Singers who never got their due

Abbey Lincoln. Blacklisted by Hollywood. Prolific albums even into her 80's.

Christy Lane

Hewitt sabotaged himself by getting caught selling cocaine to a cop and reportedly trying to rape Jody Watley.

Tammi Terrell should have been bigger! Way ahead of her time.

Several ladies at Motown not named Diana are were terribly underused by the label. My favorite is the very sexy-voiced Brenda Holloway. Supposedly Diana sang along with her guide vocals.

I strongly suggest picking up a compilation of her stuff - her recordings for Motown were really strong.

Nana Mouskouri - her commercials in the 1970s said she sold more records than the Beatles.

Evie Sands

Pia Zadora

Phoebe Snow owns this thread.

A number of new wave and alternative female singers as well, including Alison Moyet, Jonatha Brooke and the late and very fantastic Kirsty MacColl.

Sunny Gale recorded "Wheel of Fortune," Kay Starr had the hit; Happened to her twice.

Nana Mouskouri is one of the best selling female vocalist of all time...

At the time when "best selling" meant $$$$$$$$....

[quote]Sunny Gale

With a name like that, she should've been a weather girl.

Carmel

Phoebe Snow's career started very strongly, it looked like she'd have a longevity worthy of her remarkable talent. But her personal circumstances took precedence.

Jennifer Warnes.

She never quite made it. Strange because she has (or at least had) a fine voice, very similar to Linda Ronstadt.

I love this song she wrote with Leonard Cohen. Love it. Watch and listen to how good she is:

Yes, yes, yes, to R15.

Her all Cohen album, Famous Blue Raincoat, is gorgeous.

Peter Kingsbery.

[all posts by tedious, racist idiot removed.]

Joni James

Toni Arden

Alison Moyet.

But that was more because of long-term legal action with Sony where they wouldn't let her release an album for 8 years unless she recorded only the music they wanted. She told them to get fucked and they said - fine, you wont be releasing anything then.

They went to court for 8 years so she could be released from her contract. Sony is a lovely corporation.

She was also lazy about breaking into America and so never really did and didn't seem to want to.

Agree with R5 about Brenda Holloway. "Every Little Bit Hurts" is a gorgeous song

[all posts by tedious, racist idiot removed.]

Alison and Tracey Thorn were also raising children, and the whole let's tour America to be a star thing was not appealing to them.

I get it, and I respect it, but as a fan, it's heartbreaking. They are SO good and SO few people know who they are.

Not anymore R22.

Lisa Fischer

[all posts by tedious, racist idiot removed.]

Bettye Lavette

[all posts by tedious, racist idiot removed.]

Maria McKee

Ditto on the Maria McKee. She packed so much emotion is a single word or phase like no one else.

Joe Esposito. His song "Solitary Man" (produced by the great Giorgio Moroder) is one of my favorite 80's songs and his voice sounds great.

[quote] Tammy

That was my least favorite character on Kids in the Hall.

Lisa Hartman-Black? Sadly, the only #1 hit she ever had was a duet with her hubby, Clint Black.. and she barely sang on that one. Personally, I always liked her voice, but she had shit luck in the music industry. Even her albums that were released on CD, just 3 years ago, are now out of print.

Helen Merrill. The best...and you never heard of her.

FRAN WARREN - One of the best voices of the 1940's & 50's. Had the original hit in 1947 with 'A Sunday Kind Of Love'. Went on to record for RCA, MGM & a handful of other labels in the 50's. She had some minor hits but her career never took of in a big way. By the early 60's she had been arrested for pot possession, stemming from her romantic involvement with a Payroll Fraud Kingpin. (A fascinating story that I'd go more into detail about if anyone on DL actually gave a shit.)

R5 , also a lot of people don't realize that Brenda Holloway wrote & performed the original version of You've Made Me So Very Happy'. The Blood, Sweat & Tears arrangement & recording was flawless but it was still Brenda's song.

Lulu

KIM WESTON - One of my personal favorites of The Motown Ladies not named Diana. By far the best female vocalist they ever had IMO. She was married to one of Motown's most popular producers, Mickey Stevenson. When he had a falling out with the company & left, he took Kim with him. She recorded a ton of great material for a variety of labels after Motown but nothing hit in a big way.

Kim's big, booming voice is soulful but wouldn't have been out of place on a Broadway stage. I wish that she had went in that direction after the hits dried up.

MAUREEN McGOVERN - In terms of singing ability she has to be the best Female Pop Voice of the 1970's. And I say that fully aware of the contributions of Babs Streisand, Bette Midler & Karen Carpenter. It's disgusting that she didn't have a more distinguished recording career & more hit songs.

Phoebe Snow. She had an incredible voice and her first album was great and produced the hit "Poetry Man." But she never got the success she deserved, mostly due to a lot of bad luck: a disastrous marriage (her husband Phil Kearns was gay), a daughter profoundly handicapped due to an incompetent doctor who cut off her oxygen during the delivery, and long-term battles with record companies. She was hard to promote, hard to categorize. The Rolling Stone record guide said of her: "one of the most gifted voices of her generation, Phoebe Snow can do just about anything stylistically as well as technically. The question that's still unanswered is how best to channel such talent."

John "Moon" Martin. A good songwriter he wrote "Bad Case of Loving You" that was a hit for Robert Palmer and "Cadillac Walk", made famous by Willy DeVille. He's a good singer and was great in live performance. Two cuts from his album "Bad News Live" (Bad Case of Loving You and Cadillac Walk) are on You Tube. and they are fantastic. He's quite a good musician, very talented. But he only had a couple of minor hits on his own and never really achieved commercial success. He deserves it. I guess it just didn't happen for him It also didn't help that he had zero sex appeal. He looks like Woody Allen in a blonde wig.

