Top Female Singers of the 20th Century
440 items ranked
Here is a list of the top female singing artist. Now these are based on my own opinion so other thoughts might vary.
Click on up and down arrows to affect item's ranking
101.
I am very surprised that she ISN'T mentioned. In my opinion, She is by far better than most of the singers on your list. She should be near the top, and she didn't even get an honorable mention!
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When younger , she had enormous range and power . She should be in the top ten .
she's not your average female vocalist..but her voice cuts right through me...so distinct..great singer...
agree with comment #1 the awards don't mean anything, we need to realize that. I like her and her songs, but can't call her a great singer. don't mean to disrespect her.
Re-read - I said "although the song is NOT in the century featured here," so you're 100% right.
4 Grammys. 8 BRIT Awards. Although the song is not in the century featured here, she won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song ["Into the West"] in 2004.
103.
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Just a note: The Temptation remake of "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" was in collaboration with The Supremes, so my entry should have been Temptations/Supremes. Don't know what happened.
Not a very successful performer. Song examples:
"Youe No Good" - Deedee's chart place #117
Linda Ronstadt #1
"I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" - Deedee #88
Temptations #2
"Suspicous Minds" - Deedee #80
Elvis Presley #1
yet she's higher on this list then much more talented artists and way higher than Patsy Cline, Stevie Nicks, Janis Joplin, Enya, and many more. This list is a joke. And, yes, ratings and RECORD SALES do count ALOT because it reflfects someone's popularity - what makes something great, it's how much something is liked, what the community overall thinks and not a few individualls.
104.
Leontyne Price was one of the most noteworthy sopranos in opera in the 20th century. She was prominent in the 1950s and 1960s especially and became one of the first African Americans to perform at the Metropolitan Opera. In the 1970s, she transformed herself into a concert and recital artist and toured extensively. She extended her fame beyond the opera world, often performing arias on television variety shows. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Kennedy Center Honors and the National Medal of Arts. She was awarded 19 Grammy Awards, including a special Lifetime Achievement Award in 1989.
105.
Kitty Kallen was one of the most popular singers of the 1940s, singing with the big bands of Jimmy Dorsey, Harry James and Artie Shaw. She possessed a warm, friendly, silky voice. She sang on three No. 1 songs in the 40s, "Besame Mucho," "I'm Beginning to See the Light" and "It's Been a Long, Long Time." In the 1950s, she scored another No. 1 song, "Little Things Mean a Lot," which was the No. 1 song of the year, according to Billboard. In the 50s, her other successes included "In the Chapel in the Moonlight," which hit No. 4 in 1954, and "My Coloring Book," which went to No. 18 in 1962. She turned 91 on May 25, 2013. She's one of a small number of surviving big-band singers.
106.
Is a highly talented singer and songwriter. She enjoyed a US top 10 single with the Burt Bacharach/Hal David penned " What the world needs now is love ". Her biggest hit was " Put a little love in your heart".
Comments:
Actually I enjoyed Dionne's version of What The World Needs Now Is Love. I think it's vastly superior to Jackie's version.
But her Put A Little Love In Your Hear is her best classic single. Really haven't heard much else from her.
107.
Mabel Mercer was a highly regarded concert and cabaret singer born in England of a white vaudevillian mother and a black jazz performer. Some observers of the cabaret scene regard her as the most influential cabaret singer of all time, affecting such disparate singers as Leontyne Price, Nat Cole, Barbra Streisand and Rosemary Clooney. Mercer broke out in Europe during the 1930s and became famous in the U.S. as World War II broke out. In Europe her fans included Ernest Hemingway and Cole Porter. In the U.S. Frank Sinatra made no secret of the fact that she had influenced his phrasing and attention to diction. He once said, “Mabel Mercer taught me everything I know.” Mercer continued singing into the 1980s with Bobby Short and Eileen Farrell, among others, receiving many honors along the way, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1983. The medal is considered America’s highest civilian medal.
108.
Before her vocal chord surgery, she had one of the most spectacular voices in female vocal history. Even now, she can still sing better than many of the artists in this list.
Comments:
It is a tragedy that this wonderfully talented lady lost her beautiful voice. She should be number two with only Judy Garland ahead of her easily.
and she HAD A four octave range and her voice WAS really clear and gorgeous (it still is!!!)
