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5 most recognizable voices in American music?

While watching CNNs Larry King interview Johnny Cash a few days ago, I commented to my wife that Johnny Cash probably has one of the five most recognizable voices in American music today. My wife agreed and then asked "Well who are the other four?" After some discussion, we came up with our nominations (in no particular order):

Johnny Cash
Elvis Presley
Ray Charles
Barbra Streisand
Louie Armstrong

This question probably assumes that the singer is quite famous and that their music has been around quite awhile-- or they became really famous really fast. We'd be interested in knowing what other A'Gon members think about these five, or others you would nominate instead for this "top five"? Thanks. Craig
garfish
sevs
300 posts
 
@dweller Thanks for the tip!! Downloaded Silver Apples onto my Pono, some real crazy stuff! If it was a CD I would have put it next to my Japanese mini-LP boxes of Cluster/Roedelius CDs. Not "droning" by my definition but definitely (like Cluster craziness and Deepchord and Klaus Schulze drones) the kind of music I tend to listen to thru the headphones so that my family won't sign me into the loonies bin! ;-)
once again, thanks for the tip, I did not know that some Americans are as loony as Germans! Until now the Talking Heads/David Byrne were the craziest US tunes in my collection. 
dweller's avatar
dweller
2,152 posts
 
Sevs: If you don't know Captain Beefheart, check out his "Spotlight Kid" album. He is the best-of-the-best of "out there" americans (IMO of course). Check out this footage from German TV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpHgG4jILa0
P.S. I've recently learned of 4-5 previously unheard Silver Apples albums! Overwhelming! 
2channel8
634 posts
 
I'm a little surprised that no one cited Bobby Darin. Didn't his "Mack the Knife" hold the record for most played single on American radio for decades?

@bdp24 , He also played "Then He Kissed Me" for one interviewer and proclaimed "That's the sound of universes colliding!" (Not Darlene; but not far removed.)
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
4,637 posts
 
Tiny Tim
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
4,908 posts
 

2channel8, I love the Girl Group sound and era. The Brill Building songwriters (Doc Pomus, Mann & Weil, Goffin/King, Bacharach/David, Ellie Greenwich, Mort Shuman, Greenfield/Sedaka, and Leiber & Stoller) wrote SO many classic songs in such a short period of time. I hear that influence in Springsteen's writing on the Born To Run album.

Carnie & Wendy Wilson tell of waking up every morning to the sound of The Ronettes "Be My Baby" playing over, and over, and over again, for hours. For years that's how Brian Wilson started the day. He was obsessed with the song and Phil Spector, to the point of mental instability.

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