The best singing performance ever
I found this performance magical. She sings without a net. It touched my heart.
The 3 minute performance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPm9x8i5c_Y
The 3 minute performance with introduction to her story and panel interview afterwards (8 minutes total).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IChJ6eO3k48
As for best performance ever, Bruno Mars at the Superbowl halftime show last year is up there for me:
Pick it up at 2:35 if you want to skip the intro and drum solo. If you haven't seen it yet, watch the whole thing for the spectacle.
Quote: petroglyphGirls got pipes
I know he's not everybody's cup of tea, but the singer that had the best pipes, EVER, was Tom Jones. Confident, strong, effortless.
Quote: GreasyjohnI know he's not everybody's cup of tea, but the singer that had the best pipes, EVER, was Tom Jones. Confident, strong, effortless.
We went to a TJ concert, he is a very good performer and personable with the audience.
And "the best ever" is to tough to call for me. I think I like Etta James, and maybe the #1[not Etta] might be:https://youtu.be/3JWTaaS7LdU
Quote: AyecarumbaSorry, I usually enjoy torch singers, but I wasn't moved by her performance. I got the feeling she was a polished professional trying to appear like an average joe. It put me off.
I think that even if she was a polished professional, there's no way a singer could deliver that kind of performance on queue. It just isn't possible. For me, signing from the heart is unmistakable. It's the real deal.
It's funny how different people have different tastes. I saw about half of the Bruno Mars number. The song was typical bland music that could be written in three minutes and sounds like every other teenybopper song out there. No musical talent, no intricate or impressive solos, just repetition. Lots of glitz, lighting, swagger, mediocre singing, flashy outfits. Bla bla bla. It's just a bag of sugar. No soul. Sorry for being blunt, that's Just how I feel.
Quote: GreasyjohnI know he's not everybody's cup of tea, but the singer that had the best pipes, EVER, was Tom Jones. Confident, strong, effortless.
I saw Tom Jones in concert in 1975. I never
got over the shock of short he is. 5' 5" at
the most. He wears extreme lifts in boots
that have 4" heels that make him look 5"
taller. Great singer.
Quote: EvenBobI saw Tom Jones in concert in 1975. I never
got over the shock of short he is. 5' 5" at
the most. He wears extreme lifts in boots
that have 4" heels that make him look 5"
taller. Great singer.
I though that so odd that I googled his height and it says 5' 10." You could be right but 5' 5" is two inches shorter than Alan Ladd.
In reading up on Jones he admitted to having many affairs outside his marriage. I think is does not speak well of people who brag about their conquests and sexual prowess.
Quote: GreasyjohnI though that so odd that I googled his height and it says 5' 10." You could be right but 5' 5" is two inches shorter than Alan Ladd.
In reading up on Jones he admitted to having many affairs outside his marriage. I think is does not speak well of people that brag about their conquests and sexual prowess.
5' 10" is when the sock falls down his pants leg and he is standing on it.
Quote: AyecarumbaAs for best performance ever, Bruno Mars at the Superbowl halftime show last year is up there for me.
I finally caught on to Bruno Mars' talent in 2011-- he's a gifted musician.
Nevertheless, my favorite vocal performance of all time is James Brown's Live at the Appollo 1962. I have several JB albums, but that particular performance from October 24, 1962 is in a class of its own. Germany gave us Beethoven, Austria gave us Mozart, Britain gave us Handel, France gave us Chopin, Russia gave us Tchaikovsky, and best of all, America gave us James Brown's Live at the Appollo.
Quote: renoI finally caught on to Bruno Mars' talent in 2011-- he's a gifted musician.
Nevertheless, my favorite vocal performance of all time is James Brown's Live at the Appollo 1962. I have several JB albums, but that particular performance from October 24, 1962 is in a class of its own. Germany gave us Beethoven, Austria gave us Mozart, Britain gave us Handel, France gave us Chopin, Russia gave us Tchaikovsky, and best of all, America gave us James Brown's Live at the Appollo.
Great album. Please. Please. Please.
Among women, my favorite current country singer is Elizabeth Cook. Favorite current pop singer is Imelda May. Both have chops out the wazoo. Look 'em up if you're so inclined.
And props to someone I know you've never heard of, Shara Worden, singing karaoke Whitney Houston in a bar in Brazil:
Quote: MoscaI have trouble calling anyone the greatest, because there are so many greats. IMO talent is amazingly common; what is uncommon is the drive to be known as great. If you haven't seen it yet, track down the music documentary 20 Feet from Stardom. Some people are satisfied just being great, others need to be acknowledged as great.
Among women, my favorite current country singer is Elizabeth Cook. Favorite current pop singer is Imelda May. Both have chops out the wazoo. Look 'em up if you're so inclined.
And props to someone I know you've never heard of, Shara Worden, singing karaoke Whitney Houston in a bar in Brazil:
Shara could be great. She has a lot of nervous energy that needs to be channeled. But she's so good she could just sit in front of a mic and let her voice do all the performing. No embellishing, or doing singing gymnastics, not joking around, but singing from the heart. A great voice without feeling is just empty notes. When people sing, you can tell if they're struggling or confident. When singers captivate you, you're not wondering if they'll reach their high notes because you aren't thinking about that, you're caught up in the thrill of riding their wave. Emotion is what makes great singing. You can't fake that. Not with me you can't.
But, to be fair, there are singers like David Lee Roth and Pink that sing with bravado. Different strokes for different folks.
Quote: Dicenor33Comparing someone to Mozart is a bit of a stretch.
