Tone Deaf Singers That Had Successful Careers

Mark Knopfler, Jimi Hendrix, Robert Plant, Madonna

Florence Foster Jenkins

Simon's harmonies are ON POINTE for "Do They Know It's Christmas."

Madonna, Katy Perry, Britney Spears, Ashlee Simpson, Ava Max

Andrea Boccelli. Ugh!!

That cunt Madonna

J-Lo

Dinah Shore made a career of singing off-key.

Jo Stafford recorded under a different name off-key for fun. Also had an album cover showing a piano with two left hands on the keyboard.

In the first episode of The Partridge Family, Shirley claimed to be tone deaf.

Astrud Gilberto

“Dinah Shore made a career of singing off-key.”

Mother used to sat she “sang in the cracks.”

Jo Stafford's alter ego, Miss Darlene Edwards

Anthony Keidis (RHCP)

Britney Spears

Rihanna

Chris Brown

And while she's primarily known as an actress, I saw Hilary Duff singing live at some event on tv during her Disney days and I remember cringing at how bad she sounded

We're Bob Dylan and Neil Young. We own this thread.

A friend went to a performance at The Duplex, commenting the singer "never hit a note."

Lead singer of Duran,Duran

r16, those guys are at least musicians and songwriters. Some of the other singers mentioned in this thread have no musical talent to speak of.

They're talented in self-promotion, if nothing else.

Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers

OP here. I should have been more specific in that I was more wondering about people that actually are on records that sing off key. That's why I mentioned Simon Le Bon. People like J- lo, Brittney etc.. had pitch correction. Anthony Kiedis is a good one that was mentioned. Morrissey also.

I feel like most of you don't actually know what tone-deaf means, as most examples, even the poorer singers, wouldn't qualify as tone deaf.

Biz-Markie when he sings in Just a Friend - that's tone deaf.

Saw Janet Jackson years ago. She sounded terrible. Couldn't hit a high note to save her life.

P23 So what's the right way to say it for most people to understand smart guy.

I mean, this is basically a Madonna thread, right?

Astrud Gilberto made singing off key fabulous.

Leonard Cohen

The lead singer of Swing Out Sister. She barely hangs on to the notes in Breakout.

When you understand how profound Leonard Cohen's music is .... when you do understand the meaning of his lyrics, then you will start wandering why anyone would mention his name along someone like Madonna, Simon Le Bon or Britney Spears.

The same in regard to Bob Dylan. Please don't confuse "Blowin' in the Wind" with "Oops, I Did It Again"

Bette Midler. In addition to not hitting the actual pitches that she aims for, she scoops and slides all over the place, in a very non-artistic way.

[quote] When you understand how profound Leonard Cohen's music is .... when you do understand the meaning of his lyrics, then you will start wandering why anyone would mention his name along someone like Madonna, Simon Le Bon or Britney Spears.

I love Leonard Cohen a songwriter, but his voice is excruciating and he had no business recording his own songs. His voice was atonal and irritating to listen to. Finding singers who can interpret the work and who can actually sing doesn't change the power of the writing. If you've ever heard Jennifer Warnes' album Famous Blue Raincoat, then you'll know she was the definitive vocalist for Cohen's songs. It's a shame she didn't record more of them.

Sinatra.

Courtney Love. The bitch can scream like no other though.

The "Famous Blue Coat" R33 is a fabulous rendition of Cohen's music by his most wonderful disciple. But the greatest performer of his music was the author himself. I do not understand the meaning of "excruciating" or "irritating" because some can find his voice too deep, too low, too gravely or too whatever. To me it is a voice that can perfectly justify the depth of some of the most beautiful lyrics I have ever heard. Yes, Jennifer Warnes did a great version of "I Can't Forget" and "Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley is considered a masterpiece .... however, for me they do not equal the original performances. But unlike you, I am from Europe, familiar and fond of music of someone like Weill and Brecht. It's a music that does not place vocal clarity over emotion. I come from a place where I saw people dancing to "Dance Me To The End Of Love", something I don't believe Americans are capable of understanding.

Mary J "all the doors to her vocal cords are locked and she can never find the right key" Blige.

I was just gonna say Mary.

MJB’s was such a prolific dancer that she never really focused on her voice.

I don't know about tone-deaf but I have always been appalled at the number of Western singers who absolutely IGNORE quality when singing live.

90% of the pop and rock singers of the last 4 decades put the emphasis squarely on dancing/running/screaming which, of course, makes them huffy and hoarse and, as a result, they sing completely off-key, with unpleasant, uneven, shaky voices and with rivers of sweat running down their faces. Even Freddie Mercury was guilty of this but at least he had the vocal capacity to save his performance.

