**Fugazi’s **Guy Picciotto never fails to evoke some response from me. The Crane’s lead singer, Alison Shaw is just delicious… whenever I listen to them all I can think of is falling asleep on her lap while she sings to me. I think that would be my personal heaven… I just love her voice. Gosh, even thinking about it, LOL. (puts Cranes CD in player)
Emmylou Harris, particularly when she’s doing backup vocals for Steve Earle or Gram Parsons.
Lee Hazelwood on any of his 60’s or 70’s records, and on his duets with Nancy Sinatra.
Blixa Bargeld when he’s getting tender, such as on Zebulon or Where the Wild Roses Grow.
And Alan Vege of Suicide always scares the hell out of me on anything recorded in the 1970’s.
Sarah McLachlan, especially on Adia
Thom Yorke. That man puts so much pain into his singing, it’s impossible not to be touched.
Tori Amos - ditto. Northern Lad, Silent All These Years… very emotional lyrics, and she pulls them off perfectly.
The only two artists that can make me spontaniously burst into tears.
Tori’s work on Boys for Pele touches me. You can hear in the background her doing vocals on some songs and its just eerie. She sounds like a lost soul wailing in such a beautiful way.
Agreed…there’s something about her voice, not technically classic, but emotionally moving. Just enough of a raw edge to give it some soulful texture. Her “It’s Too Late” will forever be the definitive version.
Allison Krauss
Dolly Parton
Cilette Swann, Gypsy Soul…this woman has literally brought me to tears.
Tracy Chapman
Yeah, Dolly Parton, Elvis, Roy Orbison, Bruce, Willie.
Also Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Patsy Cline (on Faded Love esp.), k d lang’s torch songs, Chris Isaac and Aaron Neville.
Nobody’s mentioned Frank Sinatra? Well, I won’t either. He was a master at phrasing, but his voice never did much for me.
Yeah, Chris Isaac. I saw him live many years ago at the Berkeley Square. In Berkeley, CA. Sort of reminded me of Orbison, in a way.
KD Lang can sing just about anything. And I love her.
And Stevie Nicks, but only sometimes. Not very versatile. But she is awfully cute. 
Meatloaf?
Peace,
mangeorge
In random order…
Thom Yorke
Bjork
Lara Fabian (actually, it’s only one song from her but…)
Enya
Maynard James Keenan (of Tool)
**Fiona Apple
Sarah Vaughn
Elizabeth Frazer ** (of Cocteau Twins and sometimes Massive Attack)
**Kelli Dayton ** (of Sneaker Pimps)
Michael Stipe (of REM)
Bono
Sarah McLachlan
Tori Amos
For uniqueness and emotional depth…
Seal
Bruce Springsteen
Paul McCartney
Willie Nelson
Barbera Streisand
Ella Fitzgerald
Robert Plant
James Taylor
Tori Amos-love her completely
Bjork-the sheer quality of her voice…just beautiful
Annie Lennox-her live version of *Why[/]gives me pleasurable shivers
Peter Gabriel-Rhythm of the Heat takes me somewhere else.
Deborah Harryfrom Blondie…so sexy.
Michael Stipe
Adam Duritz (counting crows)
Tracy Chapman
Alicia Keys
Elvis
Emmylou Harris
Aaron Neville
Freddie Mercury
Both Ian MacKaye and Guy Piccioto of Fugazi tend to hit me pretty well (check out their new record–it’s incredible). I’ve also always liked Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters. Eve Libertine from Crass has one of the angriest and most slippery voices I’ve ever heard–check out the song Bata Motel from their third record to hear what I’m talking about.
I can’t believe over thirty posts and nobody has mentioned Johnnie Mathis or Sam Cooke!
Also add me to the list for:
Elvis
Emmylou Harris
Hi Opal
Ozzy Osbourne.
I definitely agree. If you’ve never heard Patsy Cline sing Faded Love, do it. She put so much emotion and depth into that song. At the end you can tell she’s actually crying.(and not that phony crying a lot of singers do. I’ve heard she actually was crying at the recording session. This was genuine emotion.)
I can’t believe nobody’s mentioned George Jones yet. George Jones sings a heartbreak song like nobody else can. Listen to “A Picture of Me (Without You)”, “He Stopped Loving Her Today”, and “A Good Year For The Roses” and tell me you didn’t feel sorry for the guy in the songs. Listen to the duet with Tammy Wynette on the song “Golden Ring”, about a marriage that starts out wonderful and ends bitterly with a huge fight and her throwing down the ring, then the guy takes it back to the pawn shop where another young couple buys it. They both were at the same stage in their marriage at the time as the people in the song, and that added to the depth of the performance. If you hear nothing else by George Jones, listen to these four songs. You won’t be sorry you did.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Frank O. Pinion *
**
{slaps forehead!}
Oh yes…George definitely does it. And for all the reasons you mentioned.
Hell, Mr.Silky and I used to go parking to his songs and Waylon’s.
Definitely touches me…