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About
Annoying Singers
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Possibly the most subjective of all our categories, the
most annoying singers may very well turn out to be among
the greatest vocalists ever. The performers listed below
are singers that you probably noticed immediately upon hearing
his or her voice. We are not listing poor song selections
like when Leonard "Mister Spock" Nimoy sang Proud
Mary, or when Bing Crosby sang Hey Jude. We have left "personal
politics" out of this section as well. (You're welcome,
Ms. Streisand!)
This section is also not for bands who never should have
been in a recording studio, like the Shaggs or Styx. (Just
kidding about one of them. You decide which!) A distinctive
vocal ability can can be a curse or a blessing. Both to
the singer and the listener.
This category was suggested by a visitor, and, of course,
we welcome your suggestions and input via e-mail!
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The
Most Annoying Voices in Pop,
In No Particular Order
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Ethel Merman (1908-1984) sang such hits
as "There's no Business Like Show Business" and "Everything's
Coming Up Roses". Ethel Agnes Zimmerman was born at 359
4th Avenue in Astoria, Queens, in her grandmother's house. She
has been called the loudest woman in show business, and she
probably was!
"I can never remember being afraid
of an audience. If the audience could do better, they'd be up
here on stage and I'd be out there watching them."
Irving Berlin said, "You'd better not write a bad lyric
for Merman because people will hear it in the second balcony."
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Macy Gray - The first time I heard Macy
Gray song on the radio, I thought a baby was singing. Well,
not really. I suppose I though she was a toddler.
When I first saw her on television, I thought she was a Saturday
Night Live parody of a 1970s black entertainer.
That being said, she has nearly won a Grammy, sells millions
of CDs, is well respected in the music community and was featured
in the first Spider-man movie! |
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Neil Young - Neil is probably the most prolific
rocker-who-can't-really-sing on our list. Oddly enough, his
"Best Of" 2 CD set "Decade" was one of the
first CD's I bought as I entered the 21st century and got a
CD player. I just like the guy's music! Crosby, Stills and Nash
have really nice harmonies, but I just can't get myself to buy
any of their albums that end without "and Young".
This daring rocker has experimented with rock-a-billy as Neil
Young and the Shocking Pinks, well as "new wave" electronic
music on his "Trans" album, but just try to find them
on CD, or even vinyl! |
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Michael Bolton - When it comes to our "worst
of" category, the phrase "... and anything by Michael
Bolton" comes up a lot.
Anyone who ticks off that many music lovers must be doing something
right!
Michael is probably the biggest selling "yelling"
singer, and seems like a nice enough guy when I see him on talk
shows. |
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Jimmy Durante - Jimmy Durante (1893-1980)
is probably best known to today's audience for singing the theme
from TV's 1969 "Frosty the Snowman" holiday cartoon.
In his live shows, he thanked an old friend with "Good
night Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are" at the end of each
performance.
There is much debate as to why he thanked her. In keeping with
our goal of maintaining a "PG" rated site, we'll let
you decide for yourself what that "thank you" was
all about. He also opens the Sleepless In Seattle soundtrack
with "As Time Goes By". |
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Sting - We loved this guy in the Police.
Since leaving the band, his voice has degraded into a barely
distinguishable warble.
His new style is defined by his baying (at the moon?) in his
song, Desert Rose. Here is a snippet of the lyrics...
I dream of rain I dream of gardens in the desert sand I wake
in pain I dream of love as time runs through my hand I dream
of fire...
He yodels all that in about six syllables. I dream of the day
he gets back with his old band.
Some careful listeners have pointed out that you can actually
understand the last three lyrics of each of his songs. |
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Joe Cocker - Joe's voice defines the term
"gravelly", and he was a big hit at Woodstock in 1969
with his version of the Beatles' With A Little Help From My
Friends. He is probably best known for his solo hit You Are
So Beautiful, along with his duet with Jennifer Warnes, Up Where
We Belong. Another hit is the stripper-esque You Can Leave Your
Hat On.
He survived the usual 60's performer drug and alcohol abuse
and now lives on a 160 acre ranch outside of Crawford, Colorado,
with his lovely wife, Pam. They run the Mad Dog Ranch Fountain
Cafe. |
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James Brown - Haugh! - As comedian Eddie
Murphy once pointed out, that's a James Brown lyric. JB has
been called the Godfather of Soul, and the hardest working man
in show business.
In his day, he really was. I see him dancing and think of a
Black Elvis. In reality, he truly brought stage performance
to a new level, and all of today's energetic singer/dancers
owe a piece of their success to Mister Brown. |
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Ringo Starr - Although the least-appreciated
Beatle while they were together, Ringo captured a dozen Top
40 solo hits, exceeded only by George, who had 15! For thoses
of you keeping score, John and Paul each have had 7 solo hits
so far. (story)
Ringo's unusual collection of hits included the No No Song,
Back Off Boogaloo and a cover version of You're Sixteen, in
which Paul McCartney played the kazoo.
Ringo also starred in the vastly underrated 1981 film, "Caveman".
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Mariah Carey - It has been predicted that
Mariah would soon acheive album cover full frontal nudity, as
she appears to be wearing fewer clothes with each passing CD
release.
While she has an incredible vocal range, and was the top selling
artist of the 1990s, she has recently been using that voice
to create new sounds instead of singing new songs. She could
easily fall off this list if she would start singing songs again.
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