67??? Julie Andrews should be AT LEAST in the top 3!!!!!!! She's INCREDIBLE---- she has a four octave range ( one of the biggest vocal ranges in the whole world), and her voice is just SO CLEAR and GORGEOUS!!!!!!!
She had no voice in a recent concert 21st century. But she is STILL a 20th century singer.
This versatile English artist has won 1 Grammy [her other awards include the Oscar, Emmy, Golden Globe, People's Choice].
This list is for the 20th century. The fact she has lost her voice in the 21st century should have no bearing on this listing.
People walked out from her concert in London. Demanding thier money back. No voice.
109.
Lee Wiley was a highly regarded jazz singer who made her impact largely in the late 1930s and into the 1950s. She is credited with recording the first "songbook" albums, collections dedicated to particular composers and lyricists. Ella Fitzerald, Rosemary Clooney and Rod Stewart are among singers who later made their own series of "songbook" LPs and CDs. Lee Wiley's singing style is said to have greatly influenced the style of Peggy Lee. "Night in Manhattan," "West of the Moon" and "A Touch of the Blues" are her most highly respected albums. Her last public appearance was in 1972, when she performed in Carnegie Hall.
111.
Mary Martin became a Broadway star when she sang "My Heart Belongs to Daddy," in Cole Porter's "Leave It to Me" in 1938. Her Broadway career continued escalating, and she became Rodger's and Hammerstein's muse. She was the original Nellie Forbush in R&H's "South Pacific" in 1949 and the original Maria von Trapp in R&H's "The Sound of Music" in 1959. She won Tonys for those roles and for playing Peter in "Peter Pan." She also won other awards, an Emmy for her TV performance in "Peter Pan," and a special Tony in 1948 for "spreading theatre to the rest of the country." She won the prestigious Kennedy Honors and the Donaldson Award and the New York Film Critics Circle Award in 1943 for "One Touch of Venus."
113.
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Kate Bush debuted at number one with her first release in '79 with "Wuthering Heights and it has been a classic ever since. She has more range, song writing talent and character in her music than anyone I have ever heard of before or since, But Siobhan Donagy formerly of the Sugababes is a close aproximation of skill, character lyrics and vocal quality. Kate, in her prime could take anybody. She is sultry, sexy, mysterious, powerfully loud, shrill high pitch when she wants, soft as angels in the next verse, deep and sensual, and silly when it suits her.
One of the top 10 true female artists ever. Songwriting, arrangements, musicianship, performance artistry and uniquely beautiful. So sad one has to scroll so far down to find her on this list.
No a lot of people knows Kate, but who knows her, knows she's one of the best artists ever heared. Why 69? Do you believe this 68 previous are better than she? There's a lot of singers! great singers, but few artists.
I've got to say that Kate Bush is amazing and belongs much higher on this list. Her voice is one of the angels!
Oh my, is kate better than EmmyLou Harris or is Emmylou better than kate? I know that they are in different ends of the music world but they just plain blow away most of the women listed on this site, the material girl included. Just my two cents for whatever it is worth.
She should be in the top 5 if not #1. I guess her talent is so great that it is simply beyond the comprehension of most people.
She has a beautiful voice when it suits her. When it doesn't suit she can some terrifying screams (listen to Get Out of My House). Great range, very emotional and can get a lot of power into it.
This British singer has been nominated for 3 Grammys, no wins.
114.
116.
Julie Wilson is a stage and cabaret singer. Her earliest success was in musicals on Broadway and London's West End. After a hiatus to take care of two sons, she returned to New York in the 1980s and performed in cabarets where her expressive stylings won her acclaim and new fans.
117.
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Margaret Whiting was one of the best-known of the big-band singers and scored numerous big hits in her heyday. She was the daughter of Richard Whiting, the great composer of such classics as "Hooray for Hollywood," and she inherited her father's sensibilities in music. Like a lot of popular singers of her time, including Tony Bennett and Rosemary Clooney, Whiting recorded and popularized country songs, most particularly "Slippin' Around," recorded with Jimmy Wakeley, which went to No. 1 on the pop and country charts in 1949. Her first hit, in 1942, was "That Old Black Magic," which went to No. 10. Other hits and their top chart positions include: "It Might As Well Be Spring," No. 6; "Guilty," No. 4; "Oh, But I Do," No. 7; "You Do," No. 5; "Pass That Peace Pipe," No. 8; "Now's the Hour," No. 2; "A Tree in the Meadow," her only solo No. 1; "Baby, It's Cold Outside," No. 3; "A Bushel and a Peck" with Jimmy Wakely, No. 6. Her last top 40 song hit No. 26 in 1966, "The Wheel of Hurt." In her later years, she appeared in nightclubs, cabarets and was part of the touring four-woman group, "4 Girls 4," which included Rosemary Clooney, Rosemarie and Helen O'Connell at the time.
