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OT: Singers with the widest range


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...I'd nominate Helen Merrill for pure artistry and musicianship.

B.

...I'd have to vote for Eva Cassidy ... her vocals absolutely melt me. For male jazz singers, Al Jarreau is one of the first to come to mind.

 

For a combination of range & all around greatness in the pop-rock scene I've got to go with Freddie Mercury.

Can't argue with Eva Cassidy. Or Freddie Mercury, either. Male jazz singers, I'd have to go truly old school--Johnny Hartman or maybe Nat Cole.

 

Cheers,

 

B.

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I would love to know exactly where in "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" that Elton John hits the E2. I know that song backwards and forwards and he doesn't do it. Personally I think a lot of these extreme notes are bogus.
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Sarah Vaughn

Yma Sumac

Lisa Fischer

 

All were great singers as well (especially Sarah).

 

chas

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touche on the old school male jazz singers, and Sarah Vaughn is another great for sure. The best scat singers could start a whole new thread...

 

I love how in this short conversation (spawned by Axel Rose no less!) there have been so many greats mentioned ... fact is, there can't possibly be one "best", but hundreds, if not thousands that deserve to be on your aural pallette!

 

Best thing for me about these threads is I usually run across a name or two I haven't heard before and voila, I suddenly find yet another favorite!

If music is soul food, man am I hungry!

scs

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  • 7 months later...
Ya know, women have a falsetto range, too. Mariah's squeakers are most certainly using that technique. Not sure why falsetto would not be considered valid for range. Some singers can simply transition more smoothly than others; Chris Cornell for one.

 

Cornell's a f-ing beast. Best rock singer ever as far as I'm concerned.

 

ar as female singers, I lovelovelove Kristy Thirsk. Glass-shattering highs, and she can go quite low, too.

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Even though it can be impressive in a way, clearly a wide vocal range is not the best measure of a great singer. I recall watching Leonard Cohen receive a Juno Award (sort of a Canadian Grammy) on television years ago. LC might have a range of an octave or less. He must have been humored by the recognition, because he remarked that only in Canada could he be given an award for male vocalist of the year.

 

Because he wasn't mentioned in this thread, I've got to give kudos to Glenn Hughes. While he has a tendency to over-sing almost everything (just because he can), I can't help but be impressed by the range, power, tonal colors and audaciousness that he demonstrates at his (or any) age. Listening to him is the aural equivalent to eating poutine.

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One in a million

A vocal analysis of the voice

 

Some issues with this:

A: A Countertenor is NOT - as stated in the article - the equivalent of a male Soprano; it is the equivalent of a Contralto, or at best, a mezzo-Soprano. The only male equivalent to a Soprano is a "sopranist." (C4 - Middle C - to C6.)

 

B: He isn't a Countertenor. If you want to hear an actually Countertenor, listen to Jon Anderson of Yes.

 

There are others, but not really necessary to list: it's founded on a false premise.

 

Far too many of you are confusing MIDI notes to established music note ranges. Middle C - the middle range of a Tenor, and hence the reason it's the C-Clef that sits smack dab in the middle of the staff - is C4. A Tenor's range is C3- the octave below Middle C to A4, the A above the staff, with the highest tenors going to F5. (The highest Tenor note in Opera is in "Le Postillon de Lonjumeau," a D5, or the D above Middle C.) If he's hitting D6, that's 3 ledger lines above the staff, and he's in high-Soprano territory. That ain't happening.

 

If you're going to apply Classical terms like "Countertenor," you should use Classical note references, not MIDI note references.

 

..Joe

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One in a million

A vocal analysis of the voice

 

https://app.box.com/s/18d0yxkbohz87a3xfvoc/1/1574660887/13969231993/1

Putting the article's problematical use of "contratenor" aside for a moment, does anyone else find the whole thing a little amusing? First, I was expecting something a little more rigorous but the article mostly contains statements of opinion as well as (presumed) facts about Perry's career as a vocalist.

 

Second, you have to wonder why the authors were motivated to write the article in the first place. They are clearly Perry fans but they had planned to write it over a year before they did and have revised it twice to keep it up to date. So they evidently think this is an important issue. Were so many people dissing Perry's voice that they thought such an article was necessary or did they just have a lot of time on their hands?

