Dr No[Moderator Omega - Wristscan]
34913
Favorite Singers 'n Front Men is live . . .
Jul 09, 2021,10:40 AM
. . . and ready for Take 1!
Young Dr No had three passions. The last to develop was for the game of pool when I was about nine. Before that was my fascination with wrist watches. I remember staring at a relative's triple-calendar for minutes on end.
The first, though, was for music.
One of my earliest memories is playing Scotch and Soda . . .
. . . repeatedly. There was a magical quality to Bob Shane's . . .
. . . voice that held me enthralled even though I had no clue as to the meaning of the song. (This was about the same time Puff the Magic Dragon was every kid's favorite.)
Many years later, I was fortunate to catch Shane at a country venue in LA with the third Kingston Trio ensemble (original members Dave Guard and Nick Reynolds had departed long before.) I'm grateful to The Muses for allowing me the opportunity to listen to him perform live.
Other singers that float my boat? Let's start with Marty Robbins.
Possibly the finest Western singer of all time; his voice was remarkably unaffected, his touch light.
Never saw him perform, but did see him driving a Mercury at the first NASCAR oval race in California back in '74.
Gene Clark of the Byrds is another. I could listen to him sing a burger stand menu.
Gone far too soon . . . if I ever had a chance to see him perform live, it passed long ago. Gone . . .
. . . but hardly forgotten.
The purest voice of all might be Nana's.
Her standard moves me . . .
. . . every time I hear her sing it.
She performed in LA not all that long ago. As it happened, her one show fell on the same day as a prior commitment, so my last chance to take her in is likely gone.
Nat. King. Cole.
This photo says it all. (Never saw any of the three perform live; had a chance with Frank, but missed.)
My candidate for most naturally talented? Should be Frank, could be Nat, but Dusty . . .
. . . gets my nod. She could sing any genre - jazz, pop, blues, you name it - brilliantly.
Never saw her perform, sad to say . . . like Gene and Nat, gone far too soon.
You knew . . .
. . . this was coming. Not as a vocalist, but as a front man? Peerless.
Now . . .
. . . and then.
I've seen forty Stones shows . . . he's the reason why. Time stands still when the Stones are on stage; it's as though the past is present. There will never be another like him.
Other front men I admire: Paul Rodgers . . .
. . . but more for his vocal chords than stage presence. Peter Wolf had the chops on stage . . .
. . . and I'm thankful I got to see him perform twice in '81 (opening for the Stones, of course!)
My most memorable show over almost five decades worth of concerts? The Animals in '83 would be at the top of the list, and Eric Burdon . . .
. . . would be reason #1. Terrific voice, total mastery over his stage. If I could go back in time to relive a show, this would be the one.
That's my list. What's yours?
Oh, and the watch on my wrist as I'm writing these lines at nearly 4 am?
Ain't it Grand?