The Smiley Smile Message Board

 Ok kiddies... I want  voices that resineate with you... No John Lennon or  Kurt Cobain because those go with out question....

xoxo
suga

-- Elvis Presley
-- Judy Garland


Two best voices I have ever heard.

Those are my two as well, Jeff.

Also Frank.

Just heard a song of hers on the radio, "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me": the late, great Dusty Springfield.

Others that resonate for me, at their best: Brian Wilson, Elvis Presley, B.J. Thomas, Andy Williams, Bono, Ray Davies, Louis Armstrong, Bob Dylan, Jeff Tweedy, Judy Garland, Israel Kamakawiwo`ole, Patsy Cline, Brook Benton, Wayne Coyne, Glen Campbell, etc.

Damn, Dusty. DAMN!
I love her.
And Bobbie Gentry.

Shatner.

Ray Davies (not a 'great' singing voice, but it works perfectly with their offkilter music)
The Wilson Brothers
Steve Marriott
Dusty Springfield (my vote for best female)

That's three for Dusty.  8)

Black Francis/Frank Black (big time)
John Lydon (that one goes without question)
Michael Stipe (still affecting in the faggy futurez)
Robert Johnson
Kristin Hersh
Alex Chilton
Stuart Murdoch
Donald Fagen
Rivers Cuomo
Captain Beefheart
Edwyn Collins
Chuck Berry
Lou Barlow
Neil Young
Tom Verlaine
Lou Reed
Dave Thomas
Homer Flynn
Kool Keith
Chuck D./Flava Flav
Jello Biafra

Always liked the contrast between Joe Strummer and Mick Jones.  Neither on their own completely gets me, but the way the work together throughout an album really gets to you.

You'd have to be a freak for Dusty not to resonate with you...  Heartbreakingly beautiful voice... her version of "Anyone who had a Heart" is definitive for me...

I'll go for some perhaps more offbeat choices, perhaps not:

Thom Yorke
Frank Black
Bjork
Roy Orbison
Rivers Cuomo
Colin Bluntstone
Wayne Coyne
Stephen Stills
Chris Bell
Zach de la Rocha
Mike Love
Jan Berry

Colin Blunstone!  How could I forget... Only me third favourite 60's group :D

What an amazing singer... Rod Argent, Chris White too... great vocal blend.

Some of my personal preferences:

Skip James
Sonny Til
Richard Manuel
Bryan MacLean
Joni Mitchell
Brian Wilson
Jacques Brel
Beth Gibbons

Johnny Cash

What Frank do you like, H?

Nothing in particular, his voice just touches me.

Good one, idigworms!  Andy had a great voice. Still does, actually. I really enjoy his Christmas music.

Not to get off topic, but some Andy Williams trivia for ya - what connection does he have to the Beach Boys? Hint - the answer is two part...

Is he the Birthday Boy? That singer affects me. "Happy birthday birthday to me, happy birthday to me"

Burton Cummings
Chris Cornell
Layne Staley
Steven Tyler
Seal
Dude from Maroon 5
Scott Weiland (vocal chameleon)
Everly Bros
Early Geddy Lee
Paul Rodgers
Freddie Mercury
Early Sting
Dude from Men at Work
Young Brian W.
Both dudes from AC/DC
Bobby Plant

He sings pretty much everything that isn't female or a guest star, obviously.  I think Jay Clem or Hardy is on some of that stuff too ("Godsong" does not sound like Homer to me).  Could be John Kennedy, but I get the feeling John Kennedy removed himself from the music quite a bit.

Marvin Gaye mid/late-60s

Axel Rose...........

xoxoxoxo
suga

Count me in for some Dusty and some Orbison as well.  Bobbie Gentry is new to me still but I could see her grow high on my list.

How about Sandy and Ellen Dedrick?

I suspect as Ian does that one day June Carter will also make my list.

Robert Smith
Hank Williams
Liz Fraser
James Brown
Martha Reeves
Biz Markie
Prince
Bernard Sumner
Carl wilson
Scott Walker
Leontyne Price



I freakin' second:

Frank Sinatra
Elvis
Patsy Cline
Roy Orbison
Edwyn Collins


Dave Thomas--he's the guy from the Wendy commercials right?  ;)

When he tells me they're open late I feel very warm inside.

Ian's girlfriend has the same affect.

Eating out?

 Johnny Rotten

Snoop Dog

Jeff Buckely

Anthony (anthony and the johnsons)


Del the  funky homospaine

 Rocky Erickson

xoxo
suga

When I have the money I like to.  The drive-thru position is bad because you can hardly hear what they're saying, you know?  So I like to grab a nice, warm, comfortable corner inside and just eat and eat and eat 'til my heart's content.  What do you prefer?

That's messed up.

