In this months ebony they have the results of a poll based on several catagories. I thought it would be fun to hear your choices. Here are the categories: Who is the all time best female R&B singer? Who is the best all time male R&B singer? (And Bill Dickens please do not put yourself on the list;-) Who is the best contemporary gosple singer male and female. Let's have some fun. Thanks everyone

-- Anonymous, May 24, 2002

Answers

The anaswer to this question is quite easy. If by greatest you mean vocal quality and artistic orginality the selections are:

Male (R&B) - Stevie Wonder Runner-Up - William "Smokey" Robinson Honorable Mention (tie) - Otis Redding & David Ruffin

Female (R&B) - Aretha Franklin Runner-Up - Whitney Houston Honorable Mention (tie) - Gladys Knight & Anita Baker (Her album "Rapture" secures her name in R&B immortality)

You will note that my top selections are accomplished pianists. So while I might suffer from a slight case of tone-deafness, I do know talent when I hear it :-) QED

-- Anonymous, May 25, 2002

Hello Rev. Rogers,

Everybody knows that Patti Labelle is the greatest singer of all times. Going to a Patti Labelle concert is like having a religious experience. Mahalia Jackson is the greatest gospel singer of all times. No one will probably ever achieve her level in their music careers. Now the best all time male R&B singer is a fierce contest between Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Jackie Wilson, Brooks Benton, O.C. Smith, Nat King Cole, Will Downing, and the "ice man" Jerry Butler.

Jazzman

Jazzman

-- Anonymous, May 28, 2002

Aretha Franklin--without question!!!

-- Anonymous, May 28, 2002

Aretha Franklin (Got to give it to the Queen) Marvin Gaye Mahalia Jacskon James Cleveland Shirley Ceasar (She is hanging in there with the best) Donnie McClurkin

-- Anonymous, May 29, 2002

ARETHA!

-- Anonymous, May 29, 2002

I love you guys so much! Every response I read made me smile and start singing the songs of the people mentioned. Later today I will post the results from the Ebony magazine. By the way my daughter just returned from her vacation in Tokyo, Japan and she said that Lionel Richie has a club their called the Motown connection and it was packed, apparently the young generation loves Motown and all black music. She said there were hip hop clubs, the kids were wearing braided hair wanting to imitate the black culture and music. She loved her vacation. She also said there were a lot of Africans and African-Americans living in tokyo. O.k I got go and do ministry. Remember to God you are an only child. thank you for being on the board you rock;-) Hey, Jerryl and Rev. Fisher who are your favorites?

-- Anonymous, May 29, 2002

Anybody who dresses in platform shoes and long-collar shirts (e.g. Lionel Ritchie) or substitutes singning for on-stage theatrics (Patti Labelle)out be immediately disqualified from consideration. I hope my wife doesn't read this post since she grew up in the same Philly neighborhood as the former lead diva for the Bluebelles :-) QED

-- Anonymous, May 29, 2002

Oh, just call me out!!!

Well, frotunately I can say no one voice stands out above the others, but there are some that I would say are in a class where it doesn't take long to call the roll:

(Females) - Aretha, Mahalia Jackson, Gladys Knight, Patti LaBelle, Ethel Waters, Marian Anderson, Leontyne Price, Jessye Norman.

(Males) - Brook Benton, Billy Eckstine, Nat "King" Cole, Roland Hayes, Levi Stubbs, David Ruffin.

Voices for discussion: James Brown, Solomon Burke, Don Covay, Sam Moore (Sam & Dave), Isaac Hayes, Al Green, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Bobby Womack, Richard Smallwood, Kurt Carr, Clay Evans, Paul Robeson, Kathleen Battle, Barbara Lewis, LaVerne Baker, Shirley Caesar, Albertina Walker, Inez Andrews, anybody named Winans, Yolanda Adams, Nnenna Freelon, Deniece Williams, Minnie Riperton, Jerry Butler, Jackie Wilson.

There's a lot of good singing out there!

-- Anonymous, May 29, 2002

Bill by the way the big Afro is back!! I can just see you with your Afro and Dashiki! Anyway I said I would post the Ebony poll results for those who do not get Ebony. BEST MALE SINGER OF ALL TIME; Luther Vandross 29.1%, Marvin Gaye 24.8%, Nat King Cole, 18.4%, Stvie Wonder 7.4%, Sam Cooke 5.8% FAVORITE CONTEMPORAY MALE SINGER: Luther Vandross 36.4%, Machael Jackson 14.7$, Barry White 11.1%, Maxwell 8.3% BEST FEMALE POP/SOULD SINGER OF ALL TIME: Areatha Frankling 50.2%, Gladys Knight 16.4%, Ella Fitzgerald 11.0%, Billie Holiday 7.9%, Sarah Vaughn 4.9% FAVORITE CONTEMPORARY FEMALE SINGER: Patti Labelle 17.6%, Gladys Knight 16.o%, Whitney Houston 15.5%, Anita Baker 11.0%, Mary J. Blige 9.3%. FAVORITE FEMALE GOSPEL ARTIST: Yolanda Adams 36.0%, Shirley Caesar 28.8%, Cece Winans 23.8, and Albertina Walker 9.2%. There are many, many more categories and this month issue of Ebony is pretty good. So do check it out. By the way are you surprised by the poll results?

