with your eyes closed Ella is the greatest female singer (non-opera) of all time.
she beat herself up all of her life over her weight and was often overcome with self-deprication. but, and not to hi-jack this thread, but i thought "yellow basket" was a joke until one day... it hit me so hard it knocked me over. no one can compare to Ella, period. plenty of Diva's out there though. sexy as hell, and they can sing, too. singing isn't even that hard, actually. but invoking a deep and lasting emotional response at the same time is a rare and precious commodity.
In my mother's day it was Judy Garland. in my youth it was Julie Andrews. as a teenager it was Joni Mitchell. the beauty contest just didn't have much to do with greatness. kind of like saying Jimi Hendrix had sloppy technique, so he couldn't have been as great as Larry Carlton. it's beside the point i'm afraid. Oh, what about Cindi Lauper? great singer, right? not pretty enough though. shit.
Sorry! Please continue....
