....at least not one coming from a man:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoKSYaXRTbU
(Full film "Happy Days" 1929 -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doyfy-hBBJc )
Frank Richardson Biography -- http://www.dvrbs.com/swing/OldShowbiz-F ... ardson.htm
I have to admit, I love it, and I beg to differ with anyone who calls his performance "screeching," although I'm sure it would sound better if the soundtrack was restored.
OrthoFan
Never heard a voice quite like this....
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Re: Never heard a voice quite like this....
Sounds like a good high tenor.
If you want to hear something really impressive, check out a countertenor, such as Alfred Deller....
Bill
If you want to hear something really impressive, check out a countertenor, such as Alfred Deller....
Bill
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Re: Never heard a voice quite like this....
They did not have good sound tracks on movies back then. It was only mono and that makes a big difference in sound quality. He was a alto tenor. They really had different ways of doing things then that could not be portrayed today. Tom B
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Re: Never heard a voice quite like this....
I'll admit my exposure is somewhat limited, but I guess I've never associated the 1920s-era "Red Hot Mamma," "knock 'em dead," "Broadway Belter" style of singing with a male tenor voice. Seems most of the tenors from that period I've heard were more subdued. (I'm thinking, Nick Lucas, Charles Kaley, Frank Munn, Franklyn Baur, etc.) More typical of this style are baritones such as Al Jolson, Harry Richman, etc.
Unfortunately, as far as judging Frank Richardson's vocal capabilities goes, there isn't much to go by other than a few surviving movie clips and one issued acoustic recording--and an Hawaiian number at that.
OrthoFan
Unfortunately, as far as judging Frank Richardson's vocal capabilities goes, there isn't much to go by other than a few surviving movie clips and one issued acoustic recording--and an Hawaiian number at that.
OrthoFan
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Re: Never heard a voice quite like this....
They weren't high fidelity mono yet. Also, that YouTube clip looks as though it may have been transferred from a low quality VHS source, adding the hiss level of the soundtrack.tomb wrote:They did not have good sound tracks on movies back then. It was only mono and that makes a big difference in sound quality. He was a alto tenor. They really had different ways of doing things then that could not be portrayed today. Tom B
What about Victor recording artist Will Oakland ? He's another countertenor, like Alfred Deller.OrthoFan wrote:....at least not one coming from a man:
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Re: Never heard a voice quite like this....
"....at least not one coming from a man: "
How about Tiny Tim?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcSlcNfThUA
How about Tiny Tim?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcSlcNfThUA
"The phonograph is not of any commercial value."
Thomas Alva Edison - Comment to his assistant, Samuel Insull.
"No one needs a Victrola XX, a Perfected Graphophone Type G, or whatever you call those noisy things."
My Wife
Thomas Alva Edison - Comment to his assistant, Samuel Insull.
"No one needs a Victrola XX, a Perfected Graphophone Type G, or whatever you call those noisy things."
My Wife
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Re: Never heard a voice quite like this....
Curt A wrote:"....at least not one coming from a man: "
How about Tiny Tim?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcSlcNfThUA
I wasn't so much thinking about the singer's (upper) range, but the range combined with the vocal style. I kind'a go into this above.Wolfe wrote:What about Victor recording artist Will Oakland ? He's another countertenor, like Alfred Deller.
When I think about a male "Broadway belter" (as in throw your head back and sing at the top of your lungs), I'm more inclined to expect to hear a baritone voice. To me, Frank Richardson sounds more the way I'd expect a female "Broadway belter," such as Sophie Tucker or Ethel Merman, to sing.
I agree, Will Oakland could definitely pass for a female singer to the uninitiated. As for Tiny Tim, who rose to fame because of his falsetto singing, I've read that he was actually a baritone.
I watched the Laugh-in episode that clip came from when I was a kid. (The emotional scars have yet to heal. )
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Re: Never heard a voice quite like this....
Better not watch this then : https://youtu.be/iBhkvlTcAag
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Re: Never heard a voice quite like this....
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Wolfe wrote:Better not watch this then : https://youtu.be/iBhkvlTcAag
(...okay, I feel better now...)
Here's one showing off his baritone capabilities:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4KJckAb48E
If I didn't know that was Tiny Tim, I'd swear it was Tim Curry.
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Re: Never heard a voice quite like this....
OrthoFan wrote:....at least not one coming from a man:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoKSYaXRTbU
(Full film "Happy Days" 1929 -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doyfy-hBBJc )
Frank Richardson Biography -- http://www.dvrbs.com/swing/OldShowbiz-F ... ardson.htm
I have to admit, I love it, and I beg to differ with anyone who calls his performance "screeching," although I'm sure it would sound better if the soundtrack was restored.
OrthoFan
Mona is fun to watch. I'm still LOL after hearing him sing. Love to hear that on my Edison DD. Thanks for posting.
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