-- Anonymous, May 29, 2002

Please...let us not forget Teddy Pendergrass (TP). And for the youngsters coming along...how about giving some consideration to Maxwell! For the Sistahs...consider the Queen (Aretha), Patti (Diva), Gladys Knight, Dionne Warwick (before the Pyschic friends), Whitney Houston, Sade, Jill Scott and of course Mary J. Blige! My young people helped me with the last two.

-- Anonymous, May 30, 2002

Greetings

All you from Nashville, I am surprised that you forgot the main one from Memphis, Tennessee

Love

Clive

-- Anonymous, June 08, 2002

I think that everyone has overlooked the real singer of all time. All of these singers are great but the greatest singer of all time would have to be Steve Perry. He has an original voice, and I don't think anyone could match his dynamics.

-- Anonymous, March 04, 2003

Shirley Ceasar...without a doubt.

-- Anonymous, October 19, 2003

I think Mahalia Jackson and James Cleveland takes both catagories for male and female for The Gosple. and foe the blues, I'd have a toss up between Whitney and Gladys for females and Smokey Robinson and Bobby Pland, even yho they sang a different kind f blues. Thanks Minnie Ellis.

-- Anonymous, November 11, 2003

Sam (Lightin) Hopkins and Bessie Smith without a doubt.

-- Anonymous, November 11, 2003

Since I am one who has a preference for and loves Classical Music and Classical Artists, Give me some R. E. S. P. E. C. T in here.

Y'all know that Reverend Franklin's daughter, ARETHA can sing all of it and she can still sing circles around her nearest competition while they are doing vocalizes to warm up for it.

-- Anonymous, November 11, 2003

Of course, I'm a bit prejudice here, but if anyone of you had ever heard my mama back in the day singing songs like "His Eye is On the Sparrow", you would know why I choose my mama. She is soon to be 79 and you catch her in the Spirit and she will still cut up. She is no one famous, but that's my mama. :-)

In Christ, Carmen

-- Anonymous, November 12, 2003

THE GREATEST ALL-TIME R&B/SOUL SINGER? VERY TOUGH TO JUST PICK ONE. LOOKING AT THE COMMENTS HANDS DOWN, FOR FEMALE SINGER PEOPLE ARE GOING WITH ARETHA FRANKLIN. I COULDN'T AGREE WITH YOU ALL MORE BUT YOU ALL ARE OVERLOOKING DUSTY SPRINGFIELD. THE GREAT WHITE BRITISH BLUE-EYED SOUL SINGER. WHO HAD A STRING OF TOP 5 SINGLES EARLY TO MID 60'S & POSSIBLY MOST WELL KNOWN SONG, "SON OF A PREACHER MAN." THE SONG WAS FIRST OFFERED TO ARETHA BUT ARETHA TURNED IT DOWN. DUSTY RECORDED IT & THEN ONLY AFTER ARETHA HEARD DUSTY'S VERSION DID ARETHA DECIDE TO RECORD IT. ONCE CALLED, "THE WHITE NEGRESS" TO DESCRIBE HER SOULFUL VOICE BY A LEGENDARY BLACK ARTIST WHO'S NAME EVADES MY MEMORY BUT JUST GET HER ALBUM DUSTY IN MEMPHIS(RHINO DELUXE EDITION REISSUE), A BRAND NEW ME, OR THE DUNHILL COLLECTION: "BEAUTIFUL SOUL."(IF YOU LIKE THESE, I'D ALSO RECOMMEND DUSTY IN LONDON.) ALL THESE ALBUMS CONTAIN SOUL, GOSPEL POP. ALL THESE ALBUMS WILL ATTEST TO HER AMAZING SOULFUL VOICE, WHICH I WOULD HAVE TO PUT RIGHT UP THERE NEXT TO ARETHA. BOTH APPROACH, VOICE, & INTERPRETATIONS DIFFERENT BUT BOTH HAD THE GREATEST FEMALE SOUL VOICES OF ALL TIME. ALSO TO MENTION NINA SIMONE WHO HAD A STIRRING & EVOCATIVE VOICE, CALLED THE HIGH PRIESTESS OF SOUL, A SOULFUL VOICE IN EVER SENSE. MALE R&B/SOUL SINGER IS TOUGHER I'LL JUST HAVE TO METION MY CHOICES WOULD BE RAY CHARLES, OTIS REDDING, SAM COOKE, MARVIN GAYE & VAN MORRISON. GOSPEL FEMALE ARTIST, HANDS DOWN MAHALIA JACKSON, ENOUGH SAID. MALE GOSPEL ARTIST BEBE WINANS. THANKS

-- Anonymous, November 28, 2003

There is no questioning it, it would be natural to give credit to Aretha Franklin as the greatest black female R&B singer...no question. For the best male R&B singer I would have to give it up to Mr. James Brown (although we know him for his screaming James can croon a ballad like no other). As for Gospel...if Aretha reigns as the greatest female vocalist of our time then how much greater in musical history is her musical inspiration Mahalia Jackson...the Greatest Gospel Voice ever raised in praise...male or female. A close competitor was her male counterpart Bro. Joe May (talk about lung power and soul.

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2003

areta franlkin has got the soul, the originality and the power. without sentiments, she's the greatest voice so far.

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2004

ok you guys, I'm white but you got to give Sam Cooke more credit. I only saw his name once down at bottom. That guy could sing!

-- Anonymous, January 31, 2004