In a recent blog I wrote about my favourite song lyrics. In the same piece I railed against people describing the singer as ‘having a good voice’. I find this to be the most fatuous of comments. Much better would be ‘I think he/she is a good singer’. Even ‘I like his/her voice’, though not perfect, would be better. Describing someone as ‘having a good voice’ is actually an attempt at retaining credibility when trying to shield the fact that you like a potentially embarrassing song.
Hey, don’t worry about it. I think I have great musical taste but I am still proud to admit that I love Edelweiss and The lonely goat herd from the Sound of music, I love Pass the Dutchie by Musical Youth and Ride on time by Black Box.
I feel that the lyric blog leaves unfinished business so therefore I feel the need to share my favourite singers. I’ve been thinking about this for a few weeks now so it’s time I got off the pot and shared my taste in vocalists. I will try my best not to bow to political correctness and pick equal numbers of male/female or black/white vocalists. I’ll just write about my favourites. The artists below are listed in no particular order;
Tom Waits
As you will no doubt notice as you read this blog, many of my favourite singers possess voices that are politely described as ‘an acquired taste’. Tom Waits growls rather than sings at times. I’ve loved Tom’s voice since I first heard him. What does it for me is the pathos that he manages to endow his lyrics with when he sings. Checkout ‘Eggs and Sausage’ from the Nighthawks at the Diner album. Close your eyes and you’re sat on a barstool close to Tom finishing the night with a coffee and something greasy in the vain hope of heading off a hangover at the pass. Try ‘Tango ‘til they’re sore from Rain Dogs. Tom transports me to the late night bar where I sit watching the action with him and the other barflies. ‘Jersey girls’ is probably better known from the version by Bruce Springsteen. Good as Bruce’s version is, it pales into insignificance next to Tom’s original. The emotion oozes from the grooves when you play Tom Wait’s version of this great song. The video below is of ‘Downtown Train’ from the Rain Dogs album. The pathos and emotion that Tom wrings from the line ‘all my tears they fall like rain’ is truly breath-taking. Judge for yourself.
Mick Jagger
My late Father-n law Jack hated Mick Jagger with a passion. When pressed on why, he said that Mick was the first of the ‘shouters’. In Jack’s opinion, Mick Jagger signalled the end of the era of great singers and ushered in a generation of talentless oafs who could only shout (Jack’s heroes were Matt Munro and Mario Lanza). I beg to differ. Mick has one of the more distinctive voices in music. I love the fact that he can sing in a variety of different accents but still sound like Mick Jagger. He is equally comfortable as a London boy or a New York scenester. I imagine he effortlessly adopts an Australian twang when singing over there. Mick is also a great frontman. When you see the Stones it’s hard to take your eyes away from Mick, he lives every song. To appreciate what I mean you have to consider the fact that he shares a stage with one of the most iconic rock stars of all time in Keith Richards. Mick and the Stones are approaching their 60th anniversary and he still sounds fantastic.
Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin is a member of Rock music’s 27 club. A tragically short life, one marred by the difficult time that she suffered at school in Port Arthur, Texas. Janis said that she was ostracized and bullied in high school. As a teen, she became overweight and suffered from acne, leaving her with deep scars that required dermabrasion. Other kids at high school would routinely taunt her and call her names like “pig,” “freak,” or “creep.” She stated, “I was a misfit. I read, I painted, I thought. I didn’t hate Black people. When asked on the Dick Cavett show in 1970 if she had been popular in school, she admitted that when in high school, her schoolmates “laughed me out of class, out of town and out of the state” (during the year she had spent at the University of Texas at Austin, Joplin had been voted “Ugliest Man on Campus” by frat boys).
Janis left Texas in 1963 and headed for San Francisco. Over the next two years she tried to build a career as a singer but developed a drug habit and friends clubbed together to buy her a bus ticket back to Port Arthur. After a couple of years back home in Texas where she cleaned up, went to college in Beaumont and sang in bars in Austin. Janis was tempted back to San Francisco when she was offered the role as singer with Big Brother and the Holding Company.
