Top 5 Female Voices

Almost impossible really, but I'll go with:

Joni Mitchell
Kate Bush
Karen Peris (Innocence Mission)
Regina Spektor
Dionne Warwick (for the Bacharach/David years)

It's hard to leave out Billie Holiday, Liz Fraser and Karen Carpenter though.

Very good topic!

Nigel

....Love these kind of lists me! .....(don't all men love lists?) ....

Having said that I'm no expert on female voices which account for (I'd guess) about 5% of my entire pretty large music collection.

I don't really know why this is, but I've never been really enamoured
by female singers - I don't think I've simply been sexist as such but I do feel rather guilty about my apparent lack of muso political correctness!

Having grown up in my teens listening to the usual heavy rock /blues/"progessive" type bands, jazz fusion and later punk/new wave (with excursions off into reggae/funk and krautrock at times) female singers (although obviously present in many of those genres) were very much in the minority at least in my album collection.
Genres with a high proportion of females (i.e. folk and country music) simply didn't appear on my radar until a relatively few years ago.

...Best rock band / pop group / guitarist lists may go on forever but I do believe that as far as this list is concerned there HAS to be only one name at the top of that list and that is Aretha Franklin ...there can be surely few arguments to this choice (yes I know there still will be!)she simply "lives" a song better than anyone else - and I can't think of a male singer who I would say would handle a song better.

....Now all I have to do is think of another 4 singers ..erm' ....Billie Holiday ....Diane Krall ??? hang on I'll have to come back to this!

quote:

Originally posted by Right Wing:
Eva Cassidy
Phoebe Snow
Aretha Franklin
Britney Spears
Norah Jones

Britney in the company of Aretha and Eva? Really?!

All best,
Fred

Need a little more time to come up with 5 names but one of them for sure is;

Alison Krauss

Different repertoire, but here goes:

Kathleen Ferrier [alto]
Gladys Ripley [alto]
Elisabeth Schumann [soprano]
Kirsten Flagstad [soprano]
Isobel Bailie [soprano].

Not in any order of preference. I cannot see value in comparing or ordering the great!

George

...Howzabout Christina Agulira (Yes I am being serious) ...I know most of her actual material is decidely on the wrong side of naff but she can truly belt out a tune?

Also (and simarily dismissed by muso types) what about Leona Lewis (again seriously) despite her humble X Factor (ugh!) origins she has a seriously great voice and would be much more highly regarded if (as with Christina Agulira) she wasn't so much an apparent part of the dreaded mainstream (ie she sells lots of records!)

In more modern repertoire:

Dionne Warwick
Ella Fitzgerald
Peggy Lee
Edit Piaf
Billie Holiday

Again in no particular order. George

A very tricky one, this...

I'd go for

Stacey Kent
June Tabor
Emma Kirkby
Tracey Thorn
Elizabeth Fraser

But the list may be different tomorrow!

Nigel

Surprised that no one has so far mentioned:

Karen Carpenter
Kate Walsh
Siouxie
Cesaria Evora
Mahalia Jackson

A few more to add to the already excellent choices.

Regards

Nic

quote:

Who is Shirley Collins?

Dear avole

Shirley Elizabeth Collins MBE (born 5 July 1935, Hastings, Sussex, England)

If you've not heard Shirley Collins then you risk not having heard one of the greatest pleasures in life - she is the person who resuscitated folk music when it was all but strangled in 1950s - between the late 50s and 70s, Shirley produced some the finest folk music recordings I've ever heard - sorry, I'll rephrase that between the late 50s and 70s, Shirley produced the finest musical recordings I've ever heard.

If you search for Shirley Collins on this forum then you'll find lots of my ramblings about her. If I hadn't heard Shirley sing when I was young then I doubt music would have meant much to me. I really didn't like much of the music I heard in my formative years until I found a copy of Folk Roots, New Roots and at last I knew the magic that was song.