I never pay so I never choose.  I do like the tables with the Victorian LGX ads laminated on top of them.  I like the square patties with onion bits making the arms of Orion in the cheese.  I don't like the Jarry filled Jon Dough Nutz they serve.

If you're still talking in metaphor, you fucking lost me.  Last time I was in a McDonalds they played classical music.  I laughed.

Great voices: Jarvis Cocker.

Mavis Staples - Aretha or no Aretha, this lady is the living, breathing embodiment of SOUL to me. Swear to god, I'd kiss her feet.
Nina Simone
Beth Orton
Donna Summer
Lauryn Hill
Gladys Knight
Annie Lennox
Liz Frasier
Annie Haslam
Joan Jett
Martha Reeves
Ronnie Spector
Bob Dylan
Michael Stipe
Son House
Jeff Mangum
Howlin' Wolf
Elvis
John Lennon
Paul McCartney
Brian Wilson
Mick Jagger
Joe Strummer
Elton John
Smokey Robinson
Otis Redding

Have to add David Byrne.

Oh, and David Ruffin!

Kelly Price ( she can sing any day all day whenever she wants too..) 8)

Grace Slick

Bruce  Springsteen

 Micheal  Jackson

Areatha Franklin

Tom Waits
 
Jonny Cash

All the BeeGees

MF DOOM

xoxo
suga

The greatest?

(http://video.download.com/i/dl/vdl/media/image/73/53/5373_320x240.jpg)

"I'm a rocket man! A ROCKET ... MAN ... "

You've got that picture framed over your toilet, don't you?

Actually, it's a print within the bowl itself. (They don't call him "The Shat" for nothing ... )

>porcelain ringtonez<

No particular order, ten guys and ten gals that come to mind:

Marty Balin
Vic Damone
Nat King Cole
Lou Rawls
Arthur Brown
Steve Winwood
Jack Bruce
Kurt Elling
Jim Morrison
David Crosby

Annie Lennox
Grace Slick
Janis Joplin
Ella Fitzgerald
Aretha Franklin
Dusty Springfield
Dionne Warwick
Ann Peebles
Julie London
Shirley Bassey
Madonna (no, not really: she's just a smart businesswoman who made a small talent go a very long way...................................)

Some favourites of mine include:

Mark Mulcahy
Brian Wilson
John Denver
Mary Margaret O'Hara
Margo Guryan

(http://ejs.pe.kr/jazz/jazz_musicion/musician/astrudgilberto/astrudgilberto2.jpg)

(http://www.spectropop.com/images/Shangs_mary.jpg)

The Association
Iggy Pop
Stevie Wonder
Craig Wedren
Jerry Lee Lewis
Ronnie Spector
Philip Anselmo
Jagger/Richards
Desmond Dekker
The Band
George Jones
Solomon Burke
Kevin Godley
Patti Smith

Dude, how could I forget Iggy, my favorite voice...

Boxer-Man, I've been looking for a good pic of Mary Weiss online forever. Curse you Red Baron!
Brilliant choice. "MAMA!"

Astrud, too.

Sandy Denny (everybody's forgotten to mention her, it seems... :()
Richard Manuel
Neil Young
Alison Goldfrapp
Thom Yorke
Jeff Mangum
Marvin Gaye
Brian Wilson
Joni Mitchell
Jeff Buckley
Nick Drake
Howlin' Wolf
Beth Gibbons
Bob Dylan
Rick Danko
Skip James
James Brown
Billie Holiday
Jon Thor Birgissen
Levon Helm

etc...

I agree with many said before, but stress:

Freddie Mercury
Tom Waits
Brian Wilson
Jeff Mangum
Don Van Vliet
Prince
Stevie Wonder
Bob Dylan
Michael Jackson
Buddy Holly

Steve Malkmus

John Linnell.

Sam Cooke
James Carr
Bobbie Gentry
Curtis Mayfield
Gene Clark

I'm going to be irritating and mention 'furriners' you've never heard of as a start:

Claudio Villa: Most beautiful pure 'belcanto' pop voice that ever existed. Check out the sound samples on his Greatest Hits at Amazon.

