The average person, seeing a Captain Beefhart show, would think he and his mates were a big spoof -a put on. No! This was who they were. Their music was utterly flawless. Their music WAS their reality. Like Hendrix, they were not their true selves unless they were playing.
5 most recognizable voices in American music?
While watching CNNs Larry King interview Johnny Cash a few days ago, I commented to my wife that Johnny Cash probably has one of the five most recognizable voices in American music today. My wife agreed and then asked "Well who are the other four?" After some discussion, we came up with our nominations (in no particular order):
Johnny Cash
Elvis Presley
Ray Charles
Barbra Streisand
Louie Armstrong
This question probably assumes that the singer is quite famous and that their music has been around quite awhile-- or they became really famous really fast. We'd be interested in knowing what other A'Gon members think about these five, or others you would nominate instead for this "top five"? Thanks. Craig
Johnny Cash
Elvis Presley
Ray Charles
Barbra Streisand
Louie Armstrong
This question probably assumes that the singer is quite famous and that their music has been around quite awhile-- or they became really famous really fast. We'd be interested in knowing what other A'Gon members think about these five, or others you would nominate instead for this "top five"? Thanks. Craig
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The last time I checked the responces, they all come from the US 'goners. Would be interesting to see what the outsiders (like myself) think. Going back 30 years, living in Ukraine, I would have named Ella, Louie, Elvis, Jim Morrison, David Bowie. My point is (but this would be another thread): can any 'goner name someone "recognizable" in French or Russian (Brits, thats too easy!) rock/pop? |
@dweller Thank you for getting my point, I did not mean any disrespect to the posts @ this thread, was rather thinking about those over 2 billion Chinese, Indian, and Russian-speaking dudes perspective on the subject. (Well, and French of course) What do They think??!? Do they even care? I did not (do not) care if Bowie is American or Brit, whether he is a man or a woman, or gay, or lesbian... I just loved him (Michael Jackson not so much) when residing on the wrong side of the Berlin Wall. Personally, I do not have any Chinese/Oriental tunes in my x1000+ library (unless you count Debussy and George Harrison) and totally hate Russian pop!! As a test, search for YouTube videos of the album "Po Freidu" by Max Barskih. Cool videos, but my-guess u will get my point of the outsiders-"natives" listening to American rock/pop. Once again, with all due respect etc etc this is the only tune (plus Riverside of course) coming from "beyond" that I can listen to and I still feel sorry that did not buy his CD when it was available on Amazon... Now, a tip for those who dig Lustmord, Reich, Brian Eno: "Cows don’t dream at night" by Electric Orange! The best 60+min drone tune I have in my collection,... the only bummer is that I still understand Russian and cannot help listening to the background "news" he used as a "human touch" to electronic droning... Let me know if I am wrong!!! |
I want to encourage any and all rock and R&B fans to buy INTRODUCING DARLENE LOVE, a 2015 release on Columbia produced by Steve Van Zandt. This album (CD) is truly a labor of love and respect for one of the great ladies of pop music who was basically screwed out of her royalties and recognition. Her first solo single was released as a Crystals song without her knowledge or consent, for example. Her music was an inspiration for the overall sound of Bruce Springsteen's Born To Run album. There is original music written for her by Springsteen, Van Zandt, Elvis Costello, Jimmy Webb, Linda Perry, and - get this! - Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil. There are performances by Costello, Van Zandt, Jake Clemons, Paul Schaffer, and Bill Medley among others. Even if you've bought all of Darlene's oldies and best of collections; the odds are that she never got a dime of your money. This one is different. It is available from Amazon in CD, Vinyl, and MP3 download. There is also a DVD/Blu-ray of the Oscar winning documentary, "20 Feet From Stardom" featuring Ms. Love and some of her peers that I Think I must get. |
Darlene Love, one of my absolute favorite singers! Her vocal on "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" is astoundingly great!! She sang for Phil Spector, who kept all the money his label made, sending the artists out on the road to work for peanuts. That's the way the music business worked in those days, is wasn't just Phil. Springsteen said he was trying to make his Born To Run album sound like Roy Orbison as produced by Phil Spector. |
@dweller Thanks for the tip!! Downloaded Silver Apples onto my Pono, some real crazy stuff! If it was a CD I would have put it next to my Japanese mini-LP boxes of Cluster/Roedelius CDs. Not "droning" by my definition but definitely (like Cluster craziness and Deepchord and Klaus Schulze drones) the kind of music I tend to listen to thru the headphones so that my family won't sign me into the loonies bin! ;-) once again, thanks for the tip, I did not know that some Americans are as loony as Germans! Until now the Talking Heads/David Byrne were the craziest US tunes in my collection. |
Sevs: If you don't know Captain Beefheart, check out his "Spotlight Kid" album. He is the best-of-the-best of "out there" americans (IMO of course). Check out this footage from German TV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpHgG4jILa0 P.S. I've recently learned of 4-5 previously unheard Silver Apples albums! Overwhelming! |
I'm a little surprised that no one cited Bobby Darin. Didn't his "Mack the Knife" hold the record for most played single on American radio for decades? @bdp24 , He also played "Then He Kissed Me" for one interviewer and proclaimed "That's the sound of universes colliding!" (Not Darlene; but not far removed.) |
2channel8, I love the Girl Group sound and era. The Brill Building songwriters (Doc Pomus, Mann & Weil, Goffin/King, Bacharach/David, Ellie Greenwich, Mort Shuman, Greenfield/Sedaka, and Leiber & Stoller) wrote SO many classic songs in such a short period of time. I hear that influence in Springsteen's writing on the Born To Run album. Carnie & Wendy Wilson tell of waking up every morning to the sound of The Ronettes "Be My Baby" playing over, and over, and over again, for hours. For years that's how Brian Wilson started the day. He was obsessed with the song and Phil Spector, to the point of mental instability. |