Karen Carpenter had one of the saddest voices in pop music history. She was a pioneer for the musically melancholy: her collected yet soulfully emotional inflections matched her brother Richard’s airtight production and organic arrangements. They brought wistful and even demure music to the charts in the 1970s, a time when flamboyancy saturated the airwaves. Whether harmonizing on lovelorn epics such as Leon Russel’s “Superstar” or more up-tempo ditties (the self-penned “Top of the World”), the Carpenters created atmosphere. Their close brother/sister harmonies soared above the melodies, creating sonic textures that have yet to be equaled. Karen died in 1983 after losing a prolonged battle with anorexia nervosa.
- Eric Shea

Michael Buble, the Canadian retro crooner, grew up listening to such influences as Stevie Wonder, Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin and Ella Fitzgerald. Egged on by his grandfather, Buble became a showbiz kid who loved performing and at age 17 he won the top prize in the Canadian Youth Talent Search. After releasing a number of independent albums, Buble went stateside and joined the touring company of the much-praised Broadway show Swing. After being featured as a nightclub singer in the movie Totally Blonde (2001), Buble signed to Reprise Records — the label started by Sinatra - and released his self-titled disc in 2003. Touring and TV appearances spotlighted Buble’s stage presence and his “I don’t need studio trickery” talent and resulted in the album hitting the charts a number of different times. Buble’s skills as a live performer were highlighted on the strong seller Come Fly With Me, which was followed by It’s Time (2205), which shot to No. 1 in Canada and topped the U.S. jazz charts.
- Nick Dedina

The famously laid-back and unruffled Dean Martin was one of the greatest stars of the 20th century. He loomed large on stage, radio and screen (big and small), and had a parallel career in music. Martin, whose real name was Dino Crocetti, was a journeyman romantic crooner until, out of desperation, he created an anarchic nightclub show with bizarro spaz Jerry Lewis. Audiences had never before seen anything like the duo’s wild performances, and they immediately became worldwide sensations. Martin was always a brilliant straight man and comic, but his singing and acting abilities improved greatly during his years with Lewis, and by the time their partnership was over, he was a major recording and movie star. Most of Martin’s best music and movies come from the 1950s and early ’60s (an era he’s forever associated with), but, surprisingly, such classics as “Volare,” “Just In Time,” and the relentless Rat Pack theme, “Ain’t That A Kick In The Head,” didn’t perform that well in the charts.(In fact, “Ain’t That A Kick In The Head” was banned in the U.S. because it mentioned a king-size bed.) Martin’s career was at its peak during the swinging ’60s and early ’70s, when his weekly variety show was a ratings sensation and he became the first musician to knock the Beatles off the top of the pop charts with “Everybody Loves Somebody.” As a vocalist, Martin excelled at Italian ballads, uptempo swing, straight pop and even country music. Elvis Presley always stated that Dean Martin was a major influence on his singing style (a quick listen to Dino’s “Memories Are Made of This” illustrates this perfectly), and the driven, brooding Frank Sinatra always wished he possessed his pal’s famous nonchalance. That quality explains a major part of Martin’s enduring appeal.He was an intelligent performer with a beautiful voice and a knowing twinkle in his eye, a glint that told his audiences that it was all a joke and he didn’t take himself, them or anything else too seriously. Ain’t that the definition of “cool”?
- Nick Dedina

More a phenomenon than a band, Abba’s international stardom is untouchable. Their lush instrumentation and perfect vocal harmonies shine like disco lights reflecting off of lip gloss, patent leather pumps and sequins. Their ubiquitous, exuberant sound symbolized the glamour, hedonism and excesses of the 1970s. Their hits create moments of pure joy for losing yourself in the movement, sights and sounds of the crowded disco. But amidst the ecstasy came overwhelmingly sorrowful songs that brought you sympathy while you buried your lonely tears in a pillow. While their orchestrations are complex, their lyrics are written in the international pop language of English that “anyone” can sing, expressing sentiments everyone feels.
- Marc Kate