Oh yeah, to go with some classics that have been completely overlooked by all you whippersnappers (well, I think I’m still technically a whippesnapper myself, but…):
**
Billie Holiday
Ella Fitzgerald
**
But I will agree on the point of any woman singing to, or around me. Women in general are very capable of singing beautifully–there’s a Vonnegut quote to that effect that I am too lazy to dredge up right now. Imagine my shock upon discovering that even the freaky goth chick I sometimes hang out with can sing…
Well, Sarah McLachlan live was just about the closest thing to a religious experience I’ve ever had (even if she didn’t sing “Full of Grace”), but for sexiest, I’ve got to go with either Beth Gibbons from Portishead or Shirley Manson. I’m sure I’ll think of someone else right after I submit this.
I yield to no one in my admiration for Ella (if you popped open the 6-disc magazine on my old changer you’d find five of the slots occupied at the moment by the Cole Porter and Gershwin songbooks), but I don’t think of her as having a particularly sexy voice. A powerfully affecting one at times, certainly, but not sexy per se.
For my nominees:
[ul]
[li]Kirsty MacColl. Maybe it’s her lyrics that make her voice have that effect on me, but when I hear her I have the sense of being in the presence of a woman who knows what she’s about and won’t take any shit, without being at all defensive or hostile. I’ve only met a few women like that in real life, and I found them all extremely attractive, regardless of their physical characteristics.[/li][li]Kelly Hogan. You won’t have heard of her without you’ve listened to one of two CDs released by a band called the Jody Grind, or a certain disc by a group called the Rock-A-Teens, or her solo effort The Whistle Only Dogs Can Hear. I used to buy stuff at the Turtles music store around the corner from my apartment just in the hope that she’d be working the register. Then I saw her perform with An Evening With the Garbageman (the ensemble that turned into the Jody Grind) at the White Dot. She was obviously painfully uncomfortable on stage, but you’d never have known it from the way she sang. I’ve had higher standards for female vocalists ever since. Track down the first Jody Grind disc, One Man’s Trash is Another Man’s Treasure, if you can and listen for yourself.[/li][li]Annie Ross. Vocalese technique and range enough for three women, sure, but there’re moments when there’s something more there as well. Teamed up with Chet Baker and Gerry Mulligan . . . .[/li][li]Jane Wiedlin. The Go-Go most deserving of more attention than she ever got.[/li][/ul]
Honorable mentions, or seconded nominations, for Chrissie Hynde, Susannah Hoffs, Rachel Sweet (I sometimes think that just listening to her cover of “B-A-B-Y” might be illegal in several states), Maria McKee.
