underrated singers

[tom]

Who do you think are the most underrated singers of the Rock and Roll era?

Tom

[M.Maestro]

tom said:

Who do you think are the most underrated singers of the Rock and Roll era?

Tom

I will provide a FULL RESPONSE in a later post here, but for now these 5 immediately come to mind:

Dean Martin (many think he was a drunk, but that was a great ACT on his part, most of the time it was apple juice in that glass)

Petula Clark (from "65 to "68, she was ALWAYS on the AM Radio with "Downtown", "My Love" -BOTH #1 singles in the U.S., "This Is My Song", and many, many others)

Pat Boone (2nd only to Elvis as the most successful singer of the period 55-62; SIX #1 records, 36 Top 40 hits, but many only think of either his white buck shoes, his being the dad of Debby Boone, or being the spokesman for the milk industry for many years.)

Della Reese (her #2 single "Don't You Know" in '59 was only a taste of the range that she had in her voice)

Brook Benton (just listen to "It's Just A Matter Of Time" - 1959 or "Rainy Night In Georgia" - 1970; what a wonderful range he had)

[peridot44]

I agree absolutely with MM about Dean Martin. He has been a favourite of mine for 50 years. He had a warm, friendly sort of voice that I found charming.

Petula Clark has a lovely voice but perhaps not suited to the 'Rock' era.

Pat Boone I liked but he did have a tendency to sing ever so slightly flat, unfortunately.

Don't know Della Reese, which perhaps means she is under-rated.

I remember Brook Benton, though and would again agree he is under-rated.

I await with interest further names but will add only one: Alma Cogan. Perhaps her early death was responsible.

P

[tom]

Ah, Alma Cogan - the girl with the laugh in her voice. I've never heard anyone else sound like they enjoy singing so much.

I totally agree with both of you about Dean Martin - what a singer: what an entertainer.

I'll add five more of my own.

Sammy Davis Jr. - if you don't believe me, listen to his version of Mr Bojangles.

Clifford T. Ward - a brilliant singer-songwriter of the early seventies, now sadly no longer with us. I don't know how much (if any) success he had Stateside, but his voice alone merited more success than he had in the UK. Check him out if you get the chance.

Burl Ives - such a rich, friendly voice.

Barry Manilow - regarded by many critics as 'ear candy' for suburban housewives, and the subject of many jokes about his nose, but what a voice (and what an entertainer)

David Essex - people tend to regard him as a teenybop idol of the Glam Rock era, but there is a lot more to him than that. My wife has always been a great fan of his, and as a birthday treat one year, I took her to one of his concerts. At this point, let me say that at the time I could take him or leave him. However, as soon as he stepped on the stage, he oozed charisma. A true entertainer. Having met him several times since, I have to add that he is a genuinely nice, down-to-earth, man, who also has time to speak to people. Nice to see, when so many forget who pays their wages.

Tom

[alanstepney]

I was going to add Clifford T Ward, but see that Tom got there first.
I still believe that his early work was his best. The Mantlepieces album was excellent, and Screen Test one of the most unusual , and best, tracks.