Janis Joplin was a fantastic singer. She could sound, raunchy, vulnerable, tender……..whatever the song called for. She was a fantastic live performer who commanded the stage. We’ll never know what direction her career would have taken had she lived.
My favourite Janis performance is her version of Piece of my heart. When Janis sings ‘Didn’t I make you feel that you were they only man’ I want to shout yes, yes you did at the top of my voice. Her version of Summertime is breath-taking as is her version of Me and Bobby McGee.
Janis had her last drink in Barney’s Beanery in West Hollywood before returning to the Landmark Motor Hotel where she took a fatal overdose. RIP Janis, if only you knew how much you were loved.
Alex Harvey
Alex Harvey sang in a Glasgow accent. So did Dan McCafferty and Maggie Bell but Alex was first. The Proclaimers from Leith came later. They may have become famous through singing in a Scottish brogue but Alex was there first. He was a professional singer since the late 50’s but it was through his work fronting The Sensational Alex Harvey Band in the 70’s that I first became aware of him.
Next was my first SAHB album but I soon bought its predecessor Framed and successor The Impossible Dream. From then on I bought each new album as soon as it was released.
I loved (still do) Alex’s black and white hooped shirt and his Levi jeans as seen on the cover of Next. I’ve read that SAHB were one of, if not the, best live acts of the seventies. There are so many highlights for me. The Boston Tea party, Tomorrow belongs to me, Next and the sublime Give my compliments to the chef. The song I choose to highlight his genius is a cover.
Alex’s version of Delilah beats Tom Jones into the dirt. I love Tom’s version but Alex wins. Judge for yourselves:
Rhiannon Giddens
I first came across Rhiannon Giddens when I heard of a band called the Carolina Chocolate Drops. They won a 2012 Grammy for best Traditional Folk album. I bought said album ‘Genuine Negro Jig’ and loved it. Rhiannon subsequently went solo and Pat and I saw her at the Old Fruit market in Glasgow in 2016. At that show she told us that she had been reading books about slavery and, as an African American, how sickened she’d been about the stories she had read.
I was profoundly affected by the stories that Rhiannon told and was moved to read about slavery myself. To say I was appalled was an understatement. The way African people were treat by white people is sickening. If you ever feel even slightly aligned to right wing viewpoints on race you should be profoundly ashamed.
If you wonder why Black lives matter then listen to Rhiannon explain what led her to write the song ‘At the purchasers option’.
If you liked this performance then check out Songs of our Native Daughters. This is an Americana/folk album by four African American singer-songwriters collaborating as Our Native Daughters. The group includes Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah, Leyla McCalla, and Allison Russell. The album was released on the Smithsonian Folkways label in early 2019.
It’s also worth watching Rhiannon sing this old folk song
Bob Dylan
Bob’s voice is most definitely an acquired taste. Seldom, if ever, would you find him topping a Best vocalist poll. For me it’s the whole package; the distinctive voice, sublime phrasing and unsurpassable lyrics. As I type I am listening to Bob’s new album Rough and rowdy ways, his first album of original material in eight years. I’m delighted to report that it is fantastic. Bob sounds older (he turns 80 this year), croakier but the phrasing is still impeccable and the passion still burns brightly. I must admit to wavering before finally adding Bob. The reason for this is that I really don’t rate his live albums too much. After going back and listening to Hard Rain I realised that it’s not his voice that’s the problem on live albums, rather it’s what I consider sloppy versions of awesome songs. I love Bob singing Mr. Tambourine Man, Times they are a changin’, A hard rain’s gonna fall , Quinn the Eskimo, Like a rollin’ stone, Tangled up in Blue, Shelter from the storm, Lay Lady Lay, Carribean wind, Baby stop crying, Duquesne whistle…………………I could type for the next half hour without pausing. I also love Bob’s contribution to USA for Africa’s We are the world (The American Live Aid). I will put on Blood on the tracks tonight, drink a beer or two and submerge myself in the genius of Bob Dylan.
