# Blackest sounding white singer and whitest sounding black singer **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 21, 2006, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackest-sounding-white-singer-and-whitest-sounding-black-singer/377335 "2006-10-21T14:39:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackest-sounding-white-singer-and-whitest-sounding-black-singer/377335/21 "2006-10-22T16:57:02Z")
Michael McDonald of the Doobies. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackest-sounding-white-singer-and-whitest-sounding-black-singer/377335/22 "2006-10-22T17:12:57Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] You should’ve included a warning with that link. How do you get vomit off of a keyboard? [/QUOTE] [channelling Otto]Oh like \*you \* had a chance! [/channelling Otto] ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackest-sounding-white-singer-and-whitest-sounding-black-singer/377335/23 "2006-10-22T17:39:12Z")
You know that treacly 70s hit, “Loving You”? The one where she goes “doot n’ doo-doo-dee-dooo” and then jumps up to a canine-torturing “OHH-OH-OH-OHHH-OHHH-OHHHH”? I’d maybe put that on the top-five list of whitest songs ever recorded, an absolutely hipless, souless, plaster-white ball of sentimental musical goop. I always figured some Olivia-Newton-John wannabe recorded it and then vanished into well-deserved obscurity\*. But no! Much to my shock, I learned recently from one of those music compilation commercials that the artist was [Minnie Ripperton](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnie_Riperton), who also sang backup for Stevie Wonder, among other black acts. As “Loving You” is the only song I’ve knowingly heard her sing on, I nominate her for that one, though she must have been able to sound a lot different to back up someone like Wonder in the 70s. \*Sadly, she died very young of breast cancer. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackest-sounding-white-singer-and-whitest-sounding-black-singer/377335/24 "2006-10-22T17:44:57Z")
Minnie Ripperton was also the mother of _Saturday Night Live_’s [Maya Rudolph](http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/bios/Maya_Rudolph.shtml). ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackest-sounding-white-singer-and-whitest-sounding-black-singer/377335/25 "2006-10-22T17:45:55Z")
[QUOTE=Loopydude] You know that treacly 70s hit, “Loving You”? The one where she goes “doot n’ doo-doo-dee-dooo” and then jumps up to a canine-torturing “OHH-OH-OH-OHHH-OHHH-OHHHH”? I’d maybe put that on the top-five list of whitest songs ever recorded, an absolutely hipless, souless, plaster-white ball of sentimental musical goop. I always figured some Olivia-Newton-John wannabe recorded it and then vanished into well-deserved obscurity\*. But no! Much to my shock, I learned recently from one of those music compilation commercials that the artist was [Minnie Ripperton](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnie_Riperton), who also sang backup for Stevie Wonder, among other black acts. As “Loving You” is the only song I’ve knowingly heard her sing on, I nominate her for that one, though she must have been able to sound a lot different to back up someone like Wonder in the 70s. \*Sadly, she died very young of breast cancer. [/QUOTE] [Tasmin Archer](http://homepage.ntlworld.com/gary.hart/lyricsa/archer.html) sounds pretty white. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackest-sounding-white-singer-and-whitest-sounding-black-singer/377335/26 "2006-10-22T17:59:13Z")
How about 11 year old [Bianca Ryan](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozDh4NQveJs)? ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackest-sounding-white-singer-and-whitest-sounding-black-singer/377335/27 "2006-10-22T18:01:39Z")
**astro** , you stole mine! I happened upon her album “Great Expectations” at a Goodwill and fell in love with it after one play. I decided I’d google her name to see her other albums, and whatdoyouknow? I discovered she’s a sista. I’d have to say the blackest white woman is definitely Teena Marie. Whitest black singer…Darius Rucker. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackest-sounding-white-singer-and-whitest-sounding-black-singer/377335/28 "2006-10-22T18:05:26Z")
Joss Stone sounds like a middle-class English white girl to me. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackest-sounding-white-singer-and-whitest-sounding-black-singer/377335/29 "2006-10-22T22:28:30Z")
[QUOTE=Sam Stone] How about 11 year old [Bianca Ryan](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozDh4NQveJs)? [/QUOTE] Oh yeah, I forgot about her. She even said herself on _America’s Got Talent_ that it sounds like there’s a grown-up black woman trapped inside her body. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackest-sounding-white-singer-and-whitest-sounding-black-singer/377335/30 "2006-10-22T23:31:33Z")