120.
121.
Martha Reeves was the lead singer for Martha and the Vandellas, one of the groups that defined the Motown sound in the early 1960s. Her strong, expressive, gospel-tinged voice made the Vandellas' sound distinctive, and the group yielded many hits, including two signature songs that have been covered by many R&B and rock performers, "Dancing in the Streets" and "Heat Wave." Other hits: "Come and Get These Memories," "Nowhere to Run," "Honey Chile" and "Jimmy Mack."
122.
Martha Tilton was a pop and jazz singer best known for her time with the Benny Goodman Band, with whom she recorded many hits, including "And the Angels Sing." Her heyday was in the 1930s and 1940s. As a solo singer, she scored with such hits as "I'll Walk Alone," "I Should Care," "A Stranger in Town," "How Are Things in Glocca Morra," "That's My Desire" and "I Wonder, I Wonder, I Wonder." She was often introduced as "The Liltin' Martha Tilton."
123.
Ella Mae Morse, some critics claim, was the first rock'n'roll singer to make the charts. She began her career as a big-band singer, combining pop, country, jazz and r&b in her singing and had numerous big hits in the 1940s and early 1950s. Her biggest solo hit was "Blacksmith Blues" in 1952, which went to No. 3 on the Billboard charts. Other hits included "Cow Cow Boogie," "Shoo, Shoo, Baby," "No Love, No Nothin' " and "The House of Blue Lights."
125.
126.
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she was a inspiration to everybody and she had a amazing voice and should be so much higher i love selena
127.
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By far one of the best singer and songwriters. She has a direct line to my soul.
129.
130.
Voice that is so captivating and sweet. Very underrated! If you don't believe me, look for her songs on youtube. She died in 1974 so it is understandable why many have not ever heard of her.
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Should be in top 25. Beautiful voice and control. She was Witchy-Poo on H.R Pufnstuf. Should have given that ham sandwich to Karen Carpenter
should be in top 25, amazing voice and control. Was Witchy-Poo on H.R Pufnstuf, We lost her way to soon.Should have given her ham sandwich to Karen Carpenter
Amazing singer! I wonder how much more music she would have shared and how many more artists she would have inspired had she lived longer.
Another talent who died too young . Her powerful voice was amazing. -she would be today's Adele . She definitely needs to be in the top 20 - agree with last posters comment !
Cass was one of the most powerful vocalists of the 20th century. Her voice had similiar qualities to that of Adele's. . . amazing range, sexy, raspy. However, the choice of music she sang lacked depth and the range of artistry she was actually capable of. Plus, her short life span didn't help either.
The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.
131.
133.
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I just saw her this summer at a music festival in Michigan. Great Show!!!
Agreed, she single handedly wrote and performed about half my favourite songs. She could have been so much more famous had she actually WANTED to. It's the very fact she was happy being the anonymous Indian lady on Sesame Street says it all. She has a gift to share and a message to deliver. Beyond that she's happy for others to get famous with her songs
134.
Mary Wells helped to define what Motown meant in the early 1960s. Her gigantic hit "My Guy" is one of the signature songs on the Motown label and reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts. The song has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Her other big hits included, "The One Who Really Loves You," "You Beat Me to the Punch" and "Two Lovers." Her duet album with Marvin Gaye was hugely popular.
135.
Teresa Brewer, along with Patti Page, Rosemary Clooney, Doris Day and Jo Stafford, was one of the most successful female singers of the late 1940s and first half of the 1950s. She had a young and bubbly voice and her style combined pop, jazz, novelty, r&B and other influences. Because many of her hits were inconsequential ditties, she was often underestimated. In her later years, she rebounded as a jazz singer, recording with the likes of Duke Ellington and Count Basie. Her big hits and their top chart position include "Music, Music, Music," No. 1, 1950; "Till I Waltz Again With You," No. 1, 1952; "Ricochet," No. 2, 1953; "Jilted," No. 6, 1954; "Let Me Go, Lover," No. 6, 1954; "A Tear Fell, No. 5, 1956; "You Send Me," No. 8, 1957. She died in 2007.