Benny Mardones. He had one hit, the unforgettable "Into the Night" which some consider pervy because the first line of the song is "she's just 16 years old; leave her alone they say." They think it's a song about an adult man wanting a teenage girl, but I always interpreted it as a young man, maybe 18, who was being kept away from his young love. Anyway, Mardones had a fantastic voice, and should have been more successful. But he was a belligerent douchebag and ugly as a bucket of toads. He got into drugs, and his career tanked. He never had another hit.

Willy DeVille. He was a unique talent. Mark Knopfler said of DeVille, "Willy had an enormous range. The songs he wrote were original, romantic and straight from the heart." Critic Robert Palmer wrote about him in 1980, "Mr. DeVille is a magnetic performer, but his macho stage presence camouflages an acute musical intelligence; his songs and arrangements are rich in ethnic rhythms and blues echoes, the most disparate stylistic references, yet they flow seamlessly and hang together solidly. He embodies (New York's) tangle of cultural contradictions while making music that's both idiomatic, in the broadest sense, and utterly original. One of the things impeding Willie Deville was a long time heroin addiction. He eventually got clean, but he never achieved the success he deserved. He said, "I have a theory. I know that I'll sell much more records when I'm dead. It isn't very pleasant, but I have to get used to this idea."

Eva Cassidy. Shy and retiring, she was known in Washington but that was all. She had no desire to promote herself and refused to be categorized, major reasons why she wasn't signed by a record label. Only after her death at age 33 did she achieve any commercial success or major recognition. Jazz critic Ted Gioia writes, "you might be tempted to write off the "Cassidy sensation" as a response to the sad story of the singer's abbreviated life rather than as a measure of her artistry. But don't be mistaken, Cassidy was a huge talent, whose obscurity during her lifetime was almost as much a tragedy as her early death." Her voice was stunning. She puts so many popular singers to shame.

Definitely Lisa Fischer. She had a brilliant number one hit "How can I feel the pain" and then decided a solo career was not for her.

Watch her in the documentary Twenty Feet from Stardom about famous backup singers.

Your jaw will drop at how good she is.

R35 Fran Warren played Linda Low in summer stock production of FLOWER DRUM SONG at Starlight Theatre in Kansas City in 1961. I didn't see it I was too young I do have the Playbill.earlier, she was also in GUYS AND DOLLS in 1958 and THE PAJAMA GAME in 1957

Irma Thomas.

The Rolling Stones copied every note of her recording of 'Time Is On My Side' and had the hit instead. Otis Redding was also more successful than her when he covered her incredible 'Ruler Of My Heart' and re-titled it 'Pain In My Heart'.

One of the greatest voices ever. She still performs to this day, mostly in New Orleans (her home town).

Thanks R42 . I knew that Fran went into theater after her recording career dried up in the mid-50's but I didn't know specifics.

A number of those mentioned didn't become more famous due to their own choices, so it's not as though they didn't get their due. Jennifer Warnes, for instance, chose to tour as a backup singer for Leonard Cohen rather than tour in support of her own projects, which is really a dunderheaded decision. (BTW, I had no idea that Song of Bernadette was that old; I have it on the Famous Blue Raincoat cd, and freaking love it.) Also- Phoebe Snow chose to leave music to concentrate on her handicapped daughter. And -- EBTG was offered the opening slot on a U2 arena tour, but Tracey decided that she just didn't want to be int he industry any more, and she left to raise three kids. She's since changed her mind, and has dabbled a little bit, but nothing anyone would all full time. The one that boggles my mind is Paddy McAloon, the lead singer of Prefab Sprout. Whey they -- and he -- aren't big will always astonish me. He is the most brilliant writer ever, and has a glorious voice.

Brenda Russell- Piano in the Dark is a beautiful jazz song

Levi Stubbs of the Four Tops was a wonderful singer with this big, raspy voice.

Leah Kunkel, Cass Elliot's kid sister. Her voice is every bit as beautiful, yet she's virtually unknown.

Amy Jo Johnson

Fischer also had a great dance track in "Save Me". From watching the documentary, she fell into having a solo career and decided it wasn't for her.

Leah Kunkel has a lovely voice, but, unlike her sister, I think it works better as a background vocalist. She's sung the bgv's of some great songs, notable From Silver Lake on Jackson Browne's first cd. She is -- or was? -- married to the incredibly-successful session drummer Russ Kunkel.

Angela Bofill and Phyllis Hyman

Exactly, R47. Most beautiful voice of all the Motown singers, male or female. And another whose career was sacrificed at the altar of Miss Ross.

See link for proof.

Runner up: David Ruffin.

Glad to see Phoebe Snow so prominent in this thread...in my opinion, one of the most gifted - and certainly unique! - singer/songwriters. Too bad she's so difficult to "categorize," and even worse, that such categorizing is considered necessary. I don't know a lot about her life outside of the music she recorded and released but can only respect her for apparently putting her daughter's needs before everything else.

My elderly mother had Nana Mouskouri cassettes she played in her car. She raved about her voice. I thought, "ok whatever." One day I was a passenger in her car and she played one if her Nana M tapes. The woman's voice was HORRIBLE. I pictured Andrea Martin from SCTV singing the songs as Pirini Scleroso.

I was amazed to find that there was a guy in England who made a career out of doing covers of Rolling Stones songs.... at the same time the Stones were recording and releasing the same songs.

Todd f'ing Rundgren! More due for Todd!

Freedy Johnston!

In the us ofra haza

Can you a-direca-mi-a-hoto, Pussy?

Definitely Evie Sands. Google "the curse of evie sands" or look for the thread here on DL. Bizarre circumstances kept her career from going huge.

Jennifer Warnes should be regarded more highly these days, but she DID have two number one hits (albeit duets). That's way more than anyone else on this list.

I know she had a good run, but Laura Branigan should have been even bigger.

