Who is the female vocalist equivalent to Frank Sinatra (on his ballad albums)?*

A couple or more things: You have less than a handful of female vocalists that are close to Frank Sinatras abilities. Yet even they have only certain stellar qualities that can match his. One has the ability to phrase in an incredible way but just never had the range of Mr Sinatra. Another has the range but her phrasing just doesnt have the emotional reach that he had. And this isnt just picking on the female gender, its found in the best male singers also. Thats kind of why he was called "the Voice", right?

I dont believe the equivalent exists and certainly not any who made strictly a thematic ballad album. Julie London? Love her. Have all her albums. She is a favorite. But, really she has nowhere close the technical abilities of a Frank Sinatra. Same can be said for most of the singers mentioned in this thread.

One that may be overlooked and comes close in nuance and range... but I am not sure she ever did a completey strictly ballad album..



And though the question isnt exactly "Is there a female singer that equals Frank Sinatra", the singer would still have to meet that requirement even if a female ballad album existed that was as good as Wee Small or Only The Lonely.

Then there is this...which I have to agree with...

"Nobody can be compared to FS, especially not a woman."-Nancy Sinatra

 

Source of quote: The female version of our Frank? - Page 3 (Sinatra Family Forum)

 

Being a fan of jazz & pop vocals, a few years ago I had fun with a broader version of this thread's question. Some like-minded people and I tried to pair some of the famous (fe)male jazz/pop singers with (fe)male counterparts. I'm happy that I kept a copy of my list from back then:

Louis Armstrong - Ella Fitzgerald
Mildred Bailey - Bing Crosby
Chet Baker - Beverly Kenney
Tony Bennett - Rosemary Clooney
Betty Carter - Mark Murphy
Ray Charles - Dinah Washington *
June Christy - Jackie Paris *
Nat King Cole - Carmen McRae
Perry Como - Dinah Shore
Harry Connick Jr - Diana Krall
Vic Damone - Jo Stafford
Bobby Darin - Nina Simone
Sammy Davis Jr - Judy Garland
Doris Day - Gordon McRae
Billy Eckstine - Sarah Vaughan
Johnny Hartman - Julie London
Dick Haymes - Annie Ross *
Billie Holiday: sui generis
Lena Horne - Bobby Short
Herb Jeffries - Eartha Kitt
Jack Jones - Margaret Whiting *
Frankie Laine - Kay Starr
Peggy Lee - Frank Sinatra
Dean Martin - Keely Smith
Anita O'Day - Mel Tormé
Little Jimmy Scott - Sylvia Syms *


This list being quite a few years old, there are a few pairs about which I might not feel quite so positive now, but overall I find myself thinking pretty much the same way. (Asterisk: pairs about which I'm trying to recall the particular reason why I put them together ...)

 

Sinatra always respected Ella. When he had to sing with her he was always at the top of his game.

 

Relative beauty of voice is a distinct consideration. There are plenty of singers with more beautiful voices than Billie Holiday, but few who had as much to say with her instrument. There are many pretty, but empty voies.

As I have mentioned, Ella used her voice largely as a jazz instrument, playing with melody and scatting. She didn't pay much attention to what the lyrics were saying. She didn't imbue a song with much emotional intent.

Sinatra was very much about the emotional intent. He was the sad sack of "One More For My Baby". In "You Make Me Feel So Young", you could believe that he really means it. This sort of interpretation was not Ella's game.

If you're looking for a gorgeous voice, Sarah Vaughan had some training as an opera singer. She has beautiful tone and an incredible range.

 

The thing about Sinatra, he could swing as well as anybody. THAT was Ella's strength. It's why they both worked with Ellington and Basie.

Sinatra's favorite singer was Tony Bennett, a completely different singer from Ella. All of them had a great respect for jazz players and singers.

 

I’d check out Susannah McCorkle and Karin Allyson, who both have some elements of what you are looking for. I don’t know their catalogs well enough to recommend a specific album equivalent to Sinatra’s best.