I have left so many live concerts disappointed and baffled. Don't they hear how bad they sound? Don't they care?

Linda McCartney.

What if one was tone deaf and did not have a successful career?

Oh please explain it to us R36 but make it simple because you know you're European and we're just Americans.

Joni cunt Mitchell

Joni Mitchell has a beautiful voice.

Miley Cyrus. Have you ever heard her sing live without auto-tune?

Luscious Jackson - Why Do I Lie?

A great track, nonetheless.

Kieth Sweat, sort of

[quote]I have left so many live concerts disappointed and baffled. Don't they hear how bad they sound? Don't they care?

The problem is that the audiences don't care.

[Quote]90% of the pop and rock singers of the last 4 decades put the emphasis squarely on dancing/running/screaming which, of course, makes them huffy and hoarse and, as a result, they sing completely off-key, with unpleasant, uneven, shaky voices and with rivers of sweat running down their faces.

I think a lot of this also has to do with music critics and the influencers of musical tastes mistaking such performances for musical ability and "soul". It's an ignorant reading of the soul music movement, in my opinion. The soul greats may have riffed, ad-libbed, done gospel shouts and not always sung the melody as written, but most of them still delivered performances on key and musically pleasant. Somewhere down the line it has become unfashionable to sing well and the focus has been more on showing off how much one can scream or yell. It's an immature, unsophisticated assumption that this somehow reveals musical and interpretive ability and a connection with the music and the audience.

Sometimes this sort of screaming is also used to cover up musical shortcomings. Bette Midler is a prime example of a singer who yells and screams to hide the fact that her voice is extremely limited.

[Quote]90% of the pop and rock singers of the last 4 decades put the emphasis squarely on dancing/running/screaming which, of course, makes them huffy and hoarse and, as a result, they sing completely off-key, with unpleasant, uneven, shaky voices and with rivers of sweat running down their faces.

I think a lot of this also has to do with music critics and the influencers of musical tastes mistaking such performances for musical ability and "soul". It's an ignorant reading of the soul music movement, in my opinion. The soul greats may have riffed, ad-libbed, done gospel shouts and not always sung the melody as written, but most of them still delivered performances on key and musically pleasant. Somewhere down the line it has become unfashionable to sing well and the focus has been more on showing off how much one can scream or yell. It's an immature, unsophisticated assumption that this somehow reveals musical and interpretive ability and a connection with the music and the audience.

Sometimes this sort of screaming is also used to cover up musical shortcomings. Bette Midler is a prime example of a singer who yells and screams to hide the fact that her voice is extremely limited.

[quote]Somewhere down the line it has become unfashionable to sing well

I think this has a lot to do with jazz snobbery. The uneven performances of improvising jazz singers became quite 'the thing' in the 40s and 50s. Smooth singing was probably seen as too artificial and polished.

Also, I have read many critics who praise the ability of some singers to "cover the whole stage" and commend their athleticism. As if concerts are sporting events. Sure, the visual element is important, but maybe the other musicians who aren't using their lungs to make noises, could do the running and dancing bits, lol

R50, Midler has done a lot of softer songs where her voice sounds great. I'd hardly call her a screamer.

Midler can't do everything, style-wise musically, though she sure tries. But the thing about Midler is she's a very good interpreter and has some acting talent, so even if she misses notes here and there, it's still a worthy listen because she knows how to make a song come alive in other ways. (I should say she *did*. Now she's too old and lazy to give a fuck, so she phones it in.)

Miss Whispercoo

Paula Abdul

[Quote]MJB’s was such a prolific dancer that she never really focused on her voice.

Thanks for the laugh, R39. The thought of MJB dancing is so bizarrely funny.

Mariah Carey. Now.

Saying Bette Midler is tone deaf is just stupid.

Miley Cyrus' speaking voice is an assault on the ears R46.

R59, you’re saying she sounds like that on purpose??

Celine Dion

[quote][R59], you’re saying she sounds like that on purpose??

Im' saying you may not like her style, her tone, etc. (I'm not actually a fan of hers in particular, though I did like her 80s movies for the comedy)...

But to say she is "tone deaf" means 1) you don't understand what it means or 2) you are tone deaf and can't accurately judge

And to bring the point even further, singing off key once in a while, or being sharp/flat on a given note, doesn't mean someone is tone deaf. People hit bad notes, have off days/sick, sometimes the sound is bad and you cant' hear yourself. None of that means the singer is tone deaf.