Collins had that classic alternative song in the 90s, "A Girl Like You" but nothing else he did caught on. Shame.

OP I agree with your post except that Jeffrey Osborne is also among the best r&b voices, hell all 4 of those were among the best voices period. He got his due though.

I agree with a lot of the posts here.

Another amazing singer was the now deceased lead singer of the group Starpoint, Renee Diggs. Many may remember their song "Object Of My Desire" though they had some nice minor hits too. They and she in particular should have been much bigger. Great vocal range.

Other phenomenal singers who should have been MUCH bigger include Chante Moore, KeKe Wyatt, Keith Washington and Christopher Williams.

Cindy Birdsong

Australian singer Renee Geyer. White singer with incredible soul/r'n'b voice that (supposedly) Paul McCartney once compared favorably to Gladys Knight.

She has been something of an institution in Oz for 40 years with a handful of top 40 hits and over 20 albums but her style of music, which was never hugely popular in Australia and - by her own admission - sometimes difficult personality mean she hasn't had more commercial success.

In the late 70s she spent some time in the US recorded a few albums there - first with Motown's Frank Wilson, and then with Bonnie Raitt's band and Rob Fraboni producing. The story goes that her first American single started to get traction on the black stations in 1977 but against the advice of her label she isn't that her "big pink face" be on the album cover and that undid whatever momentum she was getting. In the Casablanca Records book "And Party Every Day" one of the execs is quoted as saying she was an amazing singer who should have been big in America but it was not to be.

She also did lots of session work with the likes of Chaka Khan, Sting, Joe Cocker and Neil Diamond amongst others.

I have been a HUGE fan since i was 12 years old. If you're interested, don't necessarily listen to her biggest Australian hits, but start with 1977's Stares & Whispers for smooth late 70s soul, 1981's You Don't Know Nothin About Love for grittier rock/r'n'b or my personal favorite 1999's Heaven (The Closest I'll Get).

Shill over. Sorry, but i LOVE her voice.

(R63), sorry that should be she insisted that her big pink face be on the cover.

Kelly Garrett.

"The one that boggles my mind is Paddy McAloon"

Illness, I think - he's better now, but went through a tough time...

[quote] Collins had that classic alternative song in the 90s, "A Girl Like You" but nothing else he did caught on. Shame

When I first heard that song, I SWORE it was David Bowie! Seriously, No one else thought that?

Anne Steele

Annie Haslam, lead singer of 1970's prog group Renaissance. Beautiful,emoptive 5 octave soprano voice. She is SADLY underrated and virtually unknown. Here's the epic title song from their 1973 album "Ashes Are Burning"

[quote] The one that boggles my mind is Paddy McAloon, the lead singer of Prefab Sprout. Whey they -- and he -- aren't big will always astonish me. He is the most brilliant writer ever, and has a glorious voice.

OMG, yes.

As someone said upthread he had several years where health issues kept him away from the recording studio - he has severe tinnutis and is going blind or partly blind due to some issue with the liquid in his eyes. Some heavy shit to deal with.

But even before that.....the fact that he wasn't as famous or more famous than Elvis Costello (Paddy's work is, frankly, better) is astonishing.

Mary Wilson.

No, I never confused Edwyn Collins with David Bowie, but I was already familiar with Collins from his days as the singer with Orange Juice, an early English band that was lumped in with punk, although they weren't. This song of theirs still kills me. He was good, and had some good songs, but he's not brilliant and, I think, reached the level of success his talent warranted. And, yes, Paddy McAloon should be a big star. Can you imagine having a gift as great as his, but not being mostly ignored?

Jess Roden - Brit Blue-Eyed Soul/Rock singer. Made some great records with a group called Bronco, his own band & finally recorded under his own name in the Late 70's. Every album he was involved with had a gem or two. My favorite is his "Stonechaser" LP from 1979/1980. The cuts 'Prime Time Love' & 'Brand New Start' are personal favorites.

For those unfamiliar with McAloon -- and his group, Prefab Sprout -- check this out. They're still active, but this one is an older one that still kills me. What a great kiss-off line: I've got six things on my mind, but you're no longer one of them. If you like great music with a folk/pop bent, do yourself a favor and check them out. They are one of the best bands, ever.

Tamia

Todd Rundgren

[There is nothing more tedious than a race baiting troll. Except the people that talk to it.]

There's an article in the current EW about Light in the Attic records, which resurrects and reissues overlooked albums by overlooked artists. Some of the people mentioned on this thread have been the subject of their work.

Barrett Rude Jr - never got his due...

r77 -- Boggus and Chapin Carpenter both had very very successful careers. They got their due!

Florence Foster Jenkins was never properly acknowledged.

Re: Nana Mouskouri

Greece had Nana Mouskouri but Italy had the divine Mina.

She's unknown in the US although Sinatra was a big fan and friend of hers.

She's hard to describe.... sort of a scary Dusty Springfield.

She is a true diva with incredible stage presence and she had a powerful top-notch voice in her prime.

She's a gay icon Italy.... watch this and you'll see why. The song is "Amor Mio" (1972), even if you don't understand the lyrics, it's a great pop melody and you can appreciate the the campy over-the-top performance:

"Edw[y]n Collins had that classic alternative song in the 90s, "A Girl Like You" but nothing else he did caught on"

Again health issues...in his case UNBELIEVABLE health issues...

Keith Washington.

Alison Moyet has more talent in her big toe than all these Beyonce, Gaga, Cyrus slags. She had the talent, well everyone did years ago, without whoring themselves to the media and singing virtually in the nude like today. Music today is all too sexualized, based on looks and not ACTUAL talent.

Really? No mention of Martha Wash yet? You queens are slipping!

Sang backup for Sylvester. Sang "It's Raining Men". Had to go to court and fight for the singing credit on C + C Music Factory's "Gonna Make You Sweat ( Everybody Dance Now)

This beautiful lady is one of our best friends and often performs for Pride events.

