Not visited here for a long time but was fascinated by the thread. I'd like to know what people mean by 'sing'. Do they mean the voice, the performance, the emotion, the interest shown by the audience, the popularity, CD sales - just what do they mean? Why do we have to have discussions about being able to sing or not? It is meaningless. I can think of singers that I don't particularly enjoy listening to - however, plenty of other people do. We need the rich tapestry of variation or we would end up with a mass produced pop culture.

As far as I'm concerned Shirley is a wonderful example of her style of singing and I love to listen to her. I don't feel I have to convince anyone else that I'm right. I'm just happy to take my own enjoyment from it.