I love music. That is as simple as I can put it. I find it hard, personally to find female voices that I enjoy these days. I like to hear feeling in the voice. I want to be moved. The direction that female vocalists have gone has removed them from much of the real-life feelings associated with the music they sing. The industry tends to polish them to the point that they sound cold and lifeless.
I decided to rank the top 10 female voices that make me feel the music. Here are the bottom 3 of that list:
10. Big Mama Thornton
A daughter of a minister from Montgomery, Alabama, Willie Mae Thornton built her chops while singing in the choir of the church. She also taught herself to play drums and harmonica. She began her professional music career at the age of 14. She is also notably the first person to record the song "Hound Dog" that was later made famous by Elvis Presley. Big Mama died in 1984 of liver complications brought on by years of alcohol abuse. Her importance to women in blues cannot be understated. She was the steamroller that paved the way for so many that followed behind her.
9. Mahalia Jackson
Ms. Jackson was raised in a 3 room house that was inhabited by 13 people including many aunts and uncles. She was orphaned at the age of 6 and raised by an abusive aunt that beat her with a cat o' nine tails. She loved to sing and did so with great passion. Despite many offers, she never would sing secular music. While I am not a religious person, I have to admire that kind of dedication. She sang for Martin Luther King, Jr. before his "I have a dream" speech and again at his funeral. Her voice was powerful, soulful and beautiful.
8. Pearl Bailey
Pearl Bailey was both an accomplished singer and actress. She won a Tony in 1968 for her role in "Hello Dolly". Now, here is one for you - She was a republican and worked under both the Nixon and Ford administrations and won the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1988. Her voice was special and she brought some much needed fun to the stage. I picked a video from that I remembered liking as a kid. I hope that the readers enjoy it as well.
Comments
If Aretha Franklin isn't in the top 3 you'll never hear the end of it from me.
And Patsy's got to be in there somewhere... forget the genre she sang in, that woman had soul.
I started with a list of 20 and had to scratch a few that I really wanted to keep simply because I was trying to stick to a list of 10 and there are so many great ones out there.
I think the list is pretty damned solid though. Wait for my next installment. I will try to get it out tomorrow or Monday.