Best female American singer

[Charlie]

If not Aretha, then who is
the best American female singer?

[Gordon Neill]

Why 'if not Aretha'? She is (or was).

Best runners up? Irma Thomas, Etta James, Mahalia Jackson, Billie Holiday, ..... um.... Etta James (as long as we're talking about singers, rather than material).

[Adam Blake]

I have to go along with Gordon - Aretha. But my second choice would be Mahalia Jackson. Then Bessie Smith. Nina Simone. Sarah Vaughan.

Outside the Black traditions: I like Carole King - I know she's not a great singer but there's something about her voice that touches me. I like Judy Collins too. Chrissie Hynde still counts as a Yank, right? I like her too.

[Rob Hall]

I really don't go along with the notion that anyone is "the best" of anything but, on her day, Aretha was pretty much it. Others - some mentioned above - came close, and Candi Staton is still out there contending, by all accounts.

I'd like to add nominations for Bessie Griffin, Marion Williams, the young Mavis Staples and Ella Fitzgerald. In her prime Bonnie Raitt had a pretty good voice too.

[Chris P]

see everybody is interpreting 'American' as USA.........

but as that's prob Charlie's intention, I'll just give a shout out for my favourite Anita O'Day, and second Ella Fitzgerald, whilst agreeing there's no such thing as 'best'.
Oh and that's a great pic Charlie !

[c hristian]

for me, for right now, it's Billy Holiday. Always loved how she sang. And i've been taking out my saxophone to play with Lester Young and Billy. So right now, it's Billy.

I think the jazz singers , well, Sarah and Ella, have showed more range and flexibility than Aretha, through the ages. I could be wrong, as I know Aretha had considerable flexibility in her choice of song /idiom, but Sarah/Ella,

I dunno.

It's back to Billy.

Tina Turner deserves some ink too. I prefer Tina to Aretha. Nothing wrong with Aretha. It's just that Tina has the FIRE! She held back less than Aretha, I think. MAybe not growing up in Aretha's time, I just take her for granted. She IS the choice for my older generation of americans, esp. anyone raised on motown. So, I'm a bit musically deaf to everything Aretha. But, always loved Respect, and I have the hottest version of Rocksteady that you could possibly imagine on vinyl 12inch.

Difficult to sum up one's entire lifetime musical output in one's head, no?

[Jamie Renton]

Most of those already named, especially Aretha, Bessie Smith, Billy Holiday (before the drugs took their toll) & Mahalia Jackson +

Patsy Cline
Sister Rosetta Tharpe

& taking Chris' point about America as a whole:

Celia Cruz
Toto La Mompasina
Celina Gonzalez

[Charlie]

MAybe not growing up in Aretha's time, I just take her for granted. She IS the choice for my older generation of americans, esp. anyone raised on motown. So, I'm a bit musically deaf to everything Aretha. But, always loved Respect, and I have the hottest version of Rocksteady that you could possibly imagine on vinyl 12inch.

So far nobody has mentioned any singer who made her name after 1970. Tina had her biggest hits in the 1980s, but to support Christian's nomination of her, I'd point to her first hits with Ike back in 1960, 'It's Gonna Work out Fine' and especially ' A Fool in Love' - blisteringly fiery vocals.

So come on, I wasn't expecting anybody to stick up for the over-blown shouters Whitney Houston, Celine Dion or Mariah Carey but who's gonna speak for Janet Jackson, Mary J Blige, Lauren Hill, Eryka Badu or Beyoncé?

[c hristian]

time will tell with those, and what they choose to do with their career.


Oh, and Aretha never sang Let's Dance with David Bowie, so the choice between her and Tina is obvious....(hint: T-I-N-A!)

another reason for Tina, I just noticed is that if you rearrange the letters in her name.... -TIAN....the better half of.....


...and she's Buddhist, so, what more can you ask for in a woman..excuse me,...American female singer?

[Dayna]

I like Crissy Hynde.

I've always admired Debra Harry.

[c hristian]

as i've mentioned before, I've always been around Pretenders music, but it's in the past year that Hynde has REALLY grown on me! It's the mature choice!

[Gordon Moore]

My dad was into West Coast jazz and June Christy comes to mind. (I'm sure I've mentioned her somewhere before). There's a blonde haired woman who sang with Stan Kenton quite a lot, but her name won't just come to mind. Fine singer, but not my cuppa.

Ahhh remembered - Peggy Lee (no doubt someone will tell me that neither is American, just like when I thought Tracey (Tracy) Chapman was a Brit! sigh)

[kevin]

Definitely Aretha but honourable mentions to Ann Peebles for I can't stand the rain and Millie Jackson for (If loving you is wrong) I don't want to be right.

[will vine]

I cannot quarrel with Aretha's greatest hits but she could really stir up a mess sometimes with her "over singing." Ritchie recently sent me a cd compilation which for the most part I really enjoyed but it had on it Aretha doing "My Way." My words cannot do justice to how awful I think it is- a terrible interpretation....get to hear it if you can.
Her vocal gymnastics probably gave rise to the overblown shouters that Charlie refers to, but I have to say, (this is getting like guilty pleasures) that I have never had a problem with Whitney Houston. Nor, for that matter with Gloria Estefan, another whose name I imagine we're supposed only to whisper.

[Papa M]

Chrissie Hynde still counts as a Yank, right? I like her too.

Hahaha! I take it you are being ironic. Chrissie Hynde indeed?

If you really wish to take it outside of black tradition then I guess Janis Joplin is the obvious choice. But she is an honorary black anyway. :roll: