The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #116107 Message #2490876
Posted By: GUEST,TJ in San Diego
11-Nov-08 - 12:53 PM
Thread Name: Awful singers
Subject: RE: Awful singers
My definition of "awful" may differ somewhat from the responses above. In the 1950's, there was an elderly lady who used to appear on the Merv Griffin Show. She went by the nom de voyage of Mrs. Miller. She was very sincere and passionate and obviously believed she was a great talent. Her voice was like a rusty file scraping a tin plate and always about 1/4 to 1/2 off key, especially on the high notes. I thought it a cruel joke that she was used in this way, but I'm sure she was well compensated. She was so "over the top" bad, that people actually bought her record (I pray that she only made the one).
We have all likely seen a few performers who, unaware of their musical or vocal shortcomings, proceed to embarrass themselves and torture their audiences, all the while believing they are quite good. Apart from "open mike" nights, these folks should be weeded out by the people booking the acts.