Singers who Smoke

"Remember when you could smoke everywhere? What the hell happened to THAT?! I miss those days."

Clive Davis said he thinks it was the cigarettes that destroyed Whitney Houston's voice than the crack. That could explain Aretha's drastic vocal decline, too, since she's a smoker.

Adele smokes like a chimney but its okay because fat ladies don't generally get wrinkled.

barbra smokes.

She probably gifts the smokes to roadies Band Members and friends--fyi

I believe Alison Krauss was a big smoker. That always amazed me.

"Stella Artois, Becks or Peroni."

Really, Adele. These are your idea of quality beer?

Dionne Warwick is a notorious smoker. Jenny Jones wrote in her biography that Dionne would be puffing away backstage, until the very last moment before being announced.

Then when she finished her performance, an assistant would be waiting backstage with a lit ciggy, waiting for Dionne to take.

Isn't Barbra Streisand a closet smoker?

All blues and jazz singers smoke.

There's lots of footage of Aretha smoking away at her recording sessions, see link.

All The Beatles smoked.

La Barbra does NOT smoke. Barbara Cook is notorious for smoking a pipe.

She probably smokes to maintain her figure.

Pfft, this list is nothing. How can this list warrant an article? Some beer, wine, OJ and chocolate bars? I love how the article makes this out to be the most demanding and luxurious list out there, when I can waddle over to my nearest boring SUPERMARKET and grab all of these items off the shelf in half an hour.

So what? I used to smoke and sing at the same time!

David Bowie smoked 3 packs a day for decades.

Adele is from the UK and most people in the UK smoke.

Dionne Warwick smokes - and not just tobacco either. You GO, girl!

I think Etta James quit smoking in the 80s. It did a world of good for her voice, which was as strong as ever until her recent illnesses caught up with her.

R2 is right, Aretha's voice has been shot since at least the mid-80s. I saw her wheeze out "Ave Maria" when she recorded her last gospel album at New Bethel in Detroit. Her voice was a shadow of its former self.

Dionne always claimed that smoking enhanced the sensuality of her voice.

Whitney never sang correctly. She always belted everything from her throat. THAT's the real reason why her voice sux now.

"La Barbra does NOT smoke."

Oh, for heaven's sake, she sure does-- or at least, did. It's there as plain as day on the DVD of her '94 concerts. An assistant hands her a cigarette right before she steps out onstage, and she takes a few big drags.

Now here come the "It was just nerves-- and just that one night!" excuses.

Like r14 said, that list is nothing demanding AT ALL, and actually quite surprising for a woman who has one of the biggest selling records in the world right now. I could easily acquire all of these items at my local grocery store (and I don't live in a big city).

Oh, and I don't blame her at all for the request for european beer only.

Bono smokes, he didn't so much in his early days, but said he did it partly to make his voice deeper. Always thought that was stupid too, and preferred his voice when he was younger.

Dionne Warwick and Cissy Houston messed over their singing voices form having poor form and smoking cigs. With Dionne, though, she did add weed to her smoking.

Whitney Houston had good form until she got caught up in drugs. But she messed over her voice from crack smoked old school as well as crack laced weed smoked in a blunt. What she did was criminal, but I understand how she has been ill with drugs for soo very long.

Streisand smokes out of nerves as well as to keep her weight down a mite bit. It is a two or maybe even so much as five cig a day habit. Some folks smoke that way and do the one half of one cig two to five times a day thing. Who cares?

How I know this: I have done session work for Dionne, Cissy, and Whitney. And, one of my uncle's knows Barbra in an informal manner.

alot of british gals have that self destructive streak, like Winehouse and her heroin and Petula Clark and her tangerines.

Judy Garland smoked furiously for decades

[quote]Whitney Houston had good form until she got caught up in drugs.

If you're truly a session musician, and know about VOCALS specifically (and not just whichever instruments you worked with), you know that she ruined her voice from BAD form. Anyone with vocal training (who wasn't too busy being impressed with her) pointed that out back in the day. But people forgot that when they chose to blame her drug use on the matter (which of course didn't help).

Bottom line: Listen to Whitney with a critical ear, you can hear how her vocal acrobatics come from the throat, and not the diaphragm. A great case in point is "How Will I Know".

Eddie Vedder does, and he gets shitfaced during every concert - drinks straight out of a bottle of red.

Liza Minnelli owns this thread....(hack hack)

I'd read somewhere that the reason Lisa Stansfield's career never lived up to potential is because her voice was affected due to heavy smoking.

Dean Martin

My friend sold Whitney a pack of Newports in the late 90's.

Even if her technique was "wrong" she had one of the greatest voices EVAH.

"An assistant hands her a cigarette right before she steps out onstage, and she takes a few big drags."

LOL. That was a STRAW so dhe could drink w/o messing her lipstick. When I saw it I thought some jerk would say she was doing coke on camera.

ALL of the old greats smoked: Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Julie London. Even Jack Jones and Boddy Darin. Many of them died of smoking related illnesses.