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138.
Alberta Hunter was a blues and jazz singer and songwriter who had success from the early 1920s into the 1950s, when she retired to become a nurse. She returned to singing in the 1970s when she was in her 80s. Her appearance in a Greenwich Village club made her a sensation, and she was signed to a recording contract by Columbia Records, for whom she did several albums. Her new fame led to renewed interest in her older recordings. She was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2011. As a songwriter, she is particularly known for having written, with Lovie Austin, the great blues classic "Downhearted Blues." Hunter recorded it in 1922, but it was Bessie Smith's recording in 1923 that made the song such a sensation. Smith's recording was inducted into the Library of Congress' National Registry. Inductees are considered "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" recordings.
139.
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Clara Nunes is a highly respected Brazilian singer of sambas and MPB, or Popular Brazilian Music, and though she died in 1983 at age 40 during a varicose vein operation, she continues to influence her country's music. Her hit singles included "Você passa, eu acho graça" (1968), "Ê baiana" (1971), "Conto de areia" (1974), "O mar serenou" (1975), "Coração leviano" (1977), "Na linha do mar" (1979), "Morena de Angola" (1980), and "Nação" (1982). Proud of her musical heritage, she became a researcher of its origins, rhythms and folklore, visiting Africa in search of her music's birth.
140.
just listen to her on Youtube. she belongs on this list. btw: most of these, admittedly good/great performers are American. inevitable, i guess, but this is a myopic list. the list name should include "American"... heard C Aguilera on tv once. she shouldn't carry the melody. she was off-key. i don't know ...
143.
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Unique voice and style.
Begun her career in 1965 and is on stage today.
Maurice Chevalier and Charles Aznavour hailed her as successor of Edith Piaf.
Sung 1200 songs in 11 languages and has sold
more than 120.000.000 Albums and 50.000.000 singles worldwide.
Check her early songs on youtube, for example
Mon Credo, Géant, Pourquoi Mon Amour, Est-ce que tu m´aimes, Un Homme et une femme, En ecoutant mon couer chanter, Une simple letter, Au nord du nord, Ponts de Paris etc. etc. etc.
Great also her french covers of The Look of Love (Les yeaux de´lamour), The World We Knew (Un monde avec toi), I´m Coming Home (Je ne sais rien de toi) and My Way of Life (Tu mas donne la vie).
Her colloboration with Ennio Morricone is one of a kind, too. (La califfa, Melody).
144.
Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American singer-songwriter, musician and actress. Her music blends rock, folk and pop into one mainstream sound, and she has won nine Grammy Awards. Crow is also a liberal political activist.
145.
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Got to be in top 10. You could feel the hurt in her heart that gave her songs so much passion.
Patsy Cline # 75. That's hystrerical.... Agree that this is Top 5 talent. Possibly 1 or 2.
This women should be top 5. You morons put cher on this because she was a great entertainer. This is top singers. Her version of crazy is the best that there ever will be. She sung with a style and depth few women today can match. I am 36.
im only 19 but wen i was growing up i listen to her songs with my grandfather and wen i was born my nickname for him was Patsy because of Patsy Cline and he's been gone for 12 years and still today when i hear any of her songs they reminds me of my grandfather and how he always sing them to me and she is one of my fave singers and she would be #1 on my list......
this female artist should be number one she was a great singer and whoever made this list really should redo this list aretha should be this number not patsy
People should listen to her stuff and might realise just how good she was. Taken way to soon.
146.
Helen O'Connell was one of the big big-band singers in the 1940s. She achieved her first success with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, and her hits included "Green Eyes", "Amapola," "Tangerine," "Brazil" (inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame) and "Yours." According to Wikpedia, O'Connell was selected by Down Beat magazine readers as best female singer in 1940 and 1941 and won the 1940 Metronome magazine poll for best female vocalist. She was a frequent TV guest and show host in the 1950s. And she made nightclub appearances in her latter years and toured with "4 Girls 4" with other singers of her era in the 1970s. She died in 1993.
147.
Injured in a plane crash during a World War II USO Tour
Froman's life story was the subject of the movie With a Song in My Heart (1952), starring Susan Hayward as Froman. b 11/10/1907 d. 4/22/1980
148.
shes amazing!!!!! and if you dont know who she is then check her out.. your missing out if you dont!!!
149.
