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I think there were at least a few rap singers, possibly even some good ones, that didn't precisely have to be able to sing in the conventional sense. It was more about the the rhythm and the lyrics rather than the voice.
Of singers I like/love I would say They Might Be Giants are not precisely great singers. And yes I do like them to the point I have six or more CDs by them. I do not think they are bad singers, it's just I don't listen to them for their singing ability as such or consider them to have that good of voices. I think of them as more about lyrics, rhythm/beat, instrumentation, unusual style changes in mid-song, etc. They're clever and lots of fun, but if you had them sing conventional pop songs without instruments I think they would be mostly forgettable. (This is not as much of a criticism as it might sound. I love what they do, but I just think what they do doesn't revolve around having great voices and that's okay.)
In her last year or two Billie Holiday's voice was somewhat ragged and even occasionally "all over the place" but there's a vulnerability and feeling to the later Holiday I find appealing. The sadness in it, and in some elderly blues musicians, I think can give a certain power to the performance that goes beyond all that.
However I assume this is a bashing thread rather than "what singers did not have conventionally good voices, but made up for it in some other way."
If you want bad singers I might get bashed for the two I'd pick, but they're people I think of as "Songwriter voices." I mostly don't see the appeal in Tom Waits as a singer. His lyrics can be good maybe even great sometimes, but his singing mostly doesn't work for me. (Although "Cold Cold Ground" from "Homicide: Life on the Street" was kind of neat) Also, and this might really cause anger, Leonard Cohen's voice generally doesn't do much for me. I think the man is brilliant and very impressive in many ways, but judging by what I've heard he's not what I'd deem a conventionally good singer.
There are tons of popular singers, even some icons, that do not have especially good vocal skills. Some off the top of my head- BOB DYLAN, OZZY OSBOURNE, MICK JAGGER, JOE WALSH, KURT COBAIN...
Its hard to tell, by that I mean after MTV song writers began to write songs that anybody could sing. You will notice on American Idol how many contestants have trouble singing old stuff like Motown or songs from the pop classic era (30's-40's),
don't be hate'n on me, but I think all the gorgeous girls are average singers, Alicia Keys, Beyonce, J-Lo, most of them couldn't get a contract on their voice alone, (or with a flat butt)
I think there were at least a few rap singers, possibly even some good ones, that didn't precisely have to be able to sing in the conventional sense. It was more about the the rhythm and the lyrics rather than the voice.
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A wrapper that can not sing? I'm shocked. I never heard of such a thing. More about the rhyme? Oops, I think you mean more about the cursing ryhme.
There are tons of popular singers, even some icons, that do not have especially good vocal skills. Some off the top of my head- BOB DYLAN, OZZY OSBOURNE, MICK JAGGER, JOE WALSH, KURT COBAIN...
Mick Jagger's voice originally came to fame because it sounded like a Black Bluesmans. IMO, Britney Spears because if you take away the looks and the fashion she has nothing. Also I thinks Justin Timberlake sucks as well.
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