You won’t find Fergie on this list of great voices

Part One of a two-part series on American singers who possessed the greatest musical voices.

The sounds of the pop singer, simply known as Fergie, still pierce the eardrum. She was chosen, inexplicably, to sing “The Star Spangled Banner” at the NBA All-Star game in February. To say it was like listening to fingernails dragging across a chalkboard would be a grossly unfounded compliment.

And this is aside from addressing the issue of showing respect for America’s National Anthem, rather than attempting some offthe-wall version. That is another topic altogether.

The rub comes from the NBA selecting someone with a voice that is completely incapable of handling a very difficult song. It would be akin to putting actor Danny DeVito in the annual Slam-Dunk Contest.

So, with images of Fergie — a pathetic example of what is supposedly the best America has to offer to sing its National Anthem on a very national/international stage — the question arises. Where are we going to find the next great American voices?

We’re not talking about performers … entertainers … showmen … singer/dancers who dazzle with a multi-faceted performance. We’re talking about simply the next great American voice. The one that stops you in your tracks … paralyzes you in your seat, as the mere quality, passion and emotion of a voice captivates every one of your senses.

We’re talking about the next American version of a Luciano Pavarotti or an Edith Piaf.

Sadly, the view on the horizon looks bleak.

With that in mind, thoughts wandered to the great American voices of today and yesterday. And, as often happens when conversations of that kind are generated … a list also is generated.

To help with this task, a panel of accomplished local musicians was surveyed. All were asked the same question – provide two lists of the 10 best American voices, one male and one female. Again, only the voice was to be considered. No other performance qualities – just the rich, captivating, passionate and enthralling voice.

The panel, who provided the lists that were then melded into a consensus list included:

Steve Ritrovato – famous crooner and lead singer for the City Rhythm Orchestra.

Andy Petruzelli and Cheryl Petruzelli – the husband and wife team that is part of the sensational acapella group, A Perfect Blend.

Christina Triglia – lead singer

for the popular dance band, Where’s Pete.

Frankie Ewing – accomplished jazz saxophonist and director of his Montgomery County-based school of music.

Two millennials and three points of view from a “more experienced” generation. Add a personal bit of editing and we came up with a list that should be sufficient to start a fist

fight at any bar in the area – or even a Quaker meeting hall.

Since all of this surveying and analyzing stemmed from Fergie’s “performance,” we will start with the female list.

1. Ella Fitzgerald – This consensus top pick was so sensational she had three nicknames: the First Lady of Song, Queen of Jazz and Lady Ella. While she provided recorded versions of so many of the most famous hits from the Great American Songbook, her rendition of George Gershwin’s

“Summertime” is more than enough evidence to substantiate her position atop this list.

2. Ettta James – Showing amazing versatility, Etta James crossed over into various musical genres – blues, R&B, soul, rock and roll, jazz and gospel. She emerged from the world of gospel music in Los Angeles and won her first Grammy Award for the classic “At Last” in 1960. She followed with another Grammy for “I’d Rather Go Blind” in 1967.

3. Reba McEntire – The

list of great female voices in country music is a long one – Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Patsy Cline – but absolutely nobody is more accomplished than Reba McEntire. Her first solo album was in 1977 and she has released 37 studio albums, acquired 40 number one singles has sold more than 80 million records worldwide. Her 1993 rendition of “Does He Love You,” alongside Linda Davis, is one of the most heart-wrenching songs of all time. Please don’t fault her for doing those awful Kentucky Fried Chicken commercials.

4. Sarah Vaughan – A four-time Grammy winner, Sarah Vaughan came from the same era as Ella Fitzgerald. More deeply seated in jazz, Vaughan was described by music critic Scott Yanow as “having one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th Century.” Any doubts of her place in musical history will be dispelled by listening to her first gold record, in 1959, “Broken Hearted Melody.”

5. Beverly Sills – The list wouldn’t be complete without recognizing the most famous female operatic voice in America. Born in Brooklyn in 1929, Beverly Sills (then Belle Miriam Silverman) won her first musical competition at age three. After making the rounds as a popular singer on stage and radio, the soprano made her operatic stage debut in 1947. In 1955 she first appeared with the New York City Opera and starred in that position for 25 years.

6. Whitney Houston – Like so many of the great

black female voices, Whitney Houston came out of the world of gospel music. In the 1980s she became America’s queen of disco music and started accumulating accolades at a record clip. Despite her early death at age 39, she is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most awarded female act of all time. It might be impossible to choose her best hit, but “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)” might win the title.

7. Leann Rimes – She burst onto the Country music scene at age 13 with the hit song, “Blue.” It was the start of a mercurial rise to stardom for Leann Rimes, as she also crossed over to the world of pop music. A product of Jackson, Mississippi, her velvet tones and passionate voice inflections allow her to stand out from so many of the rest of the country stars. Her tribute to the Patsy Cline standard “I Fall to Pieces” shows her incredible versatility.

8. Aretha Franklin – R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Aretha Franklin still gets plenty of respect for her biggest hit song – and for other huge hits such as “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” and “Think.” The daughter of a Baptist minister in Detroit, she is another graduate of the gospel music world. Although R&B was her claim to fame, she was no onetrick pony. She won international acclaim for singing the opera aria “Nessun Dorma” in place of Luciano Pavarotti at the 1998 Grammys.

9. Carrie Underwood – This daughter of Muscogee,

Oklahoma rose to fame after becoming winner of the fourth season of American Idol in 2005. Underwood began in country music, but successfully crossed over into the pop world. Proof comes from her song “Before He Cheats,” which went to the top of both the country and the pop charts.

10. Jo Stafford – Another singer from the golden age of American Classics, her career spanned five decades from the 1930s to the early ‘80s, including a long stint with the Tommy Dorsey Band. By 1955 she had achieved more worldwide record sales than any other female artist. Her 1952 song “You Belong to Me” topped the charts in the United States and the United Kingdom, the first female artist to reach No. 1 in the U.K. She was admired for the purity of her voice and having perfect pitch.

There is this week’s list. Honorable Mentions from our panel go to Gladys Knight, Mariah Carey, Faith Hill, Selena, Barbra Streisand and Pink.

Don’t miss next week, when the list of the Top 10 American Male Voices is uncovered. In the meantime, let the debates begin.