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Chaka Khan (born Yvette Marie Stevens; March 23, 1953) is an American singer and composer who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career. Her signature hits, both with Rufus and as a solo performer, include "Tell Me Something Good", "Sweet Thing", "Ain't Nobody", "I'm Every Woman", "I Feel for You" and "Through the Fire".
Chaka joined the Black Panthers when she was 15 or 16 -- when becoming politically active was what the youth of the day did. She was NEVER racist. She has worked with more white musicians than most R&B singers and was married for sometime to a white man. She is a trailblazer, extremely intelligent, compassionate and has one of the greatest and most distinctive voices of the modern era.
Chaka Khan is one of the greatest voices of our time. Even the other greats have said she does things with her voice that are unheard of and hits notes that are off the charts
I mean, her choice of musical arrangements on her albums are better than Aretha...Much more brave, unheard new styles when you listen to each of them....I did not compare their voices. Yes right. their voice are different not better than one another. As for Black Panther Party, the name sounds cool and sexy but unfortunately racism is outdated in our century. People mix with other people and then other people :-) I feel for youuuu...ha ha ha ha think i loveee you.
I mean, her choice of musical arrangements on her albums are better than Aretha......Much more brave, unheard new styles when you listen to each of them....I did not compare their voices. Yes right. their voice are different not better than one another. As for Black Panther Party, the name sounds cool and sexy but unfortunately racism is outdated in our century. People mix with other people and then other people :-) I feel for youuuu...ha ha ha ha think i loveee you.
So what does changing her name and being a racist to do with her vocal ability? Not better than Aretha just different.
I think it's a streatch to say that she is in some ways better than Aretha Franklin, and Aretha didn't receive her name by joining the Black Panther Party the way Chaka did. Chaka's name was Yevette until she joined the Black Panther Party and was a racist.
Her voice is like a burning flame. Limitless. A blueprint of female soul music just after Aretha Franklin. In someway better than Aretha like having a modern and updated musical arrangements. Always experimenting new music styles.
150.
151.
The heart and soul voice of The Pretenders.....trademarked thick, black eyeliner and long bangs covering her eyes.
152.
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I think the pre-Grace Slick period of the "Jefferson Airplane" is pretty good, but when you listen to their records chronologically you can see how she brought a powerful sound with her voice and songwriting skills.
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The woman can sing with the power of a giant. Her voice is huge. Plus, her love of singing comes through every second that she sings
156.
Ma Rainey was a great influence on American blues, pop and rock. She began recording in 1923 and her versions of "Bo-Weevil Blues," "Black Bottom," "Soon This Morning," and especially "See See Rider Blues," also known as "See See Rider," "C.C. Rider" and "Easy Rider," became templates for succeeding blues singers, including Bessie Smith and much later, Janis Joplin. She was known for her powerful voice, immaculate phrasing and a "moaning" vocal style that made her voice unmistakable. She became known as the Mother of the Blues. She has been inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and her version of "See See Rider Blues" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. The National Recording Preservation Board of the Library of Congress included that version into its National Recording Registry. The U.S. Postal Service honored her with a commemorative stamp.
157.
Helen Forrest (April 12, 1917 – July 11, 1999) was one of the most popular female jazz vocalists during America's Big Band era with Artie Shaw. She was born Helen Fogel.
159.
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Throughout the 1970's she was everywhere and has never been given credit for her huge successes. Beautiful voice, especially on 'I don't know how to love him', 'You and me against the world' and 'You're my world'. Hit after hit after hit, definitely should be on the list. Helen Reddy was major force for a solid 5 years.
Definitely one of, if not the most successful lady of the 1970's. She can sing and her voice is very recognizable. Listen to You're My World, Peaceful, I Don't Know How to Love Him and You and Me Against the World. Very talented lady!
I love Helen Reddy!!!!!!! Technically an amazing singer who sang soft pop and because of that was ridiculed for being too la-di-da. Listen to her album cuts and then tell me she can't sing!
A phenomenal singer who was unfairly pigeon-holed as a bubble gum singer because of Delta Dawn and Leave Me Alone. What about You're My World, Peaceful, I Don't Know How to Love Him, Ain't No Way to Treat a Lady just to name a few!!
The most underrated singer of my generation. She sang with angelic tones and perfect pitch like no other. She, along with Olivia Newton-John, were the ONLY two female singers in the 70s to have more than 10 top 20 pop hits! When she sings "I Don't Know How to Love Him" and "You're My World" you can just cut my wrists! Love you Helen!