"Gimme a pack of NOO poats an' a box of Honey Nut Cheerios."

"LOL. That was a STRAW so dhe could drink w/o messing her lipstick. When I saw it I thought some jerk would say she was doing coke on camera."

No, an assistant hands her a CIGARETTE, she takes a few puffs, and hands it back. There is absolutely no mistaking it for a "straw."

Michael Buble

Neil Diamond

It's a straw. She is taking a sip of hot tea before she goes on stage.

Now, Streisand does famously smoke pot on stage during her "Live Concert at the Forum" album. She talks on the album about how pot helps to calm her nerves.

Despite her fitness obsession, Madonna smoked on and off for years until she decided to get pregnant.

Tim McGraw is a big fitness buff and a heavy smoker.

R33, Jack Jones says he never smoked.

If he did, it must have been for a very short period.

R35, are you that HACK Anne Edwards?

R40, Jack Jones troll are you? HE SMOKED.

Tim McGraw smokes?

How do you know this?

I have never heard or seen that he smokes.

R42, I was at a Jack Jones performance within the past five years and he claimed he never smoked.

I'm just telling you what he said in person.

How do you know he smoked? There are no photos nor film clips of him smoking.

r43 - he's mentioned it in a few articles, usually in the context that he doesn't do it very much, he's trying to quit, Faith Hill hates it and he never does it in front of his kids.

R44, how about the past 40 years?

R46, he said he never smoked during his life, not just during the last five years.

(your comprehension is appalling)

I'm just telling you what he said.

Why are you so certain he smoked? Why are you refusing to say how you know that he smoked?

Lena Horne, Alice Faye, Bing Crosby.

Joni Mitchell has been a heavy smoker since she was twelve. But I like the gravel that resulted.

Liza & Judy

Julie London often performed in just a spotlight and her cigarette.

Shirley Temple was a pack a day smoker during the thirties. Her voice was so shot she lost the lead in 'Oz' and ultimately never sang on film again.

I thought nobody else was going to mention Joni Mitchell - always with a cigarette in her hand. It has lately changed/ruined her voice though.

Dionne may be smoking weed a lot - to help with arthritis problems, she was limping badly from a sore leg when I saw her in concert a couple of years ago.

Mitzi Gaynor handled arthritis by having chorus boys carry her across the stage. It was always a show stopping occasion.

Love Julie London...but I remember her doing a commercial for Marlboro..."You get a lot to like with a Marlboro..." in her sexy whispery voice.

A friend of mine smokes and is in a band. I told him that I thought that smoking would be very bad for singers...that it would be damaging to the instrument. However, he said that smoking right before going on stage helps warm up the vocal cords. Could be a complete load of crap, but that is what he told me.

Mitchell was never a soprano--she was actually an alto who boosted her voice to a soprano range since that was what was expected in those days. You can actually hear that ranger on "Marcie" and other earlier songs. Of course, the smoking did not help--but there is a texture to her voice that adds a depth to "If I Had a Heart" and other songs on "Shine."

Dionne W. once said that she wouldn't STOP smoking because she thought it would affect her singing voice!

R57, that is a crock of shit.

I'm surprised you would pass it on as a possibilitiy and even believe it for even a second.

Does Marianne Faithful smoke?

You're right, r57, your friend is full of crap.

Oh, God, R61, Marianne OWNS this thread!

There was a tribute to Joni Mitchell several years back hosted by Ashley Judd. Wynonna was a performer and Elton and James Taylor and kd lang and others singing her hits to her as she sat in a box off to the side of the stage. Several times the camera would catch her smoking as the show was going on. I'm guessing she told them to fuck off when they asked her not to smoke in the theater, that is if they asked her. Seemed so rude and selfish of her.

Yma Sumac smoked peyote when I saw her in concert.

As far as I know, Barbra had a brief fling with cigarettes in the early 70's (there are a couple of photographs of her with a cigarette) but quickly gave it up when she realized the affect it had on her voice.

Frank Sinatra did smoke and drink, and his voice deteriorated much more rapidly than it would have otherwise. The difference between his sound in the 50's and the 60's is quite remarkable, and not for the better.

Mitchell smoked in the theater!!!

Oh please. "Rude and selfish?" She's Joni Mitchell. The behavior Nazis are so silly. She can do as she damn pleases.

The smoking changed the timber of Sinatra's voice by 1953, and that is when he began to record the albums that made him famous. The drinking and not the smoking had the real impact, and not until the late 70's. If his voice is so bad in the 60's, then explain "Francis Albert Sinatra" and the Count Basie album.

Class dismissed.

Phyllis Hyman smoked for years and it didnt destroy her voice like it did whitneys. I guess Crack really is wack.

Sinatra's voice was at its peak in the 50's, r67, and I don't think that was due to his smoking. It's because, like most singers, he was at the age when singers sing best. He still made some good albums later on but the voice itself--and that is what we're talking about--was on the wane by then.

