Your Favorite Best-Ever Male Singing Performance

[saltpoint]

Nominate the song(s) performance(s) by male vocalists which you feel represent the best-ever vocal performance by a male artist.

No restrictions on genre, style, era, etc. -- but nominate a performance. For example:

Frank Sinatra doing "New York, New York"

or

Cat Stevens doing "How Can I Tell You?"

If you know the album, tell us that so people can track it down if they'd like to.

Pavarotti. Nat Cole. George Jones. James Taylor. Stevie Wonder. Marvin Gaye. Gordon Lightfoot. Tony Bennett. Sid Vicious. Sting. Paul Simon. Lou Rawls. Randy Travis. Neil Young. Nick Drake. Bill Staines. Lou Reed. Roger Daltrey.

--just a few names to get you started.

Fire away.

[TroubleMan]

1. Al Green - "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart"

or maybe Al Jarreau in a live version of "Take Five"

[Kahuna]

5. On Yeah. Al Jarreau doing Take Five is a monster..

I saw him do it in person a coupla years ago. He still has his chops.

[TroubleMan]

9. I don't see how he does it

It's absolutely stunning just to see it on TV.

I wish I could see him live.

[Kat45]

48. I love Al Green's version of that song.

I didn't think that many people knew it.

[everythingsxen]

2. Frank Sinatra - My Way

Runners up:

Trent Reznor & David Bowie - I'm afraid of Americans

You didn't say nothin about duets.

[saltpoint]

7. You're right, I didn't, but you picked a great one.

[Kahuna]

3. Jackie Wilson - Lonely Teardrops..

:7 :7 :7

[Jade Fox]

14. Oh, YEAH!!!

[montana_hazeleyes]

51. Jackie Wilson is my favorite singer

What a voice! He could sing the highest of the highs and the lowest of the lows. And what a performer he was.
My favorite song of his is his version of Danny Boy. I have it on a tape I bought years ago called "The Jackie Wilson Story". It's got all the favorites and more.

[kanrok]

4. I got two:

"A Song for You" by Donny Hathaway and

Percy Sledge singing "When a Man Loves a Woman"

[saltpoint]

11. Both are good, but I think the Percy Sledge performance --

-- belongs in the Smithsonian. A masterstroke.

[kanrok]

23. My wife and I danced to that song

as our first dance as a married couple.

[saltpoint]

30. Well you picked the perfect song.

It's just an unbelievably perfect vocal performance. The man reaches out of thin air to get those upper-register notes.

I can't even SEE those notes, let alone hit them with my voice.

[Fenris]

6. Morrissey on "I Know It's Over" or "Last Night I Dreamt Somebody Loved Me"

I love his voice.

[Jade Fox]

8. "I'm Gonna Be Strong"-Gene Pitney, "Since I Fell For You"-Lenny Welch

[Catshrink]

10. A classical choice here: John Shirley-Quirk singing Vaughan Williams'

especially from Hodie "The Shepherds Sing." Makes me cry everytime.

[opiate69]

"Me and Mrs. Jones"...

Damned if I can remeber the guy's name, though...

[TroubleMan]

13. Billy Paul

Great song.

[opiate69]

19. Haha.. yep.. Billy Paul.. Thanks!

Of course,there's just so many great vocal performances to choose from..

[Leilani]

12. AL Green

Let's stay Together.

My all time favorite song!

[TroubleMan]

15. What about Bill Withers "Lean On Me"

Just a thought.

[rainy]

16. Bob Dylan - The Times They Are A-Changing

Johnny Lang - Lie to ME,
Female - Bette Midler - The Rose

[saltpoint]

18. Rainy, I'd have to include all three of your choices as --

-- part of a top list. Very nice.

[mikehiggins]

17. John McCormack (sp?) singing Lost in the Stars

Also, September Song.

Real old. Probably not even available. Was my mom's favorite record back when we played 78's.

Very sad and haunting music.

[saltpoint]

20. Hi, mikehiggins. If you have a moment --

-- would you send me any info you may have on theJohn McCormack song? Would appreciate it.

Nothing wrong with "September Song," either. I wish I had the voice to do it justice.

[Jade Fox]

21. "You're the Only Woman" David Pack in the group Ambrosia

He is a great singer

[Squistion]

22. Tim Buckley - "Song to the Siren"

From the LP "Starsailor." Tim had a 5 1/2 octave range and could do things with his voice I have never heard before or since.

[Faygo Kid]

37. Buckley was great. "Sweet Surrender"

Thanks for mentioning an all time great. "Song to the Siren" was terrific, but "Sweet Surrender" - indescribably wonderful. Gotsta listen to it on Friday. Thanks again.

[saltpoint]

24. Just to toss in half a dozen or so...

Stevie Wonder - "For Once In My Life"
Roger Daltrey - "Behind Blue Eyes"
Nick Drake - "Joey Will Come"
Art Garfunkel - "Shine It On Me"
Gordon Lightfoot - "Talkin' In Your Sleep"
Ian Anderson - "Songs from the Wood"

[Dookus]

25. hrmm....

I'm awfully fond of David Bowie's "Wild is the Wind"

[saltpoint]

28. Yes. Bowie's underrated as a musician. I just found out --

-- a month or so ago that he is the saxophonist on Lou Reed's "Walk On the Wild Side."

It was a total ambush, but a nice one. It's a late-night, haunted sax solo at the end of the song.

