FIVE MORE ESSENTIAL POP SINGERS – Four in a series

ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

FRED ASTAIRE

Yes, he was known as a great dancer, and not as a great a singer. But just listen to him without watching him move, and you will recognize the markings of a great vocalist: flawless intonation, terrific phrasing, perfect diction, a beautiful sound, and above all, the same flair for rhythm that was ever present in his dancing. And he sang with the same elegance with which he dressed.

THE ANDREWS SISTERS

The Andrews Sisters—Patty, Maxene, and Laverne— created the template for all of the girl groups that followed from their second-tier imitators all the way to The Supremes.  They began back in the days of Vaudeville, toured to entertain our troops in World War II, and remained popular until they officially broke up in 1953. Their sound was tight as a drum, they swung, they phrased like instrumentalists.

THE MANHATTAN TRANSFER

Starting in 1969 and for more than forty years and weathering changing tastes, illnesses, accidents, and the deaths of members of both the original and the second version of this one-of-a-kind group, they sang jazz, swing, standards, Brazilian pop, rhythm and blues, and current pop music with terrific SATB harmony and terrific show biz allure.

MARIZA

Born to a black mother and a white Portuguese father in Portuguese Mozambique, six-foot tall, exotic Mariza grew up in Lisbon listening to the pop singers of her childhood and singing in her glorious voice anything that she could, including American soul, gospel and jazz. She hit her stride in her late teens as a singer of Portuguese fados – a good decision, for she has become an international star in Europe, selling over one million records worldwide.

ARETHA FRANKLIN

Singer, songwriter, and pianist, the “Queen of Soul” is one of the great singing artists of the 20th century. At the age of 18 already blessed with a natural singing voice, she embarked on a career as a recording artist for Columbia Records, later with Atlantic Records that lasted for close to sixty years, with hit songs “Respect”, “A Natural Woman”, “Amazing Grace” and “I Say a Little Prayer”.

Rafael de Acha ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Published by ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Rafael de Acha has enjoyed a distinguished career in the arts as a performer, stage director, producer, and educator. He was born and grew up in Cuba. At the age of 17 he moved to the United States to study Drama at the University of Minnesota, and later Languages at L.A. City College, Music at the Juilliard School of Music, at the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music, and at the New England Conservatory of Music, from which he received the Master's degree. He has taught courses on the History of Music at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music and at Florida International University, and contributed writings and reviews to Seen and Heard International (www.seenandheard-international.com ) and to this blog. He co-founded the award-winning New Theatre in Coral Gables, Florida, where he produced and staged twenty seasons of classical and contemporary theater, including fifty world premieres of plays that went on to have international and national productions on and off Broadway, including Ana in the Tropics by Nilo Cruz (Pulitzer Prize for Drama 2002 and Tony Nomination 2003.) In 2006 he was presented with a citation from The Dade County Cultural Affairs Council for “trailblazing contributions to the arts in South Florida.”