Adriano Celentano: Italy's ongoing answer to American Rock n' Roll from the later fifties onwards (to this day), a totally narcissistic, self-mocking, super-cool joker and message-from-the-mountain delivering libertarian- reactionary, a star of all  media,   equal parts Elvis Presley, Louis Prima, Son of God (a daughter of his played Satan in Passion of the Christ!), and Beatles. He was such a continental fave when the fledgling four were playing Hamburg that they must have picked up on his ironic "Pop Art" cartoonish take on American music, a tribute and caricature and beautiful cinematic fantasy of the 'real thing'. The attitude is Macca, but the voice is Lennonesque: edgy, sarcastic, knowingly humorous, soulful and utopian in the course of any given song. And his band of totally cultishly committed players and collaborators over the first decade or so of his career known as the "Clan" back up the great voice with a James Brown-like great hit delivering machine

Lucio Battisti: Italy's radio-friendly answer to Post-Dylan tendencies, a guy who sounded and looked like a man who did his singing in and around his bed, rumpled hair and cigarette tear, trying to persuade someone into it, sweet nothings, love making, deepest existential fears,  and a call for take-out while dragging on yet another smoke after, and falling out of bed on his head and getting confused, disturbed postively angry the next morning being his perfectly realized range,  the musical Marcello Mastroianni you might say.

That out of the way, some you're acquainted with:

Roger Daltrey: best interpreter of another musical guy's vision, the guy the other guy would sometimes like to be himself. Rog vs. Art Garfunkel, no contest for me

Joni Mitchell: took me years to get totally used to her and fall in love (Blue was when she fully clicked), but that's because she knew no other way than to pursue and find her own voice within its natural oddities and limitations, and she finally truly did! Would that all those who imitate her badly could figure out the same thing.

Paul Westerberg: He can whine and scream in tandem as good as anybody. He's better than Kurt  Cobain at this, I'm positive. "Unsatisfied" is a devastatingly cathartic performance

George Jones is the son of Hank Williams when it comes to Stoic singing, unflappable on the outside but all falling apart inside.

I always liked Mick Jones as a backing vocalist on Clash records.

Freddie Mercury
Brian Wilson
Al Jardine (Cottonfields single version)
Rivers Cuomo

I'll add:

Judy Garland
Julie Andrews
Eddie Kendricks
Neil Diamond
Aimee Mann
Darius Rucker
Tom Jones ;)

Levi Stubbs
Smokey Robinson
Roy Orbison
Barry Gibb
Paul Stanley
Mama Cass Elliot
Donna Summer

and we weren't supposed to say John Lennon...so I won't...but if I could mention him, he'd be #1.

Bob Dylan
Jim Morrison
Roger McGuinn
'The Beach Boys'
Lou Reed (once upon a time - I can't stand his voice nowadays, and what it does when inflicted on his old songs.)

A small selection, there's so many more:

Jazz:
Diane Reeves (perfect, technical and emotional)
Billie Holiday (very emotional)
Madeleine Peroux (good imitation of BH)

Close harmony / doowop:
Brian Wilson (more a master of vocal arrangements then a solo voice, but there are great exeptions!)
Carl Wilson (twosided talent: the sweet angel voice & the rough R&B 'roar')
Christoffer Cross, Peter Cetera (infuenced by Carl?)
Dion Dimucci (and also all the other (italian!) Belmonts have that perfect focus of the voice)

Scat vocals, vocal acrobatics:
Bobby Mc Ferrin (sings jazz, pop, classical, any sound... but often lack of emotion)

African, r&B:
Marie Daulne (Zap Mama) (world voices, various styles, humor, punk attitude)

Eastern flava:
Natascha Atlas (Alllaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh, cosmic eargasm)

Soul: (all flexible power voices, they've learned it naturally in church?)
Sam Cooke
Stevie Wonder
Alicia Keys = female SW
Aretha Franklin

Pop?, rock?: ('normal' pop voices)
Paul Mc Cartney
Neil Young
Ellioth Smith
Carole King

Vocal Groups:
The King Singers (any style, but classical trained voices)
Le Mystere De Voix Bulgares (female power throats, very rich of overtones)
Four Freshmen, Singers Unlimited, Hilos, Manhattan Transfer...etc

....what's left?
There are so many different voices. I could even like singers who cannot sing, f.e. Jonathan Richman or Bob Dylan.

From the jazz world:

Anita O"Day
June Christy
Chris Conner
Peggy Lee
Helen Merrill

Joao Gilberto - one man angelchoir and "creator" of bossanova, also big inspiration for Caetano Veloso, one of the guys behind Tropicalia.

I'll second the choice of Jack Bruce, apart from his work in Cream and his solo records, his singing on the records produced by Kip Hanrahan is second to none.

Ray Charles, I don't think I've seen him mentioned, one of the most colourful voices.

Søren

Aretha.

From the Basie band :
Jimmy Rushing
Joe Williams

also:
Billy Eckstine
Johnny Hartman
jimmy witherspoon
and
Little Jimmy Scott !!!

Just want to back up the shout for Mark Mulcahy, as one of the great, but sadly obscure voices of our times.

And... to say how dissapointed I was that it took until page 4 before anyone mentioned the dulcet tones of the mighty...SAM COOKE.

Shame on you all.  Play "Bring It On Home To Me" 5 times as penance,

Sondre Lerche.

