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50 Great Voices

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50 Great Voices was an NPR yearlong series from 2010 to 2011 to profile 50 singers who have made their mark internationally and across recorded history, revealing the selected voices one by one, weekly.

Selection process

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The stated aim of the series was to highlight "50 singers who've made their mark internationally and across recorded history."[1] Focusing on music discovery, the NPR editors who compiled the list started with on-air and online solicitation of nominations, and later votes, as a first step. They then put together a panel of music journalists, critics, and musicologists to discuss nominations and come to a rough consensus on fifty artists to highlight.

The panel prioritized music discovery over naming the "fifty best" or "fifty most influential" singers. One method was to name singers who were well-respected within their own genre, but lacked widespread familiarity. Another was to explicitly prioritize singers from outside the United States. The panel aimed to identify great, but not universally recognizable, singers.

The panel also did not shy away from controversy. Elizabeth Blair of NPR said of the process, "Whenever you come up with any kind of list, whether it's great athletes or great artists, there's bound to be controversy. [...] The 50 Great Voices series will both please and infuriate. And that's partly the point."[1]

List of 50 Great Voices

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  • 47 great voices were released on-air, 3 great voices were released only on web-page.
Release date
(Year/month/day) 		Title and selected voice Genre and keywords
2010/01/25 Iggy Pop: The Voice As Weapon[2] Hard rock
Punk rock
2010/02/01 Ahmad Zahir: The Voice Of The Golden Years[3] Music of Afghanistan
"Afghanistan's Elvis"
2010/02/08 Mahalia Jackson: Voice Of The Civil Rights Movement[4] Gospel music
2010/02/15 Maria Callas: Voice Of Perfect Imperfection[5] Opera
Soprano
2010/02/22 Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: The Voice Of Pakistan[6] Qawwali
Ghazal
Jazz fusion
2010/03/01 Asha Bhosle: The Voice Of Bollywood And More[7] Bollywood
Playback singer
Indian classical music
2010/03/08 Elis Regina: The Feeling Between The Notes[8] MPB
Bossa nova
2010/03/15 Umm Kulthum: 'The Lady' Of Cairo[9] Arabic music
2010/03/22 Jackie Wilson: The Singer And The Showman[10] R&B
Soul music
2010/03/29 Ella Fitzgerald: America's First Lady Of Song[11] Jazz
Pop music
2010/04/05 Esma Redžepova: 'Queen Of The Gypsies'[12] Romani music
2010/04/12 Sezen Aksu: The Voice Of Istanbul[13] Turkish pop music
2010/04/19 Nat King Cole: An Incandescent Voice[14] Jazz
Pop music
2010/04/26 Dennis Brown: The 'Crown Prince' Of Reggae[15] Reggae
