Who are your top 20 female vocalists of all time

[Deleted]

My top 20

1. Judith Durham (Australian) Born 1943
2. Linda Ronstadt (American) Born 1946
3. Karen Carpenter (American) Born 1950- Dead 1983
4. France Gall (French) Born 1947-Dead 2018
5. Patsy Cline (American) Born 1932- Dead 1963
6. Aretha Franklin (American) Born 1942
7. Ella Fitzgerald (American) Born 1917- Dead 1996
8. Pelageya (Russian) Born 1986
9.  Gigliola Cinquetti (Italian) Born 1947 
10. Ann Wilson (American) Born 1950
11. Hayley Westenra (New Zealander) Born 1987 
12. Stevie Nicks (American) "Born 1948
13.Édith Piaf (French) Born 1915- Dead 1963 
14. Lenna Kuurmaa (Estonian) Born 1985
15. Inger Lise Rypdal (Norwegian) Born 1949
16. Annette Hanshaw (American) Born 1901- Dead 1985
17. Kitty Wells (American) Born 1919- Dead 2012
18. Dolores O'Riordan (Irish) Born 1971- Dead 2018
19. Anna Murphy (Swiss) Born 1989
20. Amy Lee (American) Born 1981 

[erik]

Mine:

1. Linda Ronstadt (natch!)
2. Dusty Springfield
3. Emmylou Harris
4. Trisha Yearwood
5. Maria McKee
6. Tift Merritt
7. Rosanne Cash
8. Patsy Cline
9. Caitlin Rose
10. Martina McBride
11. Carlene Carter
12. Lindi Ortega
13. Stevie Nicks
14. Joan Baez
15. Judy Collins
16. Sheryl Crow
17. Lucinda Williams
18. Adele
19. Roberta Flack
20. Karen Carpenter

[the Scribe]

Except for Linda in no particular order. Depends on my mood. And I am sure I am forgetting some. I mostly listen to talk radio and Binaural Beats.

Linda Ronstadt
Karen Carpenter
Eva Cassidy
Barbra Streisand
Jann Arden
Joey Heatherton
Stevie Nicks
Patsy Cline
Enya
Olivia Newton John
Sarah Brightman
Heart
Alyona Yarushina
Gabby Moreno
Gayle McCormick
Allison Krauss
Jennifer Warnes
Rebekah del Rio
Joni Mitchell
Laura Nyro

Petula Clark
Cass Elliot
Carole King
Omy Tinnitis

and Wendy, Karla
Maureen McGovern
Emmylou
Dusty
and probably someone Rick and Richard W like
hmmm. just too many

[Deleted]

except as Linda no particular order

1. Linda Ronstadt
2 Patsy Cline
3. Aretha Franklin
4. Ella Fitzgerald
5. Dusty Springfield
6. Regina Spektor
7. Tift Merritt
8. Judy Collins
9 Roberta Flack
10. Eva Cassidy
11. Joni Mitchell
12. Petula Clark
13. Billie Holiday
14. Sarah Vaughan
15. Jo Stafford
16. Emmylou Harris
17. Grace Slick
18. Rosemary Clooney
19. Sister Rosetta Tharpe
20. Anita Baker

[Partridge]

The first twenty that came to my mind today were these, and they are listed for the most part in alphabetical order.

1 Linda Ronstadt
2 Joan Baez
3 Blondie
4 Jann Browne
5 Carlene Carter
6 Rosanne Cash
7 Brandy Clark
8 Patsy Cline
9 Elizabeth Cook
10 Skeeter Davis
11 Wanda Jackson
12 Loretta Lynn
13 Bette Midler
14 Maria Muldaur
15 Mary Kay Place
16 Bonnie Raitt
17 Buffy Sainte-Marie
18 Jean Shepard
19 Dusty Springfield
20 Dinah Washington

[the Scribe]

Mary Kay Place was a singer?

[erik]

Quote by ronstadtfanaz:

Mary Kay Place was a singer?

Yes, she had a number of C&W hits in the mid-to-late 1970s, notably "Baby Boy" and "Something To Brag About", that last one a duet with Willie Nelson. Reportedly, she could also be rollerskating along the Venice boardwalk during that time with pals Nicolette Larson, Carlene Carter, and....Linda.

