Yes, the history of brit singers sounding american, or not, is a long
one. Very much agree with the idea of brits getting their singing
accent from records (plus tv and films) - of course, it's obvious, but
not something we've really taken account of. One of the things which
made the Beatles so original was the lack of an american accent
though, despite the fact that all their influences came from listening
to american records, black and white. The same applied to a lot of the
british bands at the time, especially the northern ones, but in London
the Kinks sounded as English as you could get and Jagger's strange
vocals were a hybrid of upper class English schoolboy slur mixed with
faux working class lad and Chicago Blues. In the late 60's and into
the early 70's though, as rock got heavier, the american accents
returned with a vengeance - except for the proggers. Then there was
Bowie and Brian Ferry, distinctly English, the beginnings of a
conscious effort to not sound American, then the real English again of
the punks (Lydon's voice was out of nowhere, though I think they call
it Irish Finsbury Park) but there were exceptions - when Strummer
started out he changed his accent from middle class to lout but over
the years began to sound more American, like Roger Daltrey of the Who
and many others from all the decades. British indie was distinctly and
consciously English, the prime example being Morrissey, a welcome
tradition carried on by Blur and Oasis etc.
So, does a singer's accent depend on the type of music that is being
played?
Tim A.
On 5 Oct 2010, at 06:34, Jim Andrews wrote:
> i wonder if amy winehouse's 'accent' is of the language of her
> record collection?
>
> jon pareles says, in the nytimes, that
>
> "Ms. Winehouse is English, and British soul singing has always been
> at least once removed from its African-American sources. It doesn't
> have the foundation that American singers often get by singing in
> church, since British singers are more likely to learn soul style
> from their record collections."
>
> in that case, i'd say score one for the record collection rather
> than church.
>
> ja
> http://vispo.com
|