Momma, Who Is That Man?

The Colored Man loves music of just about any genre, with the exception of rock, heavy metal, and perhaps country and western, even though I do like country swing, and have been known to purchase a bluegrass cd.  I grew up in a household with lots of music - jazz, soul, gospel, and was exposed to classical music in school.  At the age of around 7, my brother and I had our own small collection of jazz recordings.  This was back in the day when albums were made in different colors, and I remember my favorite was a Dave Brubeck album in red.  I think that I played that thing daily, so much that the grooves of the album became worn down.

Music was a big part of my earlier years.  My mother loved music, but she also had a secret that would not be revealed until I was around 11 years old.  The secret was that she could sing, and sing very well.  At one point during her college years, she sang with Louis Farrakhan before he became the leader of the Nation of Islam.  After she began to sing again, her humming and soft singing was a staple around the house and in the car.  Although gospel music was her staple, she would occasionally sing some jazz, and could scat like Ella, and do vocalese like Sarah.

As a result of my mother and her incredible singing voice, the Colored Man has always had an appreciation for the female singer, however, I also like a good male voice, just not as much.  Oprah has her favorite things, where she gives out expensive gifts to her studio audience.  It's called, Oprah's Favorite Things. 

So here are the Colored Man's Favorite Male Singers, and in no particular order:

Alejandro Sanz - I don't speak a word of Spanish, except a very basic hello.  So, when Mr. Sanz sings, I don't know what he is saying, but I can hear the heart and soul that he puts into his music, which is something that I can understand.

Luciano Pavorotti - classical music's gift to the world of opera.  King of the High C's.

Johnny Mathis - I was listening to him the other day, and it is amazing how he took a simple song like Wonderful, Wonderful and used it to showcase his perfect diction and his vocal range, particularly at the end of the song.  By the way, a great Mathis album is Open Fire, Two Guitars.  Every time that I have played this album, someone always asks, "who is that?" and then want to know the album name.

Isaac Douglas - an overlooked gospel music singer, who always sang with conviction and honesty.  His gospelized version of Anne Murray's You Believed in Me, shows his versatility and well as the influences in his musical life.  His albums are very hard to get, but there are videos of him on youtube.

Donny Hathaway - Donny, Donny, Donny!!!  Gone too soon.  Gritty, down-home, and soulful.

Jimmy Scott - a jazz pioneer with an extremely unusual male voice, who never fails to surprise with his phrasing and musicality.  When others would go from major to minor, he goes from minor to major.

Jonny Lang - rocking, soulful, blue-eyed and able to wail on a guitar.  He mainly sings rock, but also has been known to rock the mic with a little gospel too.

Glenn Jones - I had to give a shout out to one of D.C.'s greatest.  Beautiful, hard-driving tenor voice, and it's magical when he goes up into his falsetto.

Bobby Darin - what makes Bobby Darin a great singer, in my opinion, is that he had a great voice, but could also sell the hell out of a song.  He also recorded at a time when great music was being made.

So, this is my short and sweet list of favorite things.  Unfortunately, this is not Oprah's ultra-luxe list, but I guarantee you that if you listen to some of these great singers, you will holler with delight just like Oprah's guests when her favorite things show is announced.

The Colored Man