The most distinctive vocalists in Rock?

Yes, definetly Darren Hayes *swoon* and how about Dave Matthews? If anyone knows who he is...

Ooooh oh I just thought of one more... Leonard Cohen! Cant mistake that voice anywhere.

Natalie Merchant

Tom Petty

Axl Rose (not that much into his music but I like his voice)

Steven Tyler (Aerosmith)
Ed Kowalczyk (Live)

Hey Awamutu, great call for Tom Bailey. What about:

Love On Your Side
In The Name Of Love
Sister Of Mercy
You Take Me Up
Doctor Dream
Lay Your Hands On Me

Great songs all. Wonder if Neil would ever collaborate with Tom? Wishful thinking, but the results might be fun....

Distinctive, sending shivers down my spine, making me swoon, number one ONLY could be...

NEIL FINN

Next, distinctive, with some shivers (used to be more before Neil)...

Paul McCartney

Distinctive voices that twitch my ears the right way, and can at times, cause shivers in their delivery of song...

John Lennon
Peter Gabriel
Elvis Costello
Jimi Hendrix
Janis Joplin
Tom Petty
David Byrne
Peter Garrett
Chris Isaac
Bruce Springsteen (although when I first heard him in the late 70's, I hated his voice. It grew on me.)
Neil Young
Linda Ronstadt
Aimee Mann
Stevie Nicks
Barbra Streisand
Neil Diamond (Have you seen "Saving Silverman"?
Stevie Wonder
Chrissie Hynde
Joni Mitchell
Carly Simon
James Taylor
Carol King
Sheryl Crow
David Bowie
Elton John
Paul Simon
Eric Clapton
Phil Collins
Annie Lennox
George Harrison
Ringo Starr
Kurt Cobain
Dave Grohl
Serj Tankian
Billy Joel
Bette Midler
Pat Benatar
KD Lang
Ray Charles
Peter Salette
Jackson Browne
Joe Jackson
Van Morrison
Phoebe Snow
Donald Fagen
Robert Plant
Joe Crocker
Dolly Parton
Anne Wilson
Grace Slick (Although I don't care for her politics)
Phil Keaggy
Keith Green (He was a friend of mine and I miss him terribly - RIP)
Weird Al Yankovic (Okay, so he's not great on the ears, but he's funny! - and that makes up for it)

Voices that are distinctive, that I am learning to tolerate much more...
Elvis Presley (I'm sorry)
Eddie Vedder
Tim Finn (Please forgive me. I like him much better when he harmonizes, rather than singing lead vocal. Otherwise he's fine. Sometimes it feels like he's working too hard to hit some notes and that's what repels my audio sensibilities. I DO think he's talented.)
Madonna

Voices that are distinctive, that don't do anything to me, one way or the other...
Ella Fistzgerald
Diana Ross

Voices, I'm not sure how I feel about them, they are just "interesting"...
Leon Redbone
Iggi Pop

Voices that are distinctive, that I can barely tolerate...
Cher
Mick Jagger
Johnny Cash
Willie Nelson
Wayne Newton
Richard Thompson (He almost was in the bottom category, but he's moving up.... slowly)

Voices that are distinctive, that I have no tolerance for, whatsoever...
Tiny Tim
Melissa Etheridge (I used to like her, but she's gotten on my nerves - BIG TIME!. She's a female Springsteen wannabe IMHO)

If I've forgotten someone, I'll just edit and add it. (So, if you actually care, you could check back.) These are voices that, if I hear them on the radio, they stand right out and I know, that's them ; whether I like them or not.

shalom,
Kim

Edward Vedder
Neil Young
Ben Harper
Nick Drake
John Denver

Cha Cing

peace n love
Thomas

Whee Heee glad to see KaTe everywhere in this topic!!!

And Peter Gabriel, too
And Elisabeth Fraser

Neil Finn
Tim Finn
Elvis Costello
Phil Collins
Peter Gabriel
Neil Young
Donald Fagen
Ann Wilson
Joni Mitchell
Brian Wilson
Bob Seger
James Taylor
Paul Rodgers
Jackson Browne
Neil Diamond
Janis Joplin
John Denver
(sorry, I keep adding to this list!)

Well, since other people have mentioned artist's that are not rock....
Willie Nelson - I adore him, so laid back mellow,
beautiful song interpreter
Kris Kristofferson - Very unique, great song
writer.
Waylon Jennings - Rest in peace...
Johnny Cash - Hello?
Hmmmm, just named the Highwayman too
Kenny Rogers - C'mon!!!
Conway Twitty - "Hello Darlin..'"
George Jones - "The Possum"
Sorry, my mom has been a huge influence on my musical taste, love Country & Western.
Other non-rock:
Ella Fitzgerald - my favorite singer of all time!
Sarah Vaughn - warm, rich "Sassy"
Mel Torme - "The Velvet Fog"...so many more I'm sure, I could go on. Ok, back under my rock now!

