MetaFilter posts tagged with singers

Birgit Nilsson

Joe Beese — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:53:07 -0800

A big, blunt woman with a wicked sense of humor, Ms. Nilsson brooked no interference from Wagner's powerful and eventful orchestra writing. When she sang Isolde or Brünnhilde, her voice pierced through and climbed above it. It was not just the sheer size of her voice that overwhelmed recording studio microphones. It was the almost physical presence of her shimmering sound that made it so distinctive.

Sugar Pie DeSanto

Joe Beese — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 11:21:56 -0800

Sugar Pie DeSanto says, "I like to sing blues, R&B, and pop and I think I do them pretty well". Her R&B recordings for Chess Records - including "Soulful Dress" and her duet with Etta James "In The Basement" - can be found here. And yes, she's still got it.

Hang down your head

Knappster — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 01:15:17 -0800

Guitarist and banjo player Erik Darling died last Sunday at age 74. His arrangements of traditional songs played a significant role in the folk music revival of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Darling's first group, the Folksay Trio, recorded an influential version of an old North Carolina folk song in 1951.

Standing in front of a microphone ... was not the same thing as playing and singing in Washington Square or in someone’s apartment with reckless abandon (which would have been better). I could not help but think that every nuance would count. The result was, I couldn’t sing and play the guitar at the same time on one of the songs. RECORDING SESSION 101: you cross the George Washington Bridge to a New Jersey basement and sing. Still, our syncopated version of “Tom Dooley” on this little record was the one from which the Kingston Trio got their version of the song (as the late Dave Guard has told us), and that song gave them the number one hit that began their career.

Darling found his first commercial success with The Tarriers, a trio that included future Oscar winner Alan Arkin. After backing up folk singer Vince Martin on his hit "Cindy, Oh Cindy," the group recorded a version of "The Banana Boat Song."*

Our version of the song was performed on the Hit Parade TV show for eight weeks. Without intending to, we had started the Calypso craze. We were not even singing Calypso--“The Banana Boat Song” was a Jamaican folk song and most of our material was North American folk music--but the music industry needed to label what we were doing. Every time we appeared on a TV show, the set was palm trees and bananas, or pilings, barrels and docks, or all five. We were covered by Capital Record’s version of the same song, “Day-O," by Harry Belafonte. With Capital’s power, as well as Belafonte’s ability to dramatize songs and perform, it is Belafonte’s version of the song that is remembered to this day.

Though their musical interests reached beyond the West Indies, The Tarriers' Darling-era YouTube offerings are limited: here's "Chaucoun," the trio's rendition of the 19th-century Haitian song "Choucoune." Darling was chosen to succeed Pete Seeger in The Weavers in 1958, and quit The Tarriers a year later (his replacement was Eric Weissberg of "Dueling Banjos" fame). In 1962 he left The Weavers and soon after formed The Rooftop Singers with Lynne Taylor and Bill Svanoe. They hit pay dirt with a cover of Gus Cannon's "Walk Right In" (original version; Darling's bluesy version from 2000). The song, with its dual twelve-string guitars, hit No. 1 in the US in January 1963.

I thought that if the three of us recorded “Walk Right In” as Leadbelly would have, with the sound of a twelve-string guitar, but in our case with two twelve-string guitars playing exactly the same notes in unison, we’d have a hit. The only problem was that there were no twelve-string guitars being made at the time. We waited six months for the Gibson Company to build us two of them.

They followed up with "Tom Cat," a cover of Cliff Carlisle's "Tom Cat Blues." Some prudish radio programmers refused to play the somewhat risqué tune. When invited to appear on Hootenanny, The Rooftop Singers played it safe. Darling never again found success on the Billboard charts, but he found contentment in his musical projects, in his painting, and in "writing and emailing old and new friends all over the world."

I discovered that a writer and folk music enthusiast in Japan, Jeffrey Yamada, had bought my original 12-string (from the Mandolin Brothers) that was used on the "Walk Right In" single. He strummed it for me over the phone. "You know what this is?" he said. I never dreamed. Such is the way of the world.

*The clip is from the 1957 low-budget musical Calypso Heat Wave—Alan Arkin's earliest IMDb credit. He talks about his stint with The Tarriers in this interview, starting at about 6:20.

Pop Art in motion.

flapjax at midnite — Tue, 06 May 2008 01:46:54 -0800

Clever! Peppy! Immensely entertaining! The opening sequence of the Dick Cavett Show was a little masterpiece of 60s pop graphics. A similar aesthetic is at work here in this 60s era PSA reminding you to vote. Here's some jazzy 60s animation: a commercial for Beechnut Gum. And lots more typically 60s animation and graphics on display here in this Animation Commercial Collection.