Philo

 

If we are going to be absolutely serious, the fairest answer would be that no one has an equivalent. Each person is a world into his or her own, artists included. This means that it's not just Frank who doesn't have an equivalent. Irene Kral, Cher, Morgana King (to mention some of the names offered in previous posts): none of them have an equivalent, either.

Okay, that was my attempt at a serious answer.

Isn't this thread more about offering some food for thought and having fun along the way, though? Hope so. With that approach in mind:



(Vocal starts around :14.)


Here are some of the points that I take into consideration as I make my nomination ...

ONE
Wednesday, December 30, 1942, at the Paramount Theatre, in New York's Times Square: The Dawn of the Vocalist's Era. If you don't know the story, you should. Briefly put, that's the date and event which music critics have traditionally pinpointed as a symbolic marker, signifying the ascension of singers to the top position in music popularity. What happened during that apocalyptic, end-of-the-year engagement at that historical location ("the center of the world")? Well, Frank Sinatra's apotheosis -- that's what happened. And guess which female singer was on the same bill, thus being a witness to the dawn and coronation (as well as a side participant)? Yes, that right: Peggy Lee.





TWO
While under Capitol contract in the mid-1950s, Frank made arrangements with the label in order to set up his own music imprint. In time, he conceived projects for two Capitol artists, the very first of them being a female singer. Guess who? Yep, Peggy. As most of us who are fans of Frank know, he became heavily involved in the direction and production of the album, conducting the orchestra himself and even making suggestion(s) for the front cover. It could be argued that, had Frank been a woman, this is the concept album that (s)he would have envisioned "him-herself" doing at that point it time (1957).





THREE
In the mid-1960s, the press asked Frank about female singers whose musical craftsmanship he currently admired and/or approved. (I'm paraphrasing here, since I don't have the article in front of me). Among the two or three women that he singled out for praise: why, Peg, of course. (Conversely, and infamously, he offered negative criticism of Ella Fitzgerald's singing. Fortunately, he would go back to showing enthusiasm for Ella in later years.)



(The Nordic head is tellingly tilting toward
the Italian bambino, whose gaze says it all.
Irish eyes are not smiling.)


FOUR
In the late 1980s, Frank and the rest of the rat pack were scheduled to give a concert benefit at Radio City Music Hall, along with Liza Minnelli. When Liza suddenly reported that she was sick and couldn't attend, who was promptly recruited to take on the female role? Um-hmmm. La Lee.





FIVE
In the early 1990s, the Society of Singers honored Frank with their highest award. As the reporter in this clip aptly states, one of the emotional highlights of the evening took place when a 70-year-old woman sang special lyrics in Frank's honor, to the tune of the standard "The Man I Love." An emotional Mister Sinatra was caught wiping away a tear. The singing septuagenarian was -- who else but -- Miss Lee.




All the happenings that I described point to a strong connection, both musical and personal, between Sinatra and Lee. He seems to have considered her a close peer, and perhaps one of his "equals" in the world of music.


SIX +++
There are quite a few additional parallels, statistics and factoids that could also be mentioned. Frank offered a very masculine personality to the world; Peggy cultivated a very feminine persona. The dark side of their personalities came out in some of their music. You will be hard-pressed to find other singers of their time who recorded concept albums as dark as She Shot Me Down and Mirrors. Both vocalists were once trapped under the big band wings of hard task makers -- Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman -- whom the singers credited as key influences for some particular aspects of their craft. Both singers shared a strong affinity for the work of Alec Wilder, and were supportive of him; both singers happened to get into trouble with a more famous composer, Richard Rodgers. Like Frank, Peggy would receive lots of critical/peer praise for not only her balladry but also her highly developed sense of swing. While no other contemporary vocalist (male or female ) came close to Frank in the following regard, Peggy was one of the precious few singers of their generation to also manage to have chart hits as late as 1969. The parallel in the charts has has some continuity during recent years, when latter-day compilations by both of them have made the Billboard charts ....... I imagine that I could come up with more stuff, but this is already long enough.

