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50 Great Voices was an NPR yearlong series from 2010 to 2011 to profile 50 singers who have made their mark internationally and across recorded history, revealing the selected voices one by one, weekly.
The stated aim of the series was to highlight "50 singers who've made their mark internationally and across recorded history." [1] Focusing on music discovery, the NPR editors who compiled the list started with on-air and online solicitation of nominations, and later votes, as a first step. They then put together a panel of music journalists, critics, and musicologists to discuss nominations and come to a rough consensus on fifty artists to highlight.
The panel prioritized music discovery over naming the "fifty best" or "fifty most influential" singers. One method was to name singers who were well-respected within their own genre, but lacked widespread familiarity. Another was to explicitly prioritize singers from outside the United States. The panel aimed to identify great, but not universally recognizable, singers.
The panel also did not shy away from controversy. Elizabeth Blair of NPR said of the process, "Whenever you come up with any kind of list, whether it's great athletes or great artists, there's bound to be controversy. [...] The 50 Great Voices series will both please and infuriate. And that's partly the point." [1]
| Release date (Year/month/day) | Title and selected voice | Genre and keywords |
|---|---|---|
| 2010/01/25 | Iggy Pop : The Voice As Weapon [2] | Hard rock Punk rock |
| 2010/02/01 | Ahmad Zahir : The Voice Of The Golden Years [3] | Music of Afghanistan "Afghanistan's Elvis" |
| 2010/02/08 | Mahalia Jackson : Voice Of The Civil Rights Movement [4] | Gospel music |
| 2010/02/15 | Maria Callas : Voice Of Perfect Imperfection [5] | Opera Soprano |
| 2010/02/22 | Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan : The Voice Of Pakistan [6] | Qawwali Ghazal Jazz fusion |
| 2010/03/01 | Asha Bhosle : The Voice Of Bollywood And More [7] | Bollywood Playback singer Indian classical music |
| 2010/03/08 | Elis Regina : The Feeling Between The Notes [8] | MPB Bossa nova |
| 2010/03/15 | Umm Kulthum : 'The Lady' Of Cairo [9] | Arabic music |
| 2010/03/22 | Jackie Wilson : The Singer And The Showman [10] | R&B Soul music |
| 2010/03/29 | Ella Fitzgerald : America's First Lady Of Song [11] | Jazz Pop music |
| 2010/04/05 | Esma Redžepova : 'Queen Of The Gypsies' [12] | Romani music |
| 2010/04/12 | Sezen Aksu : The Voice Of Istanbul [13] | Turkish pop music |
| 2010/04/19 | Nat King Cole : An Incandescent Voice [14] | Jazz Pop music |
| 2010/04/26 | Dennis Brown : The 'Crown Prince' Of Reggae [15] | Reggae Lovers rock |
| 2010/05/03 | Roy Orbison : A Great Voice, A Lonely Sound [16] | Rock music |
| 2010/05/10 | Radmilla Cody : Two Cultures, One Voice [17] | Navajo people |
| 2010/05/17 | Enrico Caruso , And Confessions Of An Operaholic [18] | Opera Tenor |
| 2010/05/24 | Lydia Mendoza : The First Lady Of Tejano [19] | Tejano Norteño |
| 2010/06/07 | Janis Joplin : The Queen Of Rock [20] | Blues rock Psychedelic rock |
| 2010/06/14 | Sandy Denny : Mercurial Queen Of British Folk Rock [21] | British folk rock |
| 2010/06/21 | Donny Hathaway : Neglected Heart Of Soul [22] | Chicago soul |
| 2010/06/28 | The Many Voices Of Lauryn Hill [23] | R&B, Soul Hip hop music |
| 2010/07/12 | Fairuz: Lebanon's Voice Of Hope [24] | Arabic music Music of Lebanon |
| 2010/07/19 | John McCormack : The Charming Irish Tenor [25] | Opera, Tenor Popular music Music of Ireland |
| 2010/07/26 | Khaled: The King Of Rai [26] | Raï Music of Algeria |
| 2010/08/02 | Biggie Smalls: The Voice That Influenced A Generation [27] | Hip hop music |
| 2010/08/07 | Björk: A Celestial Voice [28] | Alternative rock Avant-garde music Music of Iceland |
| 2010/08/23 | Twinkie Clark : Riffing On Gospel [29] | Gospel music Musical improvisation |
| 2010/08/23 | Irma Thomas : The Soul Queen Of New Orleans [30] | R&B, Soul, Blues Music of New Orleans |
| 2010/08/30 | Freddie Mercury : Rock 'N' Roll's Humble Showman [31] | Rock, Hard rock Glam rock |
| 2010/09/06 | Yossele Rosenblatt : The Cantor With The Heavenly Voice [32] | Jewish music |
| 2010/09/13 | Carlos Gardel : Argentina's Tango Maestro [33] | Tango music |
| 2010/09/20 | Robert Plant : Born In England; Made In America [34] | Rock |
| 2010/09/27 | Mohammad-Reza Shajarian : Protest Through Poetry [35] | Persian traditional music Music of Iran |
| 2010/10/04 | Howlin' Wolf: Booming Voice Of The Blues [36] | Chicago blues |
| 2010/10/11 | Kitty Wells : The Queen Of Country Music [37] | Country music Honky-tonk Nashville sound |
| 2010/10/18 | Amália Rodrigues : The Voice Of Extreme Expression [38] | Fado |
| 2010/10/25 | Celia Cruz : The Voice From Havana [39] | Salsa music Son, Guaracha |
| 2010/11/02 | Concha Buika : The Voice Of Freedom [40] | Flamenco Copla, Soul, Jazz |
| 2010/11/08 | Plácido Domingo : The Spellbinding Voice Of A Titan Tenor [41] | Opera, Tenor |
| 2010/11/15 | Chavela Vargas : The Voice Of Triumph [42] | Ranchera |
| 2010/11/22 | Billie Holiday : Emotional Power Through Song [43] | Jazz, Blues Torch song |
| 2010/11/29 | Luther Vandross : The Velvet Voice [44] | Contemporary R&B Soul, Pop music |
| 2010/12/06 | Israel Kamakawiwoʻole : The Voice Of Hawaii [45] | Music of Hawaii |
| 2010/12/13 | George Jones : The Voice Of Heartbreak [46] | Country music Rockabilly |
| 2010/12/27 | Youssou N'Dour : The Voice Of Senegal [47] | Mbalax Music of Senegal |
| 2011/01/03 | Camarón de la Isla: The Voice Of Flamenco [48] | New Flamenco Flamenco |
| 2011/01/11 | Meredith Monk : A Voice For All Time [49] | Avant-garde music |
| 2011/02/01 | Dianne Reeves : A Jazz Voice With Pop Sensibilities [50] | Jazz |
| 2011/03/08 | Montserrat Caballé : A Voice Of Passionate Grandeur [51] | Opera, Soprano Bel canto |
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