Didn't read all of them, but did anybody mention Martina McBride?  I've always thought she had a great voice.  Not the greatest voice mind you, but I definately think she's great. 

It doesn't look like anyone's mentioned Karen Carpenter, so I shall. Having just witnessed Christina Aguiliera absolutely *murdering* Leon Russell's "A Song For You" on the Grammys, I have sought solace in The Carpenters' version. My God. It's a cliche, but that woman could sing the phone directory & it would still make you cry, or fill your heart with joy. Christina: you don't need to wail away melisma-ing ad nauseum. Just imbue each note with emotion & truth, like Karen did.

Also: Laura Nyro, Judee Sill, Petula Clark, Cass Elliot, Judy Collins.
Also: Harry Nilsson, Art Garfunkel, James Taylor, Robin Gibb, Michel Polnareff, Lou Christie.
And the Wilsons, obv. 

Don Henley

Nobody mentioned Conway Twitty yet.  The shame.  Oh, the shame. 

Peter Gabriel has damn great voice.

has anyone mentioned Carmen McCrea ? and Sarah Vaughn.......

Agreed. Seems like a nice guy too. I was at a solo acoustic gig some time ago (he's from my 'hood) - great stuff. He sang "Moonlight Becomes You" a capella as an encore. Almost bizarre, but in a decidedly good way. Sondre is the sh*t. He even called up Van Dyke Parks when he was on tour in the US and offered Van Dyke a free ticket to a show - Sondre is a big VDP fan - but Van couldn't make it since it was Thanksgiving.

So this thread made it up to five pages and nobody mentioned  Glenn Tilbrook's incredible singing?

Amen, Cabinessence!

Another great voice in music (and covered by Joni Mitchell, and even Roger Moore...well he may have covered her bare shoulders with her wrap in the episode of The Saint they starred in together): Annie Ross

Its completely unhip, but I love George Michael's voice.

Me too.

Dude, that's TOTALLY hip!

Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra
Brian Wilson
George Michael
ella Fitzgerald
Chris Bell
Sting

SONDRE LERCHE IS A PERSON?!? I always thought it was a band.. it just didn't seem like someone's name.

I will also second (or 37th) Brian Wilson after having heard "She Know´s Me Too Well" 15 times in a row. That falsetto during the chorus is MINDBLOWING!!!

Would this be an acceptable place to say I really enjoyed that Aretha Franklin/George Michael duet "I Knew You Were Waiting"... Only heard it twice, but it's good.

I was really surprised at the surprisingly soulful vocals from George, he was sortof playing the sweet 'woman' to Arethas screaming 'man'... Worked really well.

Catchy chorus too.

I'll have to look into Mr. Michaels body of work...

Sondre is a quite common name in Norway, where he's from (the "ch" is pronounced like a "k", btw.) Plus the "all songs written by Sondre Lerche" could be regarded as a dead giveaway - that is unless they're Marilyn Manson fans. :)

Jeff Buckley
Tim Buckley
Gene Clark
Bob Dylan
Janis Joplin
Richard Manuel
Roy Orbison
Otis Redding
Muddy Waters
Lucinda Williams

GG Allin
Buddy Holly
donovan
britney spears anyone??

Nico
Freddie Mercury :)
Jim Morrison

Justin Hayward
Neil Young
Hope Sandoval
Jon Spencer
Bon Scott
Brian Johnson
Dio
Rob Halford
Robert Smith
Ian Curtis
David Gilmour
Richard Wright
The Beach Boys
Richard Manuel
Wanda Jackson
Roberta Flack
Freddy King
Doug Sahm
Eric Burdon

Okay, my turn.

Manfred Mann
Ozzie Osborne
Louis Armstrong
Ronnie James Dio
Ernie Bringas  (The Rip Chords I)
Donald Fagen
Bert Sommer (best singer in the Left Banke)
Robin Gibb
Bjork
Diana Ross (other Supremes can't compete; she wasn't a leader just because)

I could name more (Tom Waits, Charles Manson, Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, Steve Martin,,,) , but that's more of favorite than actually great. Above, I tried to be objective.

Whoaaa....it's not very often you see Donald Fagen in a list of the best singers in rock.  Somebody had better cut-and-paste this and send it to him.  A lot of times during the years he's seems to have felt inadequate about his vocal abilities...like when he stopped recording or performing for a decade. (Then again, there were some other reasons behind his hiatus from music.)

In a head-to-head between Sommer and Steve Martin, I'd have to say that Martin was the ideal singer for nearly all of the late Michael Brown's songs in The Left Banke. But Ivy, Ivy is definitely an exception, because it's well above Martin's usual range.  It's a pretty underrated song, in part because the current incarnation of The Left Banke has more or less disowned it and won't perform it.

