best male folk singer?

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: sharyn
Date: 27 Apr 03 - 08:09 PM

Perennial favorites: Larry Hanks and Jody Stecher (And Chris Smither who has been mentioned already).

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: pastorpest
Date: 27 Apr 03 - 08:33 PM

Am I showing my age? I vote for Tommy Makem and Pete Seeger

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: kendall
Date: 28 Apr 03 - 07:16 AM

Tommy Makem is top drawer in many categories.Multi talented he is.

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: Surreysinger
Date: 28 Apr 03 - 07:22 AM

Martyn Wyndham Read for me - it's not just the quality of his voice, it's the fact that he is a vehicle for the song which he is singing, and can put the emotion and feeling into whatever he sings - as my sister says, he could sing the telephone directory, and it would be worth hearing!!

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: Steve Latimer
Date: 28 Apr 03 - 08:45 AM

Mr. Ed

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: harpgirl
Date: 28 Apr 03 - 09:03 AM

John Hartford
Art Thieme
Frank Lindamood



harpster

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 28 Apr 03 - 10:16 AM

Several years ago, an expert on some classical programme on the BBC said Martyn was wasting his beautiful voice singing "folk" (I can imagine the nose turning up as that 4-letter word was uttered on a classical programme!)

I vote for Martyn (& not just because he sent me Singlinks last week - what a great album).

sandra

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: GUEST,weerover
Date: 28 Apr 03 - 11:01 AM

Dick Gaughan, Andy M. Stewart, Len Graham and Liam Weldon are all up there for me but I'd give the no. 1 spot to Paul Robeson

wr

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: Fay
Date: 28 Apr 03 - 11:03 AM

Jon Boden, and he's the sexiest man in the world too!

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: GUEST,IanN
Date: 28 Apr 03 - 11:04 AM

Chris Leslie
Roy Harper
Bob Fox
Bruce Springsteen
Nick Drake

All conspicuous by thier absence so far.

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: Fay
Date: 28 Apr 03 - 11:08 AM

Well, having thought about it a little more - depends what your aiming at.

Guest Leo was talking about technically good voices, rather than people he liked to listen to.

This is the thing about Folk singers. They are singing stories in a social context rather than impressing people with the quality of control they have over their voices.

Jon is a great singer, but there are many others I love to hear in folk singing sessions - who maybe don't have such a 'good' voice, but are brilliant at getting the message across.

Blah, blah, I'm getting a bit waffly now, sorry.

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: GUEST,Mudjack
Date: 28 Apr 03 - 03:29 PM

Thomas the Rhymer's daddy is a strong contender for being the best. So Thomas has every so much going for him in attempting to be the best. I lke Joe's choice in "Utah".
Mudjack

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: Allan Dennehy
Date: 28 Apr 03 - 04:59 PM

As Ronnie Drew said: Luke Kelly was the best of them all, bar none.
Sean Keane certainly has one of the best voices around as well.

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: GUEST,dreamon
Date: 28 Apr 03 - 05:01 PM

Gordon Lightfoot...by a mile

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: GUEST,Horace Bone III
Date: 28 Apr 03 - 05:21 PM

Ralph Stanley, Denny Bartley, Jim Moray...... The list is endless cos the criteria is so vast.
I do'n know!

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: alanabit
Date: 28 Apr 03 - 06:23 PM

I do not think you are waffling at all Fay. I think that's exactly what folk singing is all about. That's as good a description of it as I have heard.

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: Thomas the Rhymer
Date: 28 Apr 03 - 07:54 PM

Yeah, well someday me, these genes abringing
I practice every day...
But dad's a natural, his voice is singing
More than one can say!

ttr

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: Seamus Kennedy
Date: 28 Apr 03 - 10:03 PM

Good God! Not one vote for Seamus Kennedy!

Seamus Kennedy

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: Chris Amos
Date: 29 Apr 03 - 01:20 AM

Mike Waterson, as was said above is our best revival singer, but I find the old guys hard to beat, Fred Jordan allways does it for me and Joseph Taylor sends shivers up my back.

