Bryan Ferry names his “favourite singer ever”
As the lead singer and frontman of Roxy Music, Bryan Ferry made a huge impact on the musical landscape of the early 1970s. The group were a truly original outfit, defying genre conventions to form a unique musical category in their own right. Since the release of their eponymous debut in 1972, singers across the world have been doing their damndest to emulate the distinctive tones of Bryan Ferry, though few have managed to pull it off.
Everybody from post-punk poster boy Nick Cave to the synth-pop master Alison Moyet has found motivation in the vocal performances of Bryan Ferry over the years. It is easy to see why Ferry was so inspirational for a plethora of artists through his work with Roxy Music as well as his illustrious solo career. The man himself, though, found inspiration in the rockabilly artists of the 1950s, in addition to the unforgettable vocals of Billie Holiday.
Holiday surely goes down in musical history as one of the greatest vocalists of all time. That title, however, seems somewhat reductive of Lady Day. There is no shortage of excellent vocalists within the world of pop or jazz music; Holiday was something much more than simply a vocalist. Coming from a heartbreakingly turbulent childhood and an adulthood plagued with poor relationships and heroin addiction, the jazz singer managed to record some of the most groundbreaking and emotionally charged music in the history of popular music.
This is a sentiment which is seemingly shared by the Roxy Music frontman, with Ferry espousing his love for Lady Day in a 2013 interview with Pitchfork. Selecting the 1966 compilation album The Golden Years Volume Three as one of his favourite albums of all time, Ferry revealed, “There are certain voices that, as soon as you hear them, you’re hooked. I love women’s voices, actually—I haven’t got much time for men’s voices, except for a few: Elvis, Sinatra, Lennon, Otis Redding.”
Regardless of gender, there are few voices that come close to emulating the intense emotion of Billie Holiday, as Ferry explains, “Billie Holiday is probably my favourite singer ever because she was so inventive, and soulful, and just so cool.”
Continuing, “The album I listened to all the time was The Golden Years III. It had all these really well-crafted songs: ‘Some Other Spring’, ‘The Man I Love’, ‘Body and Soul’, ‘God Bless the Child’.”
His appreciation for the record was not entirely limited to Holiday’s vocals, with the songwriter affirming that her musical backing was an equally important factor. “The band she had on this record was fantastic, especially Teddy Wilson, the piano player.” Ferry shared, “I play piano, though I’m quite basic– I use it for songwriting more than playing onstage. But my piano player for the last 12 years, Colin Good, plays just like Teddy Wilson when he wants to. He’s a proper jiver.”
Although Ferry had a huge impact on popular and alternative music scenes in the 1970s, his legacy pales in comparison to the unbelievable influence of Billie Holiday. Her striking, often haunting, vocals have permeated through virtually every great singer who followed her. The indelible tones of Lady Day were certainly not lost upon Bryan Ferry, who has remained a dedicated fan of Holiday throughout his long and storied career.