Robert Plant
I saw Led Zeppelin in 1979………………..I’ll start again. I SAW LED ZEPPELIN!!!. Since then I’ve seen Robert Plant solo and with the Band of Joy (sublime) I saw Page & Plant on the Un-ledded and Walking into Clarkesdale tours. I honestly believe there is no better front man. He strides the stage like a leonine Greek God. They say that Robert Plant is the centre of attention in any room he walks in………….unless Jimmy Page is there!
I love the way that he has adapted his music to the way his voice has changed with age. When you listen to the higher pitched strident voice that defines the early Led Zep albums and compare and contrast with his later work with the Band of Joy or the Sensational space shifters you can sense that he is comfortable in his own skin and relaxed about the inevitability of ageing. He doesn’t try to fight it, just goes with the flow.
The music Led Zeppelin made over the 12 years they were together is absolutely magnificent, flawless and Robert Plant made some unforgettable contributions. Highlights for me are Whole Lotta Love, The Lemon song, Since I’ve been lovin’ you, The Immigrant song, Gallows pole, Black Dog, Going to California, Stairway to Heaven, The song remains the same, Kashmir, the Houses of the Holy……………like with Dylan, I could type for ages. His solo career is equally impressive Big Log, Heaven knows, Tall cool one are superb and the covers of Satan your kingdom must come down and Monkey from the Band of Joy album are sublime.
The song I have picked is a cover of Tim Buckley’s Song to the Siren. A beautiful song that Robert makes his own. Tim may have wrote it but ‘Percy’ nailed it. Check it out……………please!
Bob Marley
I like Reggae music, always have. I love The Israelites by Desmond Dekker, Dat by Pluto Shervington, Bad Boys by Inner Circle, Girlie Girlie by Sophia George, hell; I’ll even be honest and confess to loving Uptown top ranking by Althia and Donna. Towering above all though is Bob Marley. Bob brought Reggae to the attention of the world. A proud Rastafarian, he unashamedly promoted the benefits of Ganja and was responsible for the acceptance and love of dreadlocks as a hairstyle!
I love the way that Bob is equally good at singing protest songs or love songs. I love Slave Driver from Catch a Fire, No Woman no cry or Waiting in Vain. Bob’s voice is so compelling, so relaxing, so convincing. It’s no wonder that he became recognised all over the world.
Bob Marley promoted racial harmony but called for recognition of the brutal way that black people have been treated through history. He believed that by recognising the sins of the past then the world could move forward under the banner of love and respect (and a fat spliff!).
If you don’t like or are uncomfortable with the political angle don’t worry, just check out one of the best and most recognisable voices in music. His love songs rival those of anyone.
RIP Bob. You succeeded in bringing many black and white people together through your music. Thanks to you, many people carry the torch for integration not segregation.
Maddy Prior
I’m proud to declare that I love English Folk music. It is surely the most derided of musical genres.
It teaches the history of Albion better than any text book. We should cherish and celebrate the magnificent musicians and singers that preserve the heritage of our country. I envy the Scottish and Irish attitude to their indigenous music where it is a source of pride rather than one of disdain.
England has produced some fantastic traditional singers. I could have picked June Tabor, Shirley Collins, Norma Waterson (or any other member of the Waterson dynasty), Martin Carthy, Richard or Linda Thompson, Rachel or Becky Unthank. I have chosen Maddy Prior, the singer with Steelye Span. She began her career in 1967 and joined Steelye Span in 1969. Maddy has also recorded solo albums and fronted her own Carnival band. There have been a couple of albums made with June Tabor under the banner of the Silly Sisters. Sadly many people only know Maddy because of All around my hat. A good song but not one of Steelye Spans finest. I have picked their version of ‘The Blackleg Miner’. This brutal, North Eastern tale showcases Maddy’s ability to use her softer tones to deliver such a powerful message. It’s also worth checking out the slap bass playing in the clip. Kajagoogoo my arse!!!!!