Chris

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: MAG
Date: 29 Apr 03 - 01:54 AM

Actually, Thomas, you have it all over Daddy, in my book. And you're cuter, too. -- MAG

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: GUEST,Boab
Date: 29 Apr 03 - 02:31 AM

You know your folksingers, yrlancslad! Terry Conway has my vote too. Once told an elderly lady that in my book he is even better than Archie Fisher [takes some doing---]. I developed a stammer when the elderly lady turned out to be Archie's Ma!! Nic Jones is 'way up there near the top of the heap too.

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: ooh-aah
Date: 29 Apr 03 - 04:57 AM

Has no-one mentioned Martin Carthy, or did I just miss it?

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: Pooby
Date: 29 Apr 03 - 10:37 AM

Voices like Gordon Lightfoot, Tom Paxton and Tommy Makem would make my "love to listen to 'em" list. And Dylan? Well, say no more. No matter what some might think of his ever-shape-shifting voice, he's still Bob, and will always make my list. But I don't recall seeing anyone yet mentioning Phil Ochs. His was one of the first voices I can recall wanting to sound like. (I cultivated a voice vibrato for that very reason.)

Since there's not likely to be any general consensus on what's meant by "best male (or female) folk singer," I'll stick to the voices I like, and cast my vote for Phil.

Poobs

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: kendall
Date: 29 Apr 03 - 12:04 PM

Seamus, as I said, I know too many folk singers to stick my neck out, but, if I were to make a list, you would be near the top. Now, stop pouting!

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: harpgirl
Date: 29 Apr 03 - 12:14 PM

so Thomas, "whose your daddy???!!!!"

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: PoppaGator
Date: 29 Apr 03 - 12:48 PM

Must mention Geoff Muldaur, subject of a recent Mudcat thread -- *if* he fits the definition of "folksinger," which is problematic.

Anyone remember Tom Rush? Not much of a songwriter, but a great vocal interpreter of the early folk-revivial era, and a pioneer in erasing the artificial line between folk and pop. His eponymous first album is notable for including tunes by Chuck Berry and Bo Diddly as well as Bukka White, Robert Johnson, and "trad.," all of them given the same respect and perfomed with the same spare instrumentation. I had thought Rush was retired and long-gone, but recently learned that he's still performing in the New England area; and, of course, he has a website that you can check out if you wish.

Folk has to include blues, but all the best blues singers clearly cross the boundary between "folk" music and pop/rock/"commercial" fare.

The male singers I most admire, and wish I could emulate, include Tony Bennet, Al Green, the late great Johnny Adams, and any number of others, few of whom could reasonably be categorized as folk.

Mose Allison, maybe?

Best male singer among blues revivalists? Son House protege and former New Orleanian John Mooney. (A hell of a slide guitar player, too.) Best male vocal ensemble? The recently reunited Subdudes, who just this afternoon preceded, duly impressed, and essentially upstaged Messrs. Crosby, Stills and Nash on the big stage at the New Orleans Jazz Fest.

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: Seamus Kennedy
Date: 29 Apr 03 - 01:05 PM

IMHO Kendall Morse is the finest folk-singer in the U.S.
No make that the world! His talent is eclipsed only by his loquacity, perspicacity and mendacity.
You go, Kendall!

Oh, yes, and sagacity.

Seamus Kennedy

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: kendall
Date: 29 Apr 03 - 07:31 PM

Now I gotta look up all them $10.00 words!

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 29 Apr 03 - 09:41 PM

Some guy named Bill that borrowed my guitar last weekend in Atlanta and played about a half-dozen songs he had written.

Or maybe John McCutcheon when he's actually singing folk instead of rock-n-roll.

Bruce

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: MAG
Date: 29 Apr 03 - 09:42 PM

Geoff Muldaur has to qualify if blues qualifies.