I agree guest, I like Helen Reddy but she is not one of the 100 best.
Totally agree with this comment; here she is at 39, way above other artists that are far far more talented because those artists are being down voted and their score dosen't reflect their ACTUAL overall positive votes, what a shame. And, is there any female artist left that is NOT listed here as one of the Top Female Singers of the 20th Century ? It seems like artists are added simply because they're thought of regardless of their artistic strength and accomplishment.
An interesting and passable voice for a certain range of songs, but really shouldn't be in any wide-open Top 100 singer list. No way!
The first Australian-born to have a #1 single in the US and win a Grammy ["I Am Woman"].
160.
Pearl Bailey had a distinguished career in nightclubs, records, movies, TV and the stage. She was known for her comedic take on songs, which sometimes overshadowed her great talent as a powerful singer. On Broadway, she appeared in several movie musicals, including "St. Louis Blues," "Porgy and Bess" and "Carmen Jones." On Broadway, she appeared in "House of Flowers," and later starred in an all-black version of "Hello, Dolly," for which she was given a special Tony award. She had one top-10 hit in 1952, "Takes Two to Tango." She appeared regularly as a guest on TV variety shows such as "The Ed Sullivan Show."
162.
beautiful voice singing witht he great les paul
just found this site so not sure exactly how to post here
163.
Connee (also billed as Connie) Boswell was an influential pop and jazz singer from the 1920s to through the mid-1950s. She first became known as one-third of the close-harmony group The Boswell Sisters with her siblings Martha and Helvetia (Vet). Later, she embarked on a solo career and was a frequent duet partner with Bing Crosby. Her hits included "Say It Isn't So," "Moon Over Miami," "Moonlight Mood" and "If I Give My Heart to You." Ella Fitzgerald gives Boswell credit for having influenced her singing style, which, because Fitzgerald was such a huge influence on so many female singers, means that Boswell also had a great impact on 20th Century singers.
164.
Aggressive lead voice of Blondie and one of the original blond bombshells of punk rock.
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Best singer ever. First woman to win the Godlike Genius Award, first white woman to rap. Blondie have the first #1 in Rap in the charts. Age does not affect her. Sexy attitude. Almost 50 years of a successful career.
The most influential female of the past 50 years. All the girls want to be her and all the boys just want her
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Great singer too well known for disco only. Check out her version of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" for an example of how to adapt a voice to a song. Great performer and classy artist
130 million records sold, baby! The Best Dance Singer of all time
This mezzo-soprano who has a chameleon-like voice with power is, and has been underrated far too long. Listen to her soul, pop ballads and her rock tracks. Bruce Springsteen considered her a rock singer and wrote music for her and critics seem to appreciate the beauty and power in this voice. Beautiful voice!!!
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Sorry but this is laughable. She has a sweet voice and the tune is catchy, but she belongs nowhere near the top 100 female vocalists.
167.
Before Diana Ross became one of the most successful female musicians during the 1970s and 1980s, she was first the lead vocalist of the hit band The Supremes.
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Pleasant voice, better songs. Unlike rivals, Dionne Warwick and Aretha Franklin. Now their voices were much more powerful AND Great songs.
Love Diana's looks, fashion/style and songs, but as true vocalist a little thin and not original. Many artists sounded like her in the 60's including Tami Terrel and some of the replacements for the Supremes
Diana was top for over twenty years. She was dynamite - clear bell like voice , everyone knew her, the world loved her. Sad to think she's out-rated by one hit wonders and aggressive voiced also-rans.
Diana is one of my favourite female singer....... She should be in the top 10.....
DIANA ROSS AT 61 POSSITION? SHE IS ONE OF THE 10 BEST ARTISTS OF ALL TIME!
I could listen to her silky voice all night. One of the greatest talents ever.
At their peak The Supremes were like The Beatles, why only 45???
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There isn't a woman on this planet I wouldn't leave for Toni Braxton. OOOOOFFAH! Add that powerful instrument of a voice and it drives me out of my friggin mind.
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Not a big fan of her personality, but to have her this low is a joke. She can SANG!!!
Bahaha. Christina at #79? You kidding me? Is this list more about "old famous" names or "best" voices? If its the latter, then she is one of the best we have ever heard. Her powerful voice is just so heart-warming. I love how she plays with the notes, like a true maestro. She is the most gifted female singer I've heard after Whitney Houston. Her singing talent is far ahead of overrated stars like ladygaga, Avril, rihanna etc. I wish we hear more and more from her in the future!!
no question about it.. i agree 100% that she has a great voice.. on my list, she is the best singer..
