Music Essay: A Century of Music Volume 1 - Memorable Voices

Dear Readers.

I’m beginning a new series of blog posts called “A Century of Music” in which I will craft a playlist of eleven songs that will span the decades of the 1920’s to the 2020’s. For this first volume of the playlist series, I want to focus on the vocals. Let’s compare and contrast singing styles throughout the decades and analyze what makes a voice memorable.

Wildwood Flower (1928)

Performed by The Carter Family

Lyrics by Maude Irving and Melody by J.P. Webster

We begin with the Carter Family’s rendition of the 1860 poem “I’ll Twine ‘Mid The Ringlets” by Maude Irving with a melody by J.P. Webster. It is a sad song, sung from the perspective of a discarded flower. This recording from 1928 was performed the first iteration of the Carter Family: Sara Carter, her husband A.P. Carter and her cousin Maybelle Carter. Sara’s vocals are rough, imperfect and utterly beautiful. You can hear the pining in her voice and the pain. The sparse orchestration adds a casual feel to the folk song, as if you are sitting with the Carter Family on the back porch as they spontaneously play. You can see a live version with the later iteration of the Carter Family in the 1950’s at the Grand Ole’ Oprey at this link

I Wished On The Moon (1935)

Performed by Billie Holiday

Written by Ralph Rainger and Lyrics by Dorothy Parker

Seven years later. This song is just plain gorgeous. Lovley jazz orchestration, incredible solos (the clarinet is especially brilliant), and, of course, amazing vocals by Billie Holiday (she sings from 1:16 to 2:23). This particular track was recorded on July 2, 1935. Similar to Sara Carter, Billie imbues her vocals with a lot of emotion. It is a pining song, filled with heartache. We feel as if she is speaking to us. She drags the tempo just slightly with her voice, feeling entirely natural and like she is creating the lyrics in the moment. Her vibrato is beautiful and dense.

I Can’t Begin to Tell You (1947)

Performed by Bing Crosby

Music by James V Monaco and Lyrics by Mack Gordon

Twelve years later. One of the hits of 1947. It originally appeared in the 1945 film “The Dolly Sisters” (sung at one point by Betty Grable) Bing’s voice here is like butter. It is sultry and vocally perfect. He has these wonder glissandos between notes that sound like a cat purring. His blended transitions between words are so beautifully executed, as if every phrase is connected by a single vocal thread. His lower register feels full and resonant. Cavallaro’s piano performance is incredible too and acts like a second vocal part in the song, melding with Bing’s voice perfectly.

Walkin’ After Midnight (1957)

Performed by Patsy Cline

Written by Alan Block and Don Hecht

Ten years later. I love Patsy Cline’s voice. It has this sense of familiarity to it, as if we are her friend and she is speaking directly to us. I started listening to Patsy’s music a lot during the pandemic, playing and replaying CDs and LPs in my family’s collection. I find her voice and her music to be calming. Her powerful voice is grounded and clearly articulated. It real and relatable. I love the way that she breaks her voice slightly on words “cryin’” when she sings “cryin’ on his pillow”. In this way, she sings in a conversational manner. It was her music that got me into listening to more country music from the 1950’s and 60’s (like Loretta Lynn and Willie Nelson). I also had listened to some of her songs sung by Linda Rondstadt (like “I Fall To Pieces”) and liked to compare and contrast their performances.

Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (1965)

Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney

Eight years later. I picked this Beatles song because musically and vocally it reminded me of the Carter Family. It has a clear folk song quality. It is very story-focused describing a relationship between the singer and a woman. It doesn’t feel full of love and instead feels awkward and without connection (unlike many of the other songs on this list). It is vocally delivered in a nostalgic and conversational way, without a lot of vibrato and instead in a flat manner. Lennon’s voice is beautifully measured. The musical instruments also act as vocal accompaniment in the song (like the piano in the Crosby song) and it all blends together beautifully.

You Can Close Your Eyes (1974)

Performed by Linda Ronstadt

Written by James Taylor

Nine years later. “Heart Like A Wheel” is my favorite album of Linda Ronstadt’s (my family owns every one of her records from the 1970’s). This song, written and originally sung by James Taylor, is one of my favorite vocal performances of her’s. She carries the melancholic tone of the lyrics so gorgeously. Her voice, with its amazing vibrato, power and purpose, perfectly interprets the words. I’m always impressed by her vocal range and dynamics. The James Taylor version from “Mud Slide Slim and Blue Horizon” is beautiful too, performed with just guitar and voices. I just feel that Ronstadt and the fantastic orchestration by Peter Asher, make the song more emotional and stirring. I discovered it during the depths of the pandemic and it was a real form of comfort.

