Several posters picked Callas but I thought that it was widely accepted that she was not technically good. e.g. quoted in Wikipedia “Accepted wisdom tells us that Callas possessed, even early on, a flawed voice, unattractive by conventional standards—an instrument that signaled from the beginning vocal problems to come.” Whatever people like about Callas it is not the purity of her technique. Great emotional communication but technically quite flawed. Not a female vocalist. I love the suggestion. She is, after all, officially Beste Zanger. I'll go with the majority and say that Ella was the best though I also think that Laura Nyro was a terrifically gifted vocalist.
Seriously...it's gotta be between Ann Wilson and Barbara Streisand* doesn't it? They are technically FLAWLESS. *and I'm not even a fan except for a song here and there!
A vote for her. In terms of the several different facets of vocal ability, I'd say they were apportioned pretty evenly in her case.
In terms of pure range, as far as those who are still alive and able to sing (Linda's voice has sadly been silenced by Parkinson's) Happy Rhodes is pretty astounding. Here's her singing the chorus of David Bowie's song Fame - acapella. Bowie recorded it by varying the speed of the tape, and Happy just sang it live as a goof:
I'm prepared for the snickering and hard eye rolls, but Olivia has to be on that list. Here a couple of live performances of her cover of "Jolene" 35 years apart... 1982 and 2017... and she still nails that ending! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Il7U11wh-90
Well, whether or not you think she is a valid part of the discussion for pure vocal talent, ya' still gotta' deduct points for the femullet!
I think "pure vocal ability" has to put you in opera territory. Pop music is great, and I love the way Ella sings, but could she sing a 5-hour Wagner opera? The stamina, the range, the trills, the vocal runs up and down, the articulation, the years of training—opera singers do things that pop singers are simply unable to do. So who are the best sopranos? Somebody said above that Callas distinguished herself by passion and acting ability, but her technique was weak. It was weak only compared to the other very greatest opera singers. Technically she could run rings around the pop singers in this thread. They don't even try to do what she did, every night. As for best, check the lists, they all have the same names. Callas, Sutherland, Norman, Nilsson, Schwarzkopf—take your pick, when you're that good, personal preference is all that's left.
Olivia Newton-John is one of the most underrated female vocalists of her time. I saw her live concert at Irvine Meadows in 1982 about a week after she filmed her concert for HBO in Ogden, Utah. As noted music critic Paul Grein said sometime ago, her vocal pitch is near perfect and her pipes are a lot stronger than people give her credit for around here. She is one of the best female vocalists that I have ever seen live in concert. I also count Adele, Carrie Underwood and Dolly Parton, among that list of highly gifted female vocalists that I have seen live in concert.
I saw ONJ here in San Antonio almost exactly three years ago. She still has it. Her voice was fantastic. Her enthusiasm and the appreciation she had for the audience made the show a complete joy to attend.
Her voice has held up remarkably well over the years. I saw her at the Desert Inn in Las Vegas in the late 1990's and then again in Reno, Neveda about six years ago. Olivia always put on a fantastic show. One of the nicest people in the music business as well; Kind and generous to say the least.
ANYBODY can edit a Wikipedia entry. I am no expert on opera in general or Callas specifically, but she was an incredible vocalist. I am not certain it is fair to say she was flawed. She had an amazing gift.
Jazz : Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan 60s/70s: Aretha Franklin and Janis Joplin 80s/90s: Whitney Houston 90s/2000s: Sarah McLachlan (not mentioned?!!)
I didn’t think it was possible for a thread like this to not begin and end with Dionne Warwick. She has the tone, control, range and, importantly to me, restraint.
