Divas of a different stripe

Summer must be upon us... I've laid my opera recordings down for a bit and am listening to pop music again.

I was just poking around online and I found this clip from the 2000 Joni Mitchell tribute.

I just think that Cyndi Lauper is one of the great pop singers of the last fifty years. Of course, I always put myself out on a limb, but I dare anyone to watch this performance of "Carey" from Joni Mitchell's BLUE album (which is without a doubt one of the great achievements in pop music) and tell me that she is not a great singer.

And if that wasn't enough, here is another one who fits into that category. Since I never watch "American Idol", I have no idea when this event occurred, but it was obviously quite recently. I run hot and cold on the song "Bridge Over Troubled Water" (I actually think it's one of those songs that I am embarrassed to like) but when it is sung like this, it's incredibly moving.

Sorry, you don't get to see this one, either, but there is still a youtube video of her doing her amazing song "Pavement Cracks"... so enjoy this instead.

Finally, a single clip of my favorite pop singer of all time, the immortal Dusty Springfield. She could, and did, sing it all. From tender to raunchy (c.f. Blind Sheep, Crumbs off the Table), from show-stopping heartbreakers to bubble gum to disco, she was supreme in all she did.

This is a clip from an American TV appearance in what appears to be the late sixties (I have the documentation somewhere): "People Get Ready". She is the epitome of cool and class. Luv hah!

OOPS! I'm running late for meeting a friend for dinner... it's so easy to lose track of time listening to this stuff, isn't it?