The Smiley Smile Message Board

In no particular order mine would be Karen Carpenter, Judy Collins, Tori Amos, Mama Cass and Emmylou Harris.

Courtney Love  :hat

Ronnie Spector
Darlene Love
Sharon Marie
Marilyn Wilson
Ginger Blake
Diane Rovell
Diana Ross
Aretha Franklin
Tina Turner (in her Ike days)
Marianne Faithfull (in the sixties and early seventies before she lost her voice)
Thelma Camacho
Mary Arnold

Joni Mitchell, Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Billie Holiday, Mahalia Jackson, Joanna Newsom.

Joni, Laura Nyro, Joanna Newsom, PJ Harvey, good call on Mama Cass, Grace Slick, Patti Smith, early Sheryl Crow up to '99.

Lorraine Ellison, Judee Sill, and Joanna Newsom would be my favouries. Oh, and Mavis Staples.

Mette Lindberg of the Asteroids Galaxy Tour.
Joan Baez.
Astrud Gilberto.

Carly Simon
Karen Carpenter
Grace Slick
Ella Fitzgerald
Billie Holiday
Joni Mitchell
Barbra Streisand
Sarah Vaughn
Natalie Cole
Mariah Carey
Whitney Houston
Aretha Holly
Connie Lingus

Great topic

Favorite Female Singers:
For the "standards" set: Judy Garland, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday; Bette Midler and Barbra Streisand I like but don't love
I adore Dionne Warwick's voice, especially on Bacharach tunes
Dusty Springfield of course
Joni Mitchell
Laura Nyro
Carol King
Ronnie Spector
Carnie has a great set of pipes, always like Marilyn and Wendy but Wendy isn't a terribly special singer to me.
Christine McVie
Stevie Nicks
I liked Karen Carpenter's voice quite a bit, the material was 50/50 or so
Mama Cass Elliott
Darlene Love
Linda Ronstsdt
Nicolette Larson (mostly when she worked with Neil Young's stuff)
Evie Sands
Nico
Carly Simon
Always liked Alanis Morissette, although I know many do not
Bonnie Tyler on the Steinman stuff was good

As far as new voices I LOVE Victoria Legrand, sorta like Alicia Keys and Joanna Newsom and even say Norah Jones or Regina Spektor have good voices.

Leslie Feist, Neko Case, Chrissy Hynde, Inara George, Ginger Blake, Rachel (of Revolvers fame), Darlene Love, Mary Weiss, Petra Haden, Jenny Lewis, Poly Styrene, Debbie Harry, Bilinda Butcher, Nina Persson...

Jex Thoth.

I really love Hazel Dickens' (RIP :() voice a lot. If you're into bluegrass (or labour songs) at all -- and feminist bluegrass/labour songs at that! -- you owe it to yourself to check her (solo and with Alice Gerrard) out. Hazel & Alice, released in 1973 on Rounder, is a monstrously good and extremely influential/historic album!

Mavis Staples

Dusty Springfield
Kate Bush
Nico
Evie Sands
Aretha
Chan Marshall
Cheri Currie
Joan Jett
Peggy Lee
Tammy Wynette
Emmylou Harris

I'm very dissapointed to see I didn't include Neko Case: Middle Cyclone was one of my top 5 albums of 2009.

Not necessarily in any order;

Darlene Love
Dusty Springfield
Ronnie Spector
Taylor Mills
Melba Montgomery
Ella Fitzgerald
Billie Holiday
Christine McVie
Carla Thomas
Emmylou Harris
Phoebe Snow
Martha Reeves
Joni Mitchell
Merry Clayton
Clare Torry
Grace Slick

Karen Peris
Enya
Ella Fitzgerald
Billie Holiday
Gillian Welch
A & A from ABBA
Ronnie Spector
Regina Spektor
CECILIA BARTOLI

Have you heard Astrud singing 'In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning'? It's absolutely heartbreaking

Indeed it is! has to be my favorite song by her.....Definitely in my top 20 all time favs.

Good question!

Mi top ten would be:
-Aretha Frankiln.
-Dusty Springfield
-Ella Fitzgerald
-Etta James
-Inara George
-Björk
-Big Mama Thornton
-Alicia Keys
-Joss stone
-Mama Cass

I forgot Nancy Wilson, the vocal jazz singer rather than the one from Heart, in particular her album Something Wonderful (rel. 1960 on Capitol, no less). I'm not so much a fan of jazz, honestly, and my knowledge of traditional pop/vocal jazz is pretty slim, but I like the way she phrases things and doesn't oversing. She's subtle and seems to know exactly what a song calls for interpretation-wise. It doesn't hurt that the music itself is real nice too!