I think the smoking actually made Whitney's voice better. Her 90s voice is fuller, richer and more soulful than her 80s voice which was all about technic and high notes. Only in the 90s (especially the Preacher's Wife) did she start to achieve that lower range like Aretha.

I think her vocal decline can be attributed to age more than crack.

Jimi Hendrix smoked Kools and Salems.

George, Paul, John and Ringo.

Mick Jagger.

Bob Dylan.

Paul Simon.

Diana Ross.

Jimi Hendrex.

David Bowie.

Don Henley.

Al Jarreau.

Lou Rawls.

Bono, Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen.

Many, many others.

Virtually all singers smoked back in earlier days. Plenty of photos around of them smoking if you look for them.

Acting surprised that people smoked when it was fashionable to smoke is like acting surprised to hear that Southern plantation owners had slaves in the 1800s when it was legal to own slaves.

Times change, attitudes change. Don't judge people of earlier times by today's standards.

Yup, in the past Streisand took drags before concerts out of nerves- and smoked a bit as a very young woman. But she stopped and altogether does not smoke and has not smoked since she was very young-

I believe Aretha stopped smoking in the mid to late 80s after which she gained tremendous weight. I also think you can hear the voice return somewhat in the early 90s.

Joni Mitchell revels in her smoking which in my opinion has pretty much done away with her ability to sing at all. And she smokes on stage: PRETENTION. But then that is her middle name, and I am a fan of her work.

I believe Sinatra smoked- you can tell-

Really it is a pretty silly thing to do if you are a singer. I guess goes to show how hard a habtit it to kick. Substance abusers like Whitney and Judy smoke(ed) constantly- almost a necessity and I am sure neither give/gave it a thought. Substance abuse of the magnitude they have/has overwhelms issues like preserving a voice. Sad of course.

Rosemary Clooney. Smoke and drink ruined her voice.

R65

Kudos on your Yma Sumac reference.

R70, Nat King Cole thought smoking helped his voice. Cole, dead of lung cancer at age 45.

R73, I have never seen Joni Mitchell NOT smoking. In every interview, most every photo, there's the lit cigarette. I don't call it pretension, I call it addiction.

OP? You're a busy-body. Mind your own business.

Here's a video of Barbra Streisand smoking in 1984.

Robert Plant

Does Gitye smoke?

[quote]ALL of the old greats smoked: Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Julie London. Even Jack Jones and Boddy Darin. Many of them died of smoking related illnesses.

Out of all the people you named, R33, only Sarah Vaughan died of lung cancer.

Frank Sinatra suffered a couple of heart attacks, but he lived into his 80s before he finally died of complications from Alzheimer's disease.

Tony Bennett is still alive at age 85.

Billie Holliday died from cirrhosis of the liver (due to heavy drinking).

Julie London survived a stroke, but she died from natural causes in her 70s.

Jack Jones is still alive at age 74.

Bobby Darin died from a bacterial infection (sepsis) following dental surgery because he neglected to take the antibiotics he'd been given.

Doesn't sound like any of them died from smoking-related illnesses as you stated. Smoking can potentially contribute to all kinds of health problems, but there's no need to exaggerate it.

I thought Bobby Darrin died after open heart surgery. He was born with a serious heart ailment, although I don't know exactly what it was.

R35 - I have seen that dvd many, many times and no one hands her a cigarette. She does indeed sip something - and I'm guessing it's tea - before she goes on.

BJS does not smoke - although I have seen photos of her with cigs from the 60's.

You're right, R82. Bobby Darrin had sepsis just before his heart surgery, which may have weakened him, but the sepsis didn't kill him directly. I got that mixed up.

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau smokes.

Sade, Chrissy Hynde.

Madonna was an occasional social smoker, but it was never an everyday habit with her. I believe she stopped the social smoking some years ago.

Aretha Franklin quit smoking in the early 90s, and then of course her weight went crazy.

2 live crew.

What a waste of mellifluous perfection.

Dionne Warwick and Cissy Houston smoke weed and cigs. If you want to learn how weed and cigs fuck up a voice, then listen to either one of them speak or sing.

Debbie Harry smokes.

Ricky Martin smokes, but is careful never to be photgraphed with a cig.

joni mitchell

Chaka Khan still smokes, and so far her voice hasn't been affected by it.

Donna Summer used to smoke, but quit in the 80s.

Grace Slick is still a smoker at 72.

Smoking is a selfish addiction that kills the smoker and harms everyone around them. Let me see destroy my insides with cancer, harm the lives of everyone around me, have terrible breath, your clothes and hair stink and lets not forget all the money you are wasting on something that is going to KILL you. Keep puffing cause statistics show that you will die 15-20 sooner than a non-smoker.

Punk queen SIOUXSIE SIOUX believes smoking is beneficial to her heath because she became badly ill when she gave up the controversial habit.

The DEAR PRUDENCE singer was shocked when her doctor admitted she was better off smoking after all.

