out for me.
Yes all the straight macho boys LOVE those songs don't they.
Which I have always found hilariously ironic since the band's name is QUEEN and Freddie was the biggest QUEEN of them all. Don't think that Freddy didn't recognize the irony, he did...
So? Those are two of the Greatest Songs in History. If a person is truly open-minded, it doesn't matter the name of the band or singer, or the sexual preferences/proclivities of them. My favorite song by Queen is from Highlander and it is:
Sinatra for sure, and Nat King Cole. Many excellent female singers....from the past we have Ella, Sarah Vaughn, the fabulous harmonies of Agnetha and Frida from ABBA, and my very favorite, Karen Carpenter. Currently there is a Norwegian lass named Sissel Kyrkjebo who has a fantastic voice.
Karen Carpenter is an interesting one. She never seemed to be trying, and her voice was kind of even keeled. I think she made it look too easy. I would put her as one of the best female singers.
Haven’t really listened to much of Allison lately.......don’t know why honestly. She’s one of those wonderful voices like Emmylou Harris and Bonnie Raitt that never disappoint.
Back to Eva.......
One of my favorites, with Chuck Brown
She really shows off her blues chops in this one. I’ve tried for years to understand why her voice moves me so much.........I finally just accepted that hers is the voice of an angel.
Well if we're going to talk the ''Blues'' there have many great ones. Going back to Robert Johnson, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters etc etc...John Lee Hooker is one of my favorites and one of the all time Blues greats.
Billy is right up there with the Beatles and Elton as a songwriter, and nothing beats him singing "NY State of Mind". It is the perfect mesh of song and songwriter. I wish everyone could see what he is describing in that song.
IMO, one of the great balladeers of our time was Johnny Cash...He sang for the the common man, the miner, truck driver, steel worker, the veteran, the downtrodden, he sang for all the races, for all of America that go about their daily business and try to keep their heads above water.
And also brought some moments of good music to prisoners in the jails. His deep voice was unique, and I can only think of one other person whose deep voice was great - Paul Robeson.
In my most recent article on the Folksongs and Folkways group I relate how I met Joni, and how we became friends, along with a video of a couple of her first songs.
Make your picks.
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When Whitney Houston was young, pre drug damage, no one could touch her, imo.
Whitney recorded Saving All My Love For You at the end of 1984, when she was 21 years old.
I totally agree with you.
Another of my favorites is Tina Turner. she is awesome!
Finally something we can agree on.
Her cousin, Dionne Warwick. Or in a different register, Tina Turner. I don't know the old-time jazz greats well enough to compare them.
Males: Freddy Mercury and Frank Sinatra.
Michael Kiske - Your Turn (Helloween)
She does have a good voice. I'm not a fan of Whitney Houston. Really it's more that whole genre of music.
There are good singers from all genres of music. Michael Kiske started his career with the band Helloween in 1986. 30 years later he still sounds just as good then as he did then.
I am not necessarily a big fan of Whitney Houston's songs, although I do like the one I posted, and a few others. I have come to the conclusion though that she is the greatest singer we have seen. She had the best voice of anyone. I watched a video of Christina Aguilera singing a medley of Houston's songs at a tribute show, and I don't think Christina is that close to Whitney.
I remember when she first come out in 1987. She was just another pop singer. I have to give her credit, as her career went along, her singing abilities improved. When she first started, I wouldn't really call it singing. Especially when we compare it to what she became. There is no comparison.
Saving All My Love For You was her first single, out in the beginning of 1985.
First thing I remember hearing from her was I Want to Be With Somebody.
Steve Perry
One of the most amazing vocalists i've ever heard. Notice he doesn't reach up for notes, he falls on top of them.
His voice fit in perfectly with the band. Even live he sounds good.
Yes, he was truly in a class all his own.
Journey is GREAT in concert.
Love Steve Perry!
Very difficult to pick just one, but here is one of my favorites. A voice that was amazing.
Jackie Wilson had a style and voice like no other. I really enjoyed listening to him sing, as he seemed to really enjoy singing.