[Dookus]

31. Not quite...

Bowie did a lot of work on that album, including producing it, but the Sax solos were performed by Ronnie Ross, who was Bowie's saxophone teacher when he was a teenager.

Bowie DID play sax on Mott the Hoople's All the Young Dudes, though. Here's a list of his production credits:

http://ubl.artistdirect.com/music/artist/appears/0,,406943,00.html?artist=David+Bowie

[saltpoint]

33. Ah Jeez. Thanks for the check. Also thanks for --

-- the link. It's in my Favorites list in 2 minutes.

[Red_Storm]

26. Belle - Al Green

[TroubleMan]

27. OMG - I love that one too!!!

HEEEEEEEE!!! HEEEEEEEEEE!!! HEEEEEEEEE-HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

[Red_Storm]

29. Hell Yeah !

just an amazing performance........his voice is an extraordinary gift......

[saltpoint]

32. Arlo Guthrie doing Tom Paxton's --

-- "I Am Changing My Name to Chrysler"

[Gildor Inglorion]

34. "Here, There, and Everywhere"

Paul McCartney

#2 - "Born to Run" - Bruce Springsteen

[Mrs. Venation]

35. Placido Domingo

singing "Celeste Aida" from the opera, Aida. An absolutely breathtaking aria.

[Faygo Kid]

36. Sinatra: "Witchcraft"

"Those fingers in my hair, that sly come hither stare, that strips my conscience bare - it's Witchcraft." Props for Al Green, too.

[tishaLA]

38. Joe Williams, "Ev'ry Day I Have the Blues"

many by Francis Albert Sinatra, but nothing by him after 1967. "In the Wee Small Hours" and "Come Fly With Me" are special favorites.

[corporatewhore]

39. anything of jello biafras i love his cartoony voice

[Zomby Woof]

40. Van Morrison

His singing on "Listen To The Lion" goes deeeeeep. He growls and moans and then the lines just float in the air... For the uninitiated, that tune comes from his 1972 album, "St. Dominic's Preview".

Also... Ronnie Van Zant on "The Ballad Of Curtis Loew", and Howlin' Wolf on "Spoonful".

[saltpoint]

41. Hi, Zomby. I think you've got a winner with Van --

-- Morrison. And you plucked it out of the far-flung past with that album, too. Just a great performance.

Good grab.

[IconoclastIlene]

42. agreed ; van and Savoy Brown and Allman Brothers

van morrison live with Allman brothers and Savoy Brown


used to like al Stewart.

[NightTrain]

43. James Carr, "Dark End of the Street"

The #1 record on my Top 200 of 1960s Soul music! Carr sang soul music that was so deep, it had no bottom to hit. And "Dark End of the Street" was his finest moment. Or, more precisely, his finest 2:34! :)

By the way, you can check out the full list of '60s Soul Top 200 at this link: http://home.comcast.net/~soulexpress4/Top100-1960s.htm

[mitchum]

44. Jackie Wilson's "Higher and Higher" is sheer joy and delight

The whole performance sounds as if he is saying, "Hey y'all, dig this!"
Sweet Jackie Wilson

Runner Up: Lou Reed during the third movement of "Street Hassle"
"Love has gone away/took the rings from fingers..." and all the way to the end


And all Howlin' Wolf is outside of competition. It is just unfair to expect mere mortals to compete with that force of nature.

[nickgutierrez]

45. Carl Lewis

The infamous National Anthem incident.

[Red State Rebel]

46. Andrea Bocelli - Nessun Dorma

[grannylib]

47. Neil Finn doing 'And She Goes On'

[kodi]

49. beyond the sea, bobby darrin.

he outsinatrad sinatra with that one.

Somewhere beyond the sea
Somewhere waitin’ for me
My lover stands on golden sands
And watches the ships that go sailin’.

Somewhere beyond the sea
She's there watchin’ for me
If I could fly like birds on high
Then straight to her arms I’d go sailin’.

It's far beyond the stars
It's near beyond the moon
I know beyond a doubt
My heart will lead me there soon.

We'll meet beyond the shore
We'll kiss just as before
Happy we'll be beyond the sea
And never again I'll go sailin'.

I know beyond a doubt
My heart will lead me there soon
We'll meet … I know we'll meet … beyond the shore
We'll kiss just as before.

Happy we'll be beyond the sea
And never again I'll go sailin'.

No more sailin' …
So long sailin' …
Bye, bye sailin'...
Move on out, captain …
So long, ensign …



and the film biograpy of darrin's life, "beyond the sea" starring kevin spacey is due out around christmas 2004.

http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/b/beyondthesea.php

[VOX]

54. Oh, yeah! Darin's is "the" rendition of this great song...

Bobby Darin was terrific always, but with "Beyond the Sea," he went to another level all together.

Thanks for the heads-up on the biopic!

:toast:

[Jax]

50. Bruce Cockburn

for ANYTHING LEFTIST!!!

"Wondering Where the Lions Are"

and...

"If I had a Rocket Launcher"

and...

"Last Night of the World"

and...many more, search it yourselves.

Bruce also sings with one of my favs Patty Larkin on a tune from "Live From the World Cafe" called 'Open Arms'.

Enjoy.

Jax

[non sociopath skin]

52. Fats Domino's "It Keeps Rainin'"

Despite the subject matter, the ultimate feel-good record.

The Skin

[VOX]

53. Nat King Cole -- "Mona Lisa"...

Sublime.

:toast: