| Author | Message | ||
  Jimmy Mack (luke) 4-Laureate Username: luke Post Number: 102 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 68.198.48.201 |
I imagine this has been discussed but not in my tenure here--Mr Redding is sometimes metnioned in books as perhaps the greatest male soul singer ever--do many here agree? I find it hard to dispute tho I give James his dues too. And I think Little Richard is way up there as well,-ok and Marvin. | ||
Robb_K (robb_k) 4-Laureate Username: robb_k Post Number: 142 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 66.81.18.152 |
There were so many great soul artist-each with a completely different style and feel. How could anyone pick just one and do justice to the rest? I think the best one can do is say a given great artist was "one of the very best". All those you mentioned would be in that category (along with many others). I prefer Ray Pollard, Richard Street, Marvin Smith, Jackie Wilson, Eugene Record, Otis Leavill, J.J. Barnes, Timothy Wilson, Eugene Pitt, Darrell Banks, Charles Perry, Charles Thomas, Howard Tate, Tommy Hunt, Nate Nelson, Sam Cooke, Sonny Turner, Willie Jones, Jerry Butler, Billy Butler, Curtis Mayfield, Chuck Colbert Jr., Johnny Moore (both the Chicago AND NY singers), Ben E. King, Bobby Bland, Junior Walker, Stevie Wonder, Smokey, Levi and Joe Stubbs, and many others to those you mentioned. But, that is just a matter of personal taste. I acknowledge their greatness, of course. | ||
Soul Sister (soul_sister) 5-Doyen Username: soul_sister Post Number: 390 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 65.43.147.99 |
RobbK; I see many excellent choices!  Many on your list mirror mine, as you probably already know. S.S. | ||
Tony Russi (tony_russi) 3-Pundit Username: tony_russi Post Number: 63 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 68.18.35.54 |
I love Otis Redding BUT I don't feel he is as great a singer as Wilson Pickett or Marvin Gaye.Otis had style and his voice had a "sad" quality about it and he could plead and sound "pitiful". | ||
Soul Sister (soul_sister) 5-Doyen Username: soul_sister Post Number: 394 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 65.43.147.99 |
You absolutely can't overlook heartbreakers like "I've Been Loving You Too Long" & "These Arms Of Mine", they are supurb tracks. But then James Brown had some dynamite tracks in his day and as a performer he was definately a better all-around performer on the stage. They didn't call him "the hardest working man in show biz" for nothing! S.S. | ||
Adam G (adam_g) 1-Arriviste Username: adam_g Post Number: 1 Registered: 5-2004 Posted From: 62.254.64.7 |
As vocally superior IMO to and around at the same time as Otis the great James Carr must come close to the top. | ||
Juicefree20 (juicefree20) 6-Zenith Username: juicefree20 Post Number: 516 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 24.46.184.162 |
Just to throw my 2 cents in. It's too hard for me to choose just one. There are so many different nuances & styles as regards Soul music. I mean how can I choose between singers like Otis, Sam, Wilson, James, Jackie, David or anyone else? What is the criteria for such a choice? Is it their performance, hits, pure vocals, there are too many variables. Take Otis for example: He's not a "classic" soul singer vocally. He didn't have the range of a Jackie Wilson, the vocal smoothness of a Marvin or a Sam. Otis was an everyman type of singer. He sang with emotion, he was gritty & sang with intensity & fervor. As far as pure vocal quality, I couldn't put him on par with a Jackie Wilson, David Ruffin, Eddie Levert or singers of that ilk. He was definitely a great performer & was definitely a great soul singer. He belongs high on any list. When you consider that he died at the age of 26!!!! it makes one wonder just what we never got to hear, how much we missed. Think of his legacy & he was only TWENTY SIX!!!! He got a lot of mileage out of such a short journey. I love OTIS, he was so accessible & seemed to be real. He didn't try to croon like some of our Soul stars with crossover aspirations. Otis made it on his terms & he put his heart & soul into every song that he sang. Otis was true to himself. He was country & reveled in that very fact. If a gun were at my head & I had to answer you, I'd have to go with Marvin Junior.....He's like a GOD!!! | ||
Soul Sister (soul_sister) 5-Doyen Username: soul_sister Post Number: 399 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 65.43.147.99 |