Jackie Wilson was great.
Perhaps you should classify the type of music, and by using the word "ever" you open up the possibility of naming famous opera singers such as Gigli or Caruso or Pavarotti, Joan Sutherland or Marian Anderson. Although Houston's signature song is hard to beat, I think you have to consider a whole career rather than just a song. In that regard, for pop music, I'd put Frank Sinatra ahead of her. Perhaps also consider different categories such as male or female (or whatever, which I guess is appropriate to say these days).
The categories will fall into place.
To me , nothing beats Sinatra and he had an amazing voice that changed and then deteriorated over many years.
There is a purity to Whitney Houston's voice that is in a class of it's own, imo.
I admit she could really belt it out, but think of Joan Baez's voice.
Sinatra had more than a pleasant voice, he had a style that really made his songs special, and that style followed him to the end. Think of him in old age singing "My Way" - it was still special (but of course that song was the story of his life).
[jrEmbed module="jrYouTube" youtube_id="MmFaNuT-20g"]
A few years after Sinatra died one of my nephews got married. He and his bride chose "All The Way" as their wedding song and had a Frank Sinatra impersonator sing it at the reception as the first dance. To see these young people respect that music like that sent a chill up my spine.
Note that I amended my comment. I assume you posted a youtube of "All the Way". I'm going to seek that on Tudou now.
There was just something about him that no one else has or had. He and Liza really get into New York New York. Saw a homeless man (who was black) sing "My Way" and sounded just like him.
I should have put the title of the video there Buzz. Sorry.
Yep.
Andy Gibb!! I don't even like disco much, but Andy's voice was incomparable.
Indeed, the Bee Gee was one of my all time favorite groups, and Andy was my favorite of them all.
If you ever met Barry, he'd be your favorite. WOW. [Of course, this was back in the day but just WOW]. I thought my mother was going to faint.
They had a sound and style like no other, and one that never seems to go out of style. Even today their songs are very popular. I never met any of them in person, but, I saw many interviews about them and Andy always kind of stood out for me.
In the pop/rock genre Female, I'd have to go with Aretha Franklin. Male, it'd be Freddie Mercury
Best all time voice Maria Callais (opera)
Whitney is maybe top 10 for pop/rock
Etta James has it for blues.
Love the blues, amongst female artists I can't argue that, but overall my personal fave is BB King
Freddie Mercury was great, I really enjoyed his voice.
Range, versatility, originality it all added up
His live performance was off the charts.
I shan't be confined to just one no matter your demands John.
Five women, from different gernes:
Billie Holiday
Barbara Streisand
Grace Slick
Karen Carpenter
Dolly Parton
Five men, different gernes:
Freddie Mercury
Michael Jackson
Marvin Gaye
Tony Bennett
Johnny Cash
Note that the above list does not even include my favorite singer/songwriters or bands.
All good ones.
I didnt want to make all different categories or styles separated. That can be for another day.
Even posting only 5 was hard for me.
I have to agree with you Dulay, I also forgot to say Grace Slick.
If you saw her live you would never be able to forget her. Another I would add for live performance is Sade. OMG her voice is beautiful.
Johnny Cash? Are you freakin' kidding me??
No I am NOT kidding you. Johnny Cash was fucking awesome.
I agree, and still listen to Johnny regularly, but one of the best singing voices??
The question is singers, not singing voices. Johnny Cash, in his gerne, again, YES!
Lol, ok Dulay, I don't want to fight again! Sorry for getting so stupid over the truck stop comment. I've always loved your posts. Merry Christmas.
The Righteous Brothers were a great duo, each having very distinct voices. Bobby Hatfield voice was superb....
Yes, they were a special duo. It is too bad that there are so few singers today that can come close to those of yesterday.
The Everly Brothers. As we used to say, dreamy!
All I have to do is dream.
Freddie Mercury is the best singer of all time. This is simply due to his range:
You have a good point.
His biggest wish was to be an opera singer.
I agree Tom.. missed this post before I posted mine.
