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Greatest female singer of all time


Road Runner

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This stupid Ask America TV game show said that America's top responses to the question of greatest female singer of all time were;  Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, Madonna, Cher, Adele and Celine Dion.  These all seem ridiculous to me, except maybe for Aretha, if we are talking about the Greatest Female Singer ever!  Of all time!  Cher made the list!  Really?

What say you?  Who do you think the greatest female singer of all time might be?  Please don't say Cher.   :) 

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12 minutes ago, Road Runner said:

Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, Madonna, Cher, Adele and Celine Dion. 

Remove Cher and let Adele have a few more seasons under her belt.  I'd boot Janis too.  Aretha, Madonna, and Celine are all legit under various criteria.  Billie Holiday would be in there. There have to be some big names from the 50s-60s that aren't on my radar, but would deserve mention.  And Whitney is legit, too.

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2 minutes ago, Road Runner said:

If we are talking "greatest singer", Madonna ain't it.  Great entertainer maybe, but not singer.  

That's splitting hairs.  Do we need to choose an opera singer for this??? Madonna might not have the greatest singing voice, but a crap ton folks have bought tickets to hear her sing.

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19 minutes ago, Road Runner said:

This stupid Ask America TV game show said that America's top responses to the question of greatest female singer of all time were;  Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, Madonna, Cher, Adele and Celine Dion.  These all seem ridiculous to me, except maybe for Aretha, if we are talking about the Greatest Female Singer ever!  Of all time!  Cher made the list!  Really?

What say you?  Who do you think the greatest female singer of all time might be?  Please don't say Cher.   :) 

Cher. Especially her stuff with Sonny

 

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3 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

Madonna might not have the greatest singing voice, but a crap ton folks have bought tickets to hear her sing.

Every "greatest" list evolves (or devolves) into a popularity contest. 

But either way it's not Cher.

I think some artists might be unfairly penalized due to their song material - like the perpetual sad-sack Adele, or Whitney's cheezy 80s pop.

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Linda Ronstadt and no one else is close.

In the 2010's the singer with the greatest record sales in any single year is Adele at 4.5 million. Linda Ronstadt, "the queen of rock and roll," sold 17 million in 1978.

The only singer with 25 consecutive platinum albums and which span rock, country, standards, opera & operetta, and mariachi: Linda Ronstadt.

The singer with the greatest selling foreign language (Spanish) album in U.S. history: Linda Ronstadt.

She was also one of the "chicks with picks" who were so rare in the 70's - she picked or finger picked her guitar (2nd video below) on some of her hits and also played fiddle.

In the documentary "The History of the Eagles" (who were originally part of Linda's backup band), Linda's former manager John Boylan says, "I was just starting to manage Linda and Linda was going to be a star. That voice - as big as a house!  There wasn't anybody in the room who cared about anything but that voice."

The videos below are from Atlanta in 1977:

 

 

 

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2 hours ago, MickinMD said:

Linda Ronstadt and no one else is close.

In the 2010's the singer with the greatest record sales in any single year is Adele at 4.5 million. Linda Ronstadt, "the queen of rock and roll," sold 17 million in 1978.

The only singer with 25 consecutive platinum albums and which span rock, country, standards, opera & operetta, and mariachi: Linda Ronstadt.

The singer with the greatest selling foreign language (Spanish) album in U.S. history: Linda Ronstadt.

She was also one of the "chicks with picks" who were so rare in the 70's - she picked or finger picked her guitar (2nd video below) on some of her hits and also played fiddle.

In the documentary "The History of the Eagles" (who were originally part of Linda's backup band), Linda's former manager John Boylan says, "I was just starting to manage Linda and Linda was going to be a star. That voice - as big as a house!  There wasn't anybody in the room who cared about anything but that voice."

The videos below are from Atlanta in 1977:

 

 

 

And after I posted, I realized she should have been on the list!

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Pretty much everyone mentioned (seriously) here except  Janis, Madonna, Cher and Celine.  Much as I'm a fan, I don't think Rachel Price is on the best singer ever list.  Christina Aquilera is hugely unappreciated for her skills.  

How does one miss Amy Winehouse?  Kind of Billie Holiday 2.0

And While Norah Jones has it, Gotta go with Diana Krall among her contemporaries

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6 hours ago, Road Runner said:

This stupid Ask America TV game show said that America's top responses to the question of greatest female singer of all time were;  Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, Madonna, Cher, Adele and Celine Dion.  These all seem ridiculous to me, except maybe for Aretha, if we are talking about the Greatest Female Singer ever!  Of all time!  Cher made the list!  Really?

What say you?  Who do you think the greatest female singer of all time might be?  Please don't say Cher.   :) 

I was gonna say Cher. 

Otherwise, Yvonne Elliman is up there. 

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