List of basses in non-classical music

The bass singing voice has a vocal range that lies around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C (i.e., E2–E4).[1] As with the contralto singing voice being the rarest female voice type, the bass voice is the rarest for males, and has the lowest vocal range of all voice types.[2] However, the bass voice is determined not only by its vocal range, but also by its timbre, which tends to be darker than that of a baritone voice.

The term bass was developed in relation to classical and operatic voices, where the classification is based not merely on the singer's vocal range but also on the tessitura and timbre of the voice. For classical and operatic singers, their voice type determines the roles they will sing and is a primary method of categorization. In non-classical music, singers are primarily defined by their genre and their gender and not by their vocal range.[3] When the terms soprano, mezzo-soprano, contralto, tenor, baritone, and bass are used as descriptors of non-classical voices, they are applied more loosely than they would be to those of classical singers and generally refer only to the singer's perceived vocal range.

The following is a list of singers in country, popular music, jazz, and musical theatre[a] who have been described as basses.

List of names

[edit]
Name Lifespan Nationality Associated act(s) Ref.
Joe Ames 1921–2007 American Ames Brothers [4]
Lance Bass 1979– American NSYNC [5]
Bob Bingham 1946– American [6][7]
Bill Brown c. 1920s– c. 1970 American The Dominoes The Checkers (American band) [8]
Greg Brown 1949– American [9]
Brian Cole 1942–1972 American The Association [10]
Ray Davis 1940–2005 American
[7][11]
Elmer Dresslar Jr.[b] 1925–2005 American
[13]
James Farnsworth[c] British Out of the Blue [14]
Tennessee Ernie Ford[d] 1919–1991 American [16][17]
Melvin Franklin[e] 1942–1995 American The Temptations [23][24][25][26]
Sherman Garnes 1940–1977 American The Teenagers [27]
Geoffrey Holder[f] 1930–2014 Trinidadian-American [29]
Corpse Husband 1997– American [30][31]
Jawan M. Jackson American The Temptations [22][25]
Avi Kaplan 1989– American Pentatonix [7][32][33][34]
Bobby Kim 1973– South Korean [35]
Marc Lavoine 1962– French [36]
Till Lindemann[g] 1963– German
[37][39]
Markiplier 1989– American [40]
Nick Massi 1927–2000 American The Four Seasons [41]
Carlo Mastrangelo[h] 1937–2016 American The Belmonts [43][44]
Michael McCary 1971– American Boyz II Men [45]
Stephin Merritt 1965– American
[46][47]
Warren "Pete" Moore 1938–2017[48] or 1939–2017[49] American The Miracles [49]
Rex Nelon 1932–2000 American The LeFevres [50]
Patrick Page 1962– American [51]
London Parris 1931–1992 American The Blackwood Brothers [50]
Ray Perkins 1932– Canadian The Crew-Cuts [52]
Pop Smoke 1999–2020 American [53]
Thurl Ravenscroft 1914–2005 American The Mellomen [54]
Ivan Rebroff 1931-2008 German [55]
Harold Reid 1939–2020[56] American The Statler Brothers [56][57]
Kevin Richardson 1971– American Backstreet Boys [58]
Paul Robeson[i] 1898–1976 American [59][60][61]
Peter Steele[j] 1962–2010 American
[65][66][67]
Richard Sterban 1943– American The Oak Ridge Boys [68]
Tim Storms 1972– American
[7][69]
J. D. Sumner 1924–1998 American The Blackwood Brothers, The Stamps Quartet [7][70][71]
T.O.P 1986–[72] or 1987–[73] South Korean Big Bang [72][74]
Ike Turner[k] 1931–2007 American
[78]
Josh Turner[l] 1977– American [7][81][82]
Ray Walker 1934– American The Jordanaires [83]
Barry White[m] 1944–2003 American The Love Unlimited Orchestra [7][61][84][85]
George Younce 1930–2005 American The Cathedrals [86][87]
Tay Zonday[n] 1982– American [7][89]
[edit]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ For a detailed description of the differences between the operatic and musical theatre voice see Björkner, Eva, Why so different? Aspects of voice characteristics in operatic and musical theatre singing, KTH School of Computer Science and Communication, 2006 (ISBN 9171785183)
  2. ^ Dresslar is also referred to as a bass-baritone[12]
  3. ^ Farnsworth is also referred to as a baritone[14]
  4. ^ Ford has been alternately referred to as a baritone[15][16] and a bass-baritone[17]
  5. ^ Some sources also refer to Franklin as a baritone[18][19][20] and a bass-baritone[21][22]
  6. ^ Holder is also referred to as a bass-baritone[28]
  7. ^ Lindemann is also referred to as a baritone[37][38]
  8. ^ Mastrangelo is also referred to as a bass-baritone[42] and a baritone[43]
  9. ^ Robeson was also described vocally as a bass-baritone while identifying himself as a baritone[59]
  10. ^ Steele is also referred to as a baritone[62][63][64]
  11. ^ Ike Turner is also referred to as a baritone[75][76] and as a bass-baritone[77]
  12. ^ Josh Turner is also referred to as a baritone[79][80]
  13. ^ White is referred to as a bass-baritone[84][85]
  14. ^ Zonday is also referred to as a baritone[88]

References

[edit]
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  2. ^ Miller, Richard (2008). Securing Baritone, Bass-Baritone, and Bass Voices. Oxford University Press. pp. 12–14. ISBN 978-0-195-32265-1.
  3. ^ Axelrod, Alan, The complete idiot's guide to jazz, Alpha Books, 1999, pp. 68–69 (ISBN 0028627318). See also Tarasti, Eero, Signs of music: a guide to musical semiotics, Walter de Gruyter, 2002, pp. 157–178 (ISBN 3110172267)
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  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Macmillan, Laura (3 June 2022). "11 of the Greatest and Most Famous Bass Singers of All Time". Hello Music Theory.
  8. ^ Baptista, Todd R. (1996). Group Harmony: Behind the Rhythm and the Blues. TRB Enterprises. ISBN 978-0-9631722-5-9.
  9. ^ Dellinger, Matt (27 November 2000). "Beef Stew". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  10. ^ Searles, Malcolm C. (2018). The Association 'cherish' : the story of America's first folk-rock band. Kibworth Beauchamp. p. 286. ISBN 978-1-78901-361-0. OCLC 1052448729.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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  50. ^ a b Terrell, Bob (January 2, 1969). "Buncombe Gives Bass Singers To Three Top Gospel Groups". Asheville Citizen-Times. Asheville, North Carolina. p. 37.
  51. ^ Mink, Casey (22 April 2019). "How 'Hadestown' Standout Patrick Page Landed the 'Role of a Lifetime'". Backstage. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
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  55. ^ The unique bass Ivan Rebroff |https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/legends/legends/13474402}
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  89. ^ Kale, Sirin (24 August 2016). "Tay Zonday Does Not Want You to Understand the Meaning Of 'Chocolate Rain'". Broadly. Vice. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
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