Obviously, there are other female singers who could be justly compared with Frank as well, on account of some significant aspects of their career. If we were to concentrate on film, Doris Day would have to come up as a counterpart. (She could actually be the greater film star of the two, I suppose?) If we were to measure equivalency by all-time popularity, Ella Fitzgerald would have to be brought up, because she is the most remembered & revered female singer of that era, just as Frank is for the other gender. But, when we leave aside those very general, broad-stroke similarities, I don't see much in common with either of these great ladies.

Sarah Vaughan might be the most frequently mentioned name in this thread, so far. Lest it seems otherwise, let me preface my comment by stating that I'm a fan of hers. I'm likely to have collected nearly everything that she recorded, and I do love lots of it .... With that said, I cannot think of any highly celebrated singer who botched so many lyrics in her lifetime. She herself admitted at one point that the melody was what she really, really loved, and that lyrics were, at best, secondary to her. That's why, even if I were to sense any strong similarities between them, I'd still never be able to name Sarah as a counterpart to an interpreter as exquisitely attuned to the emotional content and meaning of a lyric as Frank (or Peggy) could be. (Once again, don't get me wrong: Sarah is and will forever be divine. Just not Frank's Olympian consort.)

 

At various times over the years, Frank credited Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Sarah Vaughan, Lena Horne, and Sylvia Syms as his “favorite” female singers.

 

I've spent the day with Sarah Vaughan thanks to this thread. I recommended her earlier. Now I take that and multiply times 5.

Rarely do I stop reading just to listen, but did that to her Ellington albums on Pablo.

Thanks to the op for this wonderful thread.

 

I can think of a better way to spend the afternoon than listening to Sarah Vaughan.
Glad to be of help.

You know, I've said the same thing myself in this forum, but I hoped somebody would surprise me. How I worded the question is part of the problem.

I just bought three by Peggy Lee -- Black Coffee the one with "Fever" added to it, The Man I Love conducted by Sinatra, and I Like Men. None of them are really ballad albums, but I've wanting to get started on Peggy for a long time, so ...

How do I thank everybody for your input.
I will be checking many of these ladies out.

I'm going to rephrase the question in another thread. Will post a link to it in here.

 

Plus four songs from a later session were added to pad it out for a 12" LP issue, it was originally a 10" album.
Sea Shells on another hand was a concept album.

 

Absolutely. Nearly every singer named in this thread had something that Sinatra did not have, just as Frank himself was unique.

 

Posts like this are what makes this forum such a great place to spend one's time.

Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to contribute this for the rest of us!!!

Best Wishes,
David

 

Easy does it, David.
Let's move on.

 

You forgot to mention Frank's admiration of Mabel Mercer, the godmother of interpretive singers.

 

Yes, and I’m probably also remiss for failing to mention Judy Garland.

 

Just giving credit where it's due.



A name not mentioned yet and one that I mention with some caution is 'Jeri Southern'.

Never particularly comfortable with more up-tempo material, Jeri was as good an interpreter of ballads as anyone. So, not the all-round talent as some others here are.

My favourite album and one I would recommend is 'You Better Go Now', currently available as a 'two-fer' with 'When Your Heart's On Fire'.



If you like YBGN, then the rest of her catalogue is worth exploring.

My Dad was a huge Sinatra fan - when he wanted a change in his listening, he turned to Peggi Lee and Jeri Southern.

Best Wishes,
David

 

@AnalogJ mentioned Sarah Vaughan, she had it all -- the incredible range -- both vocally and stylistically, the incredible creative imagination, the breath control (but not Sinatra's mic technique), and the great storytelling, but on her jazz sides she went much further in terms of improvising liberties, and especially in her later years, timbral manipulation, than Sinatra ever was interested in going.

Sarah Vaughan was a great storyteller? Please direct me to particular recordings that demonstrate this. I always have put her in the same category as Ella regarding lyrics

I only recently listened to Doris Day's "Day by Day" and was surprised at how superior it was to other recordings of hers. She should have worked with Paul Weston more often.