Here she is singing with Izora Rhodes as The Two Tons O' Fun--- "Dear Santa, Bring Me A Man For Christmas"

^ I mean Weather Girls

[quote] Really? No mention of Martha Wash yet? You queens are slipping!

There has been DL love for her, in fact there was a relatively recent thread.

Evie Sands has a new duets album with Billy Vera, featuring songs by Chip Taylor.

I've only played samples so far but she sounds EXACTLY the same. I'll be buying it soon.

Alison Moyet recently released an acclaimed album with Guy Sig(s)worth. She's even been popular enough to win a Best British Female at the BRITS in the 00s. I wouldn't agree that she hasn't got her due.

Lulu still sounds great and she's working on a new album for 2015. Hopefully she'll have good collaborators this time around.

Loleatta Holloway. I recently saw some YT videos of her from the 80s - 00s doing club gigs and Pride gigs. It made me sad that her live performances involved her singing in tandem with her own studio vocals. It's sad enough not being able to play with a live backing but to be essentially singing along to oneself "on the radio" - that's fucking tragic. She was too good for that.

The real Milli Vanilli singers

I am not a fan of her music, but Nicole Scherzinger is a much better and more versatile singer than most people know. Her career was a mess of image, management, group and style changes. She was maybe too desperate to be famous.

Donny Hathaway should be listened to every day.

Phoebe Snow is kind of forgotten, but Jennifer Warnes and Mary Chapin Carpenter have great catalogues of work and very devoted followings. Superb singers who put the song first.

Beth Hart is one of the best blues, rock, jazz singers in the world today. She has been at it for over twenty years. Her voice is stellar and she sings her ass off. She always works, but is a much bigger star in Europe and Canada than she is in the US. She did sing at the Kennedy Center Honors a few years back, and she won Star Search 20 something years ago. Her own material is very good and she keeps lots of old flames burning.

Another vote for Jennifer Warnes. Her work with Cohen is wonderful. She was also a friend and collaborator of Arthur Russell, who someone poster a woefully ignored threat about a couple of months ago.

Judy Henske

Jennifer Warnes with Rob Wasserman. A Cohen song of course. Bass and voice. Her vocal is modest and perfectly nuanced. She is a great interpreter of certain fine songs, and she could soar above Joe Cocker too.

Her voice is like California weather, Leonard Cohen said - full of sunlight with the rumbling of an earthquake beneath.

I've always been a huge fan of Hope Sandoval, lead singer of Mazzy Star, and also her side project - Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions. The later was a group she formed with Bert Jansch and the drummer from My Bloody Valentine.

Tina Dico - I suppose she's doing pretty well outside of the US, but I am surprised she hasn't blown up bigger here. She's like a modern day Joni Mitchel. If you aren't familiar with her, but are fans of Zero 7's first couple of albums, she got her start singing on those.

Cassandra Wilson gained some momentum in the mid 90's but kind of faded to obscurity. New Moon Daughter (1996) is a fantastic album, with a really haunting cover of U2's Love Is Blindness.

Me.

Tina Arena should have been bigger in the US.

Mimi Hines, Sylvia Syms.

Yvonne Elliman. She had modest success in JESUS CHRIST, SUPERSTAR and a couple of charted singles in the late 70s, but hasn't had nearly the career she should have. Her voice is so warm and sensual.

Jane Olivor

Luba

Gino Vanelli

Jane Olivor had a beautiful, unique voice. It has the timbre and resonance of a cello. My mother loved her. But, like Streisand, Olivor makes only pretty sounds with some emotional display an long held notes without merit. She is more humble, (who isn't) and her voice is both richer and more limited than BS. The similarities and comparisons must have cost her being a bigger star. Streisand is so overrated as a singer that it is hard to know. She made five good albums in fifty years. Jane produced three in five years.

A Girl Called Eddy

Alice Smith

[quote] Alison Moyet recently released an acclaimed album with Guy Sig(s)worth. She's even been popular enough to win a Best British Female at the BRITS in the 00s. I wouldn't agree that she hasn't got her due.

Maybe I'd rephrase it to say "hasn't gotten her due in the States." She did have a popular run in the UK and has definitely had a recent renaissance there. But she's still nearly unknown in the States, which is a crying shame.

Beverly Bremers. Had a popular single, an album and was a replacement Sheila in HAIR on Broadway.

Miki Berenyi of Lush. I don't think she got any due as a singer. In fact, I never heard of Lush until 2000 or so.

[quote] Yvonne Elliman. She had modest success in JESUS CHRIST, SUPERSTAR and a couple of charted singles in the late 70s, but hasn't had nearly the career she should have. Her voice is so warm and sensual.

Didn't she retire to have and raise kids by the time the 80s dawned?

[quote] Arthur Russell, who someone poster a woefully ignored threat about a couple of months ago.

Well, to be fair, no one could take a threat from Arthur Russell seriously in 2014.

Dave Edmunds. He had a hit with a cover version of "I Hear You Knocking" but he never really made it. He's such a great musician.

Juicy Newton. She was a rock powerhouse for a few years in the early 80ies but she vanished quickly. She deserved Madonna's career. Juicy rocked. As a 9-11 year old fledgling Lez I was soooooo in love with her. People use to laugh at me cuz I wrote Juicy on everything. Even at a young age I knew what I liked... lol.

Kenny Lattimore-strong and beautiful voice to go with his handsome face

Happy Rhodes. Very interesting woman with a 4-octave voice, complex songwriting and a blend of influences from folk to prog rock. She can sound exactly like Kate Bush at the higher end of her range.

Eddi Reader.

