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ARE GREAT SINGERS BORN WITH THEIR TALENT?

When people look at me and say "I can't sing", I smile at them with great indulgence and tell them in no uncertain terms that everyone can sing. All creatures great and small sing in their own universal vibrations and by golly, man is no different. So then, if everyone can sing, are great singers born with their talent? Do some vocal chords just do it better than others? Is it in the genes?

To begin, one must define "great singer". What characteristics determine a great voice? Rocker Bob Seeger has a great voice. So does traditional Irish musician and singer Paddy Maloney. Luciani Pavrotti, Bing Crosby, Patsy Kline, and Johnny Cash had great voices. And how about Judy Garland and Janis Joplin? Oh, and John Lennon. Never forget Lennon.

On that note, no pun intended, we can't leave out my friend Paula either.

Wait a minute, you say? That's not fair. You don't know my friend Paula. How can I just throw her in among all that greatest? Easy. I'll give you three reasons. First, she is a great singer. Second, it's my article. And third, greatness, for all its hype, is just about as subjective a adjective as an adjective can get. So, if I say she's great, she is. So there.

But getting back to basics, what does that have to do with the price of CD's in Walmart? Well, just this...great singers come into their talent in many ways. My friend Paula has got this big set of lungs. She can belt out songs from big Broadway shows faster than Annie gets her gun. Nature blessed her with a set of chords but it didn't stop there. She loves to perform and strut her stuff - she's a crowd pleaser. Her voice starts somewhere down in her toes and when it pours out her mouth, everybody listens. She's a great singer.

If you go through my short list of great singer in the second paragraph of my article, it becomes quickly apparent that they come from all genres of music, from different eras and different upbringings. Irishman Paddy Maloney has one of the most distinctive voices I have ever heard and is a superb performer. His voice is as smooth as Bailey's Irish Creme on ice. There are only a few Irish who cannot sing, did you know that? And if they can't sing, they play something. Anything. Even bones, yes bones. Most of them are great singers and musicians as well.

Bob Seeger's got that raspy gritty thing going - yep,like a rock, Bob, like a rock. Last Seeger concert I attended, I was dancing on the chairs. Great singers do that to you.

Judy

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