Midnight at Mabel Mercer's and a glass of Guiness

vronsky — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 17:15:11 -0800

Unfortunately there is not much on the web about the greatest cabaret singer who ever lived, the wonderful Ma bel Mercer. So I am adding this new animated Guinness commercial made for the Rugby World Cup to pad out this post. Be sure to read the description beside the Google video - it sums her up nicely The "bel" link has Tony Bennet explaining how influential she was. click play game white in the lower left hand corner to start the rugby animation

She's not going.

miss lynnster — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 13:00:33 -0800

Broadway's original Effie White, Jennifer Holliday, has been very open about how haunted and snubbed she felt during the production of the Dreamgirls movie. In particular she was hurt when, without permission, her own singing voice was used in a theatrical trailer to promote the production that had completely shut her out. Yesterday at the BET Awards she was finally given some overdue recognition and invited to join Jennifer Hudson onstage for a duet of the song she made famous. You may have heard the song a hundred times, but try to make it 101. 'Cuz seriously, the girls can sing. Previously.

Hindi cinema

nickyskye — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 13:13:38 -0800

Bollywood Dreams. Bollywood in a nutshell: Bollywood is the name given to the Bombay (Mumbai)-based Hindi-language film industry in India. Bollywood films are colorful, crammed with singing, dancing, loads of costume changes. In the past there were often absurd and hilarious take-offs on Western films or superstars, such as the Beatles, Michael Jackson , Elvis,70's music and hair styles. Spectacular collection of Bollywood posters and vintage original poster art for sale and t-shirts. Stats and faqs. The history of Bollywood, brief chronology [pdf]. The main actors, images. The main actresses, images. Some of the renowned songs and the singers who sang them. Bollywood song lyrics and audio at the excellent Music India Online. [more inside]

Luther Vandross: RIP

trip and a half — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 19:31:50 -0800

Luther Vandross is gone. The great R&B balladeer died today, apparently due to complications from a stroke he suffered two years ago. Believers in an afterlife can hope he's enjoying a dance with his father. After all, he did believe in the "Power of Love". RIP.

Bobby Short

goatdog — Mon, 21 Mar 2005 13:45:09 -0800

R.I.P. Bobby Short. One of the finest cabaret singers of all time, and a Manhattan fixture at the Carlyle Hotel since 1968, Short died of leukemia yesterday. He was 80. Listen to an NPR tribute. Time Magazine once said of him, "In an increasingly inelegant world, Bobby Short is the very symbol of elegance." Thankfully, many of his best recordings are available on CD. (Requisite Wikipedia entry.)

Who's Who In Musicals

MiguelCardoso — Tue, 30 Sep 2003 11:50:22 -0800

A Pretty URL Is Like A Melody: By a waterfall, I'm calling Who's Who In Musicals, diligently compiled by John Kenrick, a wonderful little resource.

Nina Simone Dead at 70

turbodog — Mon, 21 Apr 2003 14:11:50 -0800

Jazz and protest singer Nina Simone is dead at age 70.

pop music, 30 years ago

pejamo — Tue, 04 Feb 2003 10:52:26 -0800

Yesterday's post about Buddy Holly, spurred me to look deeper into the pop charts back when American Pie was in the top 40. I was fairly amazed at the list of songs charting that week. We've got Horse With No Name, Heart of Gold, Mother and Child Reunion with artists like Harry Chapin, Roberta Flack and Nilsson. Sure, there's some pop pabulum, but I was blown away at the litany of performers whose very personal songs, and not very pop themes, were all be charting together. When compared to today's chart, it makes you wonder - what happened to the pop performer as an artist? Is there room for a unique artistic voice in today's pop?

monkeymike — Wed, 21 Aug 2002 11:07:01 -0800

We, the undersigned, think you're untalented. Why do over 20000 people think that RnB singer Ashanti didn't deserve her Soul Train Lady of Soul Entertainer of the Year award? What does Soul Train make of all this?

MiguelCardoso — Sun, 17 Feb 2002 18:06:24 -0800

I Nominate Richie Havens As The Most Criminally Unappreciated Recording Artist Ever: In this recent Guardian article, John Aizlewood asked "How on earth did this man miss the boat?" Indeed! His voice is deep and beautiful, his guitar-playing is exciting and innovative and, to my mind, he's the best and busiest no-nonsense live performer around. On his website he generously shows us how to play guitar in his own special way. He also comes across as an inspiring, wonderful human being. And yet, for all his Woodstock kudos, he's more well known for his voice-overs on commercials(McDonalds and Pepsi, for example) than for his music. His new record, Wishing Well, is just out. But nobody seems to care. He's a hero in Europe but negligently seen as a hippy in his native land. There are a lot of other unnaccountably underrated and unknown veteran artists around. Grrrr! Who's yours?

wibbler — Sun, 18 Nov 2001 06:17:56 -0800

Now, I've never been a BIG fan of either Frank Sinatra or Robbie Williams. Sure, I've a lot of respect for the former, and the latter's a great singer and entertainer from the UK. But last nite, I was converted. Anyone see A Night With Robbie Williams on TV in the UK last night? (more inside)