George Jones, Al Green, and Frank Sinatra, in no particular order. I couldn't rank one ahead of another, and can't think of another male singer I would put in the same class as these three. There are many contenders, but these three have all earned their place in Mt Rushmore.
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Waltersalas,
Good post! I see that you are a righteous and noble defender of the George Jones faith. However, my list of male soul singers has both Otis Redding and Curtis Mayfield occupying a higher position than the aforementioned Mr. Green. I must say though, his "I'm Still in Love with You" LP is as fine a Soul disc as any ever recorded. |
Thanks, Tweakgeek. For me, the number of votes on the board for Sinatra compared to "no-show" Jones is more a testament to a general bias against country music than anything. Sinatra is/was great, but no male singer I have ever heard sings with more emotion than Jones. His pain is sometimes palpable to the point of being unbearable--in this particular area, he has only one peer, and that is Billie Holiday. Jones is to Sinatra as Holiday is to Ella Fitzgerald. All are great, but for very different reasons.
BTW, I love Otis, too, but I'll stick with Green.
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The King ! The King ! The King ! The King ! The King !
I can't believe no one said Elvis.
Maybe not the best voice of all time (but damn good for the genre) and certainly not the best material, but no one, I mean no one, could sing like Elvis.
When I say "sing", I mean - convey passion and emotion. He had this wonderful, painful, soulful quality that was both unique and mesmerizing. IMHO, Sinatra was not even close in communicating feeling like Elvis. To me, Sinatra "articulated" the songs, Elvis breathed life into them.
I know some will scoff, but had he not been so flawed and had he had better management, no one would have ever approached his genius, even today. God truly did break the mold on that one! |
is getting to be quite skilled. just saw him live at the anson ford theater (seen him at the jazz bakery as well) and he was great. it helps to have the laurence hobgood trio to work with but kurt can stand on his own. he has performed with jon hendricks and his mentor-mark murphy.
......regards......tr |
Josh Groban, is a new male singer just breaking into the scene. If you watched the closing ceremonies of the winter Olympics, Josh sang the closing song with a female artist. He also sang the star spangled banner at the recent NBC special on 9/11. He has his first CD out and his voice is incredible and with a high quality recording. You can hear is music online at http://www.joshgroban.com |
Waltersalas
"His pain is sometimes palpable to the point of being unbearable--in this particular area, he has only one peer, and that is Billie Holiday"
When you speak about pain, unbearable, heartbreaking, gut wrenching you are forgetting Janis Joplin |
Boy George, George Michael, Freddie Murcury, oh wait you said men. Never mind. |
waltersallas , you're entirely correct about George Jones ,one of the most devastating singers I've ever heard. For those who (rightly) love Johnny Hartmann, also try Arthur Prysock and Ernie Andrews |
Tubegroover,
Good point. Janis sings with as much intensity as anyone I have heard. Aesthetically, I would not put her in the same category with Holiday and Jones, but that is an entirely different conversation. Your point is well taken. Janis was a great one.
Best Regards.
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Pbb..yep Chet Baker is truly great but you were right about the trumpet. They probably had to let him play it in order for him to agree to sing. |
It's tough to add value to 161 responses, but Mel Torme should receive another vote. "Best" is a tough one, but he clearly stays on the list of the top five. His early "scat" phrasing (and later), his styling, and his actual song-writing were just excellent. In my own collection in this category, two singers dominate; Torme and Sinatra. |
Mr. Sinatra, Mr. Hartman, Ray Charles, Joe Turner and Louie Armstrong.
if your list would not include Satchmo you need to listen to either an original Audio Fidelity pressing of his "St. James Infirmary" (from the 50's) or the Classic Records 45 rpm remastered version. it is an amazing recording of an incredible vocal performance (and of each instrument) and every analog listener owes it to his or her self to get this before dinner tonight! go without dinner if necessary, sell your car, whatever it takes... this is the real deal! |
Hmmmm....How about some votes for uniqueness of voice with regard to this topic:
Tom Waits
Peter Gabriel
Richard Butler (Psychedelic Furs)
CD |
STEVIE WONDER
(try "Songs in the Key of Life"... AWESOME album) |
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Coolest guy of all time: (ALWAYS GOT THE HOT CHICKS)
The King
For rock and roll all time: Robert Plant
For soul: Marvin Gaye
For heavy metal current: The guy from Disturbed
(Their new DVD-A is pretty impressive) |
So many good ones but Gino Vannelli is one of my favorites who is "do" for a brand new album of opera type compositions! |
Dennis the menace, Thanks for mentioning Stevie Wonder...another favorite of mine |
I agree with Lbietz2001 about Josh Groban. His voice is nearly unbelieveable, especially for someone so young (20, maybe 21 now)...but he's a figure from the 21st Century. My nominees from the 20th Century would include Jose Cura and Carlo Bergonzi for opera; Dean Martin, Harry Connick, Perry Como for pop: Lionel Ritchie and Smokey Robinson for soft rock. |
Smoky Robinson: "Tracks Of My Tears", and " My Girl Has Gone". Marvin gay.