I'm glad someone mentioned Willy DeVille. I first heard him on the "Cruising" soundtrack, but his music was sure hard to track down. I believe he also made an appearance on SNL, back when it was worth watching

-Phyllis Hyman -Minnie Riperton -Bobby Caldwell -Sylvester -Cory Daye -Ronnie Dyson -Mama Cass -Phil Ochs -Colonel Abrams -Laura Nyro

Donny Hathaway

How has Donny Hathaway not got his due?

-P.P. Arnold -Ann Peebles -Gino Vanelli -Jobriath -Evelyn Champagne King -Sharon Redd -Cheryl Lynn -Eric Carmen

another vote for Phyllis Hyman. Datalounge can't even give her her proper due-why has her thread been closed?

Maura O'Connell. A legend in Ireland, practically unknown here in the States.

The late, great Keith Whitley. Another stupid alcohol statistic.

Plus Chicago by way of Iowa folkie Bonnie Koloc; country chanteuses Elizabeth Cook, Iris DeMent and Cee Cee Chapman; and rock 'n' roller Willie Nile.

Tina Arena sang Enough is Enough with Donna Summer on stage live and did it 10 times better than Barbra. Very powerful voice!

I saw that 10 feet from stardom docu recently and there are some amazing backup singers, but in order to make it you need to be able to not just sing the music but also the lyric. Not everybody can sing lead.

"Jennifer Warnes. She never quite made it. Strange because she has (or at least had) a fine voice, very similar to Linda Ronstadt.'

She "never made it?" She had THREE big hits, two of them got to Number One : 'Right Time Of The NIght", "Up Where We Belong", and "I've Had The Time Of My Life." I'd say she was pretty successful.

Nicolette. She is probably only known for the Massive Attack song Sly which features her soulful voice. She released several albums (including Let No One live Rent Free in Your Head) but never received mainstream recognition.

Little Willie John - Least remembered member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Nancy LaMott

Tina Dickow

Another vote for Martha Wash

R86 You failed to mention the Black Box debacle, Where Martha once again had to file a lawsuit, this one over supposed background vocals, that were used without permission, for many songs, including "Strike It Up" "Everybody Everybody" & "Fantasy"

Funny hearing Martha's voice coming out of this person

For me it's Rachelle Ferrell . I know she went the R & B route but she has such range in her voice and good technique. I think she could have done more in the 90's than be a carbon copy B-List ( I know she's probably C or D list currently) R & B singer.

Fonda Rae

Chuckii Booker

Jean Carn

Margaret Cox from Ta Mara and the Seen ("Everybody Dance")

Lisa Keith- she sung the hook in Alexander O'Neal's Criticize

O'Bryan

Carrie Lucas

Mary Oliver.

Jean Carne

Linda Clifford

I am a chic chanteuse!

Jobriath

Rachelle Ferrell, Phyllis Hyman

What a great thread. Just saw it for the first time and got introduced to a few singers I wasn't familiar with. I always thought Nikka Costa should have become a bigger star. She's still playing the same small club venues she was more than a decade ago while singers with a similar aesthetic, but far less raw talent (Fergie, Joss Stone) have had far greater commercial success. I saw the dreadful Maroon 5 open for HER at the Roxy in LA a long, long time ago. Now, she'd be lucky if she got the chance to open for THEM, even though she has more talent in her pinkie than that entire awful band does.

Phyllis Hyman. One of the greatest unsung singers of that era. She could have had the commercial success of Anita Baker or Toni Braxton. But she was bipolar and had trouble with collaborators and her record label chief (Clive Davis).

Hattie Littles -- Detroit R&B singer who could really belt 'em out. Her's is sad story, including a prison hitch.

At the link she rips up Martha Reeves & The Vandellas' "Nowhere to Run."

Even got the original Vandellas as back-ups!

What happened between Jobriath and his manager Jerry Brandt and the last one dumped Jobriath? After that, Jobriath had no career. I know that these two had also a sexual relationship...

June Christy

Chris Connor

Keely Smith

Can someone who really know, tell me how 'Jobriath' is pronounced? It is pronounced as the name Mariah, or like Jo-breeath?

Julia Fordham

Jo Stafford

Jerry Vale

Rick Astley

Margaret Whiting

Mary Chapin Carpenter

Suzy Boggus

Brenda Russell

Jobriath is pronounced as 'Mariah'. I searched it myself, when no one answered me and fortunately i found out about it.

Jobriath was the first openly gay singer.

More cheers for Beth Hart, Martha Wash, and Phyllis Hyman.

Beth Hart has a strong voice for her fab bluesy rock.

Martha Wash's voice is one-of-a-kind powerful. Years ago, I went to a Martha Wash concert in NYC, at a relatively small theatre. It was gay pride weekend but sadly the place was only half-filled. the accompanying music was tape-recorded but that voice live is a wonder of the world/

Phyllis Hyman, for me, has the most unique voice I've ever heard. The lows are unearthly. Thankfully I saw her in concert once in DC.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Jennifer Holliday - she should have been bigger after Dreamgirls. Love her "Hard Times For Lovers" album.

Donny Hathaway ? - successful certainly, but could should have been bigger.

Perhaps their demons derailed them ....

Boxcar Willie

Did anyone mention Milli ... and Vanilli? It's so hard to scroll through these long threads.

I love that their trademark move was a sort of chest-bump.

Marcia Hines, an African-American singer who found her greatest success in Australia in the 1970s.

From Burns and Allen (radio)

Blanche) You think your husband is a better sing than Frank Sinatra?

Gracie) Well, he may be better with that be-bop jazz but George is a better torch singer.

Blanche) How can you say that?

Gracie) Last time we gave a party he and Dinah Shore had a contest to see who was the better torch singer. And everyone agreed of the two of them, George was the torture.

Cory Daye : lead singer of Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band. She also cut one solo album. Incredible voice.

Until a few years ago Cory Daye worked as an AA at, I think it was, NBC in NY.