Why are dead Europeans automatically considered to be the standard. First of all this ignores music from other cultures. Some of these cultures were making music long before Europe/Mediterranean cultures. Secondly you are comparing apples to oranges. The mark of great art is always does it speak to you, uplift you and move you at a visceral level. Can classical music do this, certainly, but so can many forms of music. What gets me is the better than thou attitude of so many listeners of classical music. Many of them use terms like the quote in the post below "thinking musicians" to indicate that maybe you aren't smart enough to get it.
Quote: kenarmanWhy are dead Europeans automatically considered to be the standard. First of all this ignores music from other cultures. Some of these cultures were making music long before Europe/Mediterranean cultures. Secondly you are comparing apples to oranges. The mark of great art is always does it speak to you, uplift you and move you at a visceral level. Can classical music do this, certainly, but so can many forms of music. What gets me is the better than thou attitude of so many listeners of classical music. Many of them use terms like the quote in the post below "thinking musicians" to indicate that maybe you aren't smart enough to get it.
I understand what you're saying, and my comments don't take away from your message that, "The mark of great art is always does it speak to you, uplift you and move you at a visceral level." But there is a greater range of passion, a melancholy, an engaging with our intellect, a higher sense of calling in Chopin than can ever be achieved by beating on a drum.
Certainly there are classical music snobs, art snobs, wine snobs, world traveler snobs, book snobs, fashion snobs, please refer to me as Dr., because I have my Ph.D snobs.
The song title Rodrigo, Rita and Elaine: https://youtu.be/5pRnoGoP6w4
I give extra points for the "gravel in their voice"
My favorite male singers: 1) Josh Groban, 2) Roger Whittaker, 3) Freddie Mercury.
Quote: Greasyjohn
Shara could be great. She has a lot of nervous energy that needs to be channeled. But she's so good she could just sit in front of a mic and let her voice do all the performing. No embellishing, or doing singing gymnastics, not joking around, but singing from the heart. A great voice without feeling is just empty notes. When people sing, you can tell if they're struggling or confident. When singers captivate you, you're not wondering if they'll reach their high notes because you aren't thinking about that, you're caught up in the thrill of riding their wave. Emotion is what makes great singing. You can't fake that. Not with me you can't.
But, to be fair, there are singers like David Lee Roth that sing with bravado. Different strokes for different folks.
In certain circles, Shara Worden is very well known. She has her own indie band, My Brightest Diamond. But she is so freakin' quirky, and she has a very specific idea of what she wants to sound like, and its not for everyone.
Quote: DeucekiesMy favorite female singers: 1) Karen Carpenter, 2) Judith Durham, 3) Dusty Springfield.
My favorite male singers: 1) Josh Groban, 2) Roger Whittaker, 3) Freddie Mercury.
It's nice to see someone acknowledge Karen Carpenter. She was a very gifted singer. In the song We' e Only Just Begun, the first sentence of the lyrics, "We' e only just begun to live" was all done in one breath. She also was voted Best Rock Drummer Of The Year in 1975 by the readers of Playboy Magazine.
(In my post My Blackjack Musings... My girlfriend and blackjack team player, Lois, got me into Karaoke in 1998. She sang Karen Carperter.)
Quote: GreasyjohnIt's nice to see someone acknowledge Karen Carpenter. She was a very gifted singer. In the song For All We know, the first sentence of the lyrics, "Love, look at the two of us, strangers in many ways." was all done in one breath. She also was voted best Drummer of the year in the mid-70s by I believe Rolling Stone Magazine.
There were many examples of impossible breath phrases from her. One of my favorite examples is a song called "One More Time". "...of folks and friends who lie back home, where things are slow and easy going..."
Quote: MoscaIn certain circles, Shara Worden is very well known. She has her own indie band, My Brightest Diamond. But she is so freakin' quirky, and she has a very specific idea of what she wants to sound like, and its not for everyone.
It's nice to see singers sing without affectations.
Quote: GreasyjohnIt's nice to see singers sing without affectations.
Then you will probably like how she usually sounds. A lullaby she wrote for her daughter.
Quote: GreasyjohnI corrected my post after you quoted me.
Sorry about that. I wasn't trying to correct you. Only expand on what you were saying. We could probably chat for quite some time on the subject. Sounds like we both are fans of her.
Just a link as it won't embed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4M7gKZqgHn4
Bobby Hatfield
I think just a handful of male vocalists are arguably as expressive and talented.
Tom Jones, Johnny Mathis, Sam Cooke, among a few others. The great ones
sing from the heart, and understand the frame-of-mind of the song/lyrics.
Quote: DeucekiesSorry about that. I wasn't trying to correct you. Only expand on what you were saying. We could probably chat for quite some time on the subject. Sounds like we both are fans of her.
You have nothing to be sorry about. You just quoted me, and then I corrected my post. It's all logical. (I just had to use the word logical. No one uses the word anymore, and the reason is is that Spock made the word sound so mechanical. So we have him to thank for taking such a powerful word and Vulcanizing it. This parenthetical remark has nothing to do with this post whatsoever.)
I read a biography on Karen, Little Girl Blue. A very good book. Karen was a lovely singer. So was Doris Day and Andy Williams. Frank Sinatra had a great voice, strong, masculine, incredible control. He was perfect. When I sang Karaoke I'd try to find his "Don't Worry About Me" but no KJ had it-30,000 song libraries and "No, don't have it." Mel Torme singing " 'around Midnight." What a hauntingly beautiful song. Antonio Carlos Jobim with Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars, Jobim's "Once I Loved" and "Ginji" are mesmerizing. Nobody sang Stormy Weather like Lena Horne. She had a wonderful stage presence. Alicia Keys reminds me of her. Alicia's "Fallin" is a great video. Louis Prima and Keely Smith in That Old Black Magic.
Singing is such a wonderful gift.