She recalls, "I was very ill with sinusitis, bronchitis, asthma, and all from doing something healthy: giving up smoking.

"I was definitely being punished for trying to be healthy.

"I saw so many doctors and only one of them confided in me that, apparently, there is a very small minority of people whom it doesn't suit to give up smoking.

"They won't make it public because then people wouldn't even try to give up."

Siouxsie Sioux has always been all sorts of bananas so she may be the exception the rule, R95

Er Most singers smoke, from the old to the young. Frankly trying to identify the non smokers would be the problem. R25, whatever about Petula Clark's Drug habit, her voice is actually in quite good condition for her age, especially compared to most pop tart singers in the charts. Would give the likes of Rihanna a very good run for her money! Trust me, just google The Sawdoctors and their version of downtown, she's a guest vocalist on the track. They're an Irish Club Ciruit band, but believe me, her voice yet would put many to shame. The worst singer I've ever heard is Jessica Simpson. I saw the MTV awards a few years ago when they were held in Miami and she completely murdered Robbie William's comeback hit Angels, a song that an average pre-schooler would be able to perform far better!!! I mean what drugs were the organisers to let her go on stage singing like that. Actually those transylvanian horrors, the Cheeky Girls would probably have sung it better. Bono; started really smoking around 1992, with the Zoo tour. Didn't think much of his small cigar habit then. I was ten. And no smoking did not make his voice better, in his case anyway. David Bowie, on the other hand, is a vocal icon to me. The man has one of the most distinctive singing voices of his generation, a deeply husky yet smoothly masculine quality that is just a pleasure to hear. Freddie Mercury too. Music mags in UK still talk about his Live Aid performance to this day. He could sing ok. And both are huge gay icons gentlemen. OTOH, Bob Dylan just can't sing. And neither could John Lennon if I'm honest. However unrelated to smoking, the funniest thing I ever heard in a music review was one chap reckoning that a particular European singer famous in the eighties, could have become one of the most celebrated folk vocalists, if only he had been born with a face that was like the backside of a truck! which unfortunately was not the case, since the person had a unique singing voice.

As usual, very few of you members of the unwashed masses recognize that I own this thread.

Why so critical of smoking? The fact is that the majority of gay men (including me) smoke. Anti-smoking laws are anti-gay.

PS For what it's worth Sinatra said he never inhaled. Candyass. Nothing feels better than a long deep drag held in the lungs until all you exhale is a tiny puff of smoke. Ah nicotine!

[quote]Anti-smoking laws are anti-gay.

I really hope this is a joke. I enjoy the occasional cig (and yes gay people smoke at a higher rate) but this statement couldn't be more ridiculous.

I really question whether the majority of gay men smoke, even if rates are higher among gay men (and lesbians) than among hets. I think gay men in their teens and twenties may smoke more (particularly while in college), but studies have tracked Gen Xers and have found a majority give it up by age 30.

It is true. All the greats smoked. Why do you folks act like you don't understand it? It is very simple. Artistic types smoke

The only group smoking more now is women - I doubt gay men smoke as much as either women or straight men. It's not good for the complexion, deary.

Anyway, Bobby Darin wasn't born with a heart defect. He had a bad case of scarlet fever that damaged his heart and he expected to die as a child. He spent his whole life expecting to die just any time. Weird situation. Surprised he smoked, considering, but I don't think people associated it with ill effects till the mid-1960's (he died in '69 I think, at age 36, after some sort of heart surgery)

Stevie Nicks turned into a heavy smoker after her first rehab stint in '86. At one point she smoked I think 2 or 3 packs of Kool Menthol per day. To me that was interesting, because allegedly smoking suppresses the appetite but her increase in smoking coincided with her increase in weight, although she substituted coke for tranquilizers and that might have contributed to her bulk. Smoking didn't ruin her voice, a combination of voice therapist and microphone technology did. Her raspy roar and bellows were replaced with 'correct' singing, which to me was a disaster since her appeal was the raggedness she used to belt out. Add Autotune or whatever, and she sounds generic and listless.

This is the dumbest thread ever on DL. I don't care who smokes or doesn't unless they are someone I care about.

Smoking will become a habit of the past, but unfortunately, not soon enough.

Spending all that money to ruin ones health is a clear sign one is mentally challenged. Knowing what we know today about tobacco anyone choosing to smoke is truly a candidate for therapy.

[quote] The fact is that the majority of gay men (including me) smoke.

Nonsense.

It's how you use your larynx and diaphragm. Most jazz singers in earlier years were smokers and their voices suffered no degenerative effects. In some ways the dry quality enhanced their voices. (June Christy, Anita O'Day) Many opera singers have been smokers, including Tebaldi, Corelli, and even Callas. (lots of photos of them). I wouldn't worry about Adele. She'll die of diabetes before she dies of lung cancer.

