Singing with a cold?!! In 1964 THIS is how they did it!

Tonight we're taking a look at Sarah Vaughan performing 'Misty' in 1964!
TIME STAMPS -
0:00 Intro
0:54 Performance
2:40 Analysis Start
3:42 Key Reference
5:43 Pitch of the Greats
7:41 Talking vs. Singing
12:44 Intervals
13:09 The Conscious Connection
14:55 Accompaniment

[sjab]

When she goes from speaking to singing….instant chills

[RosaKay]

Absolutely beautiful! One of the best jazz singers ever! Sarah with a cold sounds better than anyone autotuned.

[janegardener]

Sarah has the sweetest speaking voice, and her singing is spectacular.

[jessicatee]

You know it’s going to be a great performance when you see Fil smiling even before Ms Vaughan starts singing!

[EPA]

Fil, Sarah Vaughan is usually mentioned along with singers such as Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Dinah Washington. But the truth is... Sarah was really the best. She was a top-tier singer.

[DerekADempsey]

I’m so glad you did Sarah Vaughan twice. She’s the greatest female singer who ever recorded.
Thanks, Fil.

[luminiferous]

The great 20th century musicologist and music critic Gunther Schuller said of Sarah Vaughan:

"...any evaluation is bound to be relative rather than absolute, is bound to be conditioned by taste, by social and educational backgrounds, by a host of formative and conditioning factors. And yet, although I know all that, I still am tempted to say and will now dare to say that Sarah Vaughan is quite simply the greatest vocal artist of our century.

Perhaps I should qualify that by saying the most creative vocal artist of our time. I think that will get us much closer to the heart of the matter, for Sarah Vaughan is above all that rare rarity: a jazz singer. And by that I mean to emphasize that she does not merely render a song beautifully, as it may have been composed and notated by someone else—essentially a re-creative act—but rather that Sarah Vaughan is a composing singer, a singing composer, if you will, an improvising singer, one who never—at least in the last twenty-five years or so—has sung a song the same way twice: as I said a creative singer, a jazz singer...

But let me assure you that Sarah Vaughan's improvisations are not mere embellishments or ornaments or tinkering with the tune; they are compositions in their own right or at least re-compositions of someone else's material—in the same manner and at the same level that Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker and other great jazz masters have been creative...

Quite simply a perfect instrument attached to a musician of superb musical instincts, capable of communicating profoundly human expressions and expressing them in wholly original terms."

[bobturnley]

Sarah Vaughan was on another level. For pure vocal talent in Pop and Jazz, her only real competition was Ella Fitzgerald.

[cindi]

I'm not a big jazz fan, but I love Sarah Vaughan's voice so much. I love how relaxed she is singing, how she can do that incredible vibrato, and her mouth does not move a bit! Great analysis Fil, and thanks to Seal for bringing this to your attention, this was a treat!

[kurtzwar]

In this period of jazz, no singer could touch Sarah Vaughan. She is the absolute gold standard for jazz singers in any era, I believe. Such tone, range, control, vibrato, emotional connection. RIP Sarah Vaughn, a true American master.

[xiremop]

She’s in the pantheon of brilliant singers

[timward]

My parents had her Mr. Kelly's album when I was a kid, and her voice instantly takes me back to elementary school and memories of leaves falling, chilly autumn breezes, and the first snowflakes at an early twilight. Nobody ever sang better.

[pjesf]

The way she holds those notes - honestly they sound as though she has breathed into them the gift of life and they’re refusing to fade away. That’s special beyond words 😍👏🏻👍🏻

[LOL-Can]

She was a professional. Her voice is so controlled and rich. I had forgotten all this until she started to sing. Great analysis and thank you for another trip for me down my memory lane.

[jimshorts]

It is a song and a voice so memorable that it stoked a decade-long transformation of Clint Eastwoods journey from Rawhide to Play Misty for Me. That's a powerful inspiration.

[BrendaMorgan-nefu]

She is fantastic...I have heard the recorded version, but this live version is so awesome. Thank you

[ginnyvogel]

She sings with such clarity and warmth. These older performances were so elegantly filmed as well. Thank you. Such an enlightening analysis!

[HermesNinja]

Smooth, sumptuous, simply on a different level. Thanks for highlighting the incomparable Sarah Vaughn!

[nagagab]

Sarah Vaughan was THE master of phrasing

[donnatregaro]

What a beautiful performance. I surely miss this kind of music and singing!!!!