Remember folks....it's not your favourite vocalists I'm looking for, it's the most DISTINCTIVE. Who can you tell INSTANTLY when you hear a snippet of radio or while flicking through the TV channels? You might not even like them...you might even hate them - for example I don't like Steve Winwood's voice but there's no mistaking who it is when you hear him.

Here's another name, although non-UK people will be unfamiliar with it - Ian Dury.

more

joe jackson
billy corgan
benjamin orr (r.i.p.)
the edge (in the early days of U2 when he did backing vocals, even the few songs he sang lead on just sounded like backing vocals.)
lisa germano
robert plant

quote:

Originally posted by Kim Goldman:
[QB]Voices that are distinctive, that I am learning to tolerate much more...
Eddie Vedder
Tim Finn (Please forgive me. I like him much better when he harmonizes, rather than singing lead vocal. Otherwise he's fine.) [QB]

I LOVED the 7 Worlds Collide version of Tim & Eddie singing. I thought that sounded like absolute GOLD. I think there is too much emphasis on Tim Finn's singing. He's a great singer and songwriter...as good as Neil...studio-wise at least...live Neil kicks his ass and is PURE GENIUS. OK his voice is grainey, but how much more Macy Gray - she's horrible but she's famous and respected. It's just a matter of getting used to it.

Other distinctive voices in rock?

Abby Dobson (ex Leonrado's Bride} OZ
Kevin Mitchell (Jebediah) OZ
Fran Healey (Travis) SCOT
Alex Lloyd OZ

Michael Stipe
David Byrne
Sam Phillips
Shawn Colvin
Jerry Garcia
Norah Jones

Originally posted by Anselm:

quote:

Remember folks....it's not your favourite vocalists I'm looking for, it's the most DISTINCTIVE. Who can you tell INSTANTLY when you hear a snippet of radio...

I do happen to think all of my favourite singers have distinctive voices. I read your very first posting and you listed your favourite singers and also mentioned that we should list singers that give you a "shivery feeling". All my favourite singers do. Singers I don't like would leave me with a nauseous feeling
But, sorry if I misunderstood your original questions...

Fair point, Jenn...no you didn't misunderstand me, I'd forgotten that I'd listed MY favourite singers originally - so you were quite right to list yours!

I'd agree that mentioning people you dislike (however distinct) would be hard to do, although there are some really distinctive voices around today who just don't grab me at all. Look at Eddie Vedder - his voice seems to polarise people: we either seem to hate it or love it - no in-betweens. Personally I can't stand him, and not a big fan of either of the Finn brothers' singing voices (Shock! Horror!). Although their voices seem to FIT their songs in the way that other people's wouldn't...sorry if I'm confusing you.....

I think it's all very subjective...if you like an artist's music you're much more likely to think that they are distinctive.

So I accept your comments completely!

Cheers,
Anselm.

LOL @ SHEEP VOICES!!!!!! I regularly impersonate Stevie Nicks as a goat...

Anyhow...I noticed a few that I haven't seen yet, which for me are pretty unmistakable...Note that I don't necessarily LIKE all of these, but I'll admit their distinctiveness.

PHIL COLLINS. It's the pronunciation.
ADAM DURITZ. It's the WHINE.
CELINE DION/BARBRA STEISAND.
SIMON leBON. It's this little shriekything he does at the beginning of words.
JOHNNY CASH. Low, low, low...
TOM JONES. Completely and unrepentantly cheesy.
MICHAEL JACKSON. He has a sound.
RON SEXSMITH. The tremolo.
LYLE LOVETT. The sexiest rasp in music!
ROD STEWART. When rasp goes to extremes.
BOY GEORGE. A touch off key.

I agree with many, many I've seen here, including Macy Gray, Michael Stipe, Elvis...lots and lots. (Conversely, though, maybe we should start a thread about artists you've mistaken for other artists. I've almost NEVER been able to guess Beth Orton/Indigo Girls correctly! And I've been known to mistake Travis and Wilco, Sheryl Crow and Lisa Loeb.)

Don Henley...I LOVED the duet he did with Sheryl Crow on her album...it was cheesy and poppy, but he was FLAWLESS and PERFECT! The way my husband put it: "Don Henley is about the only guy in music who can do a power ballad without sounding like a p***y..."

re: "Don Henley is about the only guy in music who can do a power ballad without sounding like a p***y..."

yes Kim Your husband is soooo right, Don henley is a legend....
Adam Duritz, however can sing a pretty good soppy song and get away with it don't you think!! I love American girls, their newie, its catchy as heck!!!!
Chester

quote:

yes Kim Your husband is soooo right, Don henley is a legend....
Chester

Sorry Chester, that was Heidi's husband , not mine. But, that's okay, because my husband is usually right, unless, of course we disagree on something, then naturally you know who's right.

shalom,
Kim

Oops, man I am not on form today
I think most husbands think they are right unfortunately... (not that I have one or anything)

Hey, it's cool.

We all have those days.