Shirley's albums are quite different from one another, so it is impossible to recommend a typical album. Perhaps my current favourite is Anthems in Eden made with arrangements by her sister Dolly and featuring Christopher Hogwood.

There are many great things about Shirley - she is the queen of folk, gives very good lectures on the subject, wrote a fascinating book that explains what growing up in Hastings was like for her and she is a very nice person.

Please click here to hear Shirley singing Hares on the Mountain backed by Davy Graham.

This Turpin Hero from her very early days

and here is Glenlogy - a masterpiece IMHO.

There is a new collection of Shirley's songs called The Harvest Years out on 4th August.

Please click here for Shirley's web site or here for her entry in wikipedia

Thank you for asking about Shirley

ATB Rotf

jennifer charles
MC TALI
Jill Scott
Norah Jones
Bjork

This is so difficult

Second the vote for Tracey Thorn

Also,
Tracy Chapman
Annie Lennox
Eddi Reader
Alison Moyet

Lauryn Hill
Dusty Springfield
Mariah Carey
Stevie Nicks
Nina Simone

quote:

Originally posted by Chris Kelly:

quote:

assumed we are not including classic here

Why?

... 'cause nobody but George included any and it would make a top 5 even more difficult.
But how about a classical top 5 next.

quote:

Originally posted by ROTF:
Ah reserve 5 - good idea

Vashti Bunyan
Janis Joplin
Grace Slick
Celia Humphries
Gracie Fields/Dusty Springfield/Petula Clark

Nobody went for Mrs Miller then?

Ok, here is my reserve - alphabetically again.

Aretha Franklin
Alison Krauss
Edith Piaf
Linda Ronstadt
Dusty Springfield

Why sideline the classical? I am all for breaking down this artifical barrier.

If someone see mine, Ian G's, or one or two other classical names in this thread, then if they see such a name on a recording in a shop [or on-line], they may go for it on whim. That can only be good, can't it?

In my view keep the mix going with a few classical names or lists!

George

Julianne Regan (All About Eve)
Kate Bush
PJ Harvey
Kristin Hersh (Throwing Muses)
Monica Richards (Faith and the Muse)

NOT a big fan of the "tasteful" female singer-songwriter thing (the Eva Cassidy/Norah Jones etc stuff)

quote:

Originally posted by GFFJ:
Why sideline the classical? I am all for breaking down this artifical barrier.

George,
no sidelining here - but since I didn't include any so far here are two that would have to be on my list.
Cheers ... Oliver

Leontyne Price & Anna Moffo

No mention of Liza Gerrard (Dead Can Dance) so far!

Liza Gerrard (Dead Can Dance, solo, soundtracks: Gladiator, The Insider, etc.)
Joni Mitchell
Alison Goldfrapp (Goldfrapp, Orbital)
Kristin Hersh (solo, Throwing Muses)
Sandy Denny

I would leave the 30's and 50's singers to those with more knowledge than me.

Five others not mentioned:

Edda Dell'Orso (voice in many Morricone soundtracks)
Linda Thompson
China Forbes (of Pink Martini)
Krista Detor
Maura O'Connell

Anyone who loves the singing (and playing) of Alison Krauss as much as I do would do well to check out her friend Andrea Zonn, who is a wonderful singer (and player) in her own right and she also sings and plays in James Taylor's current band. And she's the daughter of a former composition professor of mine.


Andrea Zonn - Love Goes On




A beautiful album, full of really good music ... for anyone who likes that sort of thing.

All best,
Fred

Fred,

many thanks - will have a look for it the next time.

Cheers ... Oliver

quote:

nobody but George

Ummmmm....

Emma Kirkby?

If 5 only:

Sandy Denny
Dolores Keane
Kirsty MacColl
Eleanor McEvoy
Natalie Merchant

No particular order

Elizabeth Frazer
Fillippa Giordano
Katharine Jenkins
Beth Hirsch
Christy Baron

Enjoy