The Beauty of Song, Part Six: Florence Welch

It takes a lot of originality for a rock and roller to stand out in the hip-hop era (an era that, sadly, shows no signs of ending), but with her commanding voice, British rocker Florence Welch certainly passes that test . . . and sets the bar high.

Ms. Welch is the lead singer of Florence + the Machine, one of those traditionalist indie bands struggling to keep the rock and roll light aflame in the twenty-first century.  And they've done it very well, ever since their recording debut in 2009 with the first LP, Lungs.  Subsequent albums such as Ceremonials and How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful as well as singles such as "You've Got the Light," "Never Let Me Go," and what has become the band's signature song, "Ship To Wreck," have followed.  Ms. Welch has also been one of the group's principal songwriters, collaborating a good deal with the Machine's keyboardist, Isabella Summers.

Ms. Welch struggled with dyslexia as a child, but she had encouragement from her paternal grandmother to pursue singing when it became obvious that she had the talent. Many of the songs on the Lungs album were inspired by both of her grandmothers.

Florence + the Machine's fourth album, High as Hope, was released in June 2018.  It was the band's first release on the Virgin label.

That's it for my sixth series of beautiful women in music.  A new A-Z round starts in the coming merry of May. :-)

The Beauty of Song, Part Six: Michelle Phillips

Michelle Phillips is the last surviving member of the Mamas and the Papas, the pop quartet that put Southern California folk-rock on the map before Crosby, Stills and Nash turned it into an institution. 

Born Holly Michelle Gilliam, Michelle Phillips was by her own admission, the typical California girl personified - "the original Marcia Brady," she's called herself.  She married folk singer John Phillips and began writing songs with him, and they later joined with Denny Doherty and Cass Elliott to form the Mamas and the Papas.  Their first album, 1966's If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears, was so titled because producer Lou Adler had been amazed by what he saw and heard from them. It featured the hit single "California Dreamin', which Michelle and John wrote together.  They would also co-write the group's 1967 hit "Creque Alley," an autobiographical look at the quartet's beginnings. 

Most of the Mamas and the Papas' hits featured lead vocals from Denny Doherty and Cass Elliot, but Michelle got a lead vocal of her own with the group's cover of the Shirelles' "Dedicated to the One I Love," which was perfect for her soft voice.  (Another Crosby Stills and Nash connection: A lyric from "Dedicated to the One I Love," "The darkest hour is just before dawn," prompted David Crosby to write "Long Time Gone" in the aftermath of Robert Kennedy's assassination.)

After the Mamas and the Papas' breakup, Michelle Philips turned to an acting career, playing John Dillinger's girlfriend, Billie Frechette, in the 1973 film Dillinger and later getting a part in the 1975 Warren Beatty movie Shampoo.   She would still record the occasional single, buts he's never recorded a full solo album.  Her acting work in the eighties was centered on television movies, guest appearances on series, and, primarily, the role of Anne Matheson on the CBS prime-time serial "Knots Landing." It would be her daughter Chynna who would become the big singing star in the Phillips family, along with Beach Boys mastermind Brian Wilson's daughters, in the early-nineties group Wilson Phillips.

Though she hasn't appeared in a movie since the Norwegian film Betrayal in 2009, Michelle Phillips is still very much Hollywood royalty, be it on the concert stage or on the sound stage.   

The Beauty of Song, Part Six: Karen Oberlin

Don't look for Karen Oberlin on the pop charts; she's not one of those singers.

Karen Oberlin is a jazz and cabaret singer who specializes is traditional pre-rock pop, and she's played all of the prestigious venues in New York - the Oak Room at the Algonquin, Carnegie Hall, the Café Carlyle. The esteemed New York Times pop critic Stephen Holden has said that Ms. Oberlin "has impeccable style" and "musical intelligence," while Rex Reed of the New York Observer said she was "such a welcome addition to the often noisy and pointless cabaret scene that one can even imagine her accompanied by a celesta without causing the slightest hint of boredom."

Ms. Oberlin has done four albums of pop standards, including a live record of songs written by Frank Loeser and a tribute album to Doris Day (an earlier honoree on this blog).