MetaFilter posts tagged with singer

Gilberto Gil

flapjax at midnite — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 01:56:16 -0800

Brazil's Gilberto Gil, now 66 years of age, is stepping down from his position as Minister of Culture to concentrate, once again, on his music career. That's good news for his fans, and here's some more good news: a huge chunk of his recorded work is available as streaming audio for your listening pleasure. Here's a vintage clip of Gilberto with mondo-Brazil-rock trailblazers Os Mutantes. More Os Mutantes.

I have to be a star like another man has to breathe.

miss lynnster — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 11:56:22 -0800

Sammy Davis Jr—entertainer , photographer... camwhore... SATANIST!!!??? Did hanging out with this guy make Sammy bad? Or was he just selling his soul to be groovy? Here are a plethora of links featuring the insanely talented, always popular, often controversial Sammy Davis Jr.. Can you dig it? Aaaand... okay, here's a little info on the Church of Satan.

The day my mama socked it to the Harper Valley PTA

flapjax at midnite — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 18:29:33 -0800

Sometimes, when you've had your fill of people basking in the golden light of their self-righteous indignation, you just wanna hear a song about somebody telling those holier-than-thou-ers where to get off. Something like, say, Harper Valley PTA. Here's Jeannie C. in another performance of the song, a stylish (very sixties) B&W version, from a TV spot. Here's the lyrics. Too young to remember Peyton Place, referenced in the last verse? See here, here and here. And how 'bout those gold boots and matching minidress Jeannie C. was sporting in that live clip, eh? Couldn't help but remind me of Nancy Sinatra in similar attire, performing (what else?) These Boots Are Made for Walking, from 1966. When Harper Valley PTA (written by Tom T. Hall) was released in 1968, it hit #1 on both the Billboard country AND pop charts, which was an historical first. Read all about it! Jeannie C. Riley Wikipedia page and her official website. Dolly Parton's cover version. Country great Loretta Lynn has covered this song as well, but I couldn't find her version on the web. Here she is with Jeannie C. Riley, though, doing Don't Come Home a'Drinkin' (With Lovin' On Your Mind) . The Riley Wikipedia page mentions her battles with depression. There's a bit more on that here. NOTE: FPP wording lifted wholesale from flashboy's MeTa comment here. Thanks, flashboy!

The intoxicatingly beautiful vocal music of south India

flapjax at midnite — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 07:39:35 -0800

Queens of Carnatic singing: Nithyasree Mahadevan: 1, 2 and 3. Sudha Ragunathan: 1, 2, 3 and 4. And the legend of the legends, M.S. Subbulakshmi, in her film appearances from decades past: 1, 2 and 3, and as an elder stateswoman of Carnatic vocal artistry: 1, 2, 3 and 4.

My favourite singer is actually really, really good

Phire — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 03:37:35 -0800

Israeli-French singer Yael Naim, recently featured in this Macbook Air commercial, might just be the Next Big Thing. A little bit of soul and a little bit of folk have snagged her Album of the Year in World Music at the annual Les Victoires de la Musique French music awards this year. She currently only has two English songs released - one of them an absolutely lovely song entitled New Soul with an equally charming music video, and the other a slow and jazzy rendition of Britney Spears' Toxic, finally somewhat redeeming that song. Official Site.

Henri Salvador

Lezzles — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 12:55:44 -0800

Henri Salvador died yesterday, age 90. "In his 70-year career, Henri Salvador also gained popularity as a dancer, pantomime artist and TV personality. His musical range included prewar chansons, whispery bossa nova, children's favorites and rock 'n' roll." And his English wasn't bad.

Cheika Rimitti, Mother of Raï

flapjax at midnite — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 23:16:37 -0800

Head over to Cheikha Rimitti's MySpace page and listen to the first tune up on her player (starts when you open the page), called Saida. Whoa! Is that badass or what? Well, there's 5 other tunes of hers there for your listening pleasure, covering a wide swath of stylistic territory within the Algerian music tradition she was such an important part of. Yet another MySpace page pays tribute (with 4 more songs!) to this powerful singer, and you can also learn more about her at the Cheikha Rimitti website, which is in French, but with links like "Musique" and "Vidéos", you shouldn't have too much trouble with it. There's an informative English-language video biography of this "Mother of Raï", not to mention this performance footage (with those fantastic flutes!) of Saida. Another short YouTube clip. An interview (in French) where Rimitti offers some a cappella snippets.

Beny Moré, golden voice of Cuba

flapjax at midnite — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 07:05:31 -0800

While many of Cuba's top musical figures left the country to pursue their careers in the US and elsewhere, the suave, hugely popular singer Benny Moré stayed. While he is a much loved and revered figure in Cuba, this great vocalist, who died in 1963, is not nearly as widely known outside the island nation as he should be. Viva Benny Moré! [NOTE: See hover-overs for link descriptions] This montage of Cuban clips opens with an older Benny doing the familiar standard "Guantanamera". And one more YouTube clip, wherein Benny's wonderful vocal stylings are unfortunately rather obscured by the somewhat tone deaf chiquita he shares the stage with... the dancing's fun, though. Benny Moré Wikipedia page. A Benny Moré selected discography. There's a Spanish-language biopic from 2006, called El Benny. Andy Garcia's controversial film The Lost City includes Benny as a character, played by Julian Fernandez. And, there's a DVD available.

Bettye Swann, reconsidered.

flapjax at midnite — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 20:42:39 -0800

When the discussion turns to 60s-era soul divas, the name of Bettye Swann isn't likely to be first on anyone's tongue. But she was possessed of a tender, supple and seductive voice, and she deserves to be heard and reconsidered. Here's one more YouTube version of "Make Me Yours", from one of those vintage record player enthusiasts who like to post videos of the record itself spinning. I confess to a liking for this particular trend! One more Bettye Swann page.

Celia Cruz

nickyskye — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 09:33:12 -0800

A sizzling singer in crinolines and in feathers and sequins. Not just extravagant in her appearance but an extravagant voice, renowned for her joie de vivre, adored by many, known as the Queen of Salsa, Celia Cruz, "indisputably the best known and most influential female figure in the history of Cuban music."