Hi, Craig:
Interesting idea behind your post. I think that, as already noted, the choice of the 5 most recognizable (not the same thing as most famous) singers in American music will have a strong generational bias. Having said that, I think the 5 singers you listed are sufficiently well known to almost all Americans that they constitute the "foundation".
I'll nominate the following additional singers for consideration as among the "most recognizable" (again, not the same thing as famous):
1. Billie Holiday (certainly recognized by all jazz enthusiasts)
2. Ella Fitzgerald
3. Willie Nelson
4. Frank Sinatra
5. Bing Crosby
There are some other names that might also qualify, although some are not Americans, such as Mick Jagger. I can't help think of singers with very recognizable voices such as Roy Orbison, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin, Dolly Parton, etc., although they probably don't qualify as among the "top 5". There are other people with very distinctive voices who, three decades or so ago, might have been included on this list, such as Mahalia Jackson, Sarah Vaughn, Little Richard, and Jerry Lee Lewis.
Interesting idea behind your post. I think that, as already noted, the choice of the 5 most recognizable (not the same thing as most famous) singers in American music will have a strong generational bias. Having said that, I think the 5 singers you listed are sufficiently well known to almost all Americans that they constitute the "foundation".
I'll nominate the following additional singers for consideration as among the "most recognizable" (again, not the same thing as famous):
1. Billie Holiday (certainly recognized by all jazz enthusiasts)
2. Ella Fitzgerald
3. Willie Nelson
4. Frank Sinatra
5. Bing Crosby
There are some other names that might also qualify, although some are not Americans, such as Mick Jagger. I can't help think of singers with very recognizable voices such as Roy Orbison, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin, Dolly Parton, etc., although they probably don't qualify as among the "top 5". There are other people with very distinctive voices who, three decades or so ago, might have been included on this list, such as Mahalia Jackson, Sarah Vaughn, Little Richard, and Jerry Lee Lewis.