# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2017, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/121 "2017-10-06T19:41:04Z")
Back to “falsetto”: It occurred to me that all of today’s grotesquely autotuned voices could be labelled “fauxetto.” You may quote me. ---
**Author:** ![Dancer\_Flight](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dancer_flight/32/7601_2.png) [@Dancer\_Flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dancer_Flight)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2017, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/122 "2017-10-07T04:57:15Z")
Cee-Lo Green ? ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2017, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/123 "2017-10-07T14:43:49Z")
Alison Krauss. Very distinctive and lovely voice. Karen Carpenter. Quite possibly the best female vocalist of the 20th Century. Annie Haslam. Lead singer for Renaissance, incredible range (5 octaves if I remember correctly). ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2017, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/124 "2017-10-14T22:25:43Z")
> [@Philliam](#): > > Victoria Williams I love her! [You](https://youtu.be/fXOrfiTzuxA) [need](https://youtu.be/HmLthyiQnwo) [some](https://youtu.be/gwKgQ33kH3Y) [samples](https://youtu.be/0x9Yh8hn5V8) [there](https://youtu.be/gwKgQ33kH3Y). [Akiko Yano](https://youtu.be/WRSm1osRINo) [Betsy](https://youtu.be/NiBCrXpIDos) [Martin](https://youtu.be/15gow66cQ5U) [of](https://youtu.be/djCJT-H0tBw) [Caterwaul](https://youtu.be/iv62AansO1I) Warning: Based on a certain thread here on the SDMB, this one will drive some people crazy. [Cranes](https://youtu.be/pQ4bRTqSh0o) [Anneli](https://youtu.be/4I3PofIWcXQ) [Drecker](https://youtu.be/97KFcezkyQc) [of](https://youtu.be/yMKrqVeuKo8) [Bel](https://youtu.be/LXpjHvs7wPU) [Canto](https://youtu.be/GC2MVGvOZr8) (not such an unusual voice, but the way she uses it, with Bel Canto, as a [solo](https://youtu.be/ugnDTJXpSw0) [artist](https://youtu.be/Nid2GlywZcY), or [working with](https://youtu.be/LXpjHvs7wPU) Hector Zazou and Gerard Depardu) [Lene](https://youtu.be/maucjGIUzzo) [Lovich](https://youtu.be/KnIJOO__jVo) [Val](https://youtu.be/KpSyR19hjwk) [Martino](https://youtu.be/KeFyx4bvYUQ) of [Grace](https://youtu.be/66o1x7sc7Sg) [Darling](https://youtu.be/CprT76046zo) [Nina](https://youtu.be/G9us-TlWAO4) [Hagen](https://youtu.be/IymWeOu1NFI) [Danielle](https://youtu.be/fIwFO2LL6KY) [Dax](https://youtu.be/upu9oeinoNk) [Diamanda Galas](https://youtu.be/nSc5-RkndnQ) [Marianne](https://youtu.be/3NAjff_2cB4) [Faithful](https://youtu.be/bWrIVSJ7N8w) [Yma](https://youtu.be/1KprLT-JxPY) [Sumac](https://youtu.be/fXOrfiTzuxA) [Toyah](https://youtu.be/S8dUOlw4ijI) [Asha](https://youtu.be/aOEQ0aSg9_g) [Bhosle](https://youtu.be/ky39Pba9lIc) [Najma](https://youtu.be/VFI27vpI5mY) [Márta](https://youtu.be/Bw1zxy66yoI) [Sebestyén](https://youtu.be/25BfO_7bOu4) [Fibonaccis](https://youtu.be/Z3xfIlHsP0Q) (she sings like a little girl, but she’s SUPPOSED to be a little girl. A psychopathic murderous little girl.) I could go on and on and on… ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/125 "2017-10-15T02:54:34Z")
Anybody mention **Peter Stampfel** yet? I had dinner with the dude in Manhattan last night, after which we went back to his loft in SoHo so he could play me his latest stuff. Peter, along with Steven Weber, were the original freak folk duo the **Holy Modal Rounders** back in 1963. Here’s their rendition of “Hesitation Blues” — Steve takes the first vocal, Peter and his weird voice come in after the fiddle break. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qzZ2q0NUEZQ/hqdefault.jpg "Holy Modal Rounders - Hesitation Blues") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzZ2q0NUEZQ) Additional coolness: This was the first commercial recording in which the word “psychedelic” was included in the lyric. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/126 "2017-10-15T03:20:21Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > Here’s an example of Van Morrison going in and out of falsetto: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7YTFXlTUjc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7YTFXlTUjc) > > If you know what his voice ordinarily sounds like, you can compare and contrast. I would take issue that there’s no ‘real expression’ behind it. I know what Van Morrison’s voice sounds like, and I can honestly say that that song would not be nearly as compelling as an a capella solo. Also, that fact that we understand the words helps. [Here’s sopranist Phillip Jaroussky singing a Vivaldi aria.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zQX2XqAE8c) Listen to the difference between that and falsetto. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/127 "2017-10-15T15:18:18Z")
