Is cutesy female singing a genre?
May 1, 2010 6:52 PM Subscribe
The Pee wee's Playhouse theme song...as performed by Cyndi Lauper (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pee-wee's_Playhouse#Soundtracks)...Cyndi's voice in that, to me, harkens back to music of the 20s. Is there a name for this sort of cutesy style of female singing? Is this a genre that I can actually seek out?
I always figured her (Cyndi) for a shrewd Helen Kane imitation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Kane
posted by Rich Smorgasbord at 7:21 PM on May 1, 2010
posted by Rich Smorgasbord at 7:21 PM on May 1, 2010
That style of singing makes me think of Betty Boop, who was in part based on Helen Kane, whose signature song was "I Wanna Be Loved By You". You can hear her voice dubbed in for Debbie Reynolds, here. I think there were a few other singers from the 20s and 30s who used that nasally, childish singing sound but I believe it was Kane that made it popular. I think there's a song in "Anything Goes" that is meant to be sung in that style, but I can't recall which one it is -- maybe somebody else knows the score better.
posted by wabbittwax at 7:23 PM on May 1, 2010
posted by wabbittwax at 7:23 PM on May 1, 2010
There's also at least one song in "Guys and Dolls" that is sung in that style, I believe it's called "Adelaide's Lament".
posted by wabbittwax at 7:32 PM on May 1, 2010
posted by wabbittwax at 7:32 PM on May 1, 2010
The song He's So Unusual, from Cyndi Lauper's She's So Unusual album, is a Helen Kane cover.
posted by Ruki at 7:43 PM on May 1, 2010
posted by Ruki at 7:43 PM on May 1, 2010
Another recommendation: Geneviève Waite's 1973 album Romance is on the Rise.
posted by roger ackroyd at 7:43 PM on May 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by roger ackroyd at 7:43 PM on May 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
You might like some of Annette Hanshaw's work (you may remember her voice from Sita Sings The Blues). Billie Holiday sometimes sounded like this. Pianist and vocalist Blossom Dearie(yt) always, always sounded like this. Her Peel Me A Grape is classic (not the one where she sings with Lyle Lovett, but her Mercury Songbook version).
More recent vocalists with this sort of sound include Katherine Whalen(yt) of the Squirrel Nut Zippers, Lavay Smith of Lavay Smith And Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers, Ingrid Lucia of the Flying Neutrinos, Madeleine Peyroux, and to some extent, Joanna Newsom(yt).
posted by Sallyfur at 8:05 PM on May 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
More recent vocalists with this sort of sound include Katherine Whalen(yt) of the Squirrel Nut Zippers, Lavay Smith of Lavay Smith And Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers, Ingrid Lucia of the Flying Neutrinos, Madeleine Peyroux, and to some extent, Joanna Newsom(yt).
posted by Sallyfur at 8:05 PM on May 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
Not quite the same as the song you linked, but perhaps you'd be into The Squirrel Nut Zippers?
posted by too bad you're not me at 9:04 PM on May 1, 2010
posted by too bad you're not me at 9:04 PM on May 1, 2010
Damn, Sallyfur beat me to it!
posted by too bad you're not me at 9:07 PM on May 1, 2010
posted by too bad you're not me at 9:07 PM on May 1, 2010
By the way, I didn't fail to notice that you asked for a genre name rather than just some examples of the style. As far as that goes, I've never heard of one.
posted by Rich Smorgasbord at 10:49 PM on May 1, 2010
posted by Rich Smorgasbord at 10:49 PM on May 1, 2010
Breathy singing in a coquettish style. Wish I knew the musical term for it.
posted by MonkeyToes at 5:08 AM on May 2, 2010
posted by MonkeyToes at 5:08 AM on May 2, 2010
wabbitwax, part of the reason Adelaide's Lament sounds that way is because the singer is supposed to pretend to have a cold while singing it!
posted by LN at 7:01 AM on May 2, 2010
posted by LN at 7:01 AM on May 2, 2010
And here's Annette Hanshaw on archive.org-- all songs are in the public domain. In particular, "I Wanna Be Bad," "You Wouldn't Fool Me," and "I've Got It" all have that Helen Kane / Betty-Boop-ish-ness. Oh, and Helen Kane's there, too.
posted by ElaineMc at 8:06 AM on May 2, 2010
posted by ElaineMc at 8:06 AM on May 2, 2010
wabbitwax, part of the reason Adelaide's Lament sounds that way is because the singer is supposed to pretend to have a cold while singing it!
Maybe they meant "A Bushel and a Peck."
posted by zerbinetta at 8:16 AM on May 2, 2010
Maybe they meant "A Bushel and a Peck."
posted by zerbinetta at 8:16 AM on May 2, 2010
Zerbinetta's right- The 20's style Guys & Dolls tune is "Bushel and a Peck".
"Adelaide's Lament" is perfomed (traditionally) in a totally different, heavily NY-accented, "broad-done-wrong" style.
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 8:29 AM on May 2, 2010
"Adelaide's Lament" is perfomed (traditionally) in a totally different, heavily NY-accented, "broad-done-wrong" style.
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 8:29 AM on May 2, 2010
My memory of Guys and Dolls is admittedly fuzzy.
posted by wabbittwax at 12:38 PM on May 2, 2010
posted by wabbittwax at 12:38 PM on May 2, 2010
I don't know what the genre would be either, but it brings to mind Blossom Dearie.
posted by Unred at 6:52 PM on May 2, 2010
posted by Unred at 6:52 PM on May 2, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by scody at 7:15 PM on May 1, 2010 [4 favorites]