I paint a broad brush. If I were born in the 50's......Bobby Darrin. (sp) https://duckduckgo.com/?q=bobby+dar...r=videos&iax=videos&ia=videos&iai=GOOO8JAqt-U
In the ballads department,certainly I'd have to at least mention the great Roy Orbison on my way to acknowledging the often unheralded efforts one Mr. Tony Williams of Platters fame.Perhaps he'd surface more often in best pop vocalists ever conversations if performances such as "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" had been issued under his name.....
I would like to put out Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, Bing Crosby, Billie Holiday, Ray Charles, and June Christy as my favorites from that decade, although some may span farther.
I'm going to give a props to Fats Domino & Ray Charles as some of my favorite male solo singers of the 50's. Female solo singers of that decade is more difficult to choose because there were not that many. I'm going to go with Billie Holiday & Ella Fitzgerald.
In alphabetical order, male singers: Chuck Berry Ray Charles, Nat King Cole Bobby Darin Fats Domino Roy Orbison Elvis Presley. Same order, female singers: June Christy Ella Fitzgerald Billie Holiday Helen Merrill Sarah Vaughan Dinah Washington
Singers who were among my favorites back in the 1950's (which isn't the same as my favorite 50's singers looking back from today), Gordon MacRae, Howard Keel, John Raitt, Larry Verne, Sheb Wolley, Doris Day, and Frank Sinatra. Looking back at the 50's, those change to the usual batch of early rock and rollers. I have recently come to appreciate Peggy Lee, Julie London, and other lounge singing chanteuses.
Johnny Cash and all of his fifties (Sun Records) material. I like a number of those mentioned in this thread and would add Frankie Laine and Guy Mitchell.
