There's plenty to go around, but who are your particular favorites? I'm talking about people who may or may not have had popular success, but definitely haven't gotten props for what they brought to the music scene. I have several of favorites that I'd considered underappreciated, and they all seem to be female female performers:









Of those, Neneh Cherry is my favorite, and I wish her career had been bigger than the few hits she was afforded here in the US. She was the primary performer of what would later be called "trip hop" (a name I cannot stand), and her influence can be heard in the music of Kelis, PM Dawn, Portishead, Massive Attack, Tricky and others. And damn the fact that Sheila E. will forever be known as a Prince protege.

David Allen Coe!



The original outlaw!

avelvetsweat said:

Are you serious?

RipHer2Shreds said:

Happy Rhodes.

I'm just laughing at your profile screen: "whoever wrote the Golden Girls theme." That would be Andrew Gold. It was a big hit in the 70s. Perhaps another addition to the underappreciated performers list?

RipHer2Shreds said:

That's my fav. theme song of all time. Look out for Season 2 on dvd next Spring.

Mojave 3 - Two of the members of this band used to be in British Shoegazer act Slowdive. Evidence of their noisy past occasionally shows up, but their sound mostly is based around simple folk and country melodies. They've released four consistently excellent albums that haven't garnered a whit of attention on either side of the Atlantic as far as I can tell.





The Delgados - Imagine a dream combination of Belle and Sebastian, Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev's last two records and you'll have an idea of what they sound like. Of their last three records, The Great Eastern and Hate are honest-to-God pop masterpieces, while Universal Audio suffers by comparison as it is only fantastic. Spin named The Great Eastern one of their albums of the year in 2000, but beyond that they rarely receive the prominence they deserve.
[Edited 12/19/04 17:47pm]

Liz f'ing Fraser!! Known to non-Cocteau Twins fans as the lady who sung "Teardrop" and "Black Milk" on the Massive Attack albums and the lady who sings on the Craig Armstrong track "This Love" (if you've never heard it go download it now... its the ish!). Also might be known to some of you as the lady who was dating Jeff Buckley before he died. And the lady singing the Tim Buckley song "Song to the Siren" in David Lynch's "Lost Highway" during the scene where they're making love out in the desert. And also as the lady singing some of those weird but beautiful indecipherable songs in the Lord of the Rings movies.

Making beautiful ethereal emotionally complex music since '81 and still one the most sought after guest singers around. Unfortunately she's really reclusive and only sings on rare occasions since the Cocteau Twins broke up.

Lisa Stansfield and Fiona Apple

Meshell N'degeocello


Wendy & Lisa


Bahamadia


Jean Grae


Jaguar Wright


Lisa Stansfield


Remy Shand


Kindred the family Soul


Sheila E.


Dionne Farris


Jill Scott


India.Arie


Floetry


Conya Doss


Jody Wately


Alyson Williams


Miki Howard


Vesta


Amel Larrieux

Meshell N'degeocello

Fiona Apple

TTD/Sananda

The late Donny Hathaway

[Edited 12/20/04 7:06am]

add Heather Headley













that's better
[Edited 12/20/04 7:35am]

boriquateddy said:

Chico1 said:

Underappreciated? The girl got a Tony award!

RipHer2Shreds said:

I didn't know that. I just don't ever hear anything about her. I don't think her album is widely known though.

Chico1 said:

You're right. Her album isn't widely known, but she's very big on Broadway. She won a Tony for her work in The Lion King.

boriquateddy said:

add B A D U

thank you.
[Edited 12/20/04 10:17am]

DAVID RUFFIN

Rotary Connection The Free Design Charles Stepney, Minnie Riperton
Wendy and Lisa [ Meshell Ndegeocello
Jean Paul Bourelly
Brenda Russell Clare Fischer
Weldon Irvine Foley
Narada Michael Walden
Bernard Edwards, Nile Rodgers
Robert Farnon Michel Colombier
Thom Bell Linda Creed
Fishbone
Larry Dunn Jef Lee Johnson

Skip Scarborough(no picture)


...
[Edited 12/20/04 12:36pm]

Me'Shell
Beck
Steely Dan (underappreciated, IMHO)
MF Doom
Madlib a/k/a Quasimoto a/k/a Yesterday's New Quintet
A jazz legend (pick one. ANY one will do.)
bebel gilberto
Kamaal The Abstract (so underappreciated he can't even get a release date)
Common
De La Soul
jazzanova
Lewis Taylor
Fleming & John
Jeff Buckley
Koop
Bill Withers
Gil Scott-Heron
Shuggie Otis
Van Hunt

paligap said:

I agree! She's a terrific songwriter.

namepeace said:

I know!! Sad, ain't it?

DorothyParkerWasCool said:

Patrice Rushen


Hazel Scott


Erroll Garner


LaVern Baker


Louis Jordan


Lionel Hampton


Big Joe Turner


Fats Waller


Millie Jackson

[Edited 12/20/04 11:49am]

lezama said:

I LOVE the Cocteau Twins. I always go off into my own personal dreamland whenever I listen to them. "Teardrop" is one of my fav. Massive Attack songs...Liz was perfect for it. I heard that Massive Attack almost got Beth Gibbons to sing the part.....she would've worked to....but not as good as Liz.

RipHer2Shreds said:

Oh my how can I have forgotten Brenda Russell.

Harlepolis said:

I overlooked Patrice too....and Millie, both those women are BAAAAAD!!!!

It's like, no one ever gives props to the 2-Tone ska movement.

Those bands included:

The Specials
Madness
The Beat
The Selecter
Bad Manners
Ther Bodysnatchers
Rico Rodriguez
The Appolinaires
The Higsons
The Swinging Cats
etc.

Got to www.2-tone.info for more information.

I can't believe I 4got Res!

Stephanie Mills
Johnny Gill
The Sylvers


[Edited 12/20/04 17:02pm]