Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Best Female Singing Voice
- Thread starter Chrisk-K
- Start date
Ella Fitzgerald
Sarah Vaughan
Barbra Streisand
Lani Hall
Linda Ronstadt
Whitney Houston
Mariah Carey
Aretha Franklin
Karen Carpenter
Doris Day
Dionne Warwick
Dinah Washington
Sarah Vaughan
Barbra Streisand
Lani Hall
Linda Ronstadt
Whitney Houston
Mariah Carey
Aretha Franklin
Karen Carpenter
Doris Day
Dionne Warwick
Dinah Washington
Last edited:
As others have said, there's no one best - so many different genres and delivery styles, and so many great singers in their own way. That said, there are a few things that I really appreciate when I hear them. I appreciate a strong measure of control and the ability to use vibrato and force wisely when needed and shelve it when needed. Singers who can do this well would be people like k.d. Laing (one of my absolute favorites), Joni Mitchell, Annie Lennox, Linda Ronstadt (though Ronstadt can get a little too screamy sometimes).
I appreciate singers that came up out of the gospel style and kick a$$ in R&B and some favorites here are Gladys Knight, Patti LaBelle and Aretha Franklin. I appreciate some of the more mainstream bluesy singers who came after them in the 70's and beyond who borrowed heavily from their muse like Bonnie Raitt, Sharon Jones and Amy Winehouse.
Just so many more. Can't begin to name them all.
What I don't appreciate? Excessive yodeling. That's why there aren't too many 90's divas on this list. Mariah Carey can carry a tune but her delivery style is everything that went wrong with vocal delivery in that decade. Whitney Houston is mega talented and has amazing songs but also tended to go too far in that department at times.
I appreciate singers that came up out of the gospel style and kick a$$ in R&B and some favorites here are Gladys Knight, Patti LaBelle and Aretha Franklin. I appreciate some of the more mainstream bluesy singers who came after them in the 70's and beyond who borrowed heavily from their muse like Bonnie Raitt, Sharon Jones and Amy Winehouse.
Just so many more. Can't begin to name them all.
What I don't appreciate? Excessive yodeling. That's why there aren't too many 90's divas on this list. Mariah Carey can carry a tune but her delivery style is everything that went wrong with vocal delivery in that decade. Whitney Houston is mega talented and has amazing songs but also tended to go too far in that department at times.
Last edited:
Another plug for Inara. Here Dad was Lowell George from Little Feat. He died way too early at 34.
Inara is still out there I believe. For Pop, the Bird and the Bee stuff is hard to beat. Simple and good.
From their great Hall and Oates tribute album.
And any of you Lancaster PA dudes might know of this band. Trixi Greiner's voice is fascinating and still at work.
Hard to find a good online sample of her work. Saw them live during a work stint out there, impressive.
Inara is still out there I believe. For Pop, the Bird and the Bee stuff is hard to beat. Simple and good.
From their great Hall and Oates tribute album.
And any of you Lancaster PA dudes might know of this band. Trixi Greiner's voice is fascinating and still at work.
Hard to find a good online sample of her work. Saw them live during a work stint out there, impressive.
I forgot about her. She and Shelea are my favorites. I dig Jasmine Sullivan as well.
Ugh! that intro was Looong, the pay off, Meh. that irish PBS drivel! Super Meh!
I'm not a big fan of Annie Haslam. Back in the day when I was singing in a prog/fusion band, every female singer in the genre got held up to her as a yardstick. If you had an operatically trained delivery style, you "sounded like Annie Haslam" and everyone loved you. If you sounded like yourself or had a distinctive voice in any other way, they hated you. Period. It was either "she sounds like ANNIE! (Even if you didn't) or WE HATE IT!
I personally don't like the overly-disciplined operatic style so I never tried to sing like that, much to the chagrin of many prog-heads.
Billie Holiday.
Her voice is the most beautiful sound nature ever created.
Her voice is the most beautiful sound nature ever created.
Typo. Disregard
I had a crush on Nena and Sheena Easton when I was a teenager back in the 80's!
Likely at The Sellersville Theater? She and/or the current Renaissance seem to play there somewhat regularly. Have seen them there, the Keswick Theater, the Scottish Rite Auditorium (Collingswood, NJ), and even at the BB&T Pavillion over the last ten years or so.
True, she has lost some of her magic over time, but she's still Annie and it's great to hear those songs played live.
Have to agree and almost added her if I would have had two categories = Rock/Pop and Jazz.
LOVE Sarah and grew up with her on my bebop parents turntable. Love her power, phrasing, and tone. Sometimes have trouble listening to her vibrato which is huge, but her pitch is always spot on. Just an amazing singer!!
She put out an album in '66 on Mercury called "Pop Artistry" which to this day blows me away! Her version of "Waltz for Debbie" is just GREAT!
