Scratchy voiced female singers

"Abraham, Martin And John" - Moms Mabley


Hit #35 on the Billboard Hot 100 on 19 July 1969.
At 75 years old, Moms Mabley became the oldest living person
ever to have a US Top 40 hit.

 

When a person lacked any hint of vibrato in their singing voice, we used to say "you can't sing to save your life - please stop". I think we need to say that more often.

 

Tracey Nelson.

 

You watch reality talent shows?
"Britney Spears yay or nay"?
I thought this was a respectable music forum.

 

joni mitchell as she has gotten older and smoked more cigarettes.

 

Agreed on all points...

 

Yes let's name all the male vocalists who copied Eddie Vedder in the 90s. They all sang like Elvis with marbles in their mouths.

 

Exactly. It drives me nuts how every amateur on those talent shows all sing that way.

 

I Must not have given enough examples since I'm not fan. I'm not talking about women with rough voices. I'm talking about a new style of singing that everyone has copying. I'm not crazy, cause someone else brought up same point on another board. Here is the link:

Is there a name for this hyper-annoying singing style? - Straight Dope Message Board »

Listen to some of the examples and you'll know what I am trying to describe.

 

Very sad to hear our angel's lilting voice turned to rasp

 

Those type of covers can be so annoying. I find them rather pretentious.

 

The Kat Edmonson and Nataly Dawn are spot on examples of what you are talking about right?

Yeah, sometimes it works but mostly you just want to jab pencils into your ears.

 

I like raspy voiced female singers, but not everyone needs to sound like that.

 

The OP used "scratchy" in his description of this singing style, but I don't think it fits. I don't hear it in the singers we've mentioned here.

 

I know exactly what you're talking about: it's a breathy quality along with a tendency to be slightly flat. A lack of energy and dynamics is also a spot on description. Those examples on the message board were perfect.

It seems that it's either this "indie" style or the Mariah/Whitney 2.0 that have become more prominent on the radio or on talent shows.

 

i don't know if rasp is the right word, smokey would better describe it, if you know what i mean.

 

Bonnie Tyler is a prime example of a "scratchy" sounding singer IMO. Love her voice, though! It's a Heartache, Total Eclipse, etc.

 

What if that's just their natural singing voice? I don't think there's much that Kim Carnes or Bonnie Tyler could do about their voices. I don't think Adele really approaches that level of "scratchiness". The most successful scratchy voice - Rod Stewart, but close behind would be Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins of TLC, the best selling female group of all time. Remember "Waterfalls"?

 

Kim Carnes & Bonnie Tyler

 

How about Sarah Cracknell? Red Kites is a stellar new autumnal, melancholy LP. She might be more "breathy" than scratchy voiced though.

 

Remember when Phoebe on Friends caught a cold and liked her new scratchy voice?

 

It seems female singers can't get anywhere by being truly original and different. You're either an affected indie girl or a former Disney or Nickelodeon girl who now sings sexed up R&B or one of the offspring of Amy Winehouse (Adele included).

 

As far as scratchy-raspy-voiced singers go, I'm even-handed: I dislike that vocal quality equally in males and females. John Fogerty, Bob Seeger, Michael Bolton, you name 'em. I always get the feeling that its an affectation that is destroying the singer's throat, and even if it's natural and not destructive, I'm not entertained by grinding/screeching/growling/wheezing vocals. Janis and Tom Waites are the only exceptions for me.

A dishonorable mention goes to the constipated groaner school of singing, made most famous by Kenny Rodgers.

Regarding the hoards of sheep out there trying to imitate the same singing style, including the melisma (aka urban yodeling) that's been in vogue for some time now, I'd point out that such imitation is nothing new in popular music; in the 30's and 40's most singers, including Frank Sinatra, one of the most distinctive singers ever, started out like most of his peers, imitating Bing Crosby. In the 50's there were the Elvis imitators; then the Beatles or Dylan imitators, and on and on...

Ok, I think I've sufficiently offended a whole bunch a people for now.

 

The original poster really did a disservice to this thread by using the term "scratchy" in the title. This really has nothing whatsoever to do with "scratchy" vocals. We're talking about something very different here. Or we ~were~ talking about something different.