Posted November 10, 200420 yr Just been listening to O.V. Wright doing 'The Time We Have' and Tommy Tate 'Taking on Pain'.THere have been many superb voices in Soul music. These two must be among the finest. Which male artist would you say has the best voice?
November 10, 200420 yr This one is going to run and run. Suspect we'll never achieve consensus. Still at least we can all agree on the greatest FEMALE singer; Gladys Knight. link or patti austin
November 10, 200420 yr Totally agree with Roy Hamilton/ Chuck Jackson / David Ruffin etc- I suppose it depends if ya like your soul down and dirty- Otis had a way about him that defied belief, SO much soul in someone so young. I like the "technically profficient" too; Every performance I have seen or heard of the Rev. Al Green's seems to have been a soul masterclass. But how about Gene Chandler?? Now that guy has a killer voice: sweet and soulful to powerful expression in a heartbeat.....
November 10, 200420 yr or patti austin link Definatley Patrice Holloway. Or Gladys Knight. Or Betty Lavette. Or...... argh! Kolla!! Why is my nose bleeeeeeeeedinnnggggg
November 10, 200420 yr Definatley Patrice Holloway. Or Gladys Knight. Or Betty Lavette. Or...... argh! Kolla!! Why is my nose bleeeeeeeeedinnnggggg link They all coke heads then? I know Patrice was mentally ill and in hospital for a while but I didn't realise it was drug induced - shame.
November 10, 200420 yr Marvin Gayes wife obviously thought so.... she did a runner with him.... WOOF! link Shit,,really! I'm sure most of us have loved and lost, but that's f*** all excuse to relocate to Belgium!!
November 10, 200420 yr Some great obvious suggestions (Sam Cooke, Roy Hamilton, Jackie Wilson) but surely Bobby Bland deserves a mention here. Gets my vote everytime! Mace.
November 10, 200420 yr Otis clay- cos he can still sing faultlessly live like the day he cut his first 45, certainly on parr would be Rance allen , Tyrone davis and David ruffin, Sam dees. Takes some choosing....
November 10, 200420 yr Shit- actually meant BRENDA Holloway! Was thinking about Kolla saying that she didn't like a Patrice Holloway song at the same time.... and my nose was bleedin' cos my brain was haemmoraging at the thought of picking from a list of hundreds, and.... Jeez- if ya gotta explain it, it ain't funny. Edited November 10, 200420 yr by AL_R
November 10, 200420 yr I would have to hear all the mentioned male singers sing the same song to be able to decide who is the best voice, as I listen to the words so much that a badly written song can have an infulence on my opinion
November 10, 200420 yr the best voice in technical terms is Sam Cooke......he had perfect pitch...most would agree on that......even his fellow professionals.at the time did...Sinatra/Nat......etc.....
November 10, 200420 yr and my nose was bleedin' cos my brain was haemmoraging at the thought of picking from a list of hundreds, and.... Jeez- if ya gotta explain it, it ain't funny. link
November 10, 200420 yr the best voice in technical terms is Sam Cooke......he had perfect pitch...most would agree on that......even his fellow professionals.at the time did...Sinatra/Nat......etc..... link Gotta go along with that, but a voice I enjoy almost as much is Little Willie John.
November 10, 200420 yr My top 3 female soul vocalists in strict order. 1.Little Anne - Would have loved to have seen her singing in her prime , what a voice and talent , so cruelly overlooked. Should of been a major star but never was.Her voice sends a shiver down my spine and I get goose pimples whenever I hear her voice. No better female vocalist. 2.Tammi Terrell. 3.Brenda Holloway.
November 10, 200420 yr Moving onto female singers - Linda Jones, her vocal gymnastics are amazing; Flo Ballard - THE voice of the Supremes; Betty Lavette; Dusty Springfield; Brenda Holloway; Cindy Malone; Baby Washington; Mary Love; Irma Thomas; and finally Tammi Terrell. A
November 10, 200420 yr Named my son after a singer who IMO is one of the the greatest Soul singers of all time James Carr, fortunately my last name is Carr . But if my last name was Starr then his first name would have been Edwin in reverence to one of the greatest vocal performers in this genre that we all love. John.
November 10, 200420 yr THE BEST FEMALE SINGER HAS TO BE KIM WESTON. IF YOU HAVE THE UNISSUED MOTOWN VARIOUS ARTISTS LP AND HEAR HER SINGING ANY GIRL IN LOVE YOU'LL KNOW WHERE I'M COMING FROM. AN ANGEL COULDN'T HAVE SUNG THAT SONG BETTER
November 10, 200420 yr What about Steve Mancha possibly one of the most underated singers ever, oh what about Darrell Banks almost forget him.................................. Regards - Mark Bicknell.
