The Splendors and Miseries of Girl Singers

After I posted my “country and western job aid,” a friend asked if I could write about the great women of C&W. That got me thinking about “girl singers” in general. This is a topic near/dear to me as my stepmother was a “torch singer” who specialized in the Julie London repertoire of “100 proof misery”; e.g., “I’ve got it bad and that ain’t good because of the man who got away during all that stormy weather.” She used to bring her band, “The Pat Brady Trio,” to rehearse at our house when I was a wee tyke. Let me tell you, there are worse things for an impressionable youth to do than hang out with a bunch of smoking, drinking, God-unfearing musicians! Yowza! So, in that spirit, here are 5 “girl singers “ for your consideration (with the requisite YouTube references).

Violetta Parra: Gracias a la vida

To me, Violetta is one of the titans of the last century, transcending all genres and classifications. She was a Chilean poet who wrote and performed her songs with the utmost simplicity and clarity. In a better world, we’d all embrace her songs with our hearts and souls and life would be utterly transformed. Unfortunately, the footage of her is pretty scarce on YouTube. I’ve put in a link below to her singing her most famous song. There are more celebrated versions by Mercedes Sosa and Joan Baez, but Parra’s rendition is/was/always will be my favorite. She never “gets in the way” of the song. It just comes rattling down Track Number 9 and knocks you on your butt forever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiRbLejE4gs&feature=fvw

Charlotte Gainsbourg: 5:55

Charlotte is primarily known as actress. Her “debut” film, L'effrontée, is one of the best films about adolescence emerging into adulthood/sexuality ever. But she has also been a singer starting with her work with her famous dad, Serge, back in the ‘80s. They did a little tune called “Lemon Incest” which… ahem.. was about an… ahem… somewhat… close father/daughter relationship. (Okay, I can feel my eyeballs squirming inside my head so let’s change the subject!) Charlotte has the tiniest, smallest, most intimate, whisperiest voice ever. I can’t imagine her performing “live” somewhere unless it’s in a closet. Still there’s something so free and unforced about her singing. Here she is performing at her breathless best.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcjVcck3nZE

Nina Hagen : Spirit in the Sky and Jhonny

How can you describe Nina Hagen? She’s just your basic a-pop-a-lyptic chanteuse with the range of an opera singer and the sensibility of an anarchist. I’ve included a couple of her videos here to give an idea of her range. I remember seeing her at a concert in Berkeley in the ‘80s. It was one of the rare times I actually went out and paid money for the pleasure of having my ear drums reduced to blood pudding while the drunk guy behind me kept yelling, “Fuckin-A” during every song. But it was worth it! Nina, ich liebe dich!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJ2UROhv-PI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSriPDRkRpo&feature=related

Patty Loveless: You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive

Has there ever been a country singer with a better name? For me, Patty has always fallen into that dreaded category, “Talented people that an industry town (be it Nashville or Hollywood) never quite knew what to do with it.” As a result, many of her albums are the kind of “country pop” that is such a letdown from the “three chords and the truth” we all crave. But here’s Patty at her mournful, Appalachian, “I just crawled my way out of the coal mines with my bloody fingernails” best.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obzFmkzgt2E

Misia: Lagrima

Did anyone ever to see a Misia concert and say afterwards, “Well, she just mailed it in tonight”? Talk about leaving it all on the court! If you look up “commitment” (in either your English or Portuguese dictionaries) you’ll see Misia’s picture there. If you’re not familiar with a style of singing called “Fado,” Misia makes a wonderful tour guide. It’s not to everyone’s taste and not for the faint of heart. In fact, you might say it’s the polar opposite from Violetta Parra’s work style-wise. But what they hey? Isn’t a “foolish consistency the hobgoblin of… of… of….” Oh, it’s the hobgoblin of something! But I can never remember what!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcqHWfA1BuI&feature=related

That’s all for now! Please let me know if there are any “girl singers” out there that you treasure. Would love to hear from you!