I just want to say to Dr Death, that I did the math one day and based on a 30 year habit of 15 cigarettes a day, with each cigarette taking 10 minutes off of my life expectancy, it worked out to a little more than 3 years. I don't smoke anymore because I don't like feeling out of breath - but I just can't imagine how long or how often you would have to smoke in order to take 15-20 years off your life. Maybe they're talking strokes and cancer as well, but you can attribute that to eating fatty foods or all the pesticides that are probably in everything you eat and drink. There is no good reason to smoke, but I really think they are exaggerating.

Beyonce smokes cigars. Not before performances though, just leisurely.

[quote]I did the math one day and based on a 30 year habit of 15 cigarettes a day, with each cigarette taking 10 minutes off of my life expectancy, it worked out to a little more than 3 years

That's ridiculous. You honestly know nothing about cumulative effect? You really think each cigarette represents only ten minutes, no matter how long your habit's been going on?

Americans really are spectacularly stupid.

Bobby Darin DID NOT die in 1969.

Sarah Vaughan died of lung cancer - so I'm not sure you can say that her smoking had no degenerative effects on her voice. O'Day sounded like shit in her elder years, where someone like B. Cook sings on and on.

Aretha smoked her voice away as did Dionne.

..."It is true. All the greats smoked. Why do you folks act like you don't understand it? It is very simple."

What about Ella Fitzgerald?

Maybe it's single people who smoke more, a non-smoking partner being the strongest incentive to quit. Then again, I know of couples who continue to smoke because they feed of each others' habit.

I'm so confused!

isn't adele pregnant?

wonder if she'll have the same list of demands for her prenatal classes, the birth centre at the hospital, etc.?

sure her nicotine addicted spawn will wail its tiny lungs out during withdrawl - which will no doubt give it the lung capacity to be a chip off the old block...

blah!

All I know is that if I make it to 80, I'll start smoking again. By then, who fucking cares?

[quote]Aretha smoked her voice away as did Dionne.

This is why I can't stop laughing when Hateretha refers to Dionne as the talking cigarette in the Got2BeReal parody clips.

Slash quit smoking are you suprised? He is the reason i became a smoker in 92/93, no one got me started i had to learn myself.....was a poser for awhile before i was called on it.....this was when guns and roses were really popular....slash is why i became a smoker....i had forgotten, and remembered recently, just read his book......River Phoenix is why i started drugs.....wonder what the alternative would have been if i continued to follow in slash's shoes(his bad habits..not a musiciain)....i am lightweight with alcohol, yet i blame river for getting me into cocaine....and wanting to od cuz he did..his death made me forget about slash...who got me started smoking cigs....yes, i smoke like he did...not sure if i can quit....tried once, fail...

Emmylou Harris is a smoker and I don't hear it at all in her voice. Joni's young voice isn't at all the voice she has now, but I like them both.

If the Surgeon General's report confirmed in '65, that smokin' causes cancer, why are so many kids experimentin' with it every day? Wake up, kiddies! It doesn't make ya look cool, and older. Just immature and stupid! Cigarettes DEFINITELY should be outlawed!

R52 Total bullshit!!! Yes, the studio wanted Shirley Temple for "The Wizard of Oz" but she was under contract at another studio and they would not lend her out and that's how Judy got the role.

R52 Do you just make shit up???

Adele sounds as if she's been smoking for 40 years.

Hollywood and third world countries are the only place where you will find smokers anymore.

The only people who still smoke are mental patients and jailbirds.

On the west coast, those who smoke are viewed as low class and uneducated. It makes someone un-datable.

No one smokes anymore.

I saw a quickie interview with Madonna on tv last night and OMFG. Still photographs do not do justice to her bizarre face. Her face look like its made of several parts, all held together by rubber bands

Siouxsie Sioux is stupid. I was a very heavy smoker and I got sick when I quit too. Unlike Siouxsie Sioux, I knew I got sick because of the smoking, not the quitting. It took my body a period of time to adjust to life without cigarettes and then everything was fine.

I sure as hell didn't use getting sick when I quit as an excuse to keep smoking, nor did I quote an off-handed remark by a doctor who lacks common sense as a reason to keep smoking myself to death.

but back to Adele. She's a big fat pig so I can't wait to see her EXPLODE if she gives up the cigarettes.

I'm an opera singer and I know plenty of singers who love to smoke. Just pull a pack of cigarettes out at a party full of singers and watch them all start.

I myself have smoked from time to time but never regularly and NEVER when I have a singing job. I have colleagues who are regular, addicted smokers and it absolutely does wreck your voice over time. First the tone starts getting thinner and loses a bit of sheen. Next, your high range starts depreciating rapidly. Mind you this takes years and years, but it does happen. And they never seem to hear it when it does.

I think there is more than little self destruction going on. I notice it it in myself whenever I have a stretch of freedom and I start wanting to be bad. It's a desire to be relieved of the burden of taking care of your damn voice box all the time. It's not rational.