..Minnie Ripperton.. Easily the most powerful, octave ranging, glass shattering, voice I've ever had the awe-inspired joy to behold. Word has it that John Lennon and other industry superstars, were floored by Minnie's unprecedented vocal range. Her album, Adventures in Paradise, showcases her powerhouse singing abilities to the fullest. The single of the same name, the most dynamic display of ability and range, ever recorded. Mariah Carey gives Ripperton credit for inspiring her to become a performer, with opera-inspired octave ranging, display. Sadly, Ripperton died from breast cancer as her career was starting to blossom. Barbra Streisand, and contemporaries, refused to share the stage or collaborate with Minnie. They knew better.

Now Minnie's daughter is a big star!

Pebbles should have had more hits

Another vote for Julia Fordham.

If not for her rich wifey, Anne Steele would be tending bar somewhere - so, no.

r159 Minnie Riperton was great, and I think better known among musicians and 70s soul fans. But the idea that Streisand avoided sharing the stage with Minnie is wrong as Babs wasn't performing live at the time of Minnie's career. And they were at opposite genre spectrums of the recording industry. BS never collaborated with R&B artists in her 70s phase, or rarely ever. There were aborted plans in the 70s and early 80s for Streisand to cut an album with Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye respectively, but it never came to pass. Back to Minnie, I love her featured background vocals on Stevie Wonder's "Creepin"

Probably millions over the centuries, poor souls around the globe toiling in obscurity and/or poverty. I often wonder about humanity's loss, of talent, of genius, of creativity, of those benighted people.

Mary Ramsey, who replaced the diva Miss Merchant as lead singer of 10,000 Maniacs, has a lovely voice and is a fine musician. Sadly she couldn't match Natalie's presence on stage or video.

Still, the hit singles "Rainy Day" and "More Than This" give a taste of her talent (she still appas and records with the band).

Terri Gibbs, blind woman with a gorgeous contralto voice - her hit was "Somebody's Knocking, Should I Let Him In - Lord It's the Devil..." in 1981

Rosie Flores. BTW, that's her on guitar, too. Better than the Butch Hancock original

Eilen jewell:

Jeremy pinnell:

Billy Mackenzie (The Associates)

Johnny Wilder. Lead singer/songwriter of HEATWAVE. Wilder was paralyzed in an untimely, career destroying accident. Always and Forever. A soulful R&B ballad, that showcased Wilder's amazing vocals, range and versatility. Boogie Nights, Grooveline, Gangsters of the Groove, some of the 70's jams, we over 40 crowd got down to. These abovementioned tunes, always and forever in my set playlist.

Teena Marie

I have to bring up Evie Sands again. Incredible that she didn't become a huge star. I've found all her old stuff that I can find and I love it. She was the real deal, but just never broke through.

Stephanie Mills

Faith Evans

Blu Cantrell

[quote]There were aborted plans in the 70s and early 80s for Streisand to cut an album with Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye respectively, but it never came to pass.

They must have heard her cover of "Grandma's Hands" and gotten cold feet.

Gayle Garnett

Leslie Gore

April Stevens

Kathy Young

Alice Cohen, Sam Phillips.

Toni Childs. Sure she was nominated for a Grammy, but she should been better known.

Julie Budd

Karen Wyman

Marilyn Michaels

Lainie Kazan

the late Florence Ballard OWNS this thread!

Keely Smith - beautiful voice.

Opera Queen Division: the great gals who pretty much got shut out of recording contracts by Callas (EMI), Tebaldi (Decca), and Milanov (RCA): Leyla Gencer, Anita Cerquetti, Magda Olivero.

R183, Thankfully we have bootlegs from some incredible live performances!

Peabo Bryson, Jeffrey Osborne, Johnny Mathis, Patti Austin, James Ingram.

Another vote for Annie Haslam. Such a pure, clear soprano, and a genuinely nice lady to boot.

"Ocean Gypsy"---Renaissance: Live Carnegie Hall.

r183 From a later generation, two opera singers who deserved more recognition than they got: Aprile Millo and Diana Soviero. So committed, so larger than life.

James Ingram

Kirsty MacColl.

Brian McKnight

I've always thought that Chaka Khan never got her due. Her 70s albums with Rufus were pure fabulousness.

Scott Weiland.

Mrs. Miller, of course.

To the poster above who suggests Toni Childs never got her due:

Stop Your Fussin'!

Ronnie Spector backed by the E Street Band here

Darlene Love-------Bruce, Paul Schaeffer and Steven Van Zandt make their appearances as well

I haaaaaaated Toni Childs.

Here is someone really obscure: Kathy Keegan. 60's singer who recorded on cheapie labels like Malibu, Compass and ABC. Never was given really good material. I discovered her when I got the AEI release of demos and covers from the unrecorded flop Steve Allen musical "Sophie" (about Sophie Tucker). Kathy Keegan sang a version of "I Love You Today" that I couldn't get out of my head. Seems she was born in England and may have come to the U.S. as an orphan to escape WWII and the blitz. No clue as to what happened to her. Here is some info from a kind man on a certain theater chat board: "I have 3 lps from the early sixties, The Good Life on Malibu distributed by JayGee; Suddenly on ABC,and When You're Young and In Love on DCP International distributed by United Artists records. "The Good Life" was her first hit record, got a lot of play. She was born and raised in England but migrated to U.S. as a domestic after her parents died and worked as a hatcheck girl and domestic while struggling.

The Good Life album includes I Love You Today from Sophie which also got a lot of airplay and she was nominated for a Grammy as Best Female Vocalist. Same album includes Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry; Call Me Irresponsible (2 versions), Once Upon a Summertime, Looking for a Boy among others.

Suddenly includes Alfie, You're Gonna Hear From Me, Watch What Happens, Old Man Time, Suddenly, and I've Got You Under My Skin among others.

