# Which female singer has the most 'mannish' voice? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 31, 2011, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-female-singer-has-the-most-mannish-voice/576608 "2011-03-31T06:31:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-female-singer-has-the-most-mannish-voice/576608/21 "2011-03-31T14:57:31Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Can’t link to youtube at the moment, but off the top of my head: [Nina Simone](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nina_Simone), [Marla Glen](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marla_Glen) and [Allison Moyet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allison_Moyet). Thanks. I was thinking of Nina Simone but couldn’t remember her name. I remember when she died a year or two ago our local NPR station had one of their music shows dedicated to a look back at her music, and my wife kept asking me “Are you sure that’s a woman?” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-female-singer-has-the-most-mannish-voice/576608/22 "2011-03-31T15:02:06Z")
[Angela Gossow](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZM-d2qD15E) should qualify, as one of the few female extreme metal singers. ---
**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:** [March 31, 2011, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-female-singer-has-the-most-mannish-voice/576608/23 "2011-03-31T15:32:44Z")
Put me in for Tracy Chapman, too. I still mistake her voice for man’s from time to time, even though I know it’s her singing. ---
**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:** [March 31, 2011, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-female-singer-has-the-most-mannish-voice/576608/24 "2011-03-31T15:50:15Z")
If we can go Brazilian, the mighty Maria Bethânia. ---
**Author:** ![Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ed655f/32.png) [@Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crown_Prince_of_Irony)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-female-singer-has-the-most-mannish-voice/576608/25 "2011-03-31T16:21:01Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > [Angela Gossow](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZM-d2qD15E) should qualify, as one of the few female extreme metal singers. Oddly enough, the first time I heard her band, Arch Enemy, on the XM metal station, I thought to myself, “damn, if that doesn’t sound like a female Cookie Monster.” When I got home I Googled the band and found out I was right. There’s just a certain quality to her singing that rounds the edges off the typical death metal “grunt”, and makes it a bit more pleasing to the ear (or less displeasing depending on your view). ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-female-singer-has-the-most-mannish-voice/576608/26 "2011-03-31T16:21:30Z")
I’m actually switching my answer Allison Moyett. Chapman sounds just as much like a male, but Moyett actually sounds like a guy with a lower voice singing higher. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-female-singer-has-the-most-mannish-voice/576608/27 "2011-03-31T16:25:33Z")
Allison Moyett, for me. I recall the old joke that Kim Carnes and Rod Stewart were actually the same person 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-female-singer-has-the-most-mannish-voice/576608/28 "2011-03-31T17:13:16Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Same with the Indigo Girls, Melissa Etheridge, KD Lang (KD LANG?), etc. Is the reputation of these singers as being a little butch influencing your opinion of their voices? Because I don’t think any of them sound masculine the way Tracy Chapman does. Tracy Chapman, if you only ever listened to her music, is REALLY hard to make a call on. The others, not so much…Lang, especially. She’s a deep alto with incredible depth and strength but the timbre and tone of her voice aren’t masculine at all. I think the poster you were referring to was simply listing all the lesbian singers (s)he could think of. Joan Armatrading can sing pretty low but I don’t think of her voice as particularly masculine. [Yma Sumac](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yma_Sumac) could sing a true baritone. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-female-singer-has-the-most-mannish-voice/576608/29 "2011-03-31T17:28:27Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > [Yma Sumac](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yma_Sumac) could sing a true baritone. Yma Sumac could sing \*anything \*- she was _Yma Sumac_ ;). I tend to go with Alf (Alison Moyet) - she not only gets low, but she can put an edge on her voice like she means it. When she growls “Didn’t I Bring your love down?” the only response is “yes, ma’am” 😉 Both Tracy Chapman and Natalie Merchant drive me crazy: both have great-sounding voices, but never sing outside maybe a 5-note range (I am exaggerating, but not by much) and never. push. their. voices. They sing basically flat emotionally - for Chapman’s first hit, _Fast Car_, it worked because the lyrics have a resigned stillness to them that really suits her approach. But