[R24] is right. On the West Coast smokers are looked on as trash. That's what it took to get me start thinking about quitting. Then it became "against the law" in my building. I wasn't going to go stand out in the street to smoke.

I smoked for 26 years and LOVED every single one of them.

I could care less about Adele or Dionne. BFD

Don't forget chain-smokin' Britney! She used to have a weak but pleasant voice, but now literally cannot sing at all. Literally.

Once again, I ask you refrain from profanity.

Singers are entitled to smoke. Whether or not this is healthy behavior is not up for debate. They are engaged in legal activity in business which is none of your concern.

Please be respectful of all people. I thank you for your cooperation on this otherwise fine website

Sure you are, R129. It's why people line up around the block to watch you.

Not singers, but hard to believe, given their athleticism: Makarova and Baryshnikov

Anyway, I think Madonna still smokes, even though she says she doesn't. Maybe not a pack a day, but Lourdes smokes and in recent years Madge has had CD covers and videos where she's puffing away on a cig. I just think Madge is aging so quickly due to the cigs.

I was kidding [R132] ...but you can watch anytime you want.

I doubt Ella smoked.

The people who maintain a voice past their 60's -- like Ella and Barbara Cook, don't smoke.

I smoked and I am glad I stopped.

It destroys your lungs -- and breath, and affects your voice.

Barbara Cook likes to use her pussy muscles to puff on cigars at dinner parties. I know you won't believe it but it's true. This was Wally Harper's favorite trick of hers!

Believe it or not, Barbra Streisand is a closet smoker. She's not a heavy smoker, but she goes through a few cigs on a daily basis.

Sade still smokes. When she did press for her album last year or two years ago, it was mentioned in several interviews.

Shirley Bassey still smokes as well, and she's even older than Barbra.

Not true about Madonna, R134. She used to be an occasional social smoker when she was younger, but gave it up some time ago. Madonna still uses cigarettes as props in photoshoots and whatnot, because I guess she thinks it's edgy or something. She has never been a daily, habitual smoker at any time in her life.

Elvis Presley is known for smoking cigars...but was a closet cigarette smoker at different times in his life - although just a handful of photos of him smoking cigarettes exist.

[quote]On the west coast, those who smoke are viewed as low class and uneducated. It makes someone un-datable

While there is truth to this, hang out with actors. Most actors smoke, at least when they are drinking.

All the pop girls smoke. Rihanna, Britney, Miley, Gaga, etc. I wouldn't be surprised if Katy was a closet smoker too. I still think Madge smokes. It would explain a lot regarding her appearance and why Lola was smoking at such a young age.

[all posts by tedious, racist idiot removed.]

Not all gay men smoke idiots! I use to be a smoker and I have gay male friends who don't smoke. I don't know where that thinking came from?

[all posts by tedious, racist idiot removed.]

[all posts by tedious, racist idiot removed.]

Didn't ole blue eyes smoke

Me, *cough* Lindsay!

R124: You sound "California"...i wouldn't be passing pronouncements on smokers, babe.

Your state is just about out of water. I think you have more pressing concerns

I don't think we have to worry about rabid anti-smokers and defiant puffers getting together R124 (unless, of course, the smoker is gorgeous...then we make exceptions).

Sing Out !!! R149, 3 snaps and a swirl to you

With all we know about the effects of smoking on the smoker, and those around them, it's foolish to smoke. Period.

"Dionne always claimed that smoking enhanced the sensuality of her voice."

What a stupid thing to say.

I'm not surprised that people like Dionne and Aretha were heavy smokers, but I am surprised to hear that about Streisand. If it's true, it's amazing that her voice stayed in such great shape for so long. It's really only over the past few years that it has begun a major decline, and she's pretty old now.

Thats a lie, Madge was NEVER a smoker. To say one smoke here and there at party is not the same as being a smoker. Dont ever lie on the Queen again.

Kate Bush used to smoke, and possibly still smokes. Although her weight gain during the last few years might be somehow connected.

Her voice is nowhere near the quality of young Kate but personally I like her current voice a lot also. She never had a huge voice like Whitney so the decline is not that noticeable.

"Sinatra's voice was at its peak in the 50's."

In terms of the actual sound and beauty of his voice, no, it was at its peak in the '40s. That's not to say he didn't become a better singer later in terms of phrasing, etc.

News flash: The best idea is NOT TO START SMOKING IN THE FIRST PLACE, because many people find it very, very difficult to quite once they've got the habit.

We've all heard that young people start smoking as "rebellion," but I don't think that's quite right. Young people start smoking, or drinking, or whatever because these things are perceived as adult activities, and a lot of teenagers really want to be perceived as adults.

Kate Bush quit a long time ago.

Johnny Hartman, one of the all-time greatest male jazz vocalists, also smoked and died of lung cancer at age sixty.

[quote]"Dionne always claimed that smoking enhanced the sensuality of her voice." What a stupid thing to say. I'm not surprised that people like Dionne and Aretha were heavy smokers, but I am surprised to hear that about Streisand. If it's true, it's amazing that her voice stayed in such great shape for so long. It's really only over the past few years that it has begun a major decline, and she's pretty old now.

