I thought of the concept for this article after reading a story written in the New York Times by Anthony Tommasni on his list of top ten composers. Albeit I am certain that most of the readers of this periodical are not too concerned with Bach or Debussy, most are with R & B music. Add to that that the Grammy’s are around the corner, what better way is there to get prepared? So I have dropped the gauntlet, which would you choose and who would select as number one? Here is my list with a small caveat and why. The caveat being that I intentionally left off Michael Jackson and Prince for they are relegated in their own categories.1] Luther Vandross: My number one. Luther is the E.F. Hutton of R & B – when Luther sings people listen. I cannot name one time when I was with a woman, from high school to now, that I was unable to let Luther do my talking for me. All of his albums exuded love and emotion and the facile truth embodied when one thinks of that special person.
2] Marvin Gaye: My close second is the ultimate in smooth. His voice, music and the way in which he played the piano made him special plus the fact that in each song and word he sings one can hear his struggle with life in his music. Marvin was special, so special that he could make a song about war sound as moving as a love duet.
3] Al Green: This Memphis crooner was special. I have not seen women fall for a man like they did Al ever, maybe with the exception of Marvin Gaye and Maxwell. Al Green was the master of seduction and introduced the world to Southern Soul. He won 8 GRAMMY Awards including every years from 1981 to 1984.
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4] Otis Reddy: One of the two on this list that were taken from the world two early. Let my mother tell it, he was the most influential soul singer of the 60’s. I remember hearing his music all through the house all day long. He had a spontaneous that was completely different from the Detroit sound. But just as Marvin, he too sang of Love and the struggle of black people.
5] Maxwell: Representing the new school, Maxwell is a throw-back and could have held his own with the great vocalist from the 60s to the 70’s. You know a person is special when after a long break from music he can come back at the drop of a dime and drop a hot album without blinking an eye.
6] Teddy Pendergrass: This man has always had pipes and the ability to make women come out of their panties with a single stanza of a song. He had this gift early on when he was singing with Harold Melvin and the Blue notes. The way in which he can control his voice is what makes his ballads must have for any collector. Turn off the Lights.
8] Keith Sweat: From “Nobody” to “Make it last forever”, this man knows how to write music and deliver a song. To this date he remains one of the top selling R & B vocalists ever.
9] Frankie Beverly: Performing with the legend at group Maze, this man is the epitome of melodic. He has been performing for more than over 30 years since 1977. He has almost 30 hit singles and eight gold records. The word that describes him best is consistency.
10] Gerald Levert: They say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. This is true when we speak of the deep and timeless vocals sang by Levert. Called the Velvet Teddy Bear, he was the son of Eddie Levert from the O'Jays. The question is why did such a great voice have to leave us at such a young age.