Eric Clapton: "Sunshine of Your Love", and Others.
Alot of older artists: Roy Orbison, etc.
Newer ones to me are the singers from Aerosmith, and Metallica.
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Best untrained voice by far, Elvis. |
Don Van Vliet,Damo Suzuki,Lee Ving,
Kurt Cobain,Suzanne Lewis,Howlin" Wolf,and of course the venerable Yoshida Tatsuya and Sasaki Hisashi |
Strike the Suzanne Lewis.....obviously not a male..sorry Suzanne! |
robert plant, he got one hell of an instrument in his throat |
I like Jimmy Hendrix, Dean Martin, Joe Cocker and of course Louis Armstrong. |
What about Cat Stevens or Ian Anderson. Both perfect male voices. |
What about Aaron Neville? I wouldn't put him at the top, but he can do some impressive things with his voice. |
Lawrence was a fantastic pop singer - for rock, Robert Plant hands down - for blues, Muddy Waters, with Howlin Wolf a close second - for soul, James Brown - for country, Hank Williams - that's quite a wide spectrum, eh? |
Rudy Valle,Woody Gutrie,Elvis,John Lennon,Robert Plant(meet twice),Mick Jagger,Micheal Jackson,Hank Williams,Bo Didley,BB King,Willie Nelson
All created styles that changed the face of music for their particular decades.There are a few more that escape me at the moment,one is a blues singer that only made a few recordings.Really bugs me that I cannot remember his name at the moment.Made a recording in Angola Prison. |
I have always been impressed with Prince for his incredible vocal range. |
Ronnie James Dio of Course! |
Joao Gilberto. Miles Davis said: 'he even sounds good when reading the newspaper' |
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There can be only one! That one is Johnny Hartman, Listen to Lush Life when he sang with John Coltrane. |
Jimmie Spheeris........had such a way with his voice.....soothing.......soft.....or could belt it out too. Always sounded good singing any kind of music. |
let me start by eliminating jimmy scott. he is one of the best female voices maybe. were he genderly female, i might be able to get into his singing. ENOUGH of that.
sinatra is surely one after he stopped using vibrato in his singing, and especially with swinging ensembles like basie and nelson riddle.
elvis, the KING. he never should have doubted himself to death.
nat cole of course, anyone remember his tune-haji baba?
mark murphy-whom i categorize as an academic singer-you can understand the lyrics and their meanings. he guides you right where he intends you to follow him. theres a program of him on BET Jazz channel where he looks awful-his toupee was a self conscious artifact but he still swings hard and gives a great performance.
kurt elling MUST follow. criticized for trying to come off as TOO HIP. fact is, he IS that hip. his vocal athletics is matched by few alive today. that he is a protege of mark murphy should be obvious.
bobby darin, jazz singer extrordinaire; we lost a real treasure at the age of 38. it makes you wonder what he MIGHT have done.
willie nelson-singer. not country singer (although he is that as well) but SINGER. his 'stardust' album is a must have.
and johnny cash along with burt bacharach are non singers who you REALLY want to hear sing.
i always resisted louis armstrong as a singer (great trumpeter of course) in my earlier years, but maturity made me actually listen-a great expressionist.
ray charles, what a talent jazz, blues, country, pop, and big band leader (check out 'baby, i got news for you'!).
i wasnt a fan of elvis costello until i heard his vocal on the mingus big band -tonight at noon: three or four. i couldnt identify the singer who was going to the limits, taking chances, and truly swinging until the dj back-announced the tune i completely fell out to know it was the once nasally punk rocker!
michael franks-early on, before the genre of 'smooth jazz' had been coined, he captivated me with his slick lyrics (sort of like a jazz dan hicks) and smooth delivery. the smooth jazz moniker denigrates his early work. he always had great personnel lists, dave sanborn did some of his best work then.
roy orbison-vastly underrated. he was considered to be an equal to elvis in the uk. one of his last-mystery girl-is as good as his best
i could go on of course, but someone has to stop me and i guess it will be me.