Joni Mitchell
Aretha Franklin
Tori Amos
Regina Spektor
Cass Elliott
Fiona Apple
Billie Holiday
Nina Simone
Natalie Merchant

Five that come immediately to mind are:

Judy Craig (Chiffons)
Mary Weiss (Shangs)
Lorraine Ellison
Mary Davis (SOS Band)
Enya

Think I need to throw Siouxsie Sioux's name in here too.

Joni Mitchell
Judy Collins
Tanita Tikaram
Kate Bush
Mary Black
Mary Hopkin
Chrissie Hynde
Regina Spektor  :3d

To anyone: go check out the song "I Never Will Know" sung by Tanita Tikaram, on Mark Isham's self titled LP.  Wonderful!

Looking through my album collection, I actually only have 1 album by a female singer. Eesh. Anyway:

Wendy Smith (of Prefab Sprout)
Tracy Chapman
Mama Cass
Ella Fitzgerald
Taylor Mills
LaVerne, Maxene and Patty Andrews

I really don't think Tori Amos gets the credit she deserves as a singer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqH2YBdL738

Or songwriter:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cyaIYpqjOg

Also, respect to Judy Garland.

Margo Guryan. Judee Sill. The Carter Family (Maybelle & Sara). Emmylou. And Dolly Parton........wouldn't have said that until I caught her in Nashville this summer at a variety show @ the Ryman. Killer voice. And Patsy Cline. oh, and Bobbie Gentry. And Jackie DeShannon. Lots of em

Carnie is underated

Wendy has a nice pop sounding voice like the Bangles

Bic Runga

Shona Laing

Christine McVie

It's hard for me to name my favorite female singers, I love the female voice so I'll listen to almost anything if they're singing it honest. 

Some of my favorites:

Country:
Martina McBride
Faith Hill
Patty Loveless
Tammy Wynette
Reba
Allison Krauss
Rhonda Vincent

Pop/Rock:
Marilyn McCoo
Dusty Springfield
The Supremes
Aretha Franklin
Dionne Warwick
Mariah Carey


Probably 100's of 1 hit wonders or people that have 1 or 2 songs I'm really into, like the Proclaimers, or Heart, or the Bangles, or whatever. 

Oh, and I want to add: A lot of people mentioned her, but if you dont' have a healthy appreciation for Dusty Springfield, listen to "24 hours from Tulsa".  It's effortlessly great. 

Tracey Thorn
Astrud Gilberto
All 3 gals from Trio Esperanca
Patsy Cline
Julie London
Amalia Rodriguez
kd lang
Billie Holiday
Sam Phillips

I feel like I'm somehow forgetting some real heavy-hitters...

Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad

Stevie Nicks
Cass Elliot
Christine McVie
Bonnie Raitt
Dusty Springfield
Natalie Maines
Florence Welch
Grace Potter
Carly Simon

I wonder if there will be a favorite male singers thread.

Start one! 

Amy Winehouse
Sade
Minnie Riperton
Carole King

I don't really listen to female singers..

Kate Bush
Lesley Gore
Ronnie Spector
Martha Wainwright
Mary Hansen
Maki Nomiya
Shannon Butcher
Alicia Keys
April March
Inara George
Bjork
Trish Keenan
France Gall

Lesley Gore is my favorite.

I always just wrote off Liza Minelli but I saw her on something about two years ago, I couldn't believe how good she was.  What a pro. 

We forgot another one.  Wynonna Judd.  Oh her soul, very few people can sing with this particular brand of soul in my opinion.  BTW Dave Loggins wrote this song!  (turn your speakers down, it's mixed loud)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zw-ieXvqoc&feature=related

She's very theatrical and over the top, but with a voice like that you can pull that off without looking like a joke.  If you've never heard the story: Naomi was really poor, living in a small mountain town in Tennessee on food stamps... was trying to go to school to be a nurse.  She had a beat up guitar that someone had given her laying around the house, and when Wynonna was a really little girl (5? 6?) she started teaching herself to play it.  Soon everybody started noticing that she had a really fantastic voice.  Naomi started going to fairs/competitions/etc. and singing with her on stage, and they basically rode her natural talent right the hell out of Tennessee and to the top of the record charts.  Once they made it big, Naomi retired and let Wynonna have a solo career, popping in from time to time to do shows with her. 

BTW, they're involved with this thing called the "Santa Train".... every year, they get on a train and ride through the Smokey Mountains, when they get to those little towns like they lived in where everybody's dirt poor, they stop the train and give presents away to all the kids that show up at the stations. 

Another one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epODISlA4i0&feature=related

Kind of over the top, but I think the reason her sister and mom are crying in the audience is because Oprah just had her talking about how lonley she was or some man did her wrong or something. 

Not random or complete:

Peggy Lee
Neko Case
Skeeter Davis
El Perro Del Mar
Rose Maddox
Elis Regina
Annette Funicello
Essra Mohawk
Lisa Germano
Rose Maddox

Bobbie Gentry and Jackie DeShannon are in my list. too. How could I have not mentioned them in the first round?