Aretha Franklin quite smoking in 1992. Dionne Warwick still smokes and she's still surprisingly able to pull off pretty good performances. I think the quality of her voice can vary though but I would imagine that to be true for most singers. Certainly, most singers voices do deteriorate with age.

I'm not sure if Bonnie Rait has been mentioned but she smoke and drank because she wanted to sound like a blues singer.

[quote] sounded like a little bird soprano, but I wanted to sound like Memphis Minnie and Etta James, so I learned to smoke and drink and try to get older really fast. It seemed to be working there for a few years. [Ms. Raitt has been sober since 1987.]

I think a great many entertainers are smokers - singers, dancers, musicians, actors, celebrities...I think they try their best to hide it from the public, since it's now so unpopular to be a smoker.

Believe it or not, I think there are still quite a few athletes who smoke.

Did smoking hurt Keith Richards' voice?

R20: Whitney's voice sucks now because she's dead.

Bob Dylan smokes and his voice is just fine.

[quote]Kate Bush quit a long time ago.

That's right, I looked it up and she said in an interview with Q Magazine in 2001 when asked 'What was the best thing about 2001?' "Giving up smoking, but I'm not a fanatical anti-smoker."

Having personally quit smoking many times I'm not sure she hasn't smoked after that, though. Especially with her pointing out she's not a fanatical anti-smoker. She still smoked after having her kid (1998) so one might think that smoking was very important for her.

[quote]Thats a lie, Madge was NEVER a smoker. To say one smoke here and there at party is not the same as being a smoker. Dont ever lie on the Queen again.

As if it would actually matter.

[quote]Bob Dylan smokes and his voice is just fine.

Excellent point R163. Smoking could only improve Dylan's voice. It certainly couldn't make it worst. The same goes for Madonna and Britney Spears. Does Bruce Springsteen smoke?

Smoking doesn't destroy the voice, but it destroys the lungs, which are needed for singing. Regular aging destroys the voice.

Carl Wilson smoked and died of lung cancer at an early age.

Streisand's voice decline is more due to acid reflux than smoking. That's why it can get better sometimes.

Streisand's voice decline is due to her being over 65.

Robin Thicke smokes.

Adele smokes because she wants to be a contralto.

[quote]Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't smoking a really, really bad thing for your throat and lungs? Given this is how she makes her living, I would have thought she'd have more sense than to damage her throat and lungs with cigarette smoke.

While that's true, there's been many, many singers who have been successful for a long time who smoke. You'd think it would kill anybody's vocal ability quickly, but it doesn't always work that way.

David Sylvian (smoked French cigarettes to thicken his vocal chords, making his voice huskier)

[quote] Smoking doesn't destroy the voice, but it destroys the lungs, which are needed for singing

I had a singing teacher who claimed that smoking actually burns through a layer (on the larynx, I think, can't remember) in the throat, which drastically reduces range. I never looked it up to confirm the accuracy. I don't see why she'd lie, though.

Bowie (used to)

I've known or known of too many smokers, singers or not, who died of lung cancer and/or emphysema not to think that Adele and her ilk are in-denial morons who are recklessly and stupidly risking their voices, their health. and their lives.

Smoking is not only a repulsive, foul, and dangerous habit, it can kill you in a very excruciating way, while your family and friends are forced to watch.

The risks are not exactly secret. Anyone who chooses to smoke in light of the very real risks is stupid beyond belief.

99% of the people mentioned in this thread were smokers many years ago. To begin smoking in this day and age - and considering Adele's young age, she couldn't have started more than 10 or so years ago if she began as a young teen - is stupid and self-destructive. Add to that the ambition of a singing career, and it makes absolutely no sense at all.

She obviously has a problem with self-discipline of any kind.

Wasn't there some event where Streisand lit up a joint on stage? I know Elliot Gould is a major pot head. Maybe she smokes the tree too? That could explain her "everyone hates me" paranoia.

We're all addicts in some way.

For the idiot @ R81 Smokers don't only die from lung cancer !!

Although cigarette smoking alone increases your risk of coronary heart disease, it greatly increases risk to your whole cardiovascular system. Smoking also increases the risk of recurrent coronary heart disease after bypass surgery.

Atherosclerosis is the buildup of fatty substances in the arteries, and is a chief contributor to heart disease – the No. 1 killer in America.

Stroke risks are higher, too. Because smoking temporarily increases blood pressure, and also increases cholesterol build-ups and the tendency for blood to clot, both types of strokes are more likely for a person who smokes. There are strokes caused from bleeding because of a weakened blood vessel and strokes caused by blockages and clots that form in a vessel and cut off blood flow to the brain. Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and adult disability in America.

Smoking also contributes to peripheral artery disease. Again, because of the added strain smoking places on the arteries and veins, peripheral artery disease is much more like among smokers, and the habit also further increases the risk for aortic aneurism.