...regards...tr |
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The greatest male singer of the twentieth century was tenor Enrico Caruso (1873-1921). |
Aureliano Pertile is the best for italian opera (almost perfect) and Max Lorenz for german (Wagner) opera. I'm sorry. |
It has got to be Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, miles ahead of any other singer (if I am allowed to be opinioned once in my life time, I use my only card only now). Frank Sinatra and Nate King Cole and some other contemporary tenors are honorable mentions. But nobody, and I mean nobody, can compare with the awe, power, control, and majesty of the maestro.
Nusrat is the biggest reason for my entire system (http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?vaslt&1066703453). And I measure the rest of my music collection (about 1500 CDs of classical, jazz, rock, soul, male and female vocalists, world music) to see how close it gets to Nusrat's music.
Obsession? No. Highest admiration? yes.
And I am not alone in my opinion. Those unfamiliar with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, see below or send me email for additional recommendations.
Woww, what a voice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Following is part of what I posted somewhere else:
Nusrat was blessed with a unique voice that had unprecedented pitch, variation and tones. He was capable of generating tremendous variations in his voice with hugely dynamic range. He could sound like an angel (track no. 13 on Peter Gabriel's "Passion", music for the "last Temptation of Christ") or like a demon (track no. 9 on Peter Gabriel's "UP")
It is hard to pick some recommendations out of my more than 60 CDs by him but off the top of my head, here are a few:
"Shahbaz," Real World;
"Mustt Mustt," Real World;
Sound track of "Bandit Queen"
"Traditional Sufi Qawwalis, Live in London" vol.II, Vavras Record.
"Greatest Hist," vol. II, shannachi.
Time magazine: "Khan brings to Qawwali an unrivaled ability to convey its Spiritual intensity -- to believers and non-believers alike"
NEW YORK NEWSDAY: "Blissful, ecstatic, musically fascinating and totally transporting"
NEWSWEEK: "He is hollering for real, and a cross between Bhudda and Elvis Presley"
Several rock stars are big admirers.
Too bad he died just when Hollywood had recognized his worth and he was planning an album with Pavarotti.
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Don't know if anyone has mentioned this yet, but here goes.
The Smithsonian Institution commissioned a study to address this very question. They first made up a set of criteria, and then began ranking all the singers they could find. Of course, they expected Frank Sinastra to come out on top, but surprise! Fred Astair: someone known as a dancer, not a singer. I can't recall at this moment all the songs he popularized, but if you dig into it you will be astonished.
As the Holywood studio said at the time of his screen test:
"Can't act, can't sing, dances a little". Some "little". |
Some others:
Philip Bailey of Earth Wind, and Fire
Aaron Neville |
I'm with Dcktr; Martin Sexton! |
Some favorites:
Frank Sinatra
Placido Domingo
Jimmy Scott
Little Willie John
Greg Allman
Joe Williams
Mel Torme
Roger Daltrey
Tony Bennett
Magic Sam
Big Bill Broonzy
Marvin Gaye
Sam Cooke
Elvis Presley
Johnny Hartman
Enrico Caruso
Stevie Wonder
Oscar Brown Jr. |
WHAT?? Bob Dylan best singer? You MUST be joking! That spoiled, middle-class, New York city boy (old man, now)over-the-hill hippie (life is tough - the butler treats me mean and the cook won't make me no lunch)doesn't even have the least little bit of a singing voice. |
Gino Vannelli ranks with the best ever. His early jazz-fusion(1969-1978)will really suprise you |
John Lennon. Freddie Mercury ain't too shabby, either. When he goes into that scat duirng "Another One Bites The Dust," it's one of the best moments in R&R, to me, anyway. |
This is the description of a CD available from acousticsounds.com
It was Irving Berlin, perhaps the greatest American composer, who observed, "It's nothing new to say that Fred Astaire is a great dancer... what is even more important to those of us who ever wrote songs for him was that he was also a great singer. Fred introduced and was responsible for more hit songs than many of the top singers. He knew the value of a song and his heart was in it before his feet took over."
A sample...
1. Let's Call the Whole Thing Off
2. The Way You Look Tonight
3. Fascinating Rhythm
4. They Can't Take That Away From Me
5. Funny Face
6. Top Hat, White Time and Tails
7. Night And Day
8. Let Yourself Go
9. Easter Parade
10. Cheek To Cheek
11. Puttin' on the Ritz
12. Let's Face the Music and Dance
13. Foggy Day
14. I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket
15. Nice Work If You can Get It
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I nominate Marc Anthony .His Salsa in Spanish will bring tears to your eyes.It doesnt even matter what the lyrics mean. Try "Contra La Corriente" |
