Vocal Impressions: Hearing Voices, Round Five
Read the Descriptions
Click here to read listeners' descriptions of the voices of Elvis Presley, Phyllis Diller, Celine Dion and Bobby Short.
Commentator Brian McConnachie has been asking listeners to describe their impressions of famous voices. In his last challenge, he asked listeners to describe the voices of Mick Jagger, Eleanor Roosevelt, Barry White and Luciano Pavarotti. You can read those results below.
McConnachie also offers up four new voices: Elvis Presley, Phyllis Diller, Celine Dion and Bobby Short.
Updated July 16, 2007
Last month, the voices you were invited to describe included Elvis Presley, who triggered memories of the backseats of Chevys; Phyllis Diller, who reminded many of a loopy aunt; and Bobby Short, who brought to mind understated sophistication. But Celine Dion's fan base stayed away from the contest. Below are the best of the descriptions you sent in.
Vocal Impressions: Hearing Voices, Round Four
Read the Descriptions
Click here to read listeners' descriptions of the voices of Mick Jagger, Eleanor Roosevelt, Barry White and Luciano Pavarotti.
Commentator Brian McConnachie has been asking listeners to describe in poetic language their impressions of famous voices.
In his last challenge, he asked listeners to describe the voices of Sean Connery, Bob Dylan, Odetta and Mae West.
McConnachie also offers up four new voices: Mick Jagger, Eleanor Roosevelt, Barry White and Luciano Pavarotti.
Updated May 28, 2007
This batch of voices drew our largest response yet.
Last month, the voices you were invited to describe included rock 'n' roll legend Sir Mick Jagger, formidable first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, crooner extraordinaire Barry White and the great opera tenor Luciano Pavarotti. Below are the best of the descriptions you sent in.
"A fire in the street no one wants to put out" — Ken Peters
"A voice full of desire and lips that only kiss themselves" — Susan Smythe.
"A great date with the wrong guy" — Dana Nelson
"A saxophone being played while it's melting" — Jay Maille
"The first bad thing you did that felt good" — Mary Jane Brown
"A box of chocolate with a spider in it" — Julianne Hurst Williams
"Your annoying younger brother's annoying best friend the day after you had a surprisingly sexual dream about him" — Leslie Gurowitz
"The American Queen Mum reminding us to play fair, be kind to others and lend a helping hand" — LeAnn Shotton
"A cross between Katharine Hepburn and Miss Piggy" — Bill Deresiewicz
"An upright broom standing in the corner ready to clean the house" — Martha Klobucar
"Julia Childs before she got into the cooking sherry" — Stephanie Miller
"A swimming pool in late October" — Jessica Carlson
"Sounds as though she is trying to speak during an unpleasant personal medical exam" — Kathryn Moore
"A roller-coaster ride in a hot tub through the tunnel of love" — Jim Green
"If syrupy, thick erotica owned a vehicle, his voice would be the car alarm" — George Harris
"Satin sheets caressing a velvet leisure suit on a waterbed" — Angus Vail
"A waterfall of melted butter" — Brent Lamb
"Sun-warmed cat fur" — Victoria Lecuyer
"Deep need on a Saturday night" — Schubert Moore
"What you'd expect to hear when you put your ear up to an empty bottle of Viagra" — John Crotty
"To hear Pavarotti is to wittingly empty the breath from your own chest that he may better present its intentions" — Ardith Wagley
"Humanity taking a victory lap" — Bradley Niblock
"All the magnificent architecture that has yet to be built" — Olivia Linda
"The universe vibrating inside your body" — Lea Mai
"The voice of every castrati crying out for heirs" — Charlene Rauch
"What seagulls must think they sound like" — Dick Hershberger
"The sound of your heart when you suffer a tremendous personal loss and you're asked, 'How do you feel?'" — Michael McCarthy
"A newborn baby's first taste of air" — Jessica Carlson
