[Western Music] A Recommendation of the Lady of Soul: Wonderful Female Soul Singers

That’s What Friends Are ForDionne Warwick

That’s What Friends Are For (Official Video)

Dionne Warwick, with her elegant singing that produced many great performances and classic songs, boasts a dazzling career as a singer marked by record-breaking sales and five Grammy wins.

She has also been active as an actress and TV host—truly a living encyclopedia of American entertainment.

Born in 1940 in East Orange, New Jersey, Dionne had a fateful encounter with the legendary composer Burt Bacharach while in music college, which set her on the path to a full-fledged singing career.

She scored numerous major hits, including “I Say a Little Prayer” and “(They Long to Be) Close to You,” songs that remain beloved standards even in the 2020s.

Although she experienced downturns in her career, she took on various projects with her son, Damon Elliott, and astonishingly released the original album “She’s Back” in 2019, when she was nearly 80.

As mentioned at the outset, while she’s famed as a soul singer, her elegant, smooth vocal style suits pop music and should be easy to enjoy even for those who aren’t fond of gritty soul.

Of course, she has also released works that foreground her African American roots, so the deeper you delve, the more you may find yourself captivated by her profound allure.

As an aside, she’s the aunt of the late Whitney Houston—what an incredible family line!

LovergirlTeena Marie

Teena Marie – Lovergirl

Soul music is Black music, and it’s only natural that most of its famous singers are African American.

Yet Teena Marie—the focus of this piece—was a rare figure: a quintessential singer-songwriter of so-called “blue-eyed soul,” who won fervent support within the Black community.

Born in Santa Monica, California, in 1956, she achieved an extraordinary milestone in 1976 by signing with Motown, the premier soul label.

Armed with overwhelming talent as a soul-funk musician, she even drew the attention of Rick James, who volunteered to produce her—a testament to her prowess.

Although her career progressed steadily, a contractual dispute with her label led to a court battle.

Teena took on the label head-on and won, a victory that also helped advance artists’ rights.

After switching labels, she scored a major hit in 1984 with Lovergirl, a classic that bridged rock and funk.

Later, she was embraced anew by the hip-hop community, and her 2004 album La Dona—her first in a decade—reached No.

6 on the U.

S.

charts, marking the start of a new golden era.

Until her sudden passing in 2010, she remained an active live performer, earning widespread respect from artists of all backgrounds, regardless of skin color.

A Long WalkJill Scott

Jill Scott – A Long Walk | Best R&B For Chill Out

One of the most representative female neo-soul/R&B singers to debut since the 2000s is Jill Scott, who hails from Philadelphia.

Although she’s relatively sparing in her output—having released five original albums over a career spanning more than 20 years—each work boasts overwhelming quality, earning her unwavering support as the true “Queen of Neo-Soul.” Her 2000 debut album, “Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds: Vol.

1,” blends elements of jazz and hip-hop while already exuding the composure of a seasoned artist; it went on to sell 2.

5 million copies in the United States.

Her 2004 follow-up, “Beautifully Human: Words and Sounds Vol.

2,” reached No.

3 on the U.

S.

charts; her third album, “The Real Thing: Words and Sounds Vol.

3,” peaked at No.

4; and her fourth and fifth albums each claimed the No.

1 spot.

Her musical approach has not undergone dramatic changes, and every album possesses the unique appeal that captivates both club-going listeners and fans of classic soul.

By the way, Jill also wrote the lyrics for The Roots’ classic “You Got Me,” featuring Erykah Badu on vocals, so be sure to pay attention to her talents as a lyricist as well.

Killing Me SoftlyRoberta Flack

Roberta Flack – Killing Me Softly

Even if you don’t recognize Roberta Flack’s name, you’ve probably heard “Killing Me Softly With His Blues,” known in Japan as “Yasashiku Utatte,” from the Nescafé commercial.

Born in 1937 and older than Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight, Roberta grew up in a musical family with a pianist father and an organist mother.

She excelled in competitions as a pianist, entered university, and studied classical music and vocal performance—an impressively intellectual background.

Her album debut came in 1969 with First Take, which included “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” the theme song for Clint Eastwood’s directorial debut Play Misty for Me; it topped the U.

S.

charts and won a Grammy, making her something of a late bloomer who broke through after turning thirty.

