Steve D. wrote: > Kakki has probably beaten me to it....LA Times ran a big article on Norah Jones yesterday. When > asked to come up with her top 5 favorite artists she named ten - including our Joan.
I missed it (buried in "real life" lately) but just took a look and thought it was worth posting her list. She sure has excellent taste: RAY CHARLES He can sing anything -- from standards to country -- and it sounds like Ray Charles and it's beautiful. He's the perfect singer to me. ARETHA FRANKLIN Pure heart. She puts so much of herself into the music. She finds the meaning of a song and makes you feel it. WILLIE NELSON He is someone like Ray Charles who can sing anything and put his own stamp on it. JONI MITCHELL Everyone talks about her style of writing as so unique, but she is just as unique a singer -- her phrasing is amazing. I still love everything she does. BILLIE HOLIDAY She was my first favorite among jazz singers. She bares her soul so much that it can be painful, but there is also such beauty to what she does. DINAH WASHINGTON You can say it all in three words: "raw soul" and "brassy." SARAH VAUGHAN I just love the way she would take a song and interpret it in her own way. It often had nothing to do with the way the song was written. ETTA JAMES She has so much heart as a singer. I was really influenced by the way she approached standards. OTIS REDDING When I was in the 11th grade, I was just obsessed with my Otis Redding tape. His voice was amazing on things like "These Arms of Mine."
