I have often thought of posing this question on here and since I have all this "free time" these days, why not today? Hopefully I will be able to explain myself and hopefully the topic will not stray "too far" off track.

My question is this..........If you HAD to name three female singers and it had to be three DIFFERENT ones using the following criteria, who would they be? The criteria would be: 1) Your Overall Favorite Singer Based on Your Personal Musical Tastes; 2) The Woman That You Think Has the Absolute Best Voice...In other words, who has the best pure instrument? and 3) Best Female Singer Considering Longevity, Success, Style, How She Might Be Able to Cross Genres and Seemingly Sing "Anything." In other words the gal that could sing the phone book and make it sound good although for one reason or another, she might not be your personal favorite. Remember try to choose three different ones even though I am sure we all have our favorites who we think would fit all three categories.

To get us started, my three would be:

1) Dionne Warwick: I was late getting on her bandwagon and did not become a true fan until the 1979 Dionne album. But since then she has been a "must buy everything" favorite for me, even though some of her choices have not been to my liking and her smoking has not done her any favors. But for my personal musical tastes, she has had the goods for me all these years.

2) Shirley Bassey: Just like Dionne, Shirley was well into her career before I discovered her but once I did, I was in awe of her pure vocal power. Based on what we have seen and heard of her the last few years, she still has most of that power even at age 83. If you have never listened to her "And I Love You So" album from the 70s, you are in for a treat.

and drum roll please.........

3) Nancy Wilson: Despite my choice here as Best Overall Singer, I have surprisingly little by her in my collection and if I were to rank my favorite singers, she might not even make my top 25 because I am a true soul or blues fan, whereas she was best as a jazz singer or a nightclub performer. But I am still amazed at the career she had, the way she could deliver a song, and yes, she could cross genres and even add some comedy when she wanted, such as Guess Who I Saw Today. So for pure entertainment value and that "could do it all" quality, I would have to go with her.

Thoughts?????