[the Scribe]

If I had to listen to Mary Kay with my eyes closed I would have guessed it was this great woman:



Five years living in Kentucky will have that effect on a fellow because I never would have appreciated her had I stayed in my home state of NY. I wonder if Mary Kay's character in Mary Hartman Mary Hartman was based on Loretta Lynn?

[Tony]

One of the songs I remember from watching Mary Hartman Mary Hartman that was in her character Loretta Haggers' repertoire was Loretta Lynn's "you're looking at country"- there may have been others. That reminds me- I bought the DVD set of the complete Mary Hartman series and I've never cracked the seal on it-- I think tonight I will start watching the series again.

The second Mary Kay Place album was not in the Loretta character. The third album was not as country- but she was dropped as the record company changed management. Copies were passed around among fans but it was over 30 years until it was officially released. I wish she would record a contemporary album, maybe with her friend Rodney Crowell producing, but that is about as likely as that special 50th anniversary edition of Hand Sown.. Home Grown that I am hoping for. Mary Kay does have a new movie out on the festival circuit that is getting some recognition, but so far no national release date.

[alyn]

Took some working out, and this is a rough kind of order, but this is my Top 20:
Linda Ronstadt
Kate Bush
Stevie Nicks
Carly Simon
Karen Carpenter
Barbra Streisand
Bonnie Raitt
Gladys Knight
Carole King
Ann Wilson (Heart)
Eva Cassidy
Dionne Warwick
Joni Mitchell
Gretchen Peters
Chaka Khan
Randy Crawford
Sonja Kristina (Curved Air)
Christine McVie
Judie Tzuke

Rickie Lee Jones

I look at this list and it even baffles me....! As for them being the best female singers of all time, for the most part they aren't, but they are my favourites, all of them with the quality to entertain and move me in very different ways.

[sliderocker]

Jul 24, 2018 5:53:51 GMT -5 the Scribe said:

Mary Kay Place was a singer?

Yes, and a songwriter! One of her first appearances on TV was in an episode of "All in the Family," in which she and Sally Struthers sang to Carroll O'Connor (as Archie), "When Communism Comes To Your Door, Don't Answer It." She actually wrote the song. Her deep southern twang was natural, so had she not made it as an actress, she had the potential to make it as a country singer.

[sliderocker]

My Top 20:

1. Linda Ronstadt
2. Susan Jacks (Poppy Family, and an online friend of mine)
3. Eva Cassidy
4. Gretchen Peters
5. Ilsa DeLange
6. Andrea Berg
7. Agnetha Faltskog (ABBA)
8. The MonaLisa Twins (twin sisters Mona and Lisa, from England via Austria)
9. Frida Lyngstad (ABBA)
10. Gayle McCormick
11. Skeeter Davis
12. Barbara Fairchild
13. Melanie
14. Petula Clark
15. Joey Heatherton
16. Enya
17. Bernadette Peters
18. Jann Browne
19. Patsy Cline
20. Jackie DeShannon

Many others I like, but the numbers above don't necessarily reflect any real order except for Linda and Susan. I've been online friends with Susan for about seven years now, first through her then-personal website in which she interacted with fans like myself and then privileged as a friend of hers on Facebook.

Susan is an underrated singer, had one huge hit with her ex Terry (of "Seasons in the Sun" fame - that's her voice you hear in the background of that hit) as the Poppy Family, "Which Way You Goin' Billy?," which should've been a number one record in Billboard and Cashbox and Record World, but was unfairly out of that position by the last 45 released by the Beatles just as they broke up, "The Long and Winding Road." "Billy" actually sold more records than "The Long and Winding Road" and was on the charts longer, but the trade papers had a bias for the Beatles. Go figure!

Susan was also the first female pop-rock singer from Canada to break through the record charts in the US and was rightfully miffed when the Canadian government honored Anne Murray as being the first female singer from Canada to break through onto the US Top 40 charts. The Poppy Family record had actually been on the charts before Anne Murray released "Snowbird" and by the time Anne's song was making the charts, the Poppy Family were on the charts with their second and final Top 40 single (also sung by Susan), "That's Where I Went Wrong."

