Lisa Germano
Sandy Denny
…and I have to agree with the gents who have already listed Kate Bush.
I’ve got a real weak spot for Lene Lovich, too…
Brianna Corrigan of The Beautiful South. She’s no longer with the band, unfortunately.
Ohmygod. I saw this thread title and jumped in to say Caetano Veloso! His recordings made me think that Portugese was the sexiest language on earth. Then I heard him sing in English, I realized Portugese had nothin to do with it.
Bjork
Emiliana Torrini
[if I head those two live I would probably faint!]
Schascle
And to a lesser extent:
Ian McCulloch
Richard Butler
Bryan Ferry
Michael Hutchence, RIP
Norah Jones, without a doubt. Holy monkey Christmas, has she got a sexy voice.
For the guys:
Eddie Nichols (lead singer of the Royal Crown Revue), when he’s not goofing it up. His covers of “Beyond the Sea” and “Stormy Weather,” in particular, can have me doing unspeakable things to anyone unfortunate enough to be in the room with me.
Scotty Morris (lead singer of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy), not so much, but he still has his moments.
Dan Tyminski (from Alison Krauss & Union Station, and singer of “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow”)
And let me add, though they’re all a distant second to Caetano:
**
Jeff Buckley
Bryan Ferry
Dwight Yoakam
Lyle Lovett
Bobby Darrin**
Marilynn McCoo, from the 5th Dimension.
Craig Wedren (of Shudder to Think)
Cami Elen (of Darling Violetta)
Jim Morrison
Peter Steele
Liz Phair
And I highly second Robert Plant, Tori Amos, and Neko Case.
One more: Ed Kowalczyk
Karen Carpenter has (had) a beautiful haunting voice that I have loved ever since I was a little kid.
Beth Gibbons, no question. I’m not sure what I thought she would look like before I saw her, but it certainly wasn’t a skinny chain-smoking strawberry blonde that looks exactly like my college girlfriend. FYI, if any of you Portishead fans don’t have the Roseland, New York DVD, you need to get it.
Also a vote for Skye Edwards of Morcheeba.
Oh, I can’t believe I forgot her. Especially on “Sao Paulo.”
Mercy.
It’s nice to see another fan of the late-'90s swing bands! I really loved that scene, even though it came and went in too short a time. It isn’t often a musical fad comes that combines flash and style and glamour WITH amazing musical talent and showmanship and a respect for the past. As my user name suggests, I’m a huge fan–I DJed swing dances regularly during those few years, and also played sax in my fair share of suit-wearing big bands. I’m glad to hear someone else acknowledge Nichols, who has a voice that can go up against the greatest crooners of the past when he’s not doing his “Brooklyn yeg” cartoony voice. I’d have to rank Brian Setzer up there with those guys as well, though. They don’t make me “weak in the knees,” but they’re all terrific just the same.
Indeed, although I never really got into Brian Setzer; his stuff has always just always struck me as too slick and phony, somehow. I got into the whole thing after seeing Swingers, just like everybody else, but it didn’t really “stick” with me. I still say that RCR’s version of “Beyond the Sea” is even better than Bobby Darrin’s (blasphemy!). And the original cover of “Stormy Weather” they did on their Kings of Ganster Bop album is really impressive, although he over-does it a little bit.
(And for the “weak in the knees” bit, yeah, I have to confess. If they had managed to somehow get Eddie Nichols’s voice into Scotty Morris’s body, I would’ve had to quit my job and start stalking the band. I like BBVD’s arrangements better, but the only bit the vocals really get me is in “You and Me and a Baby Makes Three” when the chorus goes “Hey Scotty!” “Yeah?”)
If you haven’t heard of them already, and you can find any of their recordings, you should check out Donkey, a swing/pop band from Athens, GA. They never really hit it big outside of Atlanta, but I’d say that their lead singer T.B. Ferster has a voice that’s even better than Nichols’s. Their most popular song was “Two on the Moon,” but the song “Blowout” (on the same album) is my favorite one by them.
Another Tori Amos girl checkin’ in.
Also: any of the women who sing with Zero Seven (there are three, I think), Dar Williams and Beyonce.
Thank you, I’ll look for them. Ever hear the Mighty Blue Kings? They’re a great Chicago jump blues and swing band. You’d probably like them a lot.
Sade.
<schwing!>
When I read the title of this thread, one name came to mind immediately:
Nat King Cole.
Chryssie Hynde (The Pretenders)
Anita Baker
Chaka Khan
Sade
Shakira
Gigi
Fiona Apple
Natalie Merchant
Alicia Keys
Joss Stone (!)
There are quite a few! I’ll just put in a few that strike me.
Patsy Cline edges out k. d. lang for country, and Mother Maybelle Carter beats anybody I’ve heard for bluegrass.
Then in jazz and blues it’s too hard to pick: Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and probably a dozen more.
For rock-oriented singers, Janis Joplin is great on many songs, but far better, as far as voice goes, is Grace Slick of the Jefferson Airplane.