And, I forgot to mention these two songs usually played as one:
Yes all the straight macho boys LOVE those songs don't they.
Which I have always found hilariously ironic since the band's name is QUEEN and Freddie was the biggest QUEEN of them all. Don't think that Freddy didn't recognize the irony, he did...
So? Those are two of the Greatest Songs in History. If a person is truly open-minded, it doesn't matter the name of the band or singer, or the sexual preferences/proclivities of them. My favorite song by Queen is from Highlander and it is:
Yep, I liked the songs done for Highlander by Queen but, I just couldn't get into them after that. Don't know why.
Sinatra for sure, and Nat King Cole. Many excellent female singers....from the past we have Ella, Sarah Vaughn, the fabulous harmonies of Agnetha and Frida from ABBA, and my very favorite, Karen Carpenter. Currently there is a Norwegian lass named Sissel Kyrkjebo who has a fantastic voice.
Karen Carpenter is an interesting one. She never seemed to be trying, and her voice was kind of even keeled. I think she made it look too easy. I would put her as one of the best female singers.
[jrEmbed module="jrYouTube" youtube_id="5GChYjK8rIk"]
Captain and Tennile were also a very good duo in their day.
Yep, back in the days when musicians and singers had that thing called talent !
I like it.
I can't help it, every time I see this team I think of what my Mother called them, "The Captains Toenails", she did it on purpose.
At the end of the 20th century the Songwriters Association Of America named 'Over The Rainbow' the song of the century.
I think this is the best version I have heard. Melissa Manchester was a great singer.
[jrEmbed module="jrYouTube" youtube_id="m1Rz0bJCeFE"]
Interesting version, and super popular with 64 million You Tube views.
I see Over The Rainbow as an epic song, and I think the formality of the Melissa Manchester version serves it very well.
I guess a great song can cover all kinds of ground though.
Actually, my favorite version is Judy Garland's concert version. Old school.
But the one I posted is so sweet, isn't it?
One of my all time favorite female singers are Diana Ross and Celine Dion.
Elvis he's the King.
Thank-you. Thank-you very much.
I love that song. When it was released, I was a teenager in Chicago. It made me cry, mostly because I had seen what he was singing about.
So many great voices....Steve Perry, Chris Cornell, Whitney, Stevie Nicks, Etta James, Freddie Mercury.
But there's one voice that annihilates my soul.....Eva Cassidy
Now we're talking! Eva Cassidy was an awesome singer/performer in her genre. Sadly, cancer took her from us when she was only 33 years old.
What do you think of Alison Krauss?
"The Wexford Carol" - Yo-Yo Ma and Alison Krauss
"Carolina in My Mind" - Alison Krauss and Jerry Douglas
Haven’t really listened to much of Allison lately.......don’t know why honestly. She’s one of those wonderful voices like Emmylou Harris and Bonnie Raitt that never disappoint.
Back to Eva.......
One of my favorites, with Chuck Brown
She really shows off her blues chops in this one. I’ve tried for years to understand why her voice moves me so much.........I finally just accepted that hers is the voice of an angel.
Harve Presnel (They Call The Wind Marriah)
Jim Nabors (Impossible Dream)
Mario Lanza who made Caruso look like an amateur
John Wallace (Harry Chapin band member with a 5 octive range voice)
A great pianist but, you'd never know it from this.
Please don't say 'pianist,' now I'm fighting to contain my juvenile sense of humor. And whatever you do, don't say anything about Pandora's box!
LOL, I was fighting the whole time to hold it together when I wrote that. But, I don't think Bowser will mind, he has a great sense of humor.
Freddie Mercury...
(theme song from Highlander)
'Forever' always reminds me of all the boys I lost in the 80's, for the same reason we lost Freddie, and it makes me cry.
I can relate Dulay. I too lost friends in the 80's and that song is so sad that it can bring tears.
Well if we're going to talk the ''Blues'' there have many great ones. Going back to Robert Johnson, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters etc etc...John Lee Hooker is one of my favorites and one of the all time Blues greats.