She does have a great voice, rock solid and very dynamic. Will people remember her in 30 or 40 years time? maybe not, but it more of a reflection of our consumerism buying and listening trends of today.
She should be higher in the list; at least above Mariah Carey.
The person that said the negative comments about her. Her voice is ions more powerful than your hearing. Her voice is extradordinary! She could blow alot of these singers right off the stage. should be much higher on the list.
A flash in the pan pop singer with more image than substance.
Will people even know who she is in 30 or 40 years time, let alone still listen to her music and buy her cd's?
I think not.
I agree 100 percent! As far as I'm concerned - she IS the best singer of all time. Why this list has to be dominated by women who were popular YEARS ago is whacked. Christina's voice is top notch in ALL departments, she can move on the floor and she's full of passion and attitude. Mariah can sing, but she does not move! Christina is a far better all round entertainer than anybody on this list!!!
Christina Aguilera is the greatest female singer of the 21st century. She can sing, she can dance and she can perform like a real superstar. She has a very promising and unique voice. She can use whistle register-even greater than Mariah's,
awful! hides behind vocal gymnastics. hold a note like a real singer
i think her live performance is the best in the recent music industry. she has her own colors and true skills as a singer. nobody can sing like her. shes #41? kidding me!
Definitely a top 10. She consistently delivers. Her voice is like no other, such a gem to the music industry. No one will ever sing like her. She's the best.
Why is she just at place 48? she has an incredible and strong voice, she should be in the top 10 AT LEAST !
Christina could out sing everyone on this list. Her power and heart and control are the best I've ever seen. Look up her performance on the 2007 grammy's performing 'this is a man's world' in tribute to James Browns death. Years from now this list will look rediculous with her down at 77. Ha!
Actually, her first success was Reflection from the Mulan soundtrack.
andrewh - you made the comment above and then added Susan Boyle - a mistake - but at least you had the guts to admit a mistake under her heading.
Christina begun to sing in the 90's of 21st century. Her first world success was genius in the bottle (1999).
Just a thought, aren't we in the 21st century? didn't she start being popular after the year 2000?
since this list is titled Greatest 20th Century Female Artist
170.
Betty Hutton is known primarily as a movie star of the 1940s and 1950s, but she was a first-rate singer who could sing ballads and belt out brassier material as well. She starred in movie musicals and scored several hits on the Billboard charts. In 1951, she was nominated for an Oscar for best actress for playing the lead role, Annie Oakley, in the musical "Annie Get Your Gun." On records, she is best known for "It Had to Be You," which became one of the major songs of the 1940s, and the swing novelty song, "Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief," which went to No. 1 on the Billboard charts in 1946.
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What? Sade was ranked at #50 on VH1's list of the 100 greatest artists of all time! For female singers she should be near the top!
66? SADE should be WAY WAY up at the top. ? What idiot put this list together?
Sade is my favorite chill down artist of all time,she has one of the best voises there is in soul.
All here albums are great espesially soldier of love wich is the latest..Again my favorite chill out music.
Johnny Norway
Unprecedented Husky Voice. Recognizable instantly. Represents the beauty, charm, serenity and nobility of Introvert Sade. The best voice for Quiet Storm Soul Music.
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just listened to her sge should have been world class what happened .wonderful voice
one of the most beautiful girl singer the uk ever produced and a dam good voice
just looked her up on youtube the note she holds in the middle of your the one is superb she certainly had a good voice i see she died last year but where had she been in the years before she should have been at the top
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She is so unusual - unique, expressive. Wide vocal range and still putting out the hits.
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No one comes close to how she does it. The fact that you see her in other female singers prove that indeed she's being idolized and taken as role models by younger female singers.
I met her last year she is an amazing role model, i am an aspiring singer and she gave me amazing advice that has helped me alot! ♥(:
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Big Mama Thornton died in 1984 at the age of 57, and though she remains unappreciated as a rhythm and blues singer, her fame grows with each passing year. She was the first to record "Hound Dog," and it went to No. 1 on the Billboard R&B charts. And she wrote and was the first to sing "Ball and Chain," although her recording company did not release the single. In 1967, Janis Joplin's version of the song was in her album "Cheap Thrills," which went to No. 1. That recording renewed interest in Thornton, and in 1968, an album containing the song finally was released. The uninitiated should proceed to YouTube and look up Thornton, including a TV appearance with Aretha Franklin.
