1. Elvis - there's no way he doesn't belong on this list. Some of us wouldn't even be here if not for this guy. I don't care if you don't like Elvis or think it's a boring pick.
2. Morgan Freeman was a top-ten pick for me also. I'd do a write up but come on you already know
3. Johnny Cash or Luciano Pavarotti - pick one, but they both belong here. I'm not a huge fan of their genres but I can't look past how perfect their voices were for them
4. Stevie Wonder - 15 years ago he'd have been a super-lock, but without too much going on recently I think he's too easily overlooked. He's a better R&B singer than many on this list, and a better pop singer than many on this list
5. Don LeFontaine - the order at this point is whatever, but I guess this is my goofy fun pick. This is the movie trailer voice guy
6. Bob Dylan - I'm playing with the meaning of "voice" here a bit, but he definitely was the voice of his generation where one was really needed. When I was a kid he was just some hippie my parents liked, but over time I've come to see that period as an immense cultural shift in the United States that he was a big, big part of. And we're still feeling it now. You could plug in people like Hitler the same way, but Dylan doesn't suck
7. David Bowie - I have to put a favorite singer on here somewhere. Forget his 700 style shifts and the songwriting skills, his voice alone was very cool and unique. He just seemed to have the knack for singing the right thing at the right time.
8. Vincent Price - he's the voice of horror, for me, and always will be.
Honorable mention:
Mike Patton for versatility and weirdness
Brandon Flowers for his pure underratedness
Jimmy Stewart or Sam Elliott for some classic Americana
Barry White for all the pussy
Samuel L. Jackson for being better at swearing than anybody
Pink for the perfect bar-club rock chick voice
Elvis was one of those picks where he would go in the first round or not at all. I like Elvis and his music but I like everyone I picked more. He would have been a great "value" pick but was not someone I wanted to pick.
Dylan's a good choice. I thought of posting some of his early stuff, but he could never work his way up my list before the draft ended. I'm also a fan of his harmonica playing, which is not universally admired.
TOM JONES
BON SCOTT
ALLISON KRAUSS
SADE
BETH GIBBONS
PAUL BUCHANAN
HANNA REID
EMMYLOU HARRIS
TIFT MERRITT
JOE JACKSON
CHRISSIE HYNDE
NEKO CASE
KELLY WILLIS
ROGER DALTRY
I believe this is from his first solo album, which was somewhat polarizing when it came out, but seems to hold up.
(I like a lot of Dom's picks. Note how he makes up for the extra 'l' in Alison by leave the 'e' out of Daltrey. This'll teach the crawlers to stay out of here!)
London Grammar is a British trio that is all over the English charts these days. Haven't really made a big dent Stateside yet, but Hannah Reid's vocals leading the way, I can't imagine them not being successful here.
Reid has an incredible range, but it's her low register that just kills me. Beautiful.
That last one if them interpreting Chris Isaak's wicked Game. Just amazing. The ending gives me chills.
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Dom's Picks:
TOM JONES
BON SCOTT
ALLISON KRAUSS
SADE
PAUL BUCHANAN
HANNA REID
I'm sad no one went gaga over Hanna Reid like I did the first time I heard her.
I love this stuff! I have already watched this 5 times. I never thought Ms. Huttons voice was all that much above average for her peers and era but she gets huge bonus points for cuteness, enthusiasm, and energy.
The girl I had considered from that era was Marilyn Maxwell. I love this clip because it not only showcases Ms. Maxwell but also the awesome swing dancing skills of Jean Veloz.
It's hard for me to evaluate Betty Hutton's voice because I think of her as a belter in an era of crooners. I've loved listening to her since I was a kid. A lot of her stuff is presented as clowning, but the amount of control she must have had to make it work seems enormous.
Loved the Jean Veloz stuff. I'm not familiar with her, but there's some youtube stuff of her still dancing in her 90s.
I almost took Patsy Cline, love her voice. But I took Godzilla instead. You must make choices and live with them. I have No Regrets. Godzilla could do county but it sticks to rock and roll and death metal. To bad, Godzilla singing I Fall to Pieces would bring down the house.
I pick Wanda in every draft that's even remotely connected with music, so I gave her this draft off. But I just wanted her to know I'm thinking of her...
Dom, I really like Paul Buchanan's Mid Air. Been listening to it for a week now, and it's got that kind of melancholy that Sinatra had on In The Wee Small Hours. I knew "The Downtown Lights," but that's about it.