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One of those moments when the musical world pivots.


Chordite

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My sisters used to listen to her back in the day. I never was a big fan of her stuff. You couldn't escaper hearing her songs on the radio being played 50 times a day. She had a couple of hits back in the early 70's After that she's had mostly a cult following. It was the Woodstock thing that made her famous and I don't think the quality or music matched the level of fame that movie gave them but hey, you take fame where you can get it.

 

I think by far the one female that grated my nerves the worst was the Joe Cocker Clone - Janis Joplin. Her voice was pure fingernails on a chalkboard to my ears.

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I came of age listening to the music of Joni Mitchell (and Joan Baez and Judy Collins and all those other great female singers) and have always loved her music and what she stood for. She was one of the early experimenters with altered tuning (as you can tell from the video) and her voice is simply honey. As people probably know, she is not well at this time - but her music lives on.

 

I recently got to see Judy in concert and if you want to see something really fun, find Baez's 75th birthday concer videot. Then tell me if you think any of the female singers today will sound like these ladies when they are 75.

 

There were other female singers during that time - Pearl (Joplin), Gracie Slick who each had their own style and sound, but in my mind the three J's are still the queens.

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That 60's North American folk music sounds really stiff to me today.

 

That song had some good lyrics. But I never was much of a fan.

Her songs meander around AFAIC. The world did NOT pivot for me on that show.

 

About the same time -- Jobim, Gilberto & Stan Getz were collaborating.

And Henry Mancini was in his prime. A lot of music is still growing today from what they

were doing back then. Throw in Les Baxter & you've got Bossa Nova, Nu Bossa, Ultra Lounge,

Exotica, Bachelor Pad/Space Age Pop, Tiki Lounge. That music is still going strong today.

 

And I haven't even mentioned Honky Tonk was going strong & Hard Core Country

was about to start up. Merle, Buck, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, et al.

 

That was important for me and still is today. Joni Mitchell? Not so much.

 

I listen to Club Des Belugas remix of Baxter's 1951 JUNGLE FLOWER.

Maybe the world pivoted for me before I was born - 1951 Les Baxter.

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Sure, I worked in many full time bands that had highly skilled female vocalists including the one I work with now. We do a pretty good show singing together for the past 18 years. You could say its my specialty in fact.

 

Judging her life's work? I reserve the right being a free citizen to like or dislike anything I choose. Her voice simply grates on my ears a bit. It has nothing to do with the quality or the quantity of her work. I am quite capable of separating my personal preferences and weigh a performers writing/performing skills separately.

 

Granted I'm not a fan and probably wouldn't know many of the newer songs. She pretty much dropped off the radar a couple of years after her fame peaked after the Woodstock thing. Many performers succeed in creating new images and having big comebacks. If she had any hits in later they simply passed me by completely.

 

Dropping off the radar is actually pretty common for female performers. They may have a streak of major hits then get hitched up with someone in the industry and decide to spend time doing the whole domestic thing raising a family and all. If they do attempt a comeback they often have a much harder time making a comeback. They may have the older fans following but breaking new ground can be far tougher for women then men. You may see that as being unfair, but its pretty much the same for all women who have careers.

 

To be honest I cant think of very many women who have had really long careers. Mary Travers did a really long stent, had some solo stuff and even came back to the PPM thing in later years and toured. Many Black female artists had long careers. Dianna Ross and Whitney Houston had a long careers. Tina Turner reinvented herself many times and continued to have hits for many decades. White female artists tend to come and go more.

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WRGKMC Nothings compulsory. Our tastes are nearly always shaped by personal memory and it's association as much as objectivity. Everyone is different. I agree with you on Janis Joplin BTW :)

I don't think she 'dropped out' until recently. By 'Hissing of Summer Lawns' she had left folk and redefined herself Many interesting tracks on it. Try 'Edith and the Kingpin' from that album, a song which also features some silky smooth work by Larry Carlton, particularly the intro and outro

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