Blackest sounding white, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top. Whitest sounding black, Kathleen Battle ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackest-sounding-white-singer-and-whitest-sounding-black-singer/377335/31 "2006-10-23T04:35:02Z")
Dr. John; Second vote for Hootie. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackest-sounding-white-singer-and-whitest-sounding-black-singer/377335/32 "2006-10-23T05:30:25Z")
Flipping the calculus to “who sounds White?” is difficult. Seriously, y’all think Darius Rucker sounds White? The music certainly sounds like the music a White band would play, but his voice to me is unmistakably bluesy and, well, Black-sounding. Same with Lenny. When I hear a band like Blink-182, AFI, Sum 41, or Good Charlotte, I think “that’s a White band with a White sounding singer.” So someone who sounded like that would be on the list. Listen to the song “Hey Leonardo (She Likes Me For Me)” by Blessid Union of Souls and it sounds similar to those bands… that’s what I consider a White-sounding Black singer. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackest-sounding-white-singer-and-whitest-sounding-black-singer/377335/33 "2006-10-23T13:19:03Z")
Southside Johnny Lyon and Boxtops-era Alex Chilton sound pretty black to me. ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackest-sounding-white-singer-and-whitest-sounding-black-singer/377335/34 "2006-10-23T14:52:18Z")
True, Blink-182 and those others are what I would call “extreme white,” not to mention extremely annoying, so you may have a winner there - I haven’t heard that song. Something about Darius Rucker’s articulation reminds me of Jimmy Buffett. And hasn’t he (Darius) admitted to being a student of Michael Stipe of REM? ---
**Author:** ![Ultros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ultros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ultros)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackest-sounding-white-singer-and-whitest-sounding-black-singer/377335/35 "2006-10-23T18:28:38Z")
When I was a teenager, the classic rock station used to play Joe Cocker’s rendition of “With a Little Help From My Friends”. That was the only song I ever heard sung by him. I was quite surprised years later to learn that he was 1) white, and 2) English. So surprised, in fact, that I’m surprised he hasn’t been mentioned in this thread yet. Did he do other songs where he sounds more white? ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackest-sounding-white-singer-and-whitest-sounding-black-singer/377335/36 "2006-10-23T19:26:42Z")
Johnny Winter sounds pretty black. And, of course, he’s the polar opposite (heh, heh). For those of you under 50, he and his brother Edgar are albinos. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackest-sounding-white-singer-and-whitest-sounding-black-singer/377335/37 "2006-10-23T22:04:27Z")
[QUOTE=mobo85] The blackest white I’ve heard is Jack Sheldon, a jazz singer who’s best known for singing the _Schoolhouse Rock_ classics _Conjunction Junction_ and _I’m Just A Bill._ [/QUOTE] You win. I simply cannot reconcile myself to [this voice](http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:8gq7ggectvjz) coming from [this guy](http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:p0o7gjvrj6ix). Nope, someone clearly has made a gargantuan mistake. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackest-sounding-white-singer-and-whitest-sounding-black-singer/377335/38 "2006-10-23T22:13:29Z")
[QUOTE=Shayna] You win. I simply cannot reconcile myself to [this voice](http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:8gq7ggectvjz) coming from [this guy](http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:p0o7gjvrj6ix). Nope, someone clearly has made a gargantuan mistake. [/QUOTE] Given that I just learned Sheldon was white this very moment, I’ve gotta agree. Never would I have imagined he wasn’t black. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackest-sounding-white-singer-and-whitest-sounding-black-singer/377335/39 "2006-10-23T22:20:28Z")
[QUOTE=mobo85] The blackest white I’ve heard is Jack Sheldon, a jazz singer who’s best known for singing the _Schoolhouse Rock_ classics _Conjunction Junction_ and _I’m Just A Bill._ [/QUOTE] Um, yeah, if by “Jack Sheldon” you mean “[Bob Dorough.](http://bobdorough.com)” ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2006, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackest-sounding-white-singer-and-whitest-sounding-black-singer/377335/40 "2006-10-23T22:42:50Z")
No, Jack Sheldon is correct. Dorough (“3 is a Magic Number”, “Lucky Seven Samson”) has a much softer voice. You can hear them singing together on “The Body Machine” number, and the difference is pretty obvious. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackest-sounding-white-singer-and-whitest-sounding-black-singer/377335.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackest-sounding-white-singer-and-whitest-sounding-black-singer/377335.md?page=3)