She was a beautiful lady, I got to say a quick “hello” to her at Hampton Roads Coliseum years ago when they put on a concert there. She died way too young, and in a way I’ll never really understand. What music have we missed since she passed ... I’ll always wonder.
She is one of the few that didn’t use all the belting and melismas and riffs because her tone, dynamics, rhythm, and phrasing were spectacular. I sing a lot of her songs as I have a similar sounding low end that show off my voice. Thus I have a huge appreciation to the smallest of detail in her songs done to the breath work. She was a gift from God. God bless her soul. She is an incredible inspiration and teacher for us vocalists that value beautiful tone, subtle, and control.