Smoking causes problems with a singers vibrato. The vibrato does widen with age, but smoking exacerbates it, and takes notes off a singers top and bottom range for some added fun.

Met opera stars choose CAMELS!

I'm fine.

I fucking OWN this thread, and my voice is much improved as a result, if I do say so myself.

R174, how would smoke "burn" through anything? It's smoke, not flame.

I smoked for 15 years. What I noticed after quitting was clear lungs. No voice issues at all.

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That's exactly what Bette Davis said!

r181, Exactly. And thats why Beyonce has the best live voice, though she's not the best technical singer.

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Susan Boyle only smokes after sex. So, never.

[quote]Exactly. And thats why Beyonce has the best live voice, though she's not the best technical singer.

Did I miss something? Has every other singer except Beyonce been exposed to cigarette smoke.

It was the Newports that did in Whitney Houston. At least a pack a day. All of the adult women in her life smoked. Clive was correct.

Smoking is a diet device for many many women in the entertainment and music industry. Whitney did not do drugs all day, but unfortunately she did smoke all day.

[quote]Whitney did not do drugs all day, but unfortunately she did smoke all day.

Everybody knows that cocaine is really good for the voice, That's why the 80's produced so much great music.

Lea Michele, closet smoker, amongst other things.

Does Natalie Merchant smoke? She sounds like a smoker.

Tanya Tucker Smokes and her voice is declining from it. I still love her, but it's affecting her voice.

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everybody in general smokes nowadays, Hollywood is no different. I do thinks its kind of idiotic to smoke as a singer, unless it makes your voice better with a sleek sexy rasp.

Linda Ronstadt n

Anyone Adele's age who smokes is an idiot in the first place. It's not like she didn't know when she started that it was toxic in general, never mind as a singer.

Although we are talking about the person whose technique is so bad that she had to have nodes surgery already. Perhaps she just has no discipline or work ethic at all. If it feels good, do it.

As strange as it sounds, nearly all singers smoke. The only non-smoker I can think of is Mariah Carey. Literally all of the singers in rock bands in the 80's were smokers. I can only think of one who was rabidly anti-smoking and that was Steve Perry. He was very serious about his "instrument."

Unfortunately, Lisa Stansfield's choice to continue smoking cigarettes has destroyed her magnificent 'voice;' that, along with the 'screaming' through her throat to camouflage the high notes she can no longer reach because of her smoking.

Check out her performance in 'Jakarta' (Youtube) to hear/see it. Sad.

Then compare Lisa's voice in her Youtube 'Wembley Stadium' tour video to the 2013 'Jakarta' Youtube video. Sad.

Lisa Stansfield had an incredible voice.

you people are stupid

[quote]Does Natalie Merchant smoke? She sounds like a smoker.

Heh. To me, Natalie Merchant seems like that kind of high-maintenance PITA who would start coughing and waving her hands around her face if she saw someone chewing a white straw 50 feet away.

Smoking destroyed Brian Wilson's voice.

Q: Where are you from?

A: My house.

I don't believe Natalie Merchant has ever smoked.

Miss Warwick still smokes like a chimney, but she's 75 now so at that age what would be the point of quitting?

Aretha Franklin used to smoke but quit in the late 80s after it started affecting her voice. She was able to recover her full abilities.

Patti LaBelle never smoked and doesn't even drink which is why her voice is so well-preserved.

Mariah only briefly smoked in high school but quit before becoming a professional.

I don't think Barbra Streisand smokes.

Toni Braxton only smoked weed for a years in the 90s (she started after being given the song "You're Making Me High") but quit after a panic attack.

Barbra Streisand, like so many people of her generation, smoked in the 60s but she quit many, many years ago. Same with Diana Ross.

Aretha Franklin was a very heavy smoker of Kools until she quit in the early 90s.

Madonna was an occasional social smoker when she was younger but gave that up years ago. She was never a daily, habitual smoker.

I must ask: who is this tedious, racist idiot? Why is this particular Tedious, racist idiot humiliated and not others?

Always love it when the anti smoking trolls comments about how trashy it is...yes, cocaine, E, weed and alcoholism is so much more attractive and socially acceptable. Give me a break!

I've heard conflicting reports about Donna Summer. When she died of lung cancer her family said it wasn't caused by smoking because she was a non-smoker, but I've read things in other sources that said she was a closet smoker. Who really knows?

I thought that Donna Summer's cause of death was breast cancer that had metastasized.

Every single poster on DL smokes. Pole.

I never smoked.

If she smokes, she is stupid. smoking is very bad for a singers voice. it ruined aretha franklin's voice.

Singers who smoke tobacco are like alcoholic NASCAR drivers.

Jo Stafford, Dinah Shore, Kay Starr, Teresa Brewer, Patti Page, and two of the Andrews Sisters.

Lucy O'Ball

Agree with her about the beer. American beer sucks!