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marg
Sweet Inspiration
2686 Posts |
 Posted - 30/11/2006 : 13:56:27
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Howdy folks...
Following on from Janie's TM episode this week,I find the subject of Dusty's speaking voice quite fascinating.
So... a few things to discuss:
1.The shyness in her voice
2.The affects of natural ageing,smoking etc
Dusty made a comment that her early speaking voice was "straight out of the Sylvia Peters school".Who was Sylvia Peters and I assume it was a posh accent?
marg x
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Janie
Administrator
United Kingdom
6060 Posts |
Posted - 30/11/2006 : 14:23:38
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Sylvia Peters
Posh? Listen for yourself....a 20 second clip of 4 very short recordings
http://www.yousendit.com/download/QmzaIg2mbWx5TA%3D%3D
Sylvia Peters A former musical actress, Peters joined the BBC in 1947 after answering a newspaper advertisement for a continuity announcer and was one of the post-War trio of announcers who stayed until 1958. She was also a presenter of BBC TV's Come Dancing in 1954 and between 1958 and 1958. She also fronted BBC Children's TV's For Deaf Children in 1956.
Retired and later ran a dress shop in Wimbledon but came out of retirement to work as a presenter on the Channel 4 series Years Ahead. She also re-appeared in November 1986 as an in-vision announcer on BBC Two to celebrate TV50, the 50th anniversary of BBC Television. One of her most notable achievements, however, was when she worked to coach HM The Queen in broadcasting skills to make the Queen's Christmas broadcasts.
Source: www.whirligig-tv.co.uk/tv/history/interludes.htm
Janie xx |
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Carole R.
Higher and Higher
United Kingdom
13644 Posts |
Posted - 30/11/2006 : 16:39:54
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Fantastic Janie!!!
"My name is Carole, and I admit to remembering Sylvia Peters".... 
I didn't know that she had coached the Queen!...
Cxx |
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Carole R.
Higher and Higher
United Kingdom
13644 Posts |
Posted - 30/11/2006 : 18:30:09
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Re Dustys speaking voice...Quiet, Home Counties Accent, shy and reserved.
In fact, completely different to her singing voice..
Over time, Dusty developed a slight Americanised accent and there was a worrying level of croakiness in her voice.
Now she used to say that when she was nervous it effected her throat...
As I doubt that she would get MORE nervous over time, the croakiness must have been due to ageing, smoking and alcohol, etc, etc,
She NEVER lost the shyness, however.
Carole R. |
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marg
Sweet Inspiration
2686 Posts |
Posted - 01/12/2006 : 00:56:49
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Thanks for the snippet of SP,Janie.
Sounds quite posh to me,but perhaps my perspective being an Aussie,is different.I mean it's all a bit proper and polite.Maybe it had as much to do with the times.I liked Simon Bell's observation that Dusty was really the first British female singer to step out from the sound of the 50s...Hmmm... interesting tho.
marg x |
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Janie
Administrator
United Kingdom
6060 Posts |
Posted - 01/12/2006 : 01:34:52
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I'd forgotten I hadn't commented on this one...late to bed again!
Right...
1. Shyness in voice? I'm not too clear on this one. The first time I heard her speak was in the days of the Springfield's...typically clipped, well enunciated, middle England of the times (NOT middle England now, ha ha!)speaking voice. Tom though wasn't quite so 'plummy'. Why that should be who knows? Maybe they had elocution lessons...I always thought the girls tended to over egg the accent in comparison with the boys in such circumstances. Maybe it was nervousness/shyness. Of course we don't know what their parents sounded like - this would give us an idea as to whether the accent was inculcated from an early age or adopted at a later stage. Interesting. I do think though as she got older her speaking voice had more of a relaxed quality about it. I am somewhat surprised, if I'm honest, that she still retained what I think to be a particularly charming British accent. Obviously you could hear the mid-Atlanticism in her speech but nothing like what IMHO you might have imagined having lived in the States for so long.
