If you listen to enough of one genre, it starts to blend in and sadly become all the same. However, every once in a while, a musician comes along with a voice that is so unique and so recognizable that it prohibits this from happening. One genre that has seen its fair share of these types of musicians is country music.
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Country music has seen a lot of redundancy, however, there are a couple of artists who have completely dodged this label thanks to their distinct are arguably odd voice. That being so, here are three artists with some of the most distinct voices in the history of country music.
Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson has never sung like a country singer. Rather, he sings like a lounge singer behind a piano. He has no twang, no growl, and no country accent; instead, his vocals and inflections are crystal clear and eloquent as can be. Hence, Willie Nelson is arguably the greatest country singer of all time.
Willie Nelson’s voice is distinct for this reason, but it is also odd given that he doesn’t nor has he ever fallen into the prototypical way of singing country music. In other words, he doesn’t sound like Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, or Johnny Cash. He sounds like Willie Nelson, and nobody else sounds like him.
Margo Smith
If you are a member of the younger generation, you might not know who Margo Smith is. Though if you listen to just one of her songs, you will remember who she is, as her vocals are piercingly gorgeous. Why they are is given that Smith is a master yodeler.
When you hear a master yodeler, you can’t unhear them, and that is why you will never be able to unhear Margo Smith. Frankly, Smith is one of the last major country musicians to utilize the vocal technique in repertoire on a regular basis. Thus, she will always have one of the most distinct voices in country music history.
Hank Williams
Like Margo Smith, Hank Williams also utilized a little yodeling in his tunes. However, his distinct and arguably odd voice goes beyond just that. The reason why Williams’ voice is both of these things is because he was the first to ever do it. And since he did it, nobody has been able to replicate it since.
Williams’ voice is unique for a multitude of different reasons, although one attribute that really stands out is the fact that Williams seemingly sings with so much restraint and control. Now, that is our elementary vocal analysis, but we can all likely agree that Hank Williams has one of the oddest and most distinct voices in country music.
Photo by David Redfern/Redferns
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