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: InOBU
Date: 30 Apr 03 - 07:37 AM

Seamus Kennedy - one vote.... Larry

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: GUEST,The Burren Ranger.
Date: 30 Apr 03 - 01:10 PM

For me it has to be the great Irish traditional singer Sean Garvey, who 2nd album, ' The Bonny Bunch of Roses' is about to be released.
tbr

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: Seamus Kennedy
Date: 30 Apr 03 - 06:09 PM

I want to change my vote from Kendall Morse to Larry Otway, beccause Larry voted for me, and he also plays pipes.

Seamaus

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: Susanl
Date: 30 Apr 03 - 10:04 PM

Does bluegrass count as folk? If it does, I nominate Ralph Stanley. He's great.

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: GUEST,DancingMom
Date: 30 Apr 03 - 10:57 PM

My favorites:
John McCutcheon
Martin Carthy
Page Wilson
John Hiatt

Sharon

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: Leo Condie
Date: 01 May 03 - 04:46 AM

i'm really loving alistair hulett's voice just now. or it might just be because he's singin about socialist glaswegians!

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: kendall
Date: 01 May 03 - 04:52 AM

Ok, Seamus, now you can't play my Apollo 12 srting anymore!

By the way, I'm also returning your porn films and the sheep boots.

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: GUEST
Date: 01 May 03 - 05:01 AM

My favourite male folk singers are: Martin carthy, Bert Jansch, Steve Benbow.

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: red max
Date: 01 May 03 - 05:28 AM

Tony Rose

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: Seamus Kennedy
Date: 01 May 03 - 03:16 PM

Okay, I'm switching my vote back to Kendall Morse, because he lets me play his Apollo 12-string. And Larry Otway doesn't have my porn films and sheep boots. You b*****d, Kendall! You said you'd never mention those things.
And I suppose you were only helping that sheep over the hedge...

Seamus

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: kendall
Date: 01 May 03 - 08:09 PM

I switched to Llamas long ago you bitch! I'll scratch your eyes out!

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: Sandy Mc Lean
Date: 01 May 03 - 08:29 PM

The thread is subjective as Hell but here goes:
   Best of all time (not living) Stan Rogers
   Best still living   Liam Clancy

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: Seamus Kennedy
Date: 01 May 03 - 08:44 PM

Llama, my ass! That was a sheep on stilts, and don't you deny it!
You needed a goddam stepladder, remember? Oooohh, I could just spit!

Seamus

PS Liam Clancy, still living?

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: Seamus Kennedy
Date: 01 May 03 - 08:47 PM

Oh, yeah, and your accent's fake too.
I saw the Berlitz School of Accents Down East cassette in your house.
Took you quite a while to master it, but you never had me fooled.

Seamus

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: kendall
Date: 02 May 03 - 04:47 AM

Ok, we'll call it a draw, you loonie!

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: GUEST,Geordie
Date: 02 May 03 - 10:00 AM

Eric Anderson, Stan Rogers, John Stewart,Nick Drake, Martin Carthy and of course, His Bobness.

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: Seamus Kennedy
Date: 02 May 03 - 01:19 PM

Kendall, thanks for helping me get away from what is essentially an apples/oranges thing. It's all subjective. There is no "best" male folk singer.

Seamus

OK it's a draw.

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: kendall
Date: 02 May 03 - 09:15 PM

That was the idea.

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: SINSULL
Date: 02 May 03 - 09:49 PM

I arrived at last year's Getaway tired and needing a little "alone" time after hours in the car with Kendall and Morticia. They wore me out! So I wandered away from the cabin a bit and sat alone on a bench enjoying the quiet when I heard a man's voice carrying across the lawn, mellow, deep, achingly beautiful. He finished with a bit of yodelling. One of those " I think I am in love" moments. It was Seamus.

He and Kendall are on my top ten list along with Gordon Bok, Ian Tyson, Jonathan Eberhart, and a few others.

Subject: RE: best male folk singer?
From: Art Thieme
Date: 02 May 03 - 10:00 PM

The 100th post:

I would like to thank the Academy and all those who voted for me. ;-)

Art