Days like this can't last forever.

Tomorrow's another day...

shalom,
Kim

Mama Cass

Peter Garrett - Midnight Oil

MY husband (who's also always right) suggests Mick Jagger and David Gray.

I respectfully disagree with Mick Jagger and respectfully can't stand David Gray.

(He's out there with Stevie Nicks, bleating like a sheep...)

I have to add someone not mentoned so far....she was so long ago but very effective, Wanda Jackson. Several singers have imitated her sound, but so far she is the original. Elvis sounded like the mama's boy he was next to her.

Aretha

awamutu

Wanda Jackson sang in the mid 1950's to early 1960's. She was an early rock and roll singer in every sense of the word. She was friend of Elvis, covered the songs he covered...but did it better. Rollins Stone described her as the only singer who did not sing from her voice, but sang from a particular part of the female anatomy. She has also been described as the most dangerous singer in early rock . In short, she was a party girl with a big voice, and a big attitude. There are several websites on her. You can hear her on:

http://www.wandajackson.com/

Neil Finn
Eddie Vedder
Liam Gallagher
John Lydon
John Lennon
Paul McCartney
Frank Sinatra
Michael Stype
Tom Waits
Bono
Paul Weller
Sting
Peter Garret

More...

James Hetfield from Metallica-ah
Smokey Robinson
Colin Hay (always thought he had a memorable voice)
Tracey Thorne from Everything But The Girl
Michael Franks
Ian Gillan
kd lang
Tracy Chapman
Peter Gabriel

quote:

Originally posted by awamutu:
[qb]

quote:

Originally posted by Ghost_Girl:
[qb] Very definitely ... David Gray!
and Neil Tennant
Paul McCartney [/qb]

neil tennant did spring to my mind for a second but i then i remembered he always reminds me of the "year of the cat" guy... [/qb]

Do you mean Badly Drawn Boy/Damon Gough?

Cos if so, its Year of the Rat

I wouldn't term his voice distinctive - I prefer the term 'Annoying'.

Although i'm not a fan, I suppose it's only fair to mention Jon Bon Jovi (how do you spell it?)Songs like It's My Life and Bed Of Roses belong to him through his distinctive voice alone I guess.

quote:

neil tennant did spring to my mind for a second but i then i remembered he always reminds me of the "year of the cat" guy...

The first time I heard West End Girls I swore it was by the Year Of The Cat guy (Al Stewart). Always wondered if other people thought that too...

Yup. Neil Tennant always reminds me of Al Stewart. The resemblance in West End Girls is uncanny!

Can't believe we're on page 3 and I've not seen one mention of Leonard Cohen. Talk about distinctive.

Also, I'd say:
David Bowie
Kate Bush
Tori Amos (I don't consider them to sound the same vocally AT ALL even though their songwriting style is similar)
I was gonna say Peter Gabriel until I remembered that I once mistook Steve Winwood for PG!
Michael Stipe
Eddie Vedder
Andrew Eldritch (Sisters of Mercy)

As for those that send a shiver:
Lennon and Gabriel. STOP.

Dido - but sounds so out of tune it's awful
Sheryl Crow
Nils Lofgren
Bruce Springsteen
Phil Oakey (Human League)
Andy Partridge (XTC)
Donald Fagen
Warren Zevon
Andy McCluskey (OMD)
Sting

and someone who manages to sounds like a lot of people:
Robin Zander of Cheap Trick

quote:

Originally posted by Paul H:
[qb] Can't believe we're on page 3 and I've not seen one mention of Leonard Cohen. Talk about distinctive. [/qb]

Gemini mentioned him on pg 2, and yes, he's a very unique vocalist and tremendous songwriter (IMHO).

Billy Bragg
Andy White
Guy Chadwick
Ron Sexsmith

A friend of mine happened to have the radio on in his vehicle here recently, only to subject me to Grace Slick's distinctive vocals . . .

Apologies to Gemini: seen so many names and read so quickly (I guessed as soon as I typed it that Leonard C would have been mentioned earlier).

While I'm on the subject, Lou Reed is fairly distinctive too...

Who could forget Paul Hester

Oooopps, just remembered, was James Taylor mentioned?

If my list included people that most of you have mentioned, it might go on forever, so I'll reduce it to folks who haven't been noted that much (good or bad):

-Bruce Springsteen
-Dave Matthews
-Michael Jackson
-Rufus Wainwright
-Joe Strummer
-Marvin Gaye
-John Popper
-Prince
-Sinead O'Connor
-Cat Power
-David Lee Roth
-Axl Rose
-Indigo Girls
-Pat Benatar
-Odetta
-Roger Daltrey
-James Taylor
-John Fogerty
-John Mayer
-Rob Thomas
-Phil Judd
-Isaac Brock (Modest Mouse)
-Phil Lynott (Thin Lizzy)
-John Kay (Steppenwolf)
-and, of couse, I'll mention my darling Eddie, even though he's been mentioned frequently