Elvis Costello
Tom Waits
Paul Simon
Art garfunkel
John Lennon
Paul McCartney
Freddie Mercury
Dusty Springfield
Patsy Cline
Joni Mitchell
Michael Jackson
Madonna
Nick Drake
Yoko Ono
Bob Dylan
Kate Bush
Prince
Marvin Gaye
Frankie Valli
Johnny Cash
Bob Marley
Louis Armstrong
Edith Piaf
Tina Turner
Shirley Bassey

I havent checked to see if all of these meet with the rules and regs but if they don't you can ban me from the thread. Incidentally they do not reflect my musical taste but that is not what was asked for.

can i actually ban people from the thread, with some Ringolike, power?

not sure of yoko's influence.

however on the RLJ blog, the main rules state you should explore if

" Did their style exist before they appeared?

If so, how did they impact it? If not, how many people today sing, in some manner, like this singer?

Did they have an impact on their own time? Where they impactful during?

Do you hear elements of their style now? What elements are unique to them? (The elements that make your artist unique... even though they have been taken up by so many singers, or so much of the culture.)"

I’d say the singer who has had the most influence on today’s generation of young (female) singers is Whitney Houston. Melisma and exagerrated over-emoting. Not all influence is good.

because I believed she certainly influenced the shouty screamy type singers like Alanis Morrissette and Bjork. I guess Bjork herself could be classed as an influential singer but the standout one I missed from my list was Janis Joplin.

Frank Sinatra

Bing Crosby (nobody had done his close mic crooning before)

Don and Phil Everly (influenced Simon and Garfunkel and the harmonies of the Beatles)

Ella Fitzgerald

Aretha Franklin

Ian Gillan/Robert Plant etc - shouty, full-bodied rock singers

Elvis Presley

I don't think I've ever heard Yoko Ono sing.