Dr John
Mac Rebennack was born in New Orleans 3rd ward in 1941. His father ran an appliance shop in the East End of New Orleans, fixing radios and televisions and selling records. Rebennack senior exposed his son to jazz musicians King Oliver and Louis Armstrong, who later inspired his 2014 release, Ske-Dat-De-Dat: The Spirit of Satch.
Rebennack was originally a guitarist who at age 13 came under the wing of New Orleans legend Professor Longhair. Rebennack’s career as a guitarist was stunted around 1960 when the ring finger on his left (guitar fretting) hand was injured by a gunshot during an incident at a Jacksonville, Florida gig. This incident forced Mac into learning Piano.
Rebennack became involved in illegal activities in New Orleans, using and selling narcotics and running a brothel. He was arrested on drug charges and sentenced to two years in the Federal Correctional Institution, Fort Worth. When his sentence ended in 1965, however, a campaign was underway to clean up New Orleans by closing its clubs, which meant that he and his fellow musicians found work hard to get, so he left for Los Angeles. As a young man Rebennack was interested in New Orleans voodoo, and in Los Angeles he developed the idea of the Dr. John persona for his old friend Ronnie Barron, based on the life of Dr. John, a Senegalese prince, conjure man, herb doctor and spiritual healer who came to New Orleans from Haiti. This free man of colour lived on Bayou Road and claimed to have 15 wives and over 50 children. He kept an assortment of snakes and lizards, along with embalmed scorpions and animal and human skulls, and sold gris-gris, voodoo amulets which supposedly protect the wearer from harm.
He never looked back recording a string of excellent albums adopting the persona of “Dr. John, The Night Tripper”. Dr. John’s act combined New Orleans-style rhythm and blues with psychedelic rock and elaborate stage shows that bordered on voodoo religious ceremonies, including elaborate costumes and headdress.
He was heavily involved in the Voodoo religion all of his life. It is well worth checking out his excellent autobiography ‘Under a Hoodoo Moon’
Dr. John loved the City of New Orleans, it’s people and music. He loved music that possessed ‘Da Fonk’ as he called it. He recorded many New Orleans standards over the years including a great version of Professor Longhair’s ‘Tipitina’. The video clip below features him playing another New Orleans classic ‘Iko Iko’ at Montreaux in 1995. If you can, check out his duet with Rickie Lee Jones on ‘Makin’ Whoopee’. I also cherish his contribution to the version of Lou Reed’s ‘Perfect Day’ recorded for Children in Need in 1997. The way he sings ‘Such a poifect day’ in his New Orleans drawl sends shivers down my spine.
Another acquired taste as a singer but one who is richly rewarding to those seekers who wish to understand the magic and mystery of New Orleans, the adult Disneyland!
Mac died in 2019, RIP Doctor John may you forever be the Night Tripper.
I’ll stop at 10. I’m conscious that I have missed off Frank Sinatra. His versions of Moon River and Mack the Knife are two of my favourite tunes. I could have easily included Phil Lynott. I am embarrassed that Mary Gauthier never made the list as her soft Louisiana drawl perfectly compliments Dr John’s New Awlins growl. No place for Willie Nelson and Gillian Welch, two more of my favourites. I considered Rod Stewart at length. His work with the Faces and early solo stuff is faultless. In the end I will never forgive him for murdering Tom Waits’ Downtown Train and Tom Traubert’s blues. I wanted to include Snoop Doggy Dogg as I love his laid back rapping.
If I compiled this list next week I’ve no doubt it would change slightly depending on what I’ve been listening to.
Compile your own list. Hopefully you will not include anyone who ‘has a good voice’. Save them for your ‘Top 10 crap songs I like’ list!!!
I went into work for the first time in 3 months on Friday. No-one asked how I was, just riffed about my barnet!!
I have feelings folks!!!