[Dixielandjazz] Jim Beebe vs. Lee Wiley

[Harold Smith]

Jim, your posting on Rod Stewart's getting into the great standards,
better paraphrased as his ascfendancy into hell, left me in wonderment
over your comments on Lee Wiley.

I don't portend to expertise on her specific
technical failings as a vocalist.  I do enjoy her approach, her
expression, her New York attitude.  And,anyone who tied with Jess Stacy
can't be all bad.

Don't get me wrong, I love Wingy, too.  That guy was all Jazz whenever
he sang.
In this world we live in today, when I envision  the likes of Whitney
Houston, or Celine Dion, or--God save us!--Brittney Spears putting their
vocal talents ( a real oxy-moron) to the great standards of the past, I
feel that Lee Wiley should be a candidate for Sainthood.

I will add that, among the contemporary pop singers, that Natalie Cole
seems to me to be the most musically endowed, and she ought to be
singing nothing but the wonderful standards we treasure.

Rod Stewart ought to be confined to a sound-proof room and forced to
listen to hmself for a full week.  However, if his recording of these
tunes has opened the door to his devoted following of rockers in the
world of good and /or great songs, then this whole thing is not without
merit.

Best regards,  Harold Smith