And if you believe Michael Feinstein, who heard it from Angie Dickinson, Nancy Wilson was his favorite singer during the early sixties

 

Nearly all singers have great admiration for nearly all singers, from many styles. They rarely spend energy on top 10 lists, or spend their time saying one is better than another.

 

I love DD's version of 'I remember You' from 'Day by Day'

Best Wishes,
David

 

I really need to get acquainted with Sarah Vaughan. Having never listened to her, what would be the best album to pick up?

 

Yeah. I can easily see how the names brought up by Bob might have been the ones that Frank mentioned consistently or repeatedly. At the same time, I bet that, if we kept digging, we'll probably come up with even more female singers that Frank also praised at one particular time or another.

Case in point: I'm pretty sure that I have read comments from Frank in which he was hugely complimentary of Dinah Shore's singing. In that particular case, we would have to take into account the fact that the two of them started together (well, sort of) on the radio, which must have created a bond that they maintained for a lifetime. (Plus, just about everybody seems to have liked Dinah's personality; people probably felt predisposed to flatter and empathize with her.)

The claim about Frank's love for Nancy's singing: I had heard it before, but had totally forgotten about it. Glad you brought it up. It seems perfectly possible, particularly in the 1960s, when Capitol had Nancy record mostly standards, rather than the more r&b flavored stuff that she apparently favors (i.e., the style toward which she moved later in her career). On the flip side, it's hard to put a whole lot of stock on a third-hand comment, all the more so when it comes from a man who disliked Sinatra's singing for decades (finally changing his mind, for the better, more recently), and from a lady with whom Frank did not exactly cohabit (looks to me like most of what they did was partying and ... hold private meetings from time to time, over the years at her home or elsewhere) ... So: I do not disbelieve this, but I still feel that, until some corroboration shows up, it is indeed a good idea to preface the claim with the words "if you believe" ...

Agree that singers naturally have admiration for many of their peers. Some could actually be very (uh) vocal in their public expressions of admiration. By the same token, many a vocalist of that era, including Frank, must have hated the singing of this or that particular peer, but we might never find out about it, because such expressions of dislike are likely to have been voiced mostly in private ... That's one of the reasons why those "blindfold tests," published in jazz magazines, can make for fun reading. Sometimes, while listening to another performer, without knowing who the performer is, the blindfolded artists could be too honest for their own good!

 

To me there are no equivalents to Frank Sinatra, male or female. If I had to pick the best female it would be either Ella or Nina Simone. My third pick would be Billie Holiday.

Sara Vaughn sounds flat and mannish at times and I always considered her overrated.

 

That happens to be a very good pick to add to the ongoing list: as I read your post, I felt pretty sure that I had read about Frank's admiration for her, although I couldn't recall the particulars. Just found this on the web:

Sometime in the 1950s, Frank Sinatra and Jeri Southern were performing at the same theater. When Sinatra was informed that Southern was leaving the building, he rushed down the backstage hallways wearing nothing but a bathrobe, and when he found Southern, he gave her such a strong bear hug that he nearly hurt her. He professed his long admiration of her music and encouraged her to continue her work. (Author: Thomas Cunniffe)​

So, that's the story. If Frank were to run after me, and tightly squeeze me, while wearing nothing but a bathrobe ... I'd be worried, to say the very least. But hey.

Jeri is also known to have been an admirer of Frank's singing, although (being a singing-pianist herself) her favorite male vocalist is said to have been Nat King Cole.

He obviously had good taste in music, and possibly a keen affinity for subtle, intimate ballad singing. It's worth mentioning, in passing, that these two female singers knew one another, and were on friendly terms for decades. In fact, Peggy was responsible for getting Jeri's recording career started. The first time that Peggy caught sight of Jeri was when Jeri was performing at some place in Chicago. Peggy liked a lot what she heard. Hence she told executives at the label for which she was recording at the time (Decca) to please check out Jeri, and sign her if they liked what they heard. Not long thereafter, Jeri began her recording career on Decca.