I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) (1988)

Performed by Whitney Houston

Written by George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam

Fourteen years later. A truly iconic song with all of the 80’s sonic elements (strong synth brass, gated reverb on the snare, drum machine percussion). Whitney Houston’s voice is powerful and technically flawless. Her high notes are incredible (listen to the ones at 3:14). You can feel the passion behind each word, as she sings about finding her soulmate. Worth checking out the energetic and entertaining music video, specifically to see Houston’s facial expressions as she sings. You can clearly see that she is living the lyrics, and that is one of the reasons why her performance feels like it is truthful and from the heart. Look specifically at 0:57 as she sings “And when the night falls, my loneliness calls”. Her use of dynamics here is terrific. She had an incredible voice and was a gifted performer.

Fields of Gold (1996)

Performed by Eva Cassidy

Written by Sting

Eight years later. In many ways, this reimagining of the Sting classic it is better than then original, primarily because of Eva Cassidy’s gorgeous voice. She slows down the song and is just accompanied by a couple of guitars. The stripped-back, folk-song-nature of the song is reminiscent of the Carter Family. She purposefully drags the tempo at points, just like Billie Holiday, adding a sense that the words are being crafted and sung spontaneously. It is a love song, inspired by the barley fields surrounding Sting’s house in the countryside of England. You can feel the love but also the melancholic heartache in Cassidy’s voice. She was a true talent.

Complicated (2002)

Performed by Avril Lavigne

Written by Avril Lavigne, Lauren Christy, Scott Spock, Graham Edwards

Six years later. I vividly remember hearing this song on the radio when I was in second grade. Looking back at the song now, it does encompass the teenage angst of the early 2000’s. Lavigne was key in the creation of the genre of “pop-punk”. Her voice is gritty and carries real power and attitude. Like all of the singers on this list, she deftly lives the song she is singing. We can feel the emotion as she sings about a complicated relationship. She just wants her partner to relax. Check out the music video for some early 2000’s nostalgia.

Elephant (2013)

By Jason Isbell

Eleven years later. I had the pleasure of seeing Jason Isbell perform at the Kelly Writer’s House at the University of Pennsylvania in 2018. This was one of the songs he sang that night. It tells the story of a person watching their friend slowly die from cancer. You can feel the melancholy in his voice, as he sings about ignoring the elephant in the room. He is a fabulous guitar player and has a voice that perfectly melds with the instrument. It carries a grit and a beautiful resonance. His voice also feels grounded and filled with real emotion. You trust that he feels what he is singing, and that translates into a stirring performance.

Kokomo, IN (2021)

By Japanese Breakfast

Eight years later. I saw Michelle Zauner perform at the Kelly Writer’s House in 2022. This was one of the songs she sang, and I was taken by her beautiful vocals. Like Lavigne, Cline and Carter, she has a casual familiarity to her vocals. It is as if she is a friend confiding with us, the listener. This song tells the story of high school sweethearts, after one leaves for a foreign exchange program in Australia. She also drew inspiration from the Beatles, envisioning “very traditional song about love and longing”. And there is a sense of “Norwegian Wood” in this song. A nostalgic longing. Also, Zauner did the string arrangements on the album and they sound amazing. Highly recommend reading her book “Crying in H Mart”, it is amazing.

Analysis:

Every voice is different. These eleven memorable voices not only give us an interesting look at how musical styles have evolved over a century, but they also demonstrate how the art of musical storytelling has largely stayed the same.

The Carter Family’s emotional and raw “Wildwood Flower” connects quite well with “Elephant” and “Field’s of Gold”. The pining for love in Billie Holiday’s “Wished On The Moon” is present in “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” and “Walkin’ After Midnight”. The commitment to love, despite hard circumstances, is present in “You Can Close Your Eyes”, “Elephant”, “Complicated” and “Kokomo, IN”. And then you have “I Can’t Begin To Tell You” and “Norwegian Wood”. They are almost polar opposites, one describing a love-filled, starry-eyed, rosy romantic relationship while the other describes a cold, empty relationship.

These stories and feelings and situations are all understood through the vocal performances. Through subtle vocal bends, glissando, vibrato, dynamic changes and articulations, these vocalists are able to truly tell a story when they sing. And that is something that has not changed over a century of music.

See you at the next playlist.

Nicholas