Natalie Merchant’s cover of Patti Smith’s _Because the Night_? Please - one wants a knock-down, drag-out round of The Nasty, and one is looking for some Kenny G and white zinfandel… I find Natalie Merchant “pleasant” and yes, I mean that as an insult. But my personal pet peeves aside (she’s bland, I tell you - bland!!) I go with Alison for both her timbre and delivery… I would never really have picked Etheridge or Indigo Girls - lesbian != mannish-sounding to me, necessarily… ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-female-singer-has-the-most-mannish-voice/576608/30 "2011-03-31T18:13:27Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > I would never really have picked Etheridge or Indigo Girls - lesbian != mannish-sounding to me, necessarily… I don’t think Etheridge sounds like a man because she’s a lesbian. I think she sounds like a man because she has kind of a deep, raspy voice. I mean, KD Lang is a lesbian (right?) and I don’t think she sounds like a man. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-female-singer-has-the-most-mannish-voice/576608/31 "2011-03-31T18:20:34Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > But Natalie Merchant’s cover of Patti Smith’s _Because the Night_? Ahem. The Boss’s. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-female-singer-has-the-most-mannish-voice/576608/32 "2011-03-31T18:32:39Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Ahem. The Boss’s. It was co-written, and she released it first… ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-female-singer-has-the-most-mannish-voice/576608/33 "2011-03-31T18:36:08Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Ahem. The Boss’s. Patti delivered the heat I was referring to in my earlier post; that was all that mattered. Yes, I know the history of the song… ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-female-singer-has-the-most-mannish-voice/576608/34 "2011-03-31T19:09:58Z")
I remember being stunned after hearing [this song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtdNcJss8GU) that this PJ Harvey person was a woman. She sounds a lot more feminine in every other song I’ve heard by her since. And after listening to [this cover](http://beemp3.com/download.php?file=4810573&song=Coventry+Carol) of Coventry Carol that Christine McVie was one of the _women_ in Fleetwood Mac. ---
**Author:** ![Judith\_Prietht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b19c9b/32.png) [@Judith\_Prietht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Judith_Prietht)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-female-singer-has-the-most-mannish-voice/576608/35 "2011-03-31T19:26:32Z")
I can’t link to a clip at the moment, but how about Q Lazzarus, singer of “Goodbye Horses,” better known as that song from **The Silence of the Lambs**? I was really surprised when I found out a woman was singing that song, instead of a man with a higher voice. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-female-singer-has-the-most-mannish-voice/576608/36 "2011-03-31T19:36:55Z")
Marlene Dietrich ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-female-singer-has-the-most-mannish-voice/576608/37 "2011-03-31T19:40:25Z")
“Sweet dreams are made of this / Who am I to disagree…” ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-female-singer-has-the-most-mannish-voice/576608/38 "2011-03-31T19:48:59Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > [Angela Gossow](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZM-d2qD15E) should qualify, as one of the few female extreme metal singers. WTF. I am living a sheltered life. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-female-singer-has-the-most-mannish-voice/576608/39 "2011-03-31T20:15:42Z")
For sheer depth of voice, I’d go with Cassandra Wilson, but she doesn’t sound masculine all the time. When I was a teenage boy, I thought my voice sounded a bit like Tracy Chapman. I haven’t maintained my voice well, so it’s probably lower & rougher now. But yeah, Tracy Chapman was a good call. And of course I originally thought Melissa Etheridge was a guy–or rather that one of her songs was sung by a guy–lots of rock tenors that sound like her. ---
**Author:** ![President\_Johnny\_Gentle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@President\_Johnny\_Gentle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/President_Johnny_Gentle)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2011, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-female-singer-has-the-most-mannish-voice/576608/40 "2011-03-31T20:15:52Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > And after listening to [this cover](http://beemp3.com/download.php?file=4810573&song=Coventry+Carol) of Coventry Carol that Christine McVie was one of the _women_ in Fleetwood Mac. Funny, I remember being surprised to hear that “Go Your Own Way” wasn’t sung by McVie, but that wasn’t because of thinking that McVie sounded like a man. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-female-singer-has-the-most-mannish-voice/576608.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-female-singer-has-the-most-mannish-voice/576608.md?page=3)