(Worthwhile to clear up an old rock'n'roll story here.  Michael McKean, future member of Spinal Tap, was indeed in the Left Banke lineup that Brown assembled after he and his father fired Tom Finn, Steve Martin and George Cameron.  But he is not on Ivy Ivy or its flipside And Suddenly - the 45 is Brown and Sommer backed by session musicians.  McKean, Brown, Sommer and Warren David did rehearse a few times with the intention of touring if Ivy Ivy was a hit, but it wasn't so the lineup split up and Brown rounded up his old band and did "Desiree."  McKean talked about this in an interview a couple years back.)

2rn57: On the money. half of 'em aren't *great* indeed. I would now eliminate Manfred Mann, Don Fagen, Sommer, Ozzie, Bjork.

Agree about Martin being better fit for The Left Banke. No doubt. I do like his vocals & wouldn't change for aforementioned Sommer. I just heard "Men Are Building Sand" & thought this guy has pleasant voice & it clicked with me. so he's favorite (so is song). He also shined on "Ivy, Ivy" (yes, it's very underrated).
 Thanks for the tidbit in brackets!

To add - tryna be objective :
George Jones
Townes van Zandt
Michael Jackson
Glen Campbell
Willie Nelson
Macca
Connie Smith
Freddy Mercury
Patsy Cline
Sharon Marie.
And ofc. The BBs (minus Dave, Bruce)

Elvis Presley

Dean Martin

George Jones

Ray Price

Ben E. King

John Fogerty

Mahalia Jackson

Sammy Davis Jr.

Waylon Jennings

Don Everly

Tom Jones

Junior Parker

Willie Nelson

Johnny Cash


When it comes to the Beach Boys, all of them were great singers but when it comes to voices I'd say Brian Wilson (until the mid 70s) and of course Carl Wilson.

The list is just off the top of my head. There's tons of great voices. Some I just haven't thought of now and some I probably haven't heard yet.

The great, late Roy Hamilton. Elvis' favorite singer. I rest my case.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI3gKJw7RbA

Happy to see both Roky Erickson and Tom Waits listed on here as early as 2006! :)
YES!

For starters, I'd add Brook Benton and Roger Waters (especially on the album "The Final Cut" he did with Pink Floyd).

I'm a big fan of Roger Water's vocals in the late 70s / early 80s.  Not sure what happened between The Pros & Cons of Hitch Hiking and Radio KAOS though.  His vocals on KAOS and Amused to Death are pretty rough.  Luckily, he sounded better once he starting touring again, but nothing like the Final Cut era (he had to lip synch to Fletcher Memorial Home when I saw him in 2006/2007). 

However, if we're talking Floyd, David Gilmour's voice has aged really well.  He's about to turn 70, and his lone vocal on The Endless River (on the crap-tastic lyrics of Louder Than Words) is very good. 

A bit eclectic, but there you go...

Dusty Springfield, Chris Farlowe, Mary Davis (S.O.S. Band), Kate Bush, Captain Beefheart, Howlin' Wolf, Kathleen Ferrier...

Diana Ross, Little Richard, Bob Dylan, Kurt Cobain, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, James Brown, Little Richard, Richard Manuel, Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Aretha Franklin, Sam Cooke, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Elton John, Axl Rose, Liam Gallagher, Art Garfunkel, Roger Daltrey.

Gee wee, I forgot Little Richard! And Elton! Now I didn't. :police:

Ian Gillan

Paul Rodgers

Bruce Dickinson

Rob Halford

Geoff Tate

Don "Buck Dharma" Roeser (Blue Oyster Cult)

Joe Lynn Turner

Sammy Hagar

Jack Bruce (RIP)

I forgot just about everyone! Some great names have been listed since then (and in earlier posts). There are/were just so many incredible singers out there...   

And I know he's been mentioned, but it's worth mentioning again just a few days after the fifth anniversary of his passing -

Ronnie James Dio

And on the opposite end of the spectrum

Jimmy Buffett and Billy Joel - two guys whose voices are still in great shape. 

Stevie Wright was a superb singer back in the day. Deserves a mention on this thread.

  I think Howlin' Wolf and Captain Beefheart were both spiritual descendants of Charley Patton. Good call to include them together.

Gerry Roslie - lead singer of the Sonics, who have a new album for 2015...in mono!

Yes! Tacoma's wild boys. I have their first two albums on CD. Their stunning version of "Louie Louie" was described in a review as being so underdeveloped that it still has gills and fins. ;D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhM5k_EGzaQ

I know Howlin' Wolf was mentored by Charley Patton, so there's that

"Friday on My Mind" is pretty good. I think it was a hit. Do you know other songs worth checking?

