The Beauty of Song, Part Two: Debbie Harry

Debbie Harry, the lead singer for the American New Wave band Blondie, was so synonymous with her group that many people thought she was a solo artist and Blondie was her stage name.



She was and remains the classiest woman to ever front a rock and roll band. Many of today's female singers can't even come close to replicating Harry's sense of style.

Blondie's hits included "Heart Of Glass," "Call Me," and a remake of the reggae song "The Tide Is High."

The Beauty Of Song, Part Two: Country singer Crystal Gayle

The younger sister of the legendary Loretta Lynn, Crystal Gayle - born Brenda Gail Webb in 1951 - became famous in Nashville for two things: her large voice and her long hair.



Indeed, her hair is a great part of her identity. Crystal Gayle looks the part of one of those mythical Southern country girls with long pretty hair reaching down to their shoes, like the old Jodi doll from the 1970s.

Asked once by her record company to cut her hair, Gayle refused to, especially after getting feedback from her daughter about what would result if she did. "Mom," she told her, "you won't be Crystal Gayle."



Crystal Gayle is no lightweight as a singer, possessing a strong voice and an ability to use it well. She had a string of hit country singles on the pop charts in the late seventies, back when noted country music fan Jimmy Carter was president. Her hits included "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue," "Talking In Your Sleep," and "Half The Way."

The Beauty of Song, Part Two: Singer-songwriter Kathleen Edwards

Kathleen Edwards is a Canadian singer-songwriter from Canada whose sound has been described as "alternative country."



After an extended player and two albums, Edwards broke through in 2005 with her album Back To Me, which included the title track and "In State," both released as singles. Her 2008 album Asking For Flowers, her most successful LP to date, featured the single "I Make The Dough, You Get The Glory."

The Beauty of Song, Part Two: Sheryl Crow

The one and only. :-)



Sheryl Crow is the greatest American rock and roll songstress of the past twenty years.

A onetime music teacher in her native Missouri, Sheryl Crow spent the eighties trying to make it as a recording artist and, in 1993, finally broke through with her second attempt at a debut album, Tuesday Night Music Club. The album, which featured the hits "All I Wanna Do" and "Strong Enough,"sold seven million copies.



Every subsequent album she's done has gone platinum, and she has continued to have hit singles: "If It Makes You Happy," "Every Day Is a Winding Road," "Soak Up the Sun," and a cover of Cat Stevens's "The First Cut Is the Deepest."

Sheryl Crow released a Christmas album in 2008, and at this writing is preparing a new studio LP for 2010.

The Beauty of Song, Part Two: Soul singer Anita Baker

Anita Baker emerged in the eighties as one of the best female soul singers of the decade, and possibly the best singer in any genre of the time. To date, she has won eight Grammy Awards and she has to her credit four platinum albums and two gold albums.



Her second album, 1986's Rapture, was her commercial breakthrough, which she followed up with the similarly successful Giving You the Best That I Got two years later. Her hit singles include "Sweet Love," "Just Because," and Talk To Me." Although Anita Baker came out of the 1980s, she somehow managed to make it without scandalous videos on MTV - she relied exclusively on her talent.

Fun fact: Although Anita Baker is from Detroit, she became known for never having learned how to drive a car.

The Beauty of Song, Part Two: Jazz vocalist Jackie Allen

Jackie Allen is a Chicago-based jazz singer who has performed steadily, and she has recorded since 1994.



Her repertoire includes all the obvious jazz standards, of course, but it also includes songs from artists ranging from James Taylor to Van Morrison, and from Paul Simon to Annie Lennox.

Originally from Wisconsin, Jackie Allen is also a music teacher, serving on the faculty of the Chicago Center for the Performing Arts at Roosevelt University and having taught at Elmhurst College, Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music, Bloom School of Jazz and the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music in Milwaukee.

More information on her is available at her Web site.

New Series: The Beauty of Song, Part Two!

For the month of October 2009, I am featuring beautiful women in the world of music for a second time.

There will be plenty of vocalists, obviously, but if I find any instrumentalists to feature, they will certainly be included.

So let's get started! :-)