In Praise of Lousy Singers..,

[catnhatnh]

Cash/Kristofferson/Dylan,Etc...these people and others are my stars.Write the names of the songs they wrote.Hell,Kristofferson did an ALBUM called Border Lord not one in fifty ever heard of that should be in the top 100 ever...my opinion.I'll take a braying jackass who writes his songs over a hundred clones who can sing them better...hell-I love Melanie...so Give it to me....lousy singers with their great songs...

[SteppingRazor]

1. I think Dylan actually has a great voice...

I mean, not in the conventional sense, of course. But he puts so much soul into his vocals in live performances. He freakin' wails.

And who ever said Cash had a bad voice? It's only the most distinctive voice in country music history.

Sheesh.

[Dervill Crow]

6. He sounds great on several songs.

My husband and I had a HUGE argument over "Girl from the North Country." He absolutely would not believe that Dylan was singing that song, he sounded so good.

:banghead:

[Der Blaue Engel]

2. I'll add Tom Waits

I love people who sing with their souls.

But The Man in Black was NOT a lousy singer. You are mistaken, friend. :)

Edited to add: Cannot wait to see Joaquin Phoenix in Walk the Line. :bounce:

[cynatnite]

8. We're waiting for the movie, too

:bounce:

[atomic-fly]

20. Tom is great .Cash is awsome.

Johnny Cash's last album was so soulfull. Amazing stuff.
As far as a singer that makes the best of an ok voice is
Bernard Sumner of New Order. Sings within his range.

[longship]

3. The patron saint of the vocally challenged: Florence Foster Jenkins

To Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Elvis and a myriad of other vocally challenged people. Florence Foster Jenkins paved the road on which you walk. In the 1940's New York society matron Florence Foster Jenkins would rent out Carnegie Hall and give recitals which anybody who has heard her recordings will tell you are amongst the most talentless in the history of recording. Worse, this is high opera.

So Johnny, and Bob, and Elvis, rest in peace (well at least two of you). Florence Foster Jenkins paved the road to heaven ahead of you.

Florence Foster Jenkins (Wikipedia)

[catnhatnh]

5. No, No, No

Florence Foster whatever had (the Jewish term) Chutzpah,and probably no worse voice than many I've seen and admired...But in my world you HAVE to write great songs as well-best recent (country) example-Buddy Jewel, Who'll pour out the rain...a songwriter who is not good enough to be "first tier"...Just sayin'

[neweurope]

12. "People may say I cannot sing but nobody can say I didn't sing."

I've got a CD... Florence Foster Jenkins is just too much. Hilarious.



------------------

Remember Fallujah

Bush to The Hague!

[peacebaby3]

4. Thanks for this thread. Please refer to this thread to see what inspired

catnhatnh to start this thread:

<http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4897071>

[Syrinx]

7. I like the ones you mention

But, in evidence that not all bad singers are good, I give you Rufus Wainright.

[Ron Green]

9. Don't forget Van Morrisson n/t

[JVS]

10. Why is this not in the lounge?

[catnhatnh]

11. Mainly Because

...the original post (as referenced in the thread) was considered pertinent enough to be in GD....

[JVS]

21. Are you sure? Don't use passive! Who considered it pertinent?

[OneBlueSky]

13. not lousy . . . just different . . . and full of character . . .

something sadly lacking in 90% of today's "music" . . . imo . . .

[Coyote_Bandit]

14. Cash

had a conscience and soul. Music ain't about nothing if it ain't about soul. He had a great voice and a simple but unique style. I have a tremendous respect for his later work even though most of it sadly shows the effects of age and illness.

And, yeah, I really like and respect a bunch of those guys with rough voices - Cash, Dylan, Willie, Kristofferson, Waylon. I'll take heart and soul over finesse and technique any day.

[HEAVYHEART]

15. Yes

I agree that Johnny Cash, Kris Kristoferson, and Bob Dylan, are great song writers but they're not lousy singers. This topic is very subjective.

[Solly Mack]

16. Why me, Lord. What did I ever do....

:)

I like'em all.

We were so close there was no room
We bled inside each other's wounds
We all had caught the same disease
And we all sang the songs of peace

[Armstead]

17. Randy Newman

[the48er]

18. A Pipeline to ... Something

Having been a pretty hard-core Dylan fan since Nixon was president, I've finally concluded that he simply has a turbocharged muse or a pipeline to the divine -- whatever you want to call it -- through which he somehow channels all those incredible songs from some Great Beyond. That's the only way one guy (who's intellectually unremarkable and reputed to be pretty slimy now and then) could possibly have come up with dozens and dozens of songs that are so remarkable both lyrically and musically. I just don't think there's any explaining creative genius of his magnitude in rational terms. There's something mystical or divine involved, and since those sorts of things are quite beyond me, I'm just glad that the Dylans of the world receive the frequencies that only they receive from wherever the hell they're originating.

[LWolf]

19. Janis Joplin

I'm told she had a wonderful voice before she "destroyed" it with excess whiskey, etc..

It's a powerful voice, even so; maybe even better husky and cracked than it was before.