Oh, so many. The Easybeats weren't just the best Australian band of the 60's, they were one of the best bands of their era, period. There's For My Woman, She's So Fine, Wedding Ring, Come And See Her, I'll Make You Happy, Sorry, Pretty Girl, Heaven And Hell, Good Times, Falling Off The Edge Of The World, Fancy Seeing You Here, I Love Marie and St. Louis. There's also Evie, which is from his first solo album, and is known as one of the only 11 minute songs to hit number one on any chart.

Album-wise, It's 2 Easy and Vigil are both worth checking out. Good Friday is an honourable mention too, major fan favourite.

Are the songs "I'll Make You Happy, Sorry" / "Pretty Girl" or "I'll Make You Happy" / "Sorry, Pretty Girl"? :P I jest. Thanks for the list. I'll see if I can find these on local site.
Did you make a TV tropes page on the Easybeats? I'd like to read it for reference.

 Good call. Wolf was around for awhile before he started recording.

They're three different songs. I have actually been largely inactive from TV Tropes lately, due to studies. So I haven't made a page for them just yet

Though I still appreciate his vocals on KAOS and AtD a lot, (and I think he definitely still gets emotion across just as well in his words and singing style - which is most important to me) I certainly agree that something changed with his voice after Pros and Cons...and to me, his best vocals were on Pros and Cons and especially on The Final Cut (which has vocals that are more powerful and amazing by far than the record he did before The Final Cut...something about a wall...and all other prior to that, even).

It always sounded to me that Roger was gaining a lot of confidence in his vocals, starting with Animals.  They continued to improve and peaked with The Final Cut. 

Maybe taking more leads in concert, and the extensive touring for Animals, The Wall, and Pros and Cons coupled with a smoking habit (and possibly the vocal shredding screams of Careful With That Axe Eugene which was in just about every Floyd set from 1968-1972) led to Roger's gruff vocals in KAOS and ATD.  Prior to 1977, Roger didn't sing a lot of lead vocals live. 

I heard he had a vocal coach prior to The Wall tour in 2010.  I saw him on that tour, and he sounded great.  It was the fifth Roger Waters show I attended from 1999-2010, and that one was by far the best.  Unfortunately, I really doubt we'll ever hear Roger's vocals grace an album again since he seems to be in no hurry to get to that follow-up to Amused to Death. 

Voices that resonate...  interesting choice of wording!  I'll name some that others may not agree with.  I've always appreciated singers who seem to have a 'gift' that wasn't necessarily developed, but just given to them.  Who sound great because they just have a one of a kind voice!  Lots of them worked their asses off to use that talent, but you can work as hard as you want and never sound as good as they do, because they just have a fantastic voice, naturally. 

So people like of course, Steve Perry.  The guy's voice is just phenomenal, it's a real gift.  I've heard him say that when he performed live, the crowd being into the music made him actually sing better than he thought he could, he'd just go for it and hit crazy notes and melodies because the crowd was so into it. 

I'm not saying he's the greatest voice ever, I'm just saying he's a fantastic voice. 

Frank Sinatra had a fabulous voice.  Yeah, a million people can sing his 'style', and it wasn't really even his style to begin with, but when he sings and he's on, you can really feel it.  It's a very imitable voice, it's something anybody can mimic but when Frank sings something like "The Summer Wind", holy sh*t that's just ground shakingly good.

George Michael.  This guy was so fucking talented, to be completely honest I'm not that into his music because I don't really relate to most of his stuff, but his voice was F.A.N.T.A.S.T.I.C.  He sang pretty.  No men want to sing pretty, but yet he did because he didn't give a sh*t.  Such a pure and sweet voice, but had lots of power as well, that went through his full range.  He wasn't afraid to sound effeminate and because of that was able to sing some really great stuff.  Even something like "Wake Me up Before you Go Go" has some really brilliant vocal stuff in it.

Elton John... of course did a famous duet with George Michael, Elton is a great singer.  Very powerful voice, something like "Tiny Dancer" kind of has it's own area where nothing sounds like that.  What I always liked about Elton's voice is that he does this thing where he runs the melody up, and then 'jumps' at a note, and goes sharp when he does it.  It gives his voice this kind of manic thing that's awesome.  So in Tiny Dancer it's the "Hold me CLOSA!" part, he goes slightly sharp everytime he does that on his stuff, and it gives it a unique sound that's great.  Even his stuff later in his career like "My Elusive Drug" shows his powerful, thundering voice (as it had became) still intact.  Not sure if he can still pull any of that off, sadly.

Michael Jackson.  Michael gets a lot of sh*t, much of it deserved, but he never really gets any credit for being one of the most creative, expansive singers ever in pop music.  He did everything from pop, to rock, to rap, to jazz, to blues, to even heavy metal.  He could cover "Come Together" as a hard rock song but also sing "she's out of my life" and cry halfway through it.  Just a really weird, strange, beautiful singer IMHO.