Milli Vanilli. The actual dudes. Remember when they tried to actually sing after the scandal?

Is Natalie Merchant flat? I'm not a trained musician, so I'm asking those who are better educated in that field.

R63 I agree. Bette Midler isn't even close to being tone deaf. Both live and on record. We are talking about people that consistently sing off. Sometime a vocalist will have an issue with monitors to reference pitch from the instruments. That's different. Think of Adele's performance at the Grammy's where she was in the center of the crowd with a piano. She sang off key and was horrified afterwards.

[quote]90% of the pop and rock singers of the last 4 decades put the emphasis squarely on dancing/running/screaming

Go see better shows.

Jane Birkin

But it is Perfection.

JLO the fraud owns this thread.

Françoise Hardy

Lyrics by Patrick Modiano (Nobel Prize of Literature in 2014)

Beyonce

J.Lo is a great choice

Also - Paula Abdul

Abdul was an embarassment singing. She could dance, somewhat....I'm not sure; she's unmemorable.

I was the one who first brought up Bette Midler. I didn't say she was tone deaf, though. What I wrote was that she often screams and yells (or at least she used to scream and yell) to cover up her musical limitations and hide the fact that, although she can carry a tune, she isn't a particularly great vocalist.

Midler once told an interviewer that she considers herself a belter, but to me, her voice has never seemed strong enough for her to qualify as a skilled belter. She can interpret lyrics well sometimes and her delivery is far better when she sticks to story songs within her narrow range. When she fancies herself a belter like Streisand or a rocker like Joplin, she sounds ghastly.

I prefer Darlene's Take the A Train, r13....

Did anyone say Tiny Tim ?

Jennifer Lopez owns this thread.

Jennifer Lopez owns this thread.

Bob Dylan. He should have never tried to sing. Except for "Knocking on Heaven's Door", I have never heard asong of his that I actually enjoy.

Christina Aguilera. She definitely has the range to be a good singer--she just has no idea how to use her voice appropriately. She is everything that people accused Whitney and Mariah of being at their worst. She screams like a hyena on every other word. The idea of subtlety alludes her. I cannot imagine her singing Mariah's cover of "Without you". She would scream the entire song. Or the first minute or so of "I will Always Love you".

R74 and R80 please read the subject line of this thread. It’s about do gets who are TONE DEAF

R81 is tone deaf.

Boy George

Darius Rucker

Eddie Vedder

Bjork.

Nico

Bette has her off key moments (like pretty much every singer who's ever sung), but I do think people are right in that she's not really a belter in the Merman mold like a many think she is. It was very telling that she did better with the softer songs in Gypsy than with the big belty numbers. She sounded particularly strained in "Everything's Coming Up Roses" and "Rose's Turn."

Donna Murphy isn't a successful recording artist, but she's been known to go a bit flat on occasion in her Broadway shows. Ditto Elaine Stritch.

What's odd to me is that I rarely notice if someone's off pitch unless they're super off pitch, especially if they're really interpreting the song in character or something. I'm willing to forgive a whole lot when they're offering up a wonderful performance.

Gays, tone deaf means you cannot grasp pitch when producing music. You sing the wrong notes or in the wrong key entirely.

I would argue Carly Simon qualifies based on some of her standards albums. But the first one, Torch, is so fantastic in it’s mood and feel that it hardly matters. It’s her interpretations that are so on point.

So many Singers on Broadway over the past decade or so are technically perfect, but lack any sort of uniqueness or passion. Like some other posters upthread, I’d rather hear a few flat notes than listen to a song sung devoid of real feeling.

For the truly masochistic, Jo Stanford’s alter ego Darlene Edwards, also cited (celebrated?) upthread, is peerless in tone deafness.

I think you must have to possess an excellent ear to evade the correct notes with such precision and unrelenting consistency.

Janis Joplin was TERRIBLE

Off-key singing is what made pop music before the 00s so interesting. You could have someone with perfect pitch or someone who liked to wander around the sharps and flats and if it sounded good and had a good song or 10, they could have a career and even stardom. Now everyone needs to be auto-tuned to the point of note-bending because everything it needs to sound manufactured and artificial.

I love the off key sound of 1960s Bossa nova. It sounds so smart, chic, sophisticated

Desafinado (Off-key)

This is how it's done artfully.

OP didn't say what kind of career...

R88, your points are excellent but try to use Standard English with your capitalizations, apostrophes, hyphenation for adjectival phrases and spellings (Stafford, dear) so that your insights are matched by their presentation.

I use my phone to post, r93. Between my fat thumbs and misguided autocorrect, there are many errors I never catch.