Lovers rock
2010/05/03 Roy Orbison: A Great Voice, A Lonely Sound[16] Rock music
2010/05/10 Radmilla Cody: Two Cultures, One Voice[17] Navajo people
2010/05/17 Enrico Caruso, And Confessions Of An Operaholic[18] Opera
Tenor
2010/05/24 Lydia Mendoza: The First Lady Of Tejano[19] Tejano
Norteño
2010/06/07 Janis Joplin: The Queen Of Rock[20] Blues rock
Psychedelic rock
2010/06/14 Sandy Denny: Mercurial Queen Of British Folk Rock[21] British folk rock
2010/06/21 Donny Hathaway: Neglected Heart Of Soul[22] Chicago soul
2010/06/28 The Many Voices Of Lauryn Hill[23] R&B, Soul
Hip hop music
2010/07/12 Fairuz: Lebanon's Voice Of Hope[24] Arabic music
Music of Lebanon
2010/07/19 John McCormack: The Charming Irish Tenor[25] Opera, Tenor
Popular music
Music of Ireland
2010/07/26 Khaled: The King Of Rai[26] Raï
Music of Algeria
2010/08/02 Biggie Smalls: The Voice That Influenced A Generation[27] Hip hop music
2010/08/07 Björk: A Celestial Voice[28] Alternative rock
Avant-garde music
Music of Iceland
2010/08/23 Twinkie Clark: Riffing On Gospel[29] Gospel music
Musical improvisation
2010/08/23 Irma Thomas: The Soul Queen Of New Orleans[30] R&B, Soul, Blues
Music of New Orleans
2010/08/30 Freddie Mercury: Rock 'N' Roll's Humble Showman[31] Rock, Hard rock
Glam rock
2010/09/06 Yossele Rosenblatt: The Cantor With The Heavenly Voice[32] Jewish music
2010/09/13 Carlos Gardel: Argentina's Tango Maestro[33] Tango music
2010/09/20 Robert Plant: Born In England; Made In America[34] Rock
2010/09/27 Mohammad-Reza Shajarian: Protest Through Poetry[35] Persian traditional music
Music of Iran
2010/10/04 Howlin' Wolf: Booming Voice Of The Blues[36] Chicago blues
2010/10/11 Kitty Wells: The Queen Of Country Music[37] Country music
Honky-tonk
Nashville sound
2010/10/18 Amália Rodrigues: The Voice Of Extreme Expression[38] Fado
2010/10/25 Celia Cruz: The Voice From Havana[39] Salsa music
Son, Guaracha
2010/11/02 Concha Buika: The Voice Of Freedom[40] Flamenco
Copla, Soul, Jazz
2010/11/08 Plácido Domingo: The Spellbinding Voice Of A Titan Tenor[41] Opera, Tenor
2010/11/15 Chavela Vargas: The Voice Of Triumph[42] Ranchera
2010/11/22 Billie Holiday: Emotional Power Through Song[43] Jazz, Blues
Torch song
2010/11/29 Luther Vandross: The Velvet Voice[44] Contemporary R&B
Soul, Pop music
2010/12/06 Israel Kamakawiwoʻole: The Voice Of Hawaii[45] Music of Hawaii
2010/12/13 George Jones: The Voice Of Heartbreak[46] Country music
Rockabilly
2010/12/27 Youssou N'Dour: The Voice Of Senegal[47] Mbalax
Music of Senegal
2011/01/03 Camarón de la Isla: The Voice Of Flamenco[48] New Flamenco
Flamenco
2011/01/11 Meredith Monk: A Voice For All Time[49] Avant-garde music
2011/02/01 Dianne Reeves: A Jazz Voice With Pop Sensibilities[50] Jazz
2011/03/08 Montserrat Caballé: A Voice Of Passionate Grandeur[51] Opera, Soprano
Bel canto

