Dear Singing Students:
When one of you tells me you've never heard Otis Redding, Etta James, or Al Green, my heart breaks a little! So, here is a list of singers who sing from the soul. I've listed specific songs and albums that I especially like. The list is by no means complete, but it's a place to start...
Al Green - anything, esp. SONG: “I've Never Found A Girl (To Love Me Like You Do)”, or the ALBUM: Gets Next To You
Alison Krauss - anything
Annie Lennox - SONG: “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye” [from Red Hot + Blue: Cole Porter Tribute album]
Aretha Franklin - anything, esp. SONG: “Skylark” or the ALBUM: Live at the Fillmore West
Carmen McRae - anything
Charles Brown - SONG: “Please Come Home For Christmas”
Dinah Washington - SONG: “You Don't Know What Love Is”
Donny Hathaway - SONG: “For All We Know”
Ella Fitzgerald - SONG: “A Sunday Kind of Love” or the ALBUM: Cole Porter Songbook
Emmylou Harris - SONG: “All My Tears” or “Plaisir D'Amour”
Etta James - SONG: "I'd Rather Go Blind", “These Foolish Things (Remind Me Of You)”
Etta Jones - SONG: “If I Had You”, "The Gal from Joe's"
Eva Cassidy - anything
Gillian Welch - anything, esp. SONG: “Paper Wings” or the ALBUM: Revival
Gladys Knight & The Pips - anything, esp.SONG: “Nitty Gritty”, "Heard It Through the Grapevine"
Irma Thomas - anything, esp.SONG: “Ruler Of My Heart”, "Time is On My Side"
Jack Sheldon - SONG: “On The Sunny Side Of The Street”
k.d. lang - anything, esp. SONG: “Outside Myself” or the ALBUMS: Ingenue, Drag, Hymns Of The 49th Parallel
Lambert, Hendricks & Ross - anything, esp. SONG: “Centerpiece” or the ALBUM: Everybody's Boppin'
LaVern Baker - SONG: “Shake a Hand” or the ALBUM: Sings Bessie Smith
Lena Horne - anything, esp. SONG: “Stormy Weather”
Les Paul & Mary Ford - anything, esp. SONG: “Vaya Con Dios”
Little Willie John - SONG: “My Love Is”, "Grits Ain't Groceries"
Lonnie Johnson - SONG: “Tomorrow Night“
Lou Rawls - anything, esp. SONG: “One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)”
Louis Jordan [American sax player] - anything
Louis Prima & Keely Smith - anything, esp. SONG: “That Old Black Magic”
Mahalia Jackson - anything, esp. SONG: “Move On Up a Little Higher”
Mark Murphy - anything, esp. SONG: “More Than You Know”
Marvin Gaye - anything
Mel Torme - anything, esp. SONG: “Comin' Home Baby”
The Mills Brothers - SONG: “Tiger Rag”, "Nevertheless (I'm in Love With You")
Nancy Wilson - SONG: “When Did You Leave Heaven?” or the ALBUM: Nancy Wilson & Cannonball Adderley
Nat King Cole - anything, esp. SONG: “Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby”
Neko Case - anything
Nina Simone - SONG: “Feeling Good”, “Come Ye”
Otis Redding - anything, esp. SONG: “Pain In My Heart”, "Trick or Treat"
Patty Griffin - anything, esp. SONG: “Be Careful”
Peggy Lee - SONG: “Fever”
Ray Charles - SONG: “Here We Go Again”, "Lonely Avenue"
Rickie Lee Jones - anything, esp. the ALBUMS: Rickie Lee Jones [first album], Pop Pop
Roberta Flack - SONG: “Tryin' Times”, "I Am the Girl" or the ALBUM: First Take
Ruthie Foster - anything, esp. SONG: “Hole in My Pocket” or the ALBUM: Phenomenal Woman
Sam Cooke - anything, esp. SONG: “You Send Me”, "Change is Gonna Come"
Shelby Lynne - anything, esp. SONG: “Thought It Would Be Easier” or the ALBUM: I Am Shelby Lynne
Shirley Horn - anything, esp. SONG: “Don’t Be On The Outside” or the ALBUM: Travelin' Light
Sister Rosetta Tharpe - anything
Solomon Burke - anything, esp. SONG: “Everybody Needs Somebody To Love”, "Cry to Me"
Stevie Wonder - anything before 1983
Willie Nelson - SONG: “Georgia On My Mind” or the ALBUMS: Stardust (produced by Booker T Jones!), Red Headed Stranger
[update 04/24/22]