50 Great Voices
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50 Great Voices was an NPR yearlong series from 2010 to 2011 to profile 50 singers who have made their mark internationally and across recorded history, revealing the selected voices one by one, weekly.
Selection process
[edit]The stated aim of the series was to highlight "50 singers who've made their mark internationally and across recorded history."[1] Focusing on music discovery, the NPR editors who compiled the list started with on-air and online solicitation of nominations, and later votes, as a first step. They then put together a panel of music journalists, critics, and musicologists to discuss nominations and come to a rough consensus on fifty artists to highlight.
The panel prioritized music discovery over naming the "fifty best" or "fifty most influential" singers. One method was to name singers who were well-respected within their own genre, but lacked widespread familiarity. Another was to explicitly prioritize singers from outside the United States. The panel aimed to identify great, but not universally recognizable, singers.
The panel also did not shy away from controversy. Elizabeth Blair of NPR said of the process, "Whenever you come up with any kind of list, whether it's great athletes or great artists, there's bound to be controversy. [...] The 50 Great Voices series will both please and infuriate. And that's partly the point."[1]
List of 50 Great Voices
[edit]- 47 great voices were released on-air, 3 great voices were released only on web-page.
| Release date (Year/month/day) | Title and selected voice | Genre and keywords |
|---|---|---|
| 2010/01/25 | Iggy Pop: The Voice As Weapon[2] | Hard rock Punk rock |
| 2010/02/01 | Ahmad Zahir: The Voice Of The Golden Years[3] | Music of Afghanistan "Afghanistan's Elvis" |
| 2010/02/08 | Mahalia Jackson: Voice Of The Civil Rights Movement[4] | Gospel music |
| 2010/02/15 | Maria Callas: Voice Of Perfect Imperfection[5] | Opera Soprano |
| 2010/02/22 | Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: The Voice Of Pakistan[6] | Qawwali Ghazal Jazz fusion |
| 2010/03/01 | Asha Bhosle: The Voice Of Bollywood And More[7] | Bollywood Playback singer Indian classical music |
| 2010/03/08 | Elis Regina: The Feeling Between The Notes[8] | MPB Bossa nova |
| 2010/03/15 | Umm Kulthum: 'The Lady' Of Cairo[9] | Arabic music |
| 2010/03/22 | Jackie Wilson: The Singer And The Showman[10] | R&B Soul music |
| 2010/03/29 | Ella Fitzgerald: America's First Lady Of Song[11] | Jazz Pop music |
| 2010/04/05 | Esma Redžepova: 'Queen Of The Gypsies'[12] | Romani music |
| 2010/04/12 | Sezen Aksu: The Voice Of Istanbul[13] | Turkish pop music |
| 2010/04/19 | Nat King Cole: An Incandescent Voice[14] | Jazz Pop music |
| 2010/04/26 | Dennis Brown: The 'Crown Prince' Of Reggae[15] | Reggae Lovers rock |
| 2010/05/03 | Roy Orbison: A Great Voice, A Lonely Sound[16] | Rock music |
| 2010/05/10 | Radmilla Cody: Two Cultures, One Voice[17] | Navajo people |
| 2010/05/17 | Enrico Caruso, And Confessions Of An Operaholic[18] | Opera Tenor |
| 2010/05/24 | Lydia Mendoza: The First Lady Of Tejano[19] | Tejano Norteño |
| 2010/06/07 | Janis Joplin: The Queen Of Rock[20] | Blues rock Psychedelic rock |
| 2010/06/14 | Sandy Denny: Mercurial Queen Of British Folk Rock[21] | British folk rock |
| 2010/06/21 | Donny Hathaway: Neglected Heart Of Soul[22] | Chicago soul |
| 2010/06/28 | The Many Voices Of Lauryn Hill[23] | R&B, Soul Hip hop music |
| 2010/07/12 | Fairuz: Lebanon's Voice Of Hope[24] | Arabic music Music of Lebanon |
| 2010/07/19 | John McCormack: The Charming Irish Tenor[25] | Opera, Tenor Popular music Music of Ireland |
| 2010/07/26 | Khaled: The King Of Rai[26] | Raï Music of Algeria |
| 2010/08/02 | Biggie Smalls: The Voice That Influenced A Generation[27] | Hip hop music |
| 2010/08/07 | Björk: A Celestial Voice[28] | Alternative rock Avant-garde music Music of Iceland |
| 2010/08/23 | Twinkie Clark: Riffing On Gospel[29] | Gospel music Musical improvisation |
| 2010/08/23 | Irma Thomas: The Soul Queen Of New Orleans[30] | R&B, Soul, Blues Music of New Orleans |
| 2010/08/30 | Freddie Mercury: Rock 'N' Roll's Humble Showman[31] | Rock, Hard rock Glam rock |
| 2010/09/06 | Yossele Rosenblatt: The Cantor With The Heavenly Voice[32] | Jewish music |
| 2010/09/13 | Carlos Gardel: Argentina's Tango Maestro[33] | Tango music |
| 2010/09/20 | Robert Plant: Born In England; Made In America[34] | Rock |
| 2010/09/27 | Mohammad-Reza Shajarian: Protest Through Poetry[35] | Persian traditional music Music of Iran |
| 2010/10/04 | Howlin' Wolf: Booming Voice Of The Blues[36] | Chicago blues |
| 2010/10/11 | Kitty Wells: The Queen Of Country Music[37] | Country music Honky-tonk Nashville sound |
| 2010/10/18 | Amália Rodrigues: The Voice Of Extreme Expression[38] | Fado |
| 2010/10/25 | Celia Cruz: The Voice From Havana[39] | Salsa music Son, Guaracha |
| 2010/11/02 | Concha Buika: The Voice Of Freedom[40] | Flamenco Copla, Soul, Jazz |
| 2010/11/08 | Plácido Domingo: The Spellbinding Voice Of A Titan Tenor[41] | Opera, Tenor |
| 2010/11/15 | Chavela Vargas: The Voice Of Triumph[42] | Ranchera |
| 2010/11/22 | Billie Holiday: Emotional Power Through Song[43] | Jazz, Blues Torch song |
| 2010/11/29 | Luther Vandross: The Velvet Voice[44] | Contemporary R&B Soul, Pop music |
| 2010/12/06 | Israel Kamakawiwoʻole: The Voice Of Hawaii[45] | Music of Hawaii |
| 2010/12/13 | George Jones: The Voice Of Heartbreak[46] | Country music Rockabilly |
| 2010/12/27 | Youssou N'Dour: The Voice Of Senegal[47] | Mbalax Music of Senegal |
| 2011/01/03 | Camarón de la Isla: The Voice Of Flamenco[48] | New Flamenco Flamenco |
| 2011/01/11 | Meredith Monk: A Voice For All Time[49] | Avant-garde music |
| 2011/02/01 | Dianne Reeves: A Jazz Voice With Pop Sensibilities[50] | Jazz |
| 2011/03/08 | Montserrat Caballé: A Voice Of Passionate Grandeur[51] | Opera, Soprano Bel canto |