Morrissey made a career singing one note. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/128 "2017-10-15T15:32:40Z")
> [@Paintcharge](#): > > Morrissey made a career singing one note. He’s distinctive, I’ll give you that. Not sure I’d call him a one-note singer at all (I find his vocals fairly melodic), but he does have a certain character to his voice that might give one that impression. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/129 "2017-10-15T17:00:45Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Back to “falsetto”: > > It occurred to me that all of today’s grotesquely autotuned voices could be labelled “fauxetto.” You may quote me. I just might in the future. Also “fraudsetto”. Sheesh - so many unusually-voiced vocalists in this thread, I wonder if there’s any usual ones left! The raspy vibrato of Phil Collins\*-y-lookin Family vocalist [Roger Chapman](https://youtu.be/rrlxdKKP2n0?t=65)didn’t really do a lot for me. \*also late-60’s Richard Harris-lookin’ ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/130 "2017-10-15T18:03:27Z")
Has Larry Hooper already been mentioned? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/jv0YYB5gLt8/hqdefault.jpg ""Grandfather's Clock" - Larry Hooper, 1956 Lawrence Welk Show") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jv0YYB5gLt8) ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/131 "2017-10-15T21:17:53Z")
Tymon Dogg ---
**Author:** ![Grumbacher\_Red](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@Grumbacher\_Red](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumbacher_Red)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/132 "2017-10-15T21:31:43Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Stevie Nicks Stevie Nicks was the first one that sprang to mind. How can she be so sublime on one track and so horrifically awful on another? Her current voice is pretty bad, imo. She’s lost a great deal of her range. A few others I didn’t see mentioned already: And Axl Rose in his heyday. Steve Tyler And that singer for The Cranberries as a cool nasally thing going on, but otherwise not alot more going for her. Blondie ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/133 "2017-10-15T23:02:47Z")
> [@Grumbacher\_Red](#): > > Blondie Unusual in what way? ---
**Author:** ![Grumbacher\_Red](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@Grumbacher\_Red](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumbacher_Red)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2017, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/134 "2017-10-15T23:27:42Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > Unusual in what way? I dunno. Just distinctive and immediately recognizable. Maybe she was a bad choice. From the Classic Rock Era, of course Robert Plant and I was thinking about Mick Jagger, although I think what makes his sound “unusual” is just his strange off-the-wall vocal stylings. From the Grunge era I would pick Layne Staley and Shannon Hoon. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/135 "2017-10-16T00:47:05Z")
Sorry if he’s already been mentioned: Ian Curtis from Joy Division. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/136 "2017-10-16T05:21:30Z")
[Blixa](https://youtu.be/TkASjf8Efss?t=50)[Bargeld](https://youtu.be/CnnGYaqjW-A?t=18) ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/137 "2017-10-16T12:04:10Z")
How could I forget Bossa Nova pioneer [Joao Gilberto](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6w3a2v_50U)? ---
**Author:** ![dba\_Fred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c37758/32.png) [@dba\_Fred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dba_Fred)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/138 "2017-10-16T15:05:52Z")
[Teresa Brewer - Music Music Music](https://youtu.be/HXYwP6PNYRA) Would Meat Loaf and Pat Benatar count as “unusual” or is it how they use their 5 octave (I’ve read) range? To me, Fred Turner of Bachman-Turner Overdrive had a growling style. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2017, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/139 "2017-10-17T12:16:32Z")
Two who I don’t think have been mentioned yet: [Jimmy Dale Gilmore](https://youtu.be/6rGsXVNGfHk) [Harriet Wheeler](https://youtu.be/FHsip5xOenQ) ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882/140 "2017-10-18T15:32:01Z")
[Jamey Johnson](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAplw9CIXuk). He’s a great songwriter too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-singer-with-an-unusual-voice/797882.md?page=8)