# Name a singer with an "unusual" voice. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 3, 2017, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882 "2017-10-03T16:56:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/1 "2017-10-03T16:56:41Z")
Subject line pretty much says it. Name a singer you’ve heard whose voice is…unusual. Not necessarily in range or skill, but in sound. [Brad Roberts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brad_Roberts) from Crash Test Dummies comes to mind. The standard claim is that he’s got a low voice. Really it’s not that low, but it has an unusual timbre to it, an odd sort of clarity that makes it feel somehow lower than its actual fundamental frequency. [Alan Wilson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Wilson_(musician)) of Canned Heat is another; his voice [sounded like a harmonica.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0PjECSyJ7w&t=0m18s) And there’s [Lisa Gerrard.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Gerrard) If you’ve seen [the movie Gladiator](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBE-uBgtINg&t=0m28s) or listened to Dead Can Dance, then you’ve heard her voice. I’m not even sure how to describe it, as her style and vocal quality seem to range from tribal chant to primal/guttural growl to operetta. So who else ya got? ---
**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 3, 2017, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/2 "2017-10-03T17:04:37Z")
Bob Dylan. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/3 "2017-10-03T17:08:28Z")
Yma Sumac [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1KprLT-JxPY/hqdefault.jpg "YMA SUMAC Chuncho") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KprLT-JxPY) ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/4 "2017-10-03T17:15:24Z")
Sam Phillips. Not that one. This one: [- YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZocR_GVmUkY) ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/5 "2017-10-03T17:26:19Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Bob Dylan. The OP specified “singer”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/6 "2017-10-03T17:26:33Z")
A very unusual (affected) accent given Colin Meloy of _The Decembrists_ a very strange (and instantly recognizable) singing voice. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/7 "2017-10-03T17:26:41Z")
Minnie Riperton, Maya Rudolph’s mom. I only knew her from the song “Lovin’ you (is easy 'cause you’re beautiful)”, which seemed like kind of a joke at the time. But she had a _five octave_ vocal range. You get a bit of that in that vocal glissando she does in Lovin’ you, but apparently it’s not representative – she could actually sing in all those registers. She tragically died at 31 in 1979 due to breast cancer that metastasized. I’m curious now to hear more of her work > **[Minnie Riperton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnie_Riperton)** > > Minnie Julia Riperton Rudolph (November 8, 1947 – July 12, 1979) was an American soul singer best known for her 1975 single "Lovin' You" and her four octave D3 to F♯7 coloratura soprano range. She is also widely known for her use of the whistle register and has been referred to by the media as the "Queen of the Whistle Register". > Born in 1947, Riperton grew up in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood on the South Side. As a child, she studied music, drama and dance at Chicago's Abraham Lincoln C... ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/8 "2017-10-03T17:27:47Z")
Willie Nelson. Not that he actually sings anymore. His concerts resemble a “William Shatner tribute to Willie Nelson” more and more, although his singing always had a kind of unique spoken-word quality to it. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/9 "2017-10-03T17:34:09Z")
[Kongar-ol Ondar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kongar-ol_Ondar) ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/10 "2017-10-03T17:40:00Z")
Me ( not good ) ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/11 "2017-10-03T17:40:32Z")
Charo Tiny Tim ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/12 "2017-10-03T17:43:11Z")
Louis Armstrong ---
**Author:** ![somepumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@somepumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/somepumpkin)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/13 "2017-10-03T17:48:12Z")
Donald Fagen ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/14 "2017-10-03T17:48:31Z")
Liz Fraser from Cocteau Twins and This Mortal Coil. Maybe more stylistically unusual than having an unusual voice but unusual nonetheless. [Another Day](https://youtu.be/N6vW2uWsro0) And of course Tom Waits [God’s Away On Business](https://youtu.be/W9mhsW5aWJM) Captain Beefheart [Click Clack](https://youtu.be/7QBkD1Xub3k) ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/15 "2017-10-03T17:49:46Z")
Diamanda Galas Marianne Faithful King Diamond ---
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/16 "2017-10-03T17:57:23Z")
Iris DeMent Marog Timmins of Cowboy Junkies Natalie Merchant Cindi Lauper ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/17 "2017-10-03T17:58:19Z")
I always enjoyed Janis Joplin’s [del]whiskey[/del] southern comfort infused vocals. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/18 "2017-10-03T18:07:44Z")
Three who come to mind: Roy Orbison – not just because of his range, though that’s part of it, but its quality was instantly recognizable. Tom Petty Alison Moyet of Yaz / Yazoo ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/19 "2017-10-03T18:12:03Z")
Tom Petty, RIP. I figured that’s why the thread was opened in the first place. Geddy Lee Tom Waits ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/20 "2017-10-03T18:14:20Z")
[Hurricane Smith](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuccqN63I4I&list=RDKuccqN63I4I) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882.md?page=2)