Besides the title song, the third album includes "This Is The Life" and I Want To Be With You from Golden Boy, Before the Parade Passes By, I Could Have Danced All Night, Was She Prettier Than I from High Spirits, Meditation, I get Along Without You Very Well among others. Her singles of some of the selections used to get a lot of radio play on WNEW."

She also did a lot of one off singles of novelty material like this title song to the "Valley of the Dolls" which was single on the Compass label. If anyone has any info on what happened to this woman and if she is still alive, I'd love to hear about it. She deserved better material - her covers of standards are just sensational.

Will Downing, Betty Wright, Shirley Brown

I love this song by Christy Lane!

Lucinda Williams, James Morrison

It's a long way from the beginning of the thread and R1's errors, but just for the record Abbey Lincoln was not blacklisted and did not produce music "into her 80s." Her work with the civil rights movement brought her applause and adulation, and she died eight days after her 80th birthday, not having been able to work for a while before that.

I'm a fan and always have been glad that, despite the challenges she faced and the ups and downs of her career, she did enjoy success. She "got her due."

Her rendition of "Skylark" is THE version of that standard. Perfection.

Who didn't get their due success?

Every African American performer whose career ended before the 1960s and early 1970s - and beyond, because no one can make up for losses early in a career. Since we're talking about singers we can leave out Duke Ellington, who was one of the rare people whose race did not nail him (much).

Even an internationally popular, universally respected singer (and band leader and trumpeter and ambassador of American music) such as Louie Armstrong, who showed a willingness to play the game for the white folks while maintaining a fiercely self-aware detachment, was not invited, for example, to his friend Bing Crosby's house - Crosby would come by and smoke dope and get his bona fides and act the pal.

Ann Wilson from Heart. Yes they are a highly successful band, but it's rare that she appears on any lists of great singers. Personally I think she is not only the greatest female rock singer of all time, she's also one of the greatest singers of all time. Go see her live and tell me different.

Johnette Napolitano from Concrete Blonde deserves more respect as well and is also amazing live.

"Aminata Moseka" was the name that Abbey Lincoln adopted for herself after a tour of Africa in the 70's. Dionne only went with the extra "e" added to Warwick, but Abbey went all the way. Finally reverted back to Abbey Lincoln after a number of years like Dionne dropped the "e" when hardly anyone ever spelled her name "Warwicke" anyway.

Mama Cass was determined to lose the "Mama" when she went solo. That didn't work out either.

I have been hearing a lot of Joanie Sommers stuff on my cable music channel lately. She went from a teenage singer of fluff like"Johnny Get Angry" and "One Boy" to recording some very swinging blues and jazz music as she got older, very enjoyable. and a very distinctive voice.

Paul Robeson

Little Richard.

Sinead O'Connor. All her antics got in the way of a promising career. She could have been so much more.

Sabrina Johnston

Jane Child

Very talented, and even beautiful. But hugely overworking the weird factor for an R&B audience.

The Cranberries should have been legendary. Instead they've disappeared.

[quote] Very talented, and even beautiful. But hugely overworking the weird factor for an R&B audience.

Yes, because everyone knows that R&B audiences LOVE weird-looking white chicks.

Wendy & Lisa

Chris Crocker

Helen Terry, great vocalist who sang with Culture Club but never really broke out on her own.

Nona Hendryx, formerly of Labelle, has a rich soulful voice but had only minor success in the 80s.

Gwen Macrae, known mainly for "Rocking Chair" and "Keep the Fire Burning", but this one is my fave:

Regina Belle was crazy talented. Gave me goosebumps.

Randi Crawford She almost was huge...

Morgana King. My mother loved her.

DeNiece Williams

Jennifer Warnes, Juice Newton, Chaka Khan, Donny Hathaway, Minnie Riperton, Deneice Williams and Scott Weiland ALL got their "due." They all had successful records and commercial success. Some of them had Number One hits. Some of them won Grammys. I'd say that's getting some "due."

The Main Ingredient featuring Cuba Gooding Sr. as lead singer. They had a couple of hits, like Everybody Plays the Fool back in the day, but tried to go mainstream and sort of fell by the wayside. Sr. was fine, and his voice sounds so smooth.

Connor Reeves

Oops. Here's a link to Cuba Gooding Sr & The Main Ingredient :

Macy Gray should have been much bigger. This song is one of my most favourite ever by any singer.

Kenny Rankin. A pop and jazz singer, he had a beautiful voice and was a good songwriter but never got the recognition he deserved. One of his songs, "Peaceful", was made a hit by Helen Reddy, but he never had any major commercial success. He was very well respected as a musician. He played in Bob Dylan's backup band on his 1965 album "Bringing It All Back Home."He was gifted at reworking classic songs His version of The Beatles' "Blackbird," which he recorded for his Silver Morning album, so impressed Paul McCartney that he asked Rankin to perform his interpretation of the song when McCartney and John Lennon were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. His cover of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" was so much beloved by George Harrison that his family chose it for George's memorial service. Rankin appeared on "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson more than 25 times. Carson was such a fan that he wrote the liner notes for Rankin's 1967 debut LP, "Mind Dusters."

He died of lung cancer in 2009 at age 69. He was so talented. And a good looking guy too, although it was sometimes hard to tell because a lot of pictures show him with awful seventies hair and mustache.

Ginette Reno. A goddess in Quebec but unknown almost everywhere else. Had the biggest pipes (and ass) north of the 49th parallel until spawn of satan Celine took over:

'Sinead O'Connor. All her antics got in the way of a promising career. She could have been so much more."

Are you kidding? She was enormously successful for a time. She got plenty of "due."

Another vote for Nona Hendrix! I love "Why Should I Cry"

R226 Sinead had the makings of a legend in her. Her voice is unreal.

