77Jovian, so glad you mentioned Lydia Pence. Man, when she sang "I Just Want to Make Love to You" I damn well believed her. If you mentioned Lydia you will probably love Genya Ravan/Goldie Zelkowitz. Two very different performers but Cold Blood and Ten Wheel Drive are not that dissimilar. Everybody and most of their's dogs have covered Bird on a Wire including many of the names here but except for the man himself I don't think anyone else conveys the true emotional totality of this track any better than Genya Ravan.
Conveying emotion is what my favorite female vocalists do for me. Pure voices (Judy Collins) are nice, great technique is a prerequisite but the emotional content, for me, is what separates great female singers from women with great voices.
To that end, three were asked for so I owe two more. I guess I could pick two at random from any of the EXTENSIVE lists here but I could just throw darts at Billboard too.
I will probably play an LP later today and change my mind but for now;
Koko Taylor and Etta James. Many creative types 'suffer' for their art. These women just suffered and their artistry rose from that. Black, bruised, drunk and addicted while being screwed over by everyone supposedly on your side is not a recipe for a happy life but, for music that bypasses your ears and brain and drives straight to your soul the power of this combination is overwhelming.
Before anyone goes off thinking I am advocating for a life of pain for the music it might produce, not a chance. On the other hand it would be a double tragedy to ignore the music that tragedy produces.