References

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  1. ^ a b "A Behind-The-Scenes Look At NPR's '50 Great Voices'". NPR.org. 18 January 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  2. ^ "Iggy Pop: The Voice As Weapon". NPR.org. 25 January 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  3. ^ "Ahmad Zahir: The Voice Of The Golden Years". NPR.org. 1 February 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  4. ^ "Mahalia Jackson: Voice Of The Civil Rights Movement". NPR.org. 8 February 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  5. ^ "Maria Callas: Voice Of Perfect Imperfection". NPR.org. 15 February 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  6. ^ "Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: The Voice Of Pakistan". NPR.org. 22 February 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  7. ^ "Asha Bhosle: The Voice Of Bollywood And More". NPR.org. 1 March 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  8. ^ "Elis Regina: The Feeling Between The Notes". NPR.org. 8 March 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  9. ^ "Umm Kulthum: 'The Lady' Of Cairo". NPR.org. 15 March 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  10. ^ "Jackie Wilson: The Singer And The Showman". NPR.org. 22 March 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  11. ^ "Ella Fitzgerald: America's First Lady Of Song". NPR.org. 29 March 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  12. ^ "Esma Redžepova: 'Queen Of The Gypsies'". NPR.org. 5 April 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  13. ^ "Sezen Aksu: The Voice Of Istanbul". NPR.org. 12 April 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  14. ^ "Nat King Cole: An Incandescent Voice". NPR.org. 19 April 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  15. ^ "Dennis Brown: The 'Crown Prince' Of Reggae". NPR.org. 26 April 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  16. ^ "Roy Orbison: A Great Voice, A Lonely Sound". NPR.org. 3 May 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  17. ^ "Radmilla Cody: Two Cultures, One Voice". NPR.org. 10 May 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  18. ^ "Enrico Caruso, And Confessions Of An Operaholic". NPR.org. 17 May 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  19. ^ "Lydia Mendoza: The First Lady Of Tejano". NPR.org. 24 May 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  20. ^ "Janis Joplin: The Queen Of Rock". NPR.org. 7 June 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  21. ^ "Sandy Denny: Mercurial Queen Of British Folk Rock". NPR.org. 14 June 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  22. ^ "Donny Hathaway: Neglected Heart Of Soul". NPR.org. 21 June 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  23. ^ "The Many Voices Of Lauryn Hill". NPR.org. 28 June 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  24. ^ "Fairuz: Lebanon's Voice Of Hope". NPR.org. 12 July 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  25. ^ "John McCormack: The Charming Irish Tenor". NPR.org. 19 July 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  26. ^ "Khaled: The King Of Rai". NPR.org. 26 July 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  27. ^ "Biggie Smalls: The Voice That Influenced A Generation". NPR.org. 2 August 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  28. ^ "Bjork: A Celestial Voice". NPR.org. 7 August 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  29. ^ "Twinkie Clark: Riffing On Gospel". NPR.org. 23 August 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  30. ^ "Irma Thomas: The Soul Queen Of New Orleans". NPR.org. 23 August 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  31. ^ "Freddie Mercury: Rock 'N' Roll's Humble Showman". NPR.org. 30 August 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  32. ^ "Yossele Rosenblatt: The Cantor With The Heavenly Voice". NPR.org. 6 September 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  33. ^ "Carlos Gardel: Argentina's Tango Maestro". NPR.org. 13 September 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  34. ^ "Robert Plant: Born In England; Made In America". NPR.org. 20 September 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  35. ^ "Mohammad-Reza Shajarian: Protest Through Poetry". NPR.org. 27 September 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  36. ^ "Howlin' Wolf: Booming Voice Of The Blues". NPR.org. 4 October 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  37. ^ "Kitty Wells: The Queen Of Country Music". NPR.org. 11 October 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  38. ^ "Amália Rodrigues: The Voice Of Extreme Expression". NPR.org. 18 October 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  39. ^ "Celia Cruz: The Voice From Havana". NPR.org. 25 October 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  40. ^ "Buika: The Voice Of Freedom". NPR.org. 2 November 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  41. ^ "Plácido Domingo: The Spellbinding Voice Of A Titan Tenor". NPR.org. 8 November 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  42. ^ "Chavela Vargas: The Voice Of Triumph". NPR.org. 15 November 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  43. ^ "Billie Holiday: Emotional Power Through Song". NPR.org. 22 November 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  44. ^ "Luther Vandross: The Velvet Voice". NPR.org. 29 November 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  45. ^ "Israel Kamakawiwo'ole: The Voice Of Hawaii". NPR.org. 6 December 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  46. ^ "George Jones: The Voice Of Heartbreak". NPR.org. 13 December 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  47. ^ "Youssou N'Dour: The Voice Of Senegal". NPR.org. 27 December 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  48. ^ "Camarón de la Isla: The Voice Of Flamenco". NPR.org. 3 January 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  49. ^ "Meredith Monk: A Voice For All Time". NPR.org. 11 January 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  50. ^ "Dianne Reeves: A Jazz Voice With Pop Sensibilities". NPR.org. 1 February 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  51. ^ "Montserrat Caballé: A Voice Of Passionate Grandeur". NPR.org. 8 March 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
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