She is unfortunately completely forgotten

"She is unfortunately completely forgotten."

No, she's not. She pops up in the news now and than still, usually for some insane reason. Recently she disappeared for a while and it was thought she may have committed suicide, but she eventually turned up. She's a train wreck, and that always generates interest.

Mariska Veres of Shocking Blue. Not a great singer but deserves credit for this shit video alone. She's like, y'all know I'm lip synching anyway, so why the fuck bother keeping it real...

Fred Neil had a great baritone voice, but he retired the moment he could live of the royalties from Harry Nilsson's 'Everybody's Talking' cover.

Molly Johnson. She's been singing jazz, pop, rock etc. for years but is probably not that well known outside Canada. I've had this exquisite song on personal heavy rotation since 2005.

This is easy P.P. Arnold. She's like Tina Turner's little sister.

Timi Yuro

I was gonna post PP Arnold but R233 beat me to it. Her version of Angel of the Morning is by far my favorite.

Also second all the people who mentioned Evie Sands.

DeeDee Warwick's version of I'm Gonna Make You Love Me is a million times better than the Supremes'. Not sure too much about her history, but I get the impression her career stalled because she was even crazier than her sister.

I love Dee Dee Warwick but she strains on her version of I'm Gonna Make You Love Me. Fellow Jersey girl Madeline Bell had a much better approach to the song and she was rewarded with the bigger hit. Gladys Knight also gave a great vocal over a so so arrangement. Dee Dee stills own You're No Good, though.

Dee Dee was basically Whitney Mk I in terms of her personal struggles (lgbt, drugs). I believe she even went so far as to use heroin. Her voice was basically shot by the 80s.

I favour Billie Davis' version of Angel of the Morning. She couldn't belt the shit out of it so she makes it her own via a fragile vocal. PP Arnold actually sings back up, months before cutting her own version.

I feel the Pointer Sisters haven't got their due in terms of respect/status, especially in the black community. They always brought it vocally.

PP Arnold. If You Think Your Groovy. She was a bit bigger in Europe. Over the years, in a group or alone, everyone of The Beatles worked on her records or sang with her in one of her appearances. Mick Jagger and Rod Stewart also.

Melanie. Though she sold millions and millions of records I feel she never got the respect she deserved. I think a lot of people just saw her as a hippy somewhat novelty act. Then she bought into the shtick a little too much. It's too bad. I thought her writing and singing were brilliant. John Lennon's favorite singer.

Agreed, r240.

TEENA MARIE BITCHES!

Shirley Bassey should have been a much bigger star in the US than she ever was.

Jerry Vale should have been at least as big as Sinatra. Incomparable voice. Ten times better than schlocky Dean Martin, for example, who was much more famous.

Julia Fordham, Suzy Boggus, Mary Chapun Carpenter.

[quote]TEENA MARIE BITCHES

Her last name was "Bitches"?

Linda Perhacs

What is the average age of posters? I think I am on my grandpa's site.

Nancy Lamott

And you'll have to excuse the bad manners of R246. She thinks 25 is "old".

Teena Marie Vesta Renee Diggs from Starpoint Glenn Jones

I love my r&b! I'm white though. Is that cultural appropriation?!

I'm sure she's been mentioned above, but why Joss Stone isn't a bigger star in the US mystifies me.

As for a great vocalist from the past who never got his due, I'd nominate Micky Dolenz of the Monkees

R247 Yes, 25 is getting a bit long in the tooth.

Macy gray Is SHIT! She got much more than it deserved!

Box Scaggs. Should be in RRHOF.

The late Terry Kath of the band Chicago. Yes, Bonnie Koloc. The Windy City has soul.

Sharon Redd.

Ms. Millie Jackson!

Agree Micky Dolenz was great. And Davy Jones hated him for it.

Teena Marie.

R223, worst voice ever.

Shanice Wilson was only about 13 or 14 when she was recording, but she had a very powerful voice. Here's my favorite song by her, Just a Game, she sounded even better live on this when she performed it at the Apollo Theater. She was very underrated.

The late, great Bobby DeBarge of Switch was one of music's finest falsetto voices, in fact, he's my favorite falsetto vocalist.

Most of mine have already been mentioned but not sure though if I saw Dale Bozio of Missing Persons. Her voice was so unique and perfect new wave. I see her in Gaga's look and hear her in Stefani's vocals, but not sure if they cite her as an influence.

Dale Bozzio is pure shit now.

Jane Weidlin was always "that other singer from the Go-Go's" but yeah, she could carry a a good song on her own.

In a totally warped and unexpected way, everyone I've talked to who has been at a live performance by Journey with their current front man raves about his vocals (don't know his name; was he even onstage at the RRHOF?)

Italian singer and Sinatra rival Jimmy Rosselli.

I don’t know if she’s been mentioned, but Julia Fordham was an amazingly soulful British singer from the 90s who never became as big in the US as I feel she deserved.

Pink is underrated as a contemporary singer. She continually bust out high notes and can control her voice. Since she doesn't look like the typical pop star, she has always been regulated to the sidelines.

I think that Shirley Bassey's US career was largely derailed by her personal life.

By 1954 she was an unmarried mother at 17 and her first husband Kenneth Hume accused her of a string of affairs during their 1965 divorce, even alleging the the actor Peter Finch was the Father of their daughter Samantha (it was never proved either way). Kenneth Hume, who was allegedly gay killed himself in 1967 and Samantha Bassey was found dead in 1985

Just a bit too much scandal for a US family audience.

Her first single probably didn't help either.

I meant to add that Shirley Bassey was always very popular outside of the US though and has sold 135million records, so she doesn't really qualify for this list.

Cissy Houston might've been a shitty homophobic mother, but she could belt out a song as well as Gladys, Patti, and Aretha. This song was the closest she got to getting her due.