 

Hey authors, you know what Perry would want you to do? I'll bet he just wants you to listen to his music, not "analyze" the piss out of it.

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C.) If he's hitting D6, that's 3 ledger lines above the staff, and he's in high-Soprano territory. That ain't happening.

 

..Joe

 

Didn't we discuss this earlier and determine he does in fact go beyond D6 in the wheel in the sky solo?

 

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Miles Kennedy for current rock singers has quite a range, baritone on up there.

[video:youtube]WR4_chcwvoM

 

Back in the day there were a number of high tenors that could get way, way up there (Rik Emmitt, Brad Delp, Jon Anderson, Mickey Thomas come to mind). My favorite though was always Steve Walsh of Kansas. He could get pretty low but rise up, and with a very "full" voice if that makes sense. And of course kick-butt player!

[video:youtube]agpQ0gIKsQw

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Add my votes for Freddie Mercury and Philip Bailey. But if you're talking sheer working vocal range I'm surprised no one has mentioned Bobby McFerrin! And he's not strictly a jazz cat either. I saw him last summer with his latest band - The Spirit You'all Band - and it was mainly gospel and Americana, for want of a better description.

 

[video:youtube]

 

Instrumentation is meaningless - a song either stands on its own merit, or it requires bells and whistles to cover its lack of adequacy, much less quality. - kanker
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quite surprised to see Freddie mentioned so little... he's my runaway first choice, not just for range (never bothered to measure, and I couldn't care less) but most of all for his versatility.

He could simply do anything, from falsetto, to growling, to opera-like singing, all with amazing control and intonation.

 

And yeah, why think only of high notes? I love Leonard Cohen and Johnny Cash!

:)

 

For women, my podium would be Ella, Ella, and Mrs. Fitzgerald.

;)

 

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I cover a lot of her stuff. She has a HIGH range. I would say Jesse J has a wider range.

"It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne

 

"A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!!

So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt

 

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For Rock Music there is only one answer:

 

Steve Perry. Countertenor extraordinaire. Power and ease beyond measure.

 

Wrong. He's no where near a countertenor. Maybe a bargain-counter tenor...

 

A countertenor is a male alto, and he's not even close. No way he can go up to an E5.

 

If you want high, I'm surprised no one has mentioned Jon Anderson. He truly is a male Alto.

 

For range and control still maintain Annie Haslam of Renaissance has all the others whacked to the wide.

 

Ashes Are Burning

 

Live she still has magnificent control of her 5-octave range. Listen to the first 2 minutes for control, but if you want to just be wowed with a singer's capabilities and range, just jump to 3:10 and watch her let loose with those astounding pipes in "Ashes Are Burning."

 

..Joe

+ 652.
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Happy Rhodes has a fantastic range. Here's an example... all the voices are hers.

[video:youtube]

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Middle C - the middle range of a Tenor, and hence the reason it's the C-Clef that sits smack dab in the middle of the staff - is C4.
Nitpick: while that's a great convention, it's not a universal standard. Sadly, there are cases where middle C is C5 and even C6, that I've bumped into over the years. Of course, that buttresses your point. If we're using terms like C4 we need to qualify it with a basis (e.g., C4 = Middle C.)
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Happy Rhodes has a fantastic range. Here's an example... all the voices are hers.

[video:youtube]

 

I love Happy Rhodes, especially when she covers Kate Bush songs.

The fact there's a Highway To Hell and only a Stairway To Heaven says a lot about anticipated traffic numbers

 

People only say "It's a free country" when they're doing something shitty-Demetri Martin

 

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Gino Vannelli, Mariah Carey, Steve Walsh, John Elefante

The fact there's a Highway To Hell and only a Stairway To Heaven says a lot about anticipated traffic numbers

 

People only say "It's a free country" when they're doing something shitty-Demetri Martin

 

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BTW - if you want pure, authoritative vocal range (particularly from a guy...)

 

I hate the band, and Sweet couldn't write a hook to save his life, but the man has pipes (and still does 30 years later)...

 

[video:youtube]

 

Skip to 3:18 and just appreciate...

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I submit pre-botox, pre-man girdle, and pre-puberty late 50's - early 60's Wayne Newton. He couldn't lip sync worth a shit though.

 

 

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