I gave this some thought. I'm going back a long way. Elvis Presley is still my favorite singer, especially the early rocker Elvis. Heartbreak Hotel, Jailhouse Rock. There was a quality to his voice that spoke to me. And the deep end of his range left me breathless.
I'm also a fan of Roberta Flack. She brings heart and mind to her songs. And beautiful gentle tones.
Ray Charles. I was in a cab. Charles was playing on the radio. I wouldn't get out until the song was done. Soul. His singing reaches into mine.
I try to imagine what it was like driving around Memphis in the early 50's when Elvis' That's All Right Mama came over the AM radio. What a wild leap from the saccharine pop of those days.
I happened to catch Roberta Flack at Mr Henrys in DC one night although I didn't realize how enormous a star she would be...I was very young.
Quote:
In 1968 h(Mr Henry) hired a local music teacher, Roberta Flack to sing in the pub. "She told me that if I could give her work three night a week, she could quit teaching." Ms. Flack's hit songs included:" The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face."
Mr. Henry "..constructed an upstairs performance area especially for her, with its unforgettable church pew seating. People like Burt Bacharach, Al Hibbler, Carmen McRae, Kim Stanley, Eddie Harris, Woody Allen, Bill Cosby, Ramsey Lewis, and Johnny Mathis were in regular attendance, to name but a few. She would often share her stage and her piano stool with them, and even found herself playing with Liberace one night!"(source Roberta Flack's Website)
Ray Charles grew on me. At first I didn't like his Country album with covers like "I Can't Stop Lovin' You."
But when I heard "What'd I Say" I was knocked over.
Great work,Panz. That is precisely the video I was looking for.
Here's another one of those amazing voices. For those who are under 40, you might find the music slow and old-fashioned-sounding but hang in there with it, if you can. the rewards is the silkiest voice ...really sings touching ballad.
Sam Cooke "You Send Me"
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edgarblythe
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Sun 3 Apr, 2011 06:01 pm
I loved Ray Charles from the first time I heard him. When they played I Can't Stop Loving You on the radio, I dropped what I was doing and went to the record store. I carried that record with me even when I was hitch hiking and had nowhere to live.
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edgarblythe
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Sun 3 Apr, 2011 07:17 pm
Elvis I always liked, but did not become a true fan until about ten years ago. Sure he recorded some stinkers, but the overall body of his work is fantastic.
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Ragman
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Sun 3 Apr, 2011 07:39 pm
The quintessential singer's singer, singing one of my all time favorites:
Brook Benton:
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panzade
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Sun 3 Apr, 2011 07:42 pm
@Ceili,
Quote:
Re: Crash Test Dummies..Brad Roberts
Muchas gracias querida.
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panzade
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Sun 3 Apr, 2011 07:53 pm
@djjd62,
Wow. Sure was a gap in my knowledge. Bring that Drake stuff on!
What a great factoid. Life In A Northern Town was written about and for Nick Drake. Now I see it!
Life in a Northern Town
A Salvation Army band played
And the children drank lemonade
And the morning lasted all day,
All day
And through an open window came
Like Sinatra in a younger day,
Pushing the town away
Ah -
(Chant)
Ah hey ma ma ma
Life in a northern town.
They sat on the stoney ground
And he took a cigarette out
And everyone else came down
To listen.
He said "In winter 1963
It felt like the world would freeze
With John F. Kennedy
And the Beatles."
(Chant)
Ah hey ma ma ma
Life in a northern town.
Ah hey ma ma ma
All the work shut down.
The evening had turned to rain
Watch the water roll down the drain,
As we followed him down
To the station
And though he never would wave goodbye,
You could see it written in his eyes
As the train rolled out of sight
Bye-bye.
(Chant)
Ah hey ma ma ma
Life in a northern town.
Ah hey ma ma ma
Life in a northern town.
I'm not realy a fan of new pop and stuff, i'm more a fan of older rock so my favorite singer is Axl Rose for his amazingly unique voice
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jcboy
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Tue 20 Dec, 2011 07:41 pm
I could never choose one. Depends on my mood. But for now I’ll go with Gaga.
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ossobuco
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Tue 20 Dec, 2011 09:16 pm
Well, 2 - that I'm stuck on re something that gets me about the voices, that tug.
The Fureys and Davey Arthur - Scarlet Ribbons, which my mother used to sing, and so did Belafonte..
Then Fabrizio deAndre -
Fiume Sand Creek
Geordie
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edgarblythe
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Tue 20 Dec, 2011 09:21 pm
@Roberta,
Roberta wrote:
I gave this some thought. I'm going back a long way. Elvis Presley is still my favorite singer, especially the early rocker Elvis. Heartbreak Hotel, Jailhouse Rock. There was a quality to his voice that spoke to me. And the deep end of his range left me breathless.
I'm also a fan of Roberta Flack. She brings heart and mind to her songs. And beautiful gentle tones.
Ray Charles. I was in a cab. Charles was playing on the radio. I wouldn't get out until the song was done. Soul. His singing reaches into mine.
