A topic that often comes up in sessions is how there seems to be fewer and fewer great songs or great singers today than there were in years gone by. How much of this reveals personal preference rather than objective reality is another topic entirely. Nevertheless, when the topic of great singers comes up, I go back through my memory banks and I’m struck by just how many great singers there are if I take the time to consider it.
Moreover, often the great singers that we mention are the more bombastic or riff-tastic singers that show off what they can do. But once I peel back a few more layers of memory, I start to remember all the forgotten voices. Not truly forgotten, but just a little obscured by bigger names. So I thought it worth pulling out a few of these easily forgotten singers of yesteryear and sharing them with you.
Three of each
I’ve picked songs from three women and three men. While all singers have their flaws, every single one of these singers has an incredible mix, able to move so so smoothly from the bottom of their range to the top, and express themselves with emotion and excellence.
While style and song preference may be subjective, I think we wouldn’t be struggling for great singers today if more people immersed themselves in the music of singers like these.
Women
Karen Carpenter
Barbra Streisand
Elaine Paige & Barbara Dickson
Men
Luther Vandross
Donnie Hathaway
Peabo Bryson