We previously reflected on the female vocalists who redefined the music industry but now it is time for Way Back Wednesday to celebrate their male counterparts. In an era where male singers use auto-tune as a crutch and otherwise mediocre performers, such as Trey Songz, are praised for relatively basic showings, this week’s feature has been devised to remind people of the true power of the male voice.
So, let’s travel back to the age of Doo-wop to swing with the high notes of Frankie Lymon and then flashfoward through the decades with Teddy Pendergrass, Luther Vandross and R. Kelly. Watch some of music industry’s best male vocalists perform below:
Frankie Lymon – ‘Goody Goody’
Luther Vandross – ‘Killing Me Softly’
Marvin Gaye – ‘Heard it Through the Grapevine’
R. Kelly – ‘When a Woman Loves’
Sammie Davis Jr. – ‘Mr. Bojangles’
Stevie Wonder – ‘You & I’
Teddy Pendergrass – ‘Turn Off the Lights’
Tom Jones – ‘It’s Not Unusual’
Perhaps as a result of surging hypermasculinity in the music industry or simple laziness, very few male singers today have experimented with their voices similar to these titans of song. In fact, with the exception of Maxwell, Tank, John Legend, Brian McKnight, Luke James and Musiq Soulchild, it is quite difficult to name impressive male singers under that age of 45 years.
When people list the greatest singers of our time the regularly name only females because of their expansive vocal ranges. Yet, the male artists themselves should be blamed for that problem because it is their job to explore the boundaries of their talents instead of wasting time singing about their penises.
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