References
[edit]- ^ a b "A Behind-The-Scenes Look At NPR's '50 Great Voices'". NPR.org. 18 January 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Iggy Pop: The Voice As Weapon". NPR.org. 25 January 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Ahmad Zahir: The Voice Of The Golden Years". NPR.org. 1 February 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Mahalia Jackson: Voice Of The Civil Rights Movement". NPR.org. 8 February 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Maria Callas: Voice Of Perfect Imperfection". NPR.org. 15 February 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: The Voice Of Pakistan". NPR.org. 22 February 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Asha Bhosle: The Voice Of Bollywood And More". NPR.org. 1 March 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Elis Regina: The Feeling Between The Notes". NPR.org. 8 March 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Umm Kulthum: 'The Lady' Of Cairo". NPR.org. 15 March 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Jackie Wilson: The Singer And The Showman". NPR.org. 22 March 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Ella Fitzgerald: America's First Lady Of Song". NPR.org. 29 March 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Esma Redžepova: 'Queen Of The Gypsies'". NPR.org. 5 April 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Sezen Aksu: The Voice Of Istanbul". NPR.org. 12 April 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Nat King Cole: An Incandescent Voice". NPR.org. 19 April 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Dennis Brown: The 'Crown Prince' Of Reggae". NPR.org. 26 April 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Roy Orbison: A Great Voice, A Lonely Sound". NPR.org. 3 May 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Radmilla Cody: Two Cultures, One Voice". NPR.org. 10 May 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Enrico Caruso, And Confessions Of An Operaholic". NPR.org. 17 May 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Lydia Mendoza: The First Lady Of Tejano". NPR.org. 24 May 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Janis Joplin: The Queen Of Rock". NPR.org. 7 June 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Sandy Denny: Mercurial Queen Of British Folk Rock". NPR.org. 14 June 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Donny Hathaway: Neglected Heart Of Soul". NPR.org. 21 June 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "The Many Voices Of Lauryn Hill". NPR.org. 28 June 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Fairuz: Lebanon's Voice Of Hope". NPR.org. 12 July 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "John McCormack: The Charming Irish Tenor". NPR.org. 19 July 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Khaled: The King Of Rai". NPR.org. 26 July 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Biggie Smalls: The Voice That Influenced A Generation". NPR.org. 2 August 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Bjork: A Celestial Voice". NPR.org. 7 August 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Twinkie Clark: Riffing On Gospel". NPR.org. 23 August 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Irma Thomas: The Soul Queen Of New Orleans". NPR.org. 23 August 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Freddie Mercury: Rock 'N' Roll's Humble Showman". NPR.org. 30 August 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Yossele Rosenblatt: The Cantor With The Heavenly Voice". NPR.org. 6 September 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Carlos Gardel: Argentina's Tango Maestro". NPR.org. 13 September 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Robert Plant: Born In England; Made In America". NPR.org. 20 September 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Mohammad-Reza Shajarian: Protest Through Poetry". NPR.org. 27 September 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Howlin' Wolf: Booming Voice Of The Blues". NPR.org. 4 October 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Kitty Wells: The Queen Of Country Music". NPR.org. 11 October 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Amália Rodrigues: The Voice Of Extreme Expression". NPR.org. 18 October 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Celia Cruz: The Voice From Havana". NPR.org. 25 October 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Buika: The Voice Of Freedom". NPR.org. 2 November 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Plácido Domingo: The Spellbinding Voice Of A Titan Tenor". NPR.org. 8 November 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Chavela Vargas: The Voice Of Triumph". NPR.org. 15 November 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Billie Holiday: Emotional Power Through Song". NPR.org. 22 November 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Luther Vandross: The Velvet Voice". NPR.org. 29 November 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Israel Kamakawiwo'ole: The Voice Of Hawaii". NPR.org. 6 December 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "George Jones: The Voice Of Heartbreak". NPR.org. 13 December 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Youssou N'Dour: The Voice Of Senegal". NPR.org. 27 December 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Camarón de la Isla: The Voice Of Flamenco". NPR.org. 3 January 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Meredith Monk: A Voice For All Time". NPR.org. 11 January 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Dianne Reeves: A Jazz Voice With Pop Sensibilities". NPR.org. 1 February 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Montserrat Caballé: A Voice Of Passionate Grandeur". NPR.org. 8 March 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2015.