2. The affects of ageing, smoking etc. Without question the years of singing the sorts of songs she did (particularly over the 60's) must have played havoc with the vocal chords. Strangely enough though, if you listen to her even in the late 70's her speaking voice is still very smooth. I've mentioned elsewhere on the forum about her smoking. I read somewhere that she had not smoked until the mid 80's ish and then she went for it big time. It would not surprise me if this were true because from interviews I've heard from the late 80's onwards there is the typical smokers wheezy sound when she laughed. Her speaking voice for whatever reason though certainly was less smooth. Dare I also suggest that often the body reacts to things ages after the event and alcohol is known to damage the throat etc. Who knows really. All we do know is that her voice changed, but I guess most people's do, its just that we don't have a historical sound record to play!
Whatever, I love that woman's voice! 
Janie xx |
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Janie
Administrator
United Kingdom
6060 Posts |
Posted - 27/02/2007 : 11:26:37
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I just thought I'd bring this thread to the top again as Linda has commented on it recently.
Any comment from our newer members?
Janie  x53 |
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Pablito
Wishing And Hoping
Ireland
465 Posts |
Posted - 27/02/2007 : 18:59:36
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Any comment from our newer members?
I'm a new member, My name is Paul, and I don't remember Sylvia Peters
But seriously......
I love Dusty's speaking voice, I could listen to it for hours.
I think her accent changed over the years, and the tone and tempo of her voice changed too, but her enunciation always remained clear (IMO), especially considering how long she lived in North America - I don't mean that as a derogatory comment, for example, a (sterotypical) American might say '21' as 'Twenny-one', but Dusty's accent, although it stopped being so 'marble-in-the-mouth' didn't lose it's diction.
I also think her voice is quite musical, and I can definitely hear some shades of 'Irishness' in her voice.
I always love looking at footage of Dusty in the 60's when she was on her BBc tv show for example and she would introduce the next song she would sing in her clear 'RP' voice - and then launch into the song......almost like another person had taken control of her voice.
Thanks for re-posting the Talking Mod feature Janie, i missed it first time around. I nearly had to get a clean pair of undergarments after listening to it.."Best Grope of 1978..."...how I laughed
Paul. |
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Lindakron
Sweet Inspiration
Canada
2700 Posts |
Posted - 28/02/2007 : 00:51:14
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quote:
Originally posted by Pablito
I also think her voice is quite musical.
Paul.
I agree completely about her speaking voice. It's almost as if her speaking/singing voice was on some kind of vocal continuum rather than distinct voices.
I can't say anything about the accent. To me, it all sounds British (and therefore a bit exotic!). I would describe her earlier voice as 'charming' and her later voice as 'dignified'. And, it would seem to me as well, that the way any individual spoke on camera has changed over time as well. There's a difference in the way celebrities and reporters have used their voice since the 1960's. Even so, there is undoubtedly a significant change in the quality of her voice... not a deterioration, just a shift. Smoking and drinking was already cited as possible causes, and hypothetically her age/menopause may have been a factor as well.
~Linda~ |
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Janie
Administrator
United Kingdom
6060 Posts |
Posted - 28/02/2007 : 03:31:56
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quote:
Originally posted by Lindakron
.........and hypothetically her age/menopause may have been a factor as well.
~Linda~
Watch it!  Us girls of a certain age can get a bit sensitive about these things .
Janie x53 |
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Lindakron
Sweet Inspiration
Canada
2700 Posts |
Posted - 28/02/2007 : 04:16:57
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quote:
Originally posted by Janie
quote:
Originally posted by Lindakron
.........and hypothetically her age/menopause may have been a factor as well.
~Linda~
Watch it! Us girls of a certain age can get a bit sensitive about these things .
Janie x53
Well, if it makes you feel any better, I've been menopausal since age 21. (Hence the adoption thingy). And my voice did change.  And, for the record, I like my voice better NOW than ten years ago.
~Linda~ |
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