Best Ever Singer?

[PennyNotSoWise]

AIBU to be a nosy caah and ask who you think the best singer the world has ever seen is?

Mine is Freddie Mercury. I've just seen the ad for Amazon music (I think that's what it was) where it's just his voice singing Somebody To Love, music drowned out, and Sweet.Baby.Jesus, it gave me goosebumps. If I didn't have alopecia, my hair would be standing on end, I tell you Wow, could that man sing!

I told DP and he said, "meh, he was alright."

Who are your favourites? And any particular song where they're at their best?

(Some of the most spine tingly bits of Queen songs are one of the others singing but you don't always realise it)

Yeah, doesn't Roger Taylor hit the really high note in the Opera part of Bohemian Rhapsody, right before the heavy guitar? For meeeeeeeeeeee.

This is a lovely thread and I'm going to be youtubing tomorrow
Adding Ann (or possibly Nancy) Wilson of Heart. (despite seeing them in concert I have a mental block on their names) singing Stairway to Heaven to Led Zeppelin in the audience (with Obama) and making them cry is a phenomenal bit of video and makes me cry too

Who is the diva?

@TheCanterburyWhales

Beverly Knight.

I too love people such as Amy winehouse, Freddie Mercury and Joanie Mitchell.
But for pure vocal talent and goosebumps I’d say Whitney Houston, celine Dion and Scott Walker

Sam Smith is the best singer of this generation I think

Aretha is my favourite soul singer god bless her soul!

Karen Carpenter.
Doris Day.
Freddie.
Can't choose just one.

Ooooh, Nat King Cole...Gene Kelly

This guy.

Treat yourself and listen, you won't regret it.

Interestingly much-mentioned Jeff Buckley was a friend of Elisabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins, who also has an extraordinary voice (try 'Song To The Siren).
There is a recording of a song they were messing about with together on YouTube, called 'All Flowers In Time Bend Toward The Sun'.

Ella Fitzgerald, by a mile.

Patsy Cline and Judy Garland joint second.

Another vote for Neil Hannon (Divine Comedy), Neil Sedaka, Sarah Brightman, Nina Simone, Peter Cetera and, of course, Roy Orbison.

Also Meat Loaf, buuuuuut only at his peak in the studio. I've seen a number of his live performances and, sorry to say, they're invariably terrible. Talking of Meat Loaf, Jim Steinman usually left most of the singing to Meat, but he did record one album and his voice is (was?), so beautiful too. And along the same ML/Steinman lines, Meat did a duet with John Parr - outstanding voice - and Jim also did a side project called Pandora's Box, with four amazing female singers. It's not always possible to discern who is singing what, but all four are astonishingly brilliant; and not forgetting Bonnie Tyler too.

I would also add Glen Campbell, Minnie Ripperton (died so tragically young), Michael Ball, Errol Brown (most of Hot Chocolate's songs didn't give him the opportunity to demonstrate just how great it was), Ramin Karimloo, Tunde Bayou and, not the best-known singer, but David Phelps. Check him out singing O Holy Night - incredible.

Saw the title and came on to nominate Freddie.

Also:
Leonard Cohen
David Bowie
Debbie Harry
Karen Carpenter
Adele

Yeah.

In looking for an example, I only went and watched No One But You (Only The Good Die Young) on YouTube.
Now I am bloody crying like a right old tit.

Oh yes
Leonard Cohen
Tom Waits
Nick Cave
Adele

Most of the male greats have already been mentioned but I have to add another +1 for UB40's Ali Campbell. Unique and instantly recognizable.

Maria Callas makes shivers run down my back (in a good way)
Doris Day
Aretha Franklin

Also two of the UK's most underrated female singers (who also happen(ed) to be brilliant lyricists, versatile musicians and charismatic performers: Kirsty MacColl and Heather Findlay.

I like Scott Walker's voice

Also John Denver on Calypso and David Gates - Bread

Stevie Winwood

Markus Feehily of Westlife.

@WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll are 2 of the 4 female singers Holly Sherwood and Laurie Sargent by any chance? They both provided vocals for the Steinman songs on the Streets of Fire soundtrack (under rated ahead of its time cult classic imo!) and are fantastic singers if it’s them. Must look that up.

Freddie
Billy Holliday
Joan Baez - helluva woman too
Placido Domingo in his day was the tenor in both tone and technical ability
Dolores O'Riordan Unique sound
Bowie
Louis Armstrong - maybe not a beautiful voice but once heard never forgotten and a musical titan.

@DrMaryMalone

Yes, Holly Sherwood was on the album, but as one of two additional credited female singers and not one of the main four. Not Laurie Sargent, though.

To add further confusion, it appears that, of the four named 'band members', only three of them actually existed - the fourth was a product of Jim's imagination might just have been him in a frock and wig! So that's four female singers.... or six.... or five.... or just three....

Here's the info about them:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandora%27s_Box_(band)

I remember hearing Meat Loaf comment once that, upon their discovering that his daughter Pearl had also become a professional singer, many people frequently approached him and suggested they should sing Paradise By The Dashboard Light together!

I can only think that they knew of its existence as a male-female duet without ever actually having heard it!!

So many Freddie Mercury fans here. Did anyone else hear Tom Chaplin of Keane singing Queen songs for Radio 2 a while back? I thought he was astoundingly good, better than anyone else I've heard attempting it.
Love Roger Hodgson's voice . Don't know what happened to Supertramp but there's something ethereal about his singing.

Without wanting to bring down the tone of this thread or being unnecessarily unkind, I think the emotion with which people sing is just as important as the actual voice.

I'm thinking of a certain male Irish singer who is immensely popular, particularly amongst older ladies, across the globe - anybody who has ever read a single issue of The Weekly News will instantly know who I mean(). Let's just pick a name at random and refer to him as.... Eoin McLove.

Now, Eoin has a perfectly nice, clear, tuneful singing voice and he sings a lot of popular traditional songs and hymns in a strong, pleasant way; but every single time I hear him, he sounds like he's filing his toenails, agonising over his favourite variety of apple or planning the list of materials he'll need from B&Q to build a shed.

He just sounds sooooo bored that you totally overlook the actual song - or even that he's singing one at all! He's minted, he doesn't have to work down a coal mine; in fact, he doesn't now need to work ever again if he doesn't want to. Nobody's forcing him to do it - is he really as stultified as he sounds or just 'not the expressive type'???!!!

Frank Sinatra
Whitney Houston
Amy Winehouse
Beyoncé
Sam Smith
Lionel Ritchie
Dolly Parton.

I don't think there is one suggestion that I disagree with on this thread. However... another mention for Freddie Mercury. A beautiful voice and such a showman.