Amy Winehouse
Billie Holiday...

 8)

1) Lately I played B. J. Ward's cover of IJWMFTT & really loved it! She lightened the song by her laid-back, slightly jazzy vocal (though alternately, one could hear elements of funk & blues in her voice too). 
2) Discovered Lesley Duncan, some 70s singer-songwriter who used to perform on stage with Elton John. Despite not being impressed by her debut, it's that rare case when the voice compensates all the drawbacks. 1st, it's not too girley like Claudine Longet's (awful cover of GOK, btw) or too bass like Nico's; maybe it's mezzo. Then, what's unique about Lesley is that she sang even the upbeat stuff in a serious tone & sometimes even carrying religious notes in her vocal, with some trembling effect. Alas, no one noticed it in the past & she quickly became another fad. Her solo career went downhill like a comet.

what is considered a "female?"

Mavis Staples, Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris, Linda Thompson, shawn Colvin, Patti Smith, Joni, Kate Nash.

we're going to debate this here???

 :lol

A Pismo Clam should know what a female is.....

YES!!!!!

Annie Clark, Regina Spektor, Carole King, Mavis Staples, Jenny Lewis, Victoria Legrand, Aimee Mann, Norah Jones, Joan Osborne, Emily Haines, Stevie Nicks, Ann Wilson, Neko Case, Judy Collins

Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Doris Day, Marilyn Monroe, Peggy Lee, Julie London,
Nina Simone, Astrud Gilberto, Bobbie Gentry, Claudine Longet

Repeating my suggestion from 2 years ago:

To anyone: go check out the song "I Never Will Know" sung by Tanita Tikaram, on Mark Isham's self titled LP.  Wonderful!

Also --

Anyone here a Lena Lovich fan?

Hell yes!

is Astrud Gilberto a female? Brian Wilson? I like them both

Poly Styrene

Never even heard of this singer, let alone listened, but I liked the Wiki article about her. She looks like a horror queen there, which is enough for me to get interested - surely going to check her music. Shall post my 1st impressions.

Stevie Nicks
Karen Carpenter
Agnetha Faltskog
Jessica Andrews

Billie Holiday

You can't go wrong with her Stateless album. It's a great debut. She has been semi-retired for 30 years so there aren't that many albums of hers.

LOVE Lena! She's like a scary version of Kate Bush (whom I also love) and a fantastic singer!!!

Two names as yet unmentioned that are worthy of serious investigation:

- Imogen Heap
- Julia Holter

Gladys Knight.

Gave it a bunch of plays recently - some is good, some not. The highlights for me are 2 hits ("Lucky Number", "Say When"), "Telepathy" (the "lalalalala"s & "te-lepathy-y-y-y" responses are sweet, the song in general is very laidback & spring-like), "One in a Million" (done in a cool military style, Lene's "soldier" vocal is the best of all her many facets) & the absolute killer "Home". The bonus tracks are good to OK, my fave is the Devo cover (the drum & basslines are terrific!). I'd replace it with the awful saxophone-driven "Tonight". Hands-down the worst song on the official tracklist. To summarize, 3 stars.

It's amazing how despite her viking image, she appears quieter than a cow during the interviews. The link below is no exception, however, that rooster fancy dress is so out of taste & looks very stupid on her. Add to that also bad choreography, the guitar player's rockstar poseur antics, clumsy questions & you've got total mess.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=439f4D4GWWs
Btw, for those into Christmas songs, Lene did lovely cover of "I Saw Mommy". It's somewhere on YT.

I have always loved this album from 1978...

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6d/Nina_Hagen_Band.jpg)

...but have never had the desire to investigate Ms Hagen any further. 

Funny that you mentioned her, she & Lene are bosom friends, they both collaborated on the song "Don't Kill The Animals". As a result, Lene is a converted vegetarian & animal rights' supporter.

Post-addition -
  Tracyanne Campbell ("Camera Obscura")
& Sarah Cracknell ("Saint Etienne")

Peggy Lee
Sarah Assbring (El Perro del Mar)
Jackie DeShannon
Sarah Blackwood (Dubstar)
Mildred Bailey
Rose Maddox
Skeeter Davis
Elis Regina
Neko Case (New Pornographers)
Phyllis Hyman
and others

Forgot The Roches - sister trio.

Yes indeed. Love their debut album. I heard this gem of theirs for the first time today:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MtQscjlciI

Ann Wilson

Very nice. They're also, in my humble opinion, the best in Christmas genre. Did you hear this album (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Three_Kings_(The_Roches_album))? 24 tracks, no less! You can find it on iTunes, Youtube has a clip called "Christmas caroling with the Roches". Check it out.

Wow. I'm not into Christmas albums as a rule but this is really something:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LItq0D2SrlA

Thanks for the heads up , RR. Now I'm just going to have to wait a bit. ;D