Mariah Carey.  Similarly gets very little respect by serious musicians due to the nature of her songwriting, but it doesn't take away from the fact that her voice is one of the most incredible voices we've ever heard in popular music.  She can sing lower than a lot of men can, and sing up into WHISTLE REGISTER.  Holy sh*t.  "Emotions" is a throw away pop song, but has what, probably 4 or 5 octave stretch in it?  In a pop song?  You'll find review after review of reporters way back into the early 90's basically saying yeah, her voice is great, but her music sucks.  I've had some of her music really move me, she did a live performance on the Live8 show that was really inspiring, I think people have really missed the boat with her. 

Tons more great voices in music...

That was great post as usual. I'm quoting this bit bcuz I agree that George had (has?) great voice. My introduction to him was via the  cassette of "Older". I thought half of it was really good (Move On, Star People, Fastlove, gorgeous title track, It Doesn't Really Matter etc.), didn't care for other half (Jesus to a Child, The Strangest Thing, Free). Too bad his other songs don't live up to this album. The best on that album beats the whole of Wham - throwaway muzak - & rest of the solo.

This is a great story that connects Wolf and Beefheart, if indirectly (here (https://books.google.nl/books?id=EK1QzUQ90U4C&pg=PT14&lpg=PT14&dq=%22the+howling+wolf%22+%22grannie+annie%22&source=bl&ots=Sqb-rSNqBs&sig=ZShg1nykSck4IIonrTz_BiqBfYs&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjR-arY6fvJAhVHoA4KHSmQCC8Q6AEIKjAC#v=onepage&q=%22the%20howling%20wolf%22%20%22grannie%20annie%22&f=false)):

Paul Robeson, Maria Callas, Lowell George, Rosemary Clooney, Dinah Shore, Johnny Mathis, Placido Domingo,  James Taylor, Carole King, Darlene Love, Richard Manuel,James Brown, Linda Ronstadt, Don Henley, Timothy Schmidt, Merle Haggard, Patsy Cline,  Leadbelly, Tammy Wynette, George Jones, Anne Murray, Vince Gill, Patsy Cline,  everyone in Los Lobos,Dolly Parton, Grace Slick, Peter Cetera, Danny Hutton, Chuck Negron,Aretha Franklin, The Jordanaires, TheGolden Gate Quartet, Sam Cooke,Pete Seeger

A lot here I would second.

I would add Linda Ronstadt, Adele, Stevie Nicks, Chrissy Hynde, Boy George.
The latter four for timbre and creativity rather than range or technical skill. Despite Rolling Stone critics' opinions, I think Ronstadt had significant technical skill.
And is Dennis Wilson on the list? His timbre was gorgeous.

Smokey Robinson
Greg Lake
Steve Goodman
Levi Stubbs
Jackson Browne
Ann Wilson
Billy Joel
Daryl Hall
Marshall Crenshaw

Living in New Orleans, I'm partial to Aaron Neville, Irma Thomas and John Boutte (he sang the Treme TV show theme song; also check out his take on A Change is Gonna Come)

Aretha Franklin, Sarah Vaughn, Roy Orbison, Lou Rawls, Cisco Houston

Vocal groups such as the Boswell Sisters, Louvin Brothers, Everly Brothers

And those 3 brothers from Hawthorne CA
EDIT - should have listed the Wilsons with the other sibling pairings!
I never meant to imply that Al and Mike don't sing well.
The BBs blend gets more amazing every day. That's why I subscribed to this Board.
Apologies if I've given offense. Chronic sleep deprivation while being a 24/7 caregiver these past few days has made me loopy!

You don't find Al's or Mike's voices great? ???

I think Al has a great voice. 

I don't think Mike's voice was great, but I think it really fit well with the early Beach Boys sound.  I also think Mike really found a good place as a singer in the late 60s / early 70s. 

Not sure if anybody has mentioned Glenn Hughes yet.  Often referred to as the "Voice of Rock."  He sang for Trapeze, Deep Purple, and Black Sabbath.  He was Ronnie James Dio's favorite singer.  That's some high praise. 

Linda Ronstadt, Karen Carpenter, Glenn Yarbrough, Don Henley, Warren Zevon, Allan Clarke, Bobby Darin, Roger Daltrey, David Clayton Thomas...

Here's a newish voice that sounds pretty great to me----that of Rhiannon Giddens:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyWa6v-ifRY

Yes, everybody says it except NOLA BB fan. Even his fellow BBs members think so. That's why I'm puzzled. Al certainly has better & stronger voice  than Dennis that's out of question. I thought it was established. His voice is the only that sounds closest to Brian! Top that.

