One iconic singer had Bob Dylan’s “favourite voice” in the world
For a man who spent most of his career being labelled the “voice of a generation,” Bob Dylan rarely cared too much about his own vocal performances. Famously nasal in his earliest recordings, Dylan would begin to adapt his voice as he grew older. Across a plethora of albums, notes and tone change dramatically. But while he never cared too much for making his own vocal sing, he knew that a voice was an important tool.
Any great song always needs the right voice to string everything together. Even if the singer isn’t Freddie Mercury-levels of talent, it’s more about being able to live inside the song and deliver the kind of performance that does it justice compared to everything else on the radio. While no one could deliver Bob Dylan songs in the same way he could, he felt that one singer was among the best voices he had ever heard.
Granted, being a singer who could go toe-to-toe with Dylan doesn’t exactly sound like a high bar to clear. As much as Dylan was praised for his lyrics, his approach to singing was far from operatic levels, either fluctuating between the world-weary tone of Woody Guthrie or sounding like a dying cat when he went from a handful of high notes.
Then again, many of Dylan’s songs would probably be damaged if they had a showstopping voice behind them. These were tunes meant to be sung by the everyman, and it wouldn’t make as much sense for someone like Celine Dion to put some vocal acrobatic exercise in the middle of a track like ‘Blowin’ In the Wind’.
Because as far as Dylan was concerned, it was about trying to find one’s place in the world that any song creates. Woody Guthrie may not have been the best singer, either, but hearing him sing ‘This Land Is Your Land’ was the perfect representation of someone singing with conviction about everyone in the US living together as one people.
While Dylan’s music came from his soul, the world of R&B had been channelling that energy into their music for years. Even though artists like Ray Charles had paved the way for what soul could do in the mainstream, Dylan felt that no other artist could come close to what he heard Mavis Staples do.
Looking at her performances throughout each decade of soul music, Dylan said he preferred her voice above anyone else, saying, “I’ve always liked Mavis Staples ever since she was a little girl. She’s always been my favourite, she’s always had my favourite voice.” But what Dylan admired about her voice might go far beyond raw vocal technique.
Compared to the other artists on the scene, like Diana Ross, Staples was never afraid to put some grit behind her delivery when she wanted to. Whether it was a stirring ballad or moments when they kicked up the tempo, you could hear her vocally react to everything going on around her, whether that meant pushing the intensity forward or using her songs as vehicles for change the same way Dylan had.
While the thought of Dylan doing justice to a Mavis Staples song was probably not what history had in mind, her voice was immaculate compared to everyone else on the charts. Pop might be considered a genre all about flashiness, but whenever Staples opened her mouth, there was never any doubt that she believed every word that she ever sang.
Dylan’s favourite singers
While we don;t want to discredit the grand Mavis Staples, it should be noted that Dylan has been fairly forthcoming in naming his favourite singers. Across the years, he has labelled Karen Dalton, Graham Nash, Joe Cocker, Van Morrison, Stevie Wonder and a few more as his favourite vocalists.
All in all, when pawing through the introductory playlist shared below, we can get a sense of what really makes Dylan tick when it comes to singers. Every one of the names listed possesses something unique.
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