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Janis Siegel is best known as a member of Manhattan Transfer, a foursome that sings pop, doo wop, novelty, rhythm and blues and jazz songs. MT has won 10 Grammys while Siegel was a member of the group. She also has sung with other groups. As a solo performer, Siegel has released numerous albums, one of which, "At Home," was nominated for the Grammy in the category of Best Female Jazz Vocalist. She is also an arranger and frequent featured vocalist with other performers.
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No other female singer can sing romance like she did. Amazing voice.
How can this lady not be higher up. No one can sing like Connie Fancis
First female singer to sell an overall total of 100 million records.
Connie Francis is the greatest female vocalist of all time.she sings pop,rock n roll,country,jazz or any genre of music better than any girl singer in history.Connie has talent,beauty,personality,and the best looking bubble butt in the 1960's!
Connie should be #1. I guess people do not hear her recordings enouigh.
one of the top female pop artists late 50 and 60's.
Nostalgia is her middle name
186.
The singling voice behind Natalie Wood in West Side Story, Deborah Kerr in The King and I and Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady
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Kim Carnes, a singer-songwriter, is best known as the raspy-voiced singer of the enormous hit record, "Bette Davis Eyes," which spent nine weeks at No.1 on the Billboard charts, peaked at No. 1 in 21 countries, was the No. 1 song of 1981 in the U.S. and won Grammys for Song of the Year and Record of the year. Billboard ranked "Bette Davis Eyes" No. 12 among the top 100 songs of the first 50 years of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It also ranked the record as the No. 1 song of the 1980s. Carnes had several other top 40 singles, but none that came close to her success with "Bette Davis Eyes." These included "More Love" (No. 10), a dance remake of the Motown hit by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles; "Draw of the Cards" (No. 28), "Voyeur" (No. 29), "Does It Make You Remember" (No. 36), "Invisible Hands" (No. 40), for which she was nominated for a Grammy, and "Crazy in the Night (Barking at Airplanes)" (No. 15). She also had hits in duets with other performers, including Barbra Streisand, Kenny Rogers, Gene Cotton and Randy Meisner.
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Lisa Stansfield (born 11 April 1966) is an English singer. "All Around the World" was the second song by a white female singer to hit number one on the Billboard R&B chart and that means a great versatility of voice.
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been goin since 60s fab songs shout , to sir with love,man with the golden gun,also good songwriter
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You were fantastic! 4 octave range! unreal tone of voice, and beautiful to boot! RIP fine lady, the angels must rejoice when you sing with them!
yes she was very good!R.I.P. miss your singing very much girl. lots of love!!!
Beautiful singer, inside & out. Amazing voice/talent. Gone too soon. RIP Laura... I miss you! You will always be #1 to me!!!
The most outstanding multi-talented (not just because of her 4 octave range) contemporary singer of the 20th century !
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Cissy Houston may best be known as the mother of Whitney Houston, but she is a singer of the first rank in her own right, an interpreter of soul and gospel who has earned two Grammys. She began her career as a member of the Drinkard Four, which later became the Drinkard Singers. In the early 1960s, she formed the Sweet Inspirations with Doris Troy and her niece Dee Dee Warwick, sister of Dionne Warwick. The lineup for the Inspirations changed over the years, and the group sang backup for Solomon Burke, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Esther Phillips, Dusty Springfield, Van Morrison ("Brown-Eyed Girl"), Jimi Hendrix ("Burning of the Midnight Lamp") . The Sweet Inspirations eventually released singles and albums. Their first charted single was "Sweet Inspiration," which peaked at No. 18 on the Billboard charts in 1968. The next year the group contracted to sing backup for Elvis Presley, and they can be heard on Presley's "All Shook Up" and "Live in Las Vegas" albums. Cissy Houston went off on her own and some of her recordings made the R&B, dance and gospel charts. She continues to be an in-demand backup singer, in her later years having supported Bette Midler, Aretha Franklin and others. In 2014, at age 81, she sang backup for Franklin's mashup of Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" and the Motown classic "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," performed on "Late Show with David Letterman."
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Vastly underrated and sadly unrecognised by many. Listen to her latest album "Paradise". Still on top form in her seventies.
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