Originally Posted by
sup_fan
I don't know about Flo and HDH. to me they did their best work with more pop-oriented female vocalists. they weren't really heavy r&b guys although they certainly had some luck with Martha. Did they do any tracks with Gladys?
i completely agree that she was at the wrong label. atlantic might have worked. Stax too or Epic.
my concern with her voice is her control. on slow songs, she would often struggle a bit to stay on pitch. listen to her Xmas tracks or the slow songs on her ABC work. but on rocking more hard hitting r&b, man, she could smoke - Good News, Popcorn, etc. So clearly something like Roberta Flack would NOT be her forte and same with the Opera Soul of Gladys like If I were your woman or make me the woman you come home to. and probably Barry White stuff too would be too smooth for her.
but what about Lady Marmelade? mr Big Stuff would have been sensational. Love Train.
And i'm very curious how she might have done with more broadway work. putting aside some of the mood and persona inconsistencies, i think she could have really done well with the african american score for Mame. Or maybe Evillene in Wiz
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