"The upwelling of joy for no particular reason except that you're 17, it's spring and the universe is beautiful beyond bearing" — Judith Anderson
Related NPR Stories
Elvis Presley
My boyfriend's engine revving in the driveway while I'm being told I can't go out — Naseem Rakha
If a Jell-o mold could sing and dance — Cecilla Saad
The sand in your bikini you don't want to wash out — Sara McElwain
The sound of a switch blade opening in a church choir — James Green
A smooth switch from a gravel road to a paved road and back again — Chris Baker
His voice made me quiver in parts I didn't know I had — Susan Wilson
One day when we're driving our Buicks to Venus, we'll find him there doing two shows a night — Robert Borel
A turkey with a mouth full of marbles trying to seduce Gidget — Davis Houston
Sunrise in the backseat of your boyfriend's '57 Chevy — Barbara Gatschet
An Aqua Velva martini — Kerry Naughton
That darn punk kid who frequently volunteers for community service — Chris Sequeira
The back door squeaking as you sneak out to be with the neighborhood bad boy — Becky Moore
A barn full of straw burning at night visible for 20 miles — Denny Dowdye
The howls of a mongrel caught in a trap — Richard Coyle
Making out in the back of your Dad's car with the one guy who will infuriate your friends, your parents and your boyfriend — Kitty Heite
Phyllis Diller
The Vlasic Pickle's Stork's girlfriend — Fred Tasker
The sound of an aluminum beer can rubbed on a rusty cheese grater — James Green
A drunk duck — Marilyn Turner
Take 20 marbles, a claxton, a staccato laugh, toss well in a coffee can and that's Phyllis Diller — Kevin Bunker
A prickly pear cactus complaining to her porcupine psychiatrist — Rayoma Kleen
A '60s sofa shredded by cat claws — Heather Kuhl
Burnt toast being scraped by a knife — Jim Cronan
A Brillo pad scraping the grit off a grill — Naseem Rakha
The Wicked Witch of the West after a hit of nitrous oxide — Chris Chanfield
The tangle of colored bits at the bottom of a kaleidoscope — Shaun Perkins
Bobby Short
The sound of a valet brush whisking a tuxedo — Guy Western
Someone trying to squeeze the last bit of icing from a pastry bag — Martin Lipschultz
A peaceful river asking directions to the sea — Martin Camps
Your sixth-grade music teacher on spring break in Paris — George Clack
The last bluebird over the rainbow high-fiving Dorothy — Martha Kate Chapman
Sadness and beauty walking hand in hand on a cobblestone street on a foggy night — Denny Dowdye
An art deco room with secrets to tell — Rayoma Kleen
Yoga on a waterbed — Sibylle Baumgartner
Starlight on a cruise ship — Christian Thygeson
The yellow smell of books forgotten in a closet — haun Perkins
Kissing my first love on an autumn day in Central Park, feeling the warmth of his cashmere sweater against my ear — Eric Price
Celine Dion
A Siamese cat stretched immodestly over a black leather couch — Markus Schafer
A melted moon pie on a dashboard — Shaun Perkins
Rubbing pomade into the hair of a person I don't like — Sibylle Baumgartner
The bridesmaid's toast at a wedding — Sara McElwain
The sound of wealth becoming pedestrian — Rayoma Kleen
The superior smirk on every homecoming queen you ever hated — Daphine Case
Tired love — Mark Tarnawsky
The last thing you want to hear on a large ship in the middle of the ocean — Larisa Koehn
The most ornate Christmas lights that are put out at Halloween and are still flashing at Easter — Cecilla Saad
Water flowing without ripples — Heather Kuhl
The way you feel after a really good haircut — J. Noel Gardiner
A warm bed with clean sheets — Patrick Carron
The gum you find on the bottom of your shoe just after getting off the Ferris wheel — Naseem Rakha
What every mother's lullaby sounds like to an infant — Michael Giunta
A beautiful wool sweater you never put on because it irritates you — Renee Collins
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