All of em amongst the greatest bluesmen ever.
I'm sticking with Whitney
[jrEmbed module="jrYouTube" youtube_id="FxYw0XPEoKE"]
I actually prefer her auntie.
Dionne Warwick and her collaboration with Bert Bacharach was the music of my youth.
Walk on by.
I like Dionne , she had Burt Bacharach writing for her, and that is a big plus.
I don't think she is in the same league as Whitney as a pure singer though.
great match of singer and song
[jrEmbed module="jrYouTube" youtube_id="Ylxw-nG5VWI"]
Billy is right up there with the Beatles and Elton as a songwriter, and nothing beats him singing "NY State of Mind". It is the perfect mesh of song and songwriter. I wish everyone could see what he is describing in that song.
It obviously has a lot of meaning to him.
Love Billy's voice........but it's taken a while for me to forgive him for screwing over his drummer, Liberty DeVitto.
Don't know what she's saying but, who the heck cares. Great voice.
This is one of my favs from her.
https://www.bing.com/search?q=connie+francis+where+the+boys+are&filters=ufn%3a%22connie+francis+where+the+boys+are%22+sid%3a%22fd0b9423-ffa9-2bfa-07c3-f494454f3f33%22+catguid%3a%2230c3d901-a23c-9e63-a1b2-b9b1fc8e6c8a_498707c2%22+segment%3a%22generic.carousel%22+secq%3a%22connie+francis+songs%22+psid%3a%2230c3d901-a23c-9e63-a1b2-b9b1fc8e6c8a%22+supwlcar%3a%220%22+segtype%3a%22U29uZw%3d%3d%22&FORM=SNG1CR&crslsl=0
Connie Francis was one of the best female vocalists.
[jrEmbed module="jrYouTube" youtube_id="3d3tmpkoTyg"]
Damn it John! Every time there's one of her songs I can't stop listening to it until it's done.
IMO, one of the great balladeers of our time was Johnny Cash...He sang for the the common man, the miner, truck driver, steel worker, the veteran, the downtrodden, he sang for all the races, for all of America that go about their daily business and try to keep their heads above water.
GREAT SONG! His voice is perfect for it too.
I think people should know.
Miigwetch (thanks)
Anytime.
Hey, don`t get me wrong you guys, I LOVE Johnny Cash, but I`ve heard dogs that could sing better!
Better be careful lenny, I have two dogs that are getting really pissed at you. And they are both big Johnny Cash fans.
And also brought some moments of good music to prisoners in the jails. His deep voice was unique, and I can only think of one other person whose deep voice was great - Paul Robeson.
Another deep voice.
Then there's this guy.
https://www.bing.com/search?q=isaac+hayes+don%27t+let+go&filters=ufn%3a%22isaac+hayes+dont+let+go%22+sid%3a%22cca9f8f7-669e-9f76-d240-6f91824b6af9%22&autoplay=1&FORM=SNAPST
Good one.
another great singer
K.d. Lang - Hallelujah (Live Olympic Games 2010 Opening Cermony).avi
[jrEmbed module="jrYouTube" youtube_id="nKrkEOlyJo8"]
She made us proud.
Are you Canadian?
That has to be the greatest rendition of ''Hallelujah'' I ever heard...
KD Lang has a fantastic voice.
I read recently an article that said that Leonard Cohen himself thought K.D.Lang did the best version of it.
Here is one of my favorite singer songwriters and note who introduces her.
Who would that be, Dulay? I can't open YouTube.
It's Joni Mitchell being introduced by Johnny Cash, Buzz.
In my most recent article on the Folksongs and Folkways group I relate how I met Joni, and how we became friends, along with a video of a couple of her first songs.
Andrea Bocelli
I can't believe no one has mentioned William Shatner, his rendition of Rocket Man brought tears to my eyes.
I dont know. I heard it and it brought blood out of my ears.
I saw Frank Sinatra when I was 17 years old, 3 rows back, 20 feet from the stage. Never have heard anything like it since then. AMAZING voice.
This guy has some amazing pipes.