I've been a fan of both Linda and Susan from the very beginning, and the others from the beginning as well or when I first discovered their music. A curio I didn't notice until I was making this list was Gretchen Peters and Bernadette Peters, two singers with the same last name but possibly not related, although both have one thing in common, other than singing. Both are from New York. Bernadette is a noted actress in movies and on Broadway, as well as an incredible singer, her best known song being her moderate pop hit "Gee Whiz" and her recording and performance of "Pearl's a Singer." She also delivered a stunning version of "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" on "The Tonight Show" in the 80s, accompanied only by a piano that would've made its writer, Hank Williams, very proud. Some performers forget simplicity is sometimes the best arrangement and Bernadette delivered a knockout. It's available on youtube if anyone is interested.

Gretchen is well known for her songwriting in the country genre. She has written several hits in that genre and her songs are highly sought out by country performers, especially female country performers. Her own recordings, however, are a mix of pop, rock and country - lean more towards rock than country. As far as I know, she's never had any hits on her own but her albums are ear treats. It's easy to see why her songs are sought after in the country genre. It's a pity the songs are not sought out in the rock genre by non-writing performers or performers who do write but who also do songs written by others. Gretchen's songs could just as easily be hits on the pop-rock charts.

[jhar26]

In alphabetical order.

Bjork
Kate Bush
June Christy
Patsy Cline
Sheryl Crow
Sandy Denny
Ella Fitzgerald
Aretha Franklin
Emmylou Harris
PJ Harvey
Billie Holiday
Etta James
Peggy Lee
Helen Merrill
Joni Mitchell
Stevie Nicks
Patti Smith
Linda Ronstadt
Dusty Springfield
Sarah Vaughan

[Partridge]

I maybe could have made room for Bernadette Peters and Kate Bush on another day. SRSV?

[sliderocker]

Another actress-singer that would be on my list if she had recordings available would be Beverly D'Angelo. And Meryl Streep! Beverly was the quintessential threat. Actress, singer, songwriter (oh yes, she could write as well). And from Canada, country singer and actress Lisa Brokop. If I had to make a list of every female artist I listen to, there would be more thaan 20!

Lisa Brokop, Time to Come Back Home, featured in the movie "Harmony Cats" in which she appeared, during the closing credits.

[sliderocker]

Jul 28, 2018 1:13:13 GMT -5 Partridge said:

I maybe could have made room for Bernadette Peters and Kate Bush on another day. SRSV?

I think I listen to a lot more female performers than I listen to male singers. I'm more of a rock guy than a country guy, but if I listen to country, it'll be a female performer. I don't much care for male country singers for some reason.

Btw, thanks for the Mary Kay Place videos. I've got to search out the few albums she had. Sad that record companies would drop talent due to lack of sales, of which much of the blame would be on the companies and not the artists.

[erik]

Quote by sliderocker:

I'm more of a rock guy than a country guy, but if I listen to country, it'll be a female performer. I don't much care for male country singers for some reason.

Given the latent hostility towards the women of country music, especially in "Bro Country", where its practitioners (who shall remain nameless, because why name morons, right?) objectify women as hood ornaments on their F-15 pickup trucks, or wearing cut-off jeans and long blonde hair, it's kind of hard not to be turned off by the so-called "men". And in any case, in no small part due to Linda's influence, there are more female country singers that happen also to be great singers, period (IMHO).

[Partridge]

Btw, thanks for the Mary Kay Place videos. I've got to search out the few albums she had. Sad that record companies would drop talent due to lack of sales, of which much of the blame would be on the companies and not the artists.

The reason I chose Mary Kay's song "Streets of this Town" is because, if I recall correctly, it was written by Paul Craft, who also wrote Linda's "Keep Me From Blowing Away." (I am sitting here listening to the Niall Horan CD that one of my young relatives left here. Surprisingly, I have made it almost through the whole record without becoming bored or irritated. Not bad at all.)


Okay, let's see more Top 20 lists. If you can't come up with a full 20, it can be a shorter list.