Much truth in that Juice. Nice, S.S. | ||
Adam G (adam_g) 1-Arriviste Username: adam_g Post Number: 3 Registered: 5-2004 Posted From: 62.254.64.7 |
Juicefree couldnt agree more Marvin jnr what a voice!.Story goes that Harold Melvin told Teddy P to try and emulate Marvin jnr when he joined the Bluenotes.But I agree to give a total favourite voice is difficult I personally would always lean towards Bobby Bland,Garland Green,Teddy P,Jerry Butler,Sy Hightower,Bobby Womack ,LV Johnson better stop I could go on and on and on | ||
GOAT (goat) 3-Pundit Username: goat Post Number: 58 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 64.228.144.159 |
I dig Otis, but there are too many different types of styles and variety to say he was THE BEST. | ||
Soul-Brother (soulbrother) 3-Pundit Username: soulbrother Post Number: 69 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 217.234.165.185 |
And I was giving up on him EVER being mentioned here...Marvin Junior..The Dells(up with the Temps as top group for me). Others I would add are: David Ruffin James Carr O.V.Wright Oscar Toney Jr Joe Simon J.Blackfoot Eddie Levert Teddy P Phillipe Wynne Wilson Pickett Johnnie Taylor William Bell Dennis Edwards David Sea Randy Brown Phillip Mitchell Bobby Womack Sam Dees George Jackson Paul Kelly ..that's the first 21 I could think off.. there are many more...Otis just never figured for me...but as someone said.. all a matter of taste.. Now.. who's gonna start a thread on the Dells? Barry (Message edited by Soul-Brother on May 05, 2004) | ||
Juicefree20 (juicefree20) 6-Zenith Username: juicefree20 Post Number: 555 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 24.46.184.162 |
Soul Brother, how are you??? Believe me, I've mentioned Marvin serveral times in this forum, as well as Donnie Elbert who sings one of the most underrated ballads ever, the great:Can't Get Over Losing You! Well, since you mention it Soul Brother, I will! Peace! Juice | ||
Jimmy Mack (luke) 4-Laureate Username: luke Post Number: 105 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 64.12.116.138 |
Would most people respond the same way to Queen Aretha(no disrespect to Carla) as they do to King Otis? That is that there is no one Queen of Soul?Hmmmmmmmmmmm. | ||
Tony Russi (tony_russi) 4-Laureate Username: tony_russi Post Number: 80 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 67.32.240.104 |
Jimmy Mack, I understand what you are sayin above...when the King & Queen LP came out on Stax, Otis & Carla were the King & Queen of the Memphis Sound(or of Stax Records)as EVERONE including Otis knew that JAMES BROWN was/is the King of Soul. | ||
DyvaNaye (westside314) 5-Doyen Username: westside314 Post Number: 314 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 209.212.74.198 |
I am a ABSOLUTE Otis fan...and I have debated with this thought for years...I feel that JB could dance and entertain and definetly provided us with soul...Jackie Wilson crooned soul and entertained...but Otis...'goodgoogamooga'...Otis did the 'church-soul' thing...which in essence, 'soul' is to be a 'spiritual thing'...He sang and hollered like a minister would...made you wanna jump up and shout like you were in church trying to be 'delivered'...! | ||
Juicefree20 (juicefree20) 6-Zenith Username: juicefree20 Post Number: 571 Registered: 4-2004 Posted From: 24.46.184.162 |
I think that what gave Otis that edge is that he seemed to be so accessible. From everything that I've read, he never star tripped on his fans as so many "stars" seem to do. From all accounts, he went back to the neighborhood, like he never left. He didn't come back with 20 bodyguards either. It seems as though Otis could've been that favorite cousin that made it big. He just seemed to be, as they used to say back in the day, "good people". Also, he wasn't a dancer like James, but, Otis worked, he didn't take any nights off. The people who were lucky enough to see him got their moneys worth & more. That band was kick-ass tight & they worked it. He wasn't a technically "correct" singer, he was real & raw. If you've ever listened to his live version of Try A Little Tenderness, Otis sang so hard that he started to lose his breath & his voice was starting to get hoarse. Otis just kept on plugging. You can hear that he's out of breath at the end of the song. The man just gave it up, what more can I say?? Juice |
