I’ve always wanted to do my "Top" lists of all time for
different musicians. Just never can seem to find the time. The
reason I can’t find the time is when I start one, I tend to jump
in so deep with each "top" member that I forget what I was doing
in the first place. This is has happened so many times I can’t
keep count. It started to happen again, but I caught myself at
it and decided to jump right in. My inaugural "top" list is
going to be a mixed mesh that is horribly disjointed. As my
President Bush would say, my writing style regarding this topic,
is epileptic. This will be the first entry for the "Top Female
Vocalists of ALL TIME". Rather than just spewing a list like
others do, I’m going to tackle different performers on the list
individually. So, you’ll just have to use the category thingy
over there ( —> ) to get the entire list as it evolves. Without
further blabbering, here I go.
The Top Female Vocalist of All
Time, is….. (drum roll please), The combination of Mary Wilson,
Cindy Birdsong, and Diana Ross. Otherwise known at the time as
The Supremes. Now, the Supremes rifled through band members
faster than you can hiccup ( that’s a Diana reference there, get
it? ). Arguably Florence Ballard had more of an impact than
Cindy did. However, for my vocalist tastes, Cindy Birdsong’s
voice was just absolutely perfect. To me the vocals of "The
Love is Here and now you’re gone" are to this day the most
perfect combination of lead and backup vocals ever produced by
anyone. This song is nearly
forty years old, and I still love it. There may have been other
female vocalists who could do more with their individual voice,
but this combination of voices made for a sound that has been
unmatched since.
As per the norm in music, personalities and egos kept The
Supremes a revolving door till the finally disintegrated,
realistically in 1969, completely in 1977. Diana Ross
particularly went on to a huge solo career. However, she never
sounded nearly the same as she did in the 60’s. As an
individual, I wouldn’t have her ranked at all. As an early
Supreme, she’s a co-#1. The Supremes were the perfect example
that the sum is often greater than the individual parts.
In addition to the sheer beauty of their sound, The Supremes
were quite successful, here’s a list ( the links are to sound
clips of the songs ):
The Supremes were also heavily emulated at the time, setting
the early standard for the Motown wall of sound. The number of
girl bands emulating The Supremes that erupted onto the scene is
countless. And, equally as important, they were one of the
early African American acts that kicked down the recording
industry’s reluctance to promote African American acts.
And, The Supremes influence has lasted for forty years. My
personal favorite "remake" bar none would be the "Tainted
Love/Where Did Our Love Go" done by Softcell in 1981. That song
is so good it re-entered the charts in 1991 and is still a
fixture in dance bars. Even more recently, several Supremes
songs have been sampled in rap. And, in 2000, VH1 saluted Diana
Ross as one of their all time greatest divas.
I’ve got a couple of samples below so you can hear what I’m
talking about. Not only could they do it on vinyl, they could
do it live just as well.
Now you know why these lists are so slow for me to make!
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getting totally naked with little prompting. I was 18 once, I feel Aaron’s angst. I also had a good friend who proposed every single time he got some. It tended to chase them away pretty dang quick. But, I gotta admit, they didn’t look like Kari.