November 11, 200420 yr What about Steve Mancha possibly one of the most underated singers ever, oh what about Darrell Banks almost forget him.................................. Regards - Mark Bicknell. link Have to agree with you there Mark , Friday night and the flip side or is it the other way round has to be one of the greatest soul 45s ever recorded.On a similar note another artist in the same vein who deserves a mention is Emmanuel Laskey , his contribution to soul music was huge.
November 11, 200420 yr I must add a vocalist no-one's mentioned: Eddie Giles. On another Japanese-only album, "Losing Boy" in the track "I Just Can't Get Over You" there's a bit on the fadeout where he screams "you're love is like a cancer, and it's spreading all over my body..." which is mind-blowing. More top soul. link THESE TWO TRACKS WERE ACTUALLY RELEASED ON A COMBO LP IN THE EARLY 80'S WITH OTHER ARTISTS INCLUDING MARGIE JOSEPH. POSS KENT. MINE IS A WHITE PROMO WITH NO INFO SO POSS DIDNT GET FULL RELEASE PLUS I CANT FIND IT TO QUOTE NUMBER
November 11, 200420 yr This one is going to run and run. Suspect we'll never achieve consensus. Still at least we can all agree on the greatest FEMALE singer; Gladys Knight. link Dayo - You are one bleeding wind up merchant I would have to hear all the mentioned male singers sing the same song to be able to decide who is the best voice, as I listen to the words so much that a badly written song can have an infulence on my opinion link How about the 50 gzillion versions of 'I Heard It Thru The Grapevine'?? Marvin's is still the best IMHO. Fave females: Aretha Franklin, Barbara McNair, Diana Ross (honest) and my fave today is Valerie Lamar. Best female non-soul voice, Julianne Reagan (All About Eve) Best Male non-soul voice, Liam O'Maonlai (Hot House Flowers) PS Gareth, I wasnt surprised, because I respect your vast knowledge. I was just acclaiming a truely great choice. (removes tongue from orifice) Edited November 11, 200420 yr by in town Mikey
November 11, 200420 yr Just been listening to O.V. Wright doing 'The Time We Have' and Tommy Tate 'Taking on Pain'.THere have been many superb voices in Soul music. These two must be among the finest. Which male artist would you say has the best voice? link Tommy Hunt, I always rated this guy, still does it for me especially his Scepter and Dynamo tracks.
November 11, 200420 yr Garnett Mimms, Wade Flemmons. Wade can belt 'em out-"Jeanette" but what about "That other place"-excellent vocal styling!
November 11, 200420 yr I like Joanie Mitchell not as a soul singer, just as a singer. Just mentioning it like... yeah I know I'm a
November 11, 200420 yr I like Joanie Mitchell not as a soul singer, just as a singer. Just mentioning it like... yeah I know I'm a link No !!!!!!
November 11, 200420 yr THESE TWO TRACKS WERE ACTUALLY RELEASED ON A COMBO LP IN THE EARLY 80'S WITH OTHER ARTISTS INCLUDING MARGIE JOSEPH. POSS KENT. MINE IS A WHITE PROMO WITH NO INFO SO POSS DIDNT GET FULL RELEASE PLUS I CANT FIND IT TO QUOTE NUMBER link Don't think you're totally correct on this, enchantedrythm. The Stax 45 cut of Eddie Giles "Losing Boy" certainly was released on the Kent LP "Kentstax", which, as you say, included Margie Joseph's "One More Chance". That lp did not, however, feature "I Just Can't Get Over You", which, to the best of my knowledge, remains Japanese only. I agree with Andy Dyson about Rance Allen. A phenomenal and unique talent. I find it odd that no-one's mentioned Johnnie Taylor yet. I concur with the people who've mentioned Darrell Banks' name. It's funny that, while he's thought of as a god in Northern Soul circles, he remains cruelly undervalued by the rest of the soul world.
November 11, 200420 yr Gareth X We have so much in common...Eddie Giles.."losing boy"..what a tune indeed..He sings that great line.."I'm like Ray Charles,i was born to lose,i'm a losing boy and i lost you...Pure class.... Female...Betty Lavette.."let me down easy"....That one tune took me away from stompers into deep soul....
Just been listening to O.V. Wright doing 'The Time We Have' and Tommy Tate 'Taking on Pain'.THere have been many superb voices in Soul music. These two must be among the finest.
Which male artist would you say has the best voice?