I think we left some folks out:




















[Edited 8/17/05 21:35pm]

MendesCity said:

What's wrong with the title of the thread?

Bobby Hatfield (The Righteous Brothers)
Bobby Caldwell

Oh yeah - Doyle Bramhall 2 (one of his biggest influences is Donnie Hathaway). Check out his website, where he does a cool-ass recording of Curtis Mayfield's "Pusherman".

Nikka Costa, Paul Young,Amy WInehouse,

alandail said:

Nevermind Barry, what about Robin? Far more soulful than his older bro.

Peter Green!

Cloudbuster said:

Robin has a heck of a voice too - especially on songs like Toys, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Rings Around the Moon, the Longest Night, Just In Case, etc.

Their voices complement each other well too, either when they trade off lead vocals or when they harmonize.

The singer from the Average White Band! They were class!

alandail said:

That first chorus on For Whom The Bell Tolls that Robin sings solo is one of my favourite moments on record.

I just think in terms of soul.... Robin is more soulful than Barry.

to this day it still amazes me that radio bias kept most of america from ever even hearing that masterpiece. It should have won the grammy that year, instead hardly anyone even knows about the song. The whole Size Isn't Everything album was a should have been classic.

For Whom the Bell Tolls
Omega Man
Blue Island
Haunted House

alandail said:

Well, US radio pretty much tuned them out after 1980. Like Barry once said, most radio wouldn't even listen to their stuff when sent, nevermind actually play it. A shame 'cos many of their later singles were equally as good as their 60s & 70s work. And sometimes better.

I'd never be so bold as to say (some of) these are the greatest ever, but . . .
off the top of the dome . . .

Dusty Springfield
Michael McDonald
Lewis Taylor
Daryl Hall
Teena Marie
Boy George
Remy Shand
Joss Stone (for the voice itself)
Bobby Caldwell
Lisa Stansfield

And I still love how some people associate soul with a particular type of vocal sound and nothing beyond that. Not a sign of Bjork, Kate Bush, Joni Mitchell, Tori Amos, Stevie Nicks... all very soulful vocalists.

You're all lame.

Boy George has a soulful voice? Not sure I agree with that.

Anyways, someone up top mentioned Paul Rodgers from Free and Bad Company and Steve Marriott from Humble Pie. I'd have to agree with those two choices.

I'd also add Michael Bolton from his heavy metal days and David Coverdale.
And Chris Robinson and Chris Cornell are two white boys I'd have come sing in my church down south any day.

Cloudbuster said:

In that case rock music is Black....right?

chuckaducci said:

I guess you never heard him sing

Try listening to Black Money by Cultrue Club.

TheCrucialExperience said:

Stop putting things into boxes. Is what I say.

I like the list, but me personally I would rearrange the artists on the list, and I would take two artist off the list.

First of all, I would bring Teena Marie down a notch, even though I respect her, as an singer, songwriter, producer, musician, etc., her voice is okay, but not the best vocally.

First of all, I have to take Sting off the list, because even though I respect Sting as a songwriter, and musician, vocally, he's not all that great.

Another artist I would replace is Joss Stone, mainly because her voice sounds too forced, IMO.

This would be my list of the best blue eyed soul voices

10. Taylor Dayne

9. Darryl Hall

8. Lisa Stansfield

7. Steve Perry

6. Annie Lennox

5. Michael McDonald

4. Kenny Loggins

3. Teena Marie

2. Boy George

1. George Michael

Darren Hayes (Savage Garden)

TheCrucialExperience said:

I was just playing..nothing serious...it is just a funny phrase, trying to be polite about saying "white guys with soul"
[Edited 8/18/05 10:20am]

Van Morrison
Rod Stewart (in his younger days)
Bruce Springsteen
Bob Seger
Mick Jagger
Steve Marriott
Eric Burdon
Peter Wolf
Dusty Springfield

Cloudbuster said:

I feels ya, but unfortunately that's the type of society we live in.

MendesCity said:

LOL! Oh ok, I see.

TheCrucialExperience said:

These "which white artist does black music best threads" get really tiresome for me, but I have to at your Dusty comment. I like Teena's music, but for sheer beauty Teena on her best day can't compete with Dusty! Teena's biggest problem was Dusty's biggest asset - restraint. She knew when to hold back and when to let go. Teena's voice is all about being big all the time.

Cloudbuster said:

Come on, C-Bust. You know what the topic implied. Kate Bush sings from her soul but couldn't sing "What You Won't Do For Love" like Bobby Caldwell. Ditto for Tori Amos, but she couldn't do "Portuguese Love" like Teena Marie any more than Teena Marie could do "Crucify" like Tori Amos. Nirvana made soul music, but in a different context. Marvin rocked it, but in a different context.

They could do hella reinterpretations of each others music, but still.

"Soul" in this context implies more of the style than the substance.

My ranking:

1. Teena Marie
2. Michael McDonald
3. Rick Ashley
4. George Michael
5. Lisa Standsfield
6. Anastacia
7. Boy George
8. Taylor Dane
9. Daryl Hall
10. Joss Stone

Honorable Mentions:

Tara Kemp
Gloria Bruno (co-lead vocalist of Expose)
Jane Child
Jordan Knight (when he really puts his mind to it!)

50+ posts and only two people mentioned Bobby Caldwell

When "What You Won't Do For Love" came out everyone thought he was black. It didn't hurt that he was in the shadows on the album cover.

Y'all must be really young or not up on your soul. Bobby is top 10 easy, if not top 5

intha916 said:

Good lord! I HAD NO IDEA THAT CAT WASN'T A BROTHA! LOL!

If someone were to bet me that Bobby Caldwell was white, I'd bet the farm and my pinky ring to say he was a Black! Damn. Good shit. My bad.