In 1973, her cover of Lori Lieberman’s “Killing Me Softly With His Song” hit No.

1 in the U.

S.

and won a Grammy, earning Roberta the unprecedented achievement of winning Record of the Year two years in a row.

From the 1970s onward, Roberta’s work has incorporated elements that bridge not only soul but also classical, jazz, and AOR, showcasing her talent as a sophisticated, cosmopolitan arranger.

She has remained a rare figure who continues to perform actively throughout a long career.

Even if gritty soul isn’t your thing, you may find Roberta’s gentle, soaring voice very accessible.

New AttitudePatti LaBelle

Patti LaBelle – New Attitude (Official Music Video)

Patti LaBelle is a truly exceptional figure in the history of soul music, which has produced so many greats.

By the early 1960s, while still a teenager, she made her professional debut with a group called the Bluebelles, and their 1962 release “I Sold My Heart to the Junkman” broke into the U.

S.

Top 40.

In the 1970s, she led a vocal group bearing her own name, Labelle, delivering funky soul; their 1975 hit “Lady Marmalade” reached No.

1 on the U.

S.

charts.

Even that alone would make for a remarkable career, but her true brilliance emerged after overcoming a lull, from the 1980s onward.

In 1984, at the age of 41, she scored a dramatic comeback with “New Attitude,” a quintessentially ’80s track that fused R&B and rock, and it was also the moment her distinctive high-register vocals and trademark spiky hairstyle were born.

She continued to win popularity with a free-spirited approach that refused to be bound by genre, and in her forties she earned the title “Queen of Rock & Soul.” Because she rejects labels, she may not be especially well-known in Japan, but she is precisely the sort of great artist that people who might harbor vague preconceptions about “Black soul” should get to know.

I’m Every WomanChaka Khan

Chaka Khan – I’m Every Woman (Official Music Video) [HD Remaster]

Chaka Khan, the queen of the soul–R&B and dance music scene since the 1980s.

Born in Chicago, Illinois in 1953, Chaka showed precocious talent by forming a vocal unit at the age of 11.

With a singing style heavily influenced not only by soul but also by jazz, she made her debut in 1973 as the vocalist of the interracial funk band Rufus, scoring a hit with Tell Me Something Good, written by Stevie Wonder.

While still active with the group, she made her solo debut in 1978, releasing I’m Every Woman as her debut single—a song also widely known through Whitney Houston’s cover version.

After Rufus disbanded in 1982, she focused on her solo career, and in 1984 she released a massively successful cover of Prince’s I Feel for You, which boldly incorporated hip-hop elements early on and featured rapper Melle Mel.

Although many may associate her most strongly with the hit-filled 1980s, it’s worth turning your attention to her work from the 2000s onward.

Her undiminished, soulful high-register vocals remain intact, and in 2019 she released the fully original album Hello Happiness, achieving a remarkable fusion with contemporary club music.

Be sure to savor the enduring soul and funkiness of this soul diva, who has influenced countless singers such as Whitney Houston and Mary J.

Blige!

Saving All My Love For YouWhitney Houston

Whitney Houston – Saving All My Love For You (Official HD Video)

Whitney Houston is a singer and actress who left her mark on music history, achieving record-breaking sales from the 1980s through the 1990s as one of the most famous female vocalists in the world.

As exemplified by the theme song from her hugely famous debut film The Bodyguard, “I Will Always Love You,” it’s no exaggeration to say that her voice reached even those in Japan who rarely listen to Western music.

Whitney was born into a true musical dynasty—her mother was a member of a renowned gospel group, and the great pop singer Dionne Warwick is her cousin—so perhaps her fate as a prodigious singer was sealed from the start.

While learning gospel through church choirs from a young age, she leveraged her exceptional looks to work as a professional fashion model at 17.

She signed with a label in 1983, and her debut album, Whitney Houston, released in 1985, became a massive hit.

She earned the honor of winning a Grammy at the young age of 21 and embarked on a brilliant career thereafter.

Although Whitney experienced many personal troubles and became the subject of tabloid gossip in her later years, that does not diminish the value of the remarkable works she created.

If “I Will Always Love You” is the only song you know, why not start with a greatest-hits collection and then explore her works from the ’80s and 2000s as well?