Glenn is Ronnie's favorite singer? Hm. Never knew. In my opinion, Ronnie sings a little better.

I'll agree that I prefer Ronnie James Dio to Glenn Hughes.

After Dio passed away in 2010, the surviving members of Heaven and Hell (Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Vinny Appice) played a set at a UK Festival with Hughes on vocals, as well as two other singers. 

Ronnie was fronting Elf in 1974 when they were opening for the MK III version of Deep Purple which included Glenn Hughes.  That's how Ronnie met Ritchie Blackmore, and the two would soon form Rainbow.

There's no need for tears, Nola. And no need to suspend posting either. It's just a minor misunderstanding, so don't take it to heart. Your posts are valued around here. :=) 

Could you say the difference between "great voice" & great singer"? Tried to think like you, re-read this post many times - still don't get it. Explain.

Well, you can have a great voice but not a good technique. Or you can have a very good technique but just don't have the voice.
In the '64/5-'70 periode it seemed that Brian had almost everything. Off the top of my head I don't remember a bad or weak performance by him during those years. Carl really cought up the more he had to overtake Brian's role. But all in all, I wished that Carl had taken just a couple of professional singing lessons because sometimes on stage his voice got kinda "thin" at moments imo. Some breath control techniques could have solved that I guess.
But as I said, I think all of the guys were great, so that comes on a high standard for not trained musicians. The guys all could take a lead, sang very much on key, bring a natural individuality to their singing and I guess I don't have to mention what incredible things they were capable of in harmony singing.

Thank you. Actually, BBs weren't the target, the bit in your post that made me ask you question was: "...were great singers but when it comes to voices". I didn't think till now there's any difference between saying "... is great singer" & "... is great voice". OK, what is bottom line if we speak generally - great voice is better than great singer? Singer is about technique but their voice is nothing special & voice is about being gifted with unique voice? What will you say?

I don't think you can give a general statement. Each person has his/her individual strengths and it's different from case to case

Individual strengths you mean everybody has chance to be great voice? Can develop it with training etc.? Or is it singer? Tough topic. It's still puzzling in regards the differences, it's appearing there isn't any.

Liam Gallagher

Could Carl's issues have been somewhat resolved if he hadn't smoked so much? I think he was a much heavier smoker than Brian, for example, wasn't he? I'm always fascinated at how many of the great pop singers smoke/d.
Well, to the list of great voices, I have to add the man whom I've brought up on this board a couple of times and who doesn't seem to get much love: Rufus Wainwright. Some pop singers start out great and then their voices begin to give out. Rufus started out sounding irritating and nasal on his first album but developed a really fine voice that seems to be stronger than ever in his 40s.
Freddie Mercury was pretty fantastic. I take it his technique wasn't good, or he wouldn't have had the issues he sometimes had live. But maybe you have to have a "poor" technique to carry your voice across an arena like he did.

One and only Frank
I am also a big fan of frank

Sinatra is good but when I discovered Perry Como, he seemed better than any of the singers in "easy listening" category. I like that his voice sounds old-fashioned, "retro". Frank's sounds "up-to-date" despite the songs being obv. dated.

Rosie hamlin
Michel'le(when she talks shes gotta high pitched voice but when she sings damn)

This is very familiar name. Was she in one of those ubiquitous 60s girl groups? I can't check youtube, it's again veeerry slow. Even results page.

Send my love to Rosie...wherever she may be...


Yeah, famous for Angel Baby. As Rosie & the Originals.

  Rosie & the Originals, best known for "Angel Baby."

She also sang I'm So Young, There's No Other (Like My Baby), and Just Because. The reason i mention Just Because is John Lennon was a big fan of hers and he covered Just Because in the 70s at Phil's request. I assume he never heard Rosie's version which is too bad (apparently he wasnt that familiar with Price's version either). Of course, John recorded Angel Baby as well and Rosie loved it.

Lennon also loved the bizarre B-side of "Angel Baby". He kept telling Yoko that this is what it was all about:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEGLkMf75aY

See Jim Vincent's comment...

Thank you, people. Youtube works. Let's say I didn't like "Angel Baby", sounds veeery generic, there might be 124689 doo-wop/girl group songs with similar melody. She's certainly not pioneer. Funnily, she hasn't got the type of voice I usually like in girl singers but given her age - 15 - & the "mousy" voice seems to be only in the surface, there's sth. there that shows to me she's not bad. Some sheen to it. I liked that "Just Because" version, used to John's too & the song is nice but it quickly went from good to boring. "I'm so young" is namedropped, then it must be in john k's thread of links of that song to compare to BBs version.

One comment mentions he likes the finger pops.  I was thinkin', no, that's the shape the record is in... vinyl's poppin'.  Got some negative comments - I like it as much as the a-side.