Dear Caio and Vocalisters:
You asked:
> Back on topic: can anyone mention a non-classical singer who sings like
>classical singers, in terms of not belting, no changing his or her timbre
>throughout his or her range, etc?
Not too difficult. Almost any popular singer from 1920's to 1950's
But premier examples would be Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Tony
Bennett, Eddie Fisher, etc. etc. etc. Women would include Ella
Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Doris Day, Jo Stafford, so many I cannot
remember them all. Truly, they all represent an embarrassment of
riches.
Were they better? Not sure. But the music they sang required that
they sing with a tone quality that is closer to that found in a
classical style of singing. Many of them had the benefit of the
beginnings of amplified singing but they did not basically change
their approach to singing when amplified. Most singing during these
times was cut from the same cloth. That is why Johnny Ray was such a
oddity; he cried and shouted and sobbed and talked and became an
overnight singing iconoclast. However, the elements of his singing
style when compared to the singing of today would not be considered
unusual.
--
Lloyd W. Hanson
|
