Robin Gibb (Bee Gees) had a voice that “got to me” despite that it was never used to support song lyrics of any depth or real meaning. Anybody out there know what I am talking about?
The BeeGees were great. They weren’t more vapid than lots of artists as I recall. Robin wrote and sang “I Started a Joke”
Alison Krauss. Her voice is clear as crystal and sweet as honey. I can never get enough.
A tie: Karen Carpenter/Marilyn McCoo (Fifth Dimension)
When KC hits those low notes, my teeth rattle (in a good way).
MM has incredible diction, she can really belt one out, but can also be very expressive (like this).
Yes to both.
Jo Stafford, too.
Matt Berninger of The National.
A bit of a weird example, but the first song that comes to mind is Plush by Stone Temple Pilots.
I have no clue what Scott Weiland was singing about, but damn, it sounded very thoughtful and cool.
A scintillating snippet of lyric:
But man, when I was young and buzzed and that song came on, I sang along like I was sayin’ something, man!!
Note: a quick Google before I posted this suggests that the lyrics were inspired by SW’s reading of an article about the police finding a body, but he was using that to talk about a failed relationship. Okay, then - but they read like he thought he was saying something cool vs. having any meaning, IMHO.
nm
IMHO the 90s R&B group TLC were better than their songwriting material. They sang really nicely on some forgettable lyrics.
Olivia Newton John.
Something inside me is screaming Tammy Wynette – do I dare?
Faye Wong, and Maya Kristalinskaya, and Paula Fernandes, and Lata Mangeshkar, and Melanie Oesch and Aster Aweke.
Cissy Houston (Whitney’s mother). On Aretha’s version of Ain’t No Way, she unleashes that ethereal voice at about 1:05 for a 15 second demonstration of pure power and sweetness.
The singer of the band Shinedown has an amazing voice too (don’t know his name).
Jimmy Cliff comes to mind. He has a sweet, pleasing voice, but unlike some artists, I don’t listen to his songs for the lyrics.
I first noticed Audra McDonald when she was a supporting player in the Broadway revival of Carousel. If you don’t shiver at her rendition of Summertime, I don’t want to know you.
Willie Nelson. Not on everything, but definitely on the reflective songs. He’s easy to dismiss and parody, but the man can bring it and has an utterly unique voice.
I’m convinced that the Sirens in Homer’s Odyssey must have sounded like the girls in ABBA.
Tom Waits.
…what…?
I’d say the other way around. TW can be very hard to listen to but the lyrics are dictation from the Devil (who’s really just God when he’s drunk).
For male voices, I’d start with Jerry Butler, Lionel Richie, and those two guys who did solo parts with The Sylistics.
Does Cyndi Lauper fit in here? I’ve heard her sing the old standard ‘At Last’ in a minimal version, almost a capella, and that loooooong note at the end (‘and you are miiiiiiiiiiine’) is just thrilling.