Tuesday Favorites....Distinctive Voices

[CDGator]

No, not the voices in your head.
I'm thinking about the famous narration voices that are so distinct like Morgan Freeman and James Earl Jones.
Who would you want narrating a story for you?


Not famous but as a kid I remember my uncle's voice being so distinct. It was deep with a southern drawl but had the boom of a Baptist preacher that would command attention.

 

[AlexDaGator]

No, not the voices in your head.
I'm thinking about the famous narration voices that are so distinct like Morgan Freeman and James Earl Jones.
Who would you want narrating a story for you?


Not famous but as a kid I remember my uncle's voice being so distinct. It was deep with a southern drawl but had the boom of a Baptist preacher that would command attention.

Keith Jackson calling a college football game.

Alex.

 

[CDGator]

Peter Thomas - Nova and Nature Series on PBS from the 80 to mid 90's and then Forensic Files and Medical Detectives

 

[soflagator]

Keith Jackson calling a college football game.

Alex.

I agree. Though I do admit that when I think of it it’s often great memories of early-mid 90s SEC championship games. As much as I wasn’t a Verne fan, I usually associated him with the Meyer years and thus was ok with him.

I’ll add Al Michaels for NFL Games. Always been my favorite.

 

[Gatordiddy]

David McCullough, who narrated many of the Ken Burns documentaries... like the Civil War.

"A week before the battle of Bull Run, Sullivan Ballou, a major in the 2nd Rhode Island Volunteers, wrote home to his wife in Smithfield."

 

[Gatordiddy]

Though I do admit that when I think of it it’s often great memories of early-mid 90s SEC championship games. As much as I wasn’t a Verne fan, I usually associated him with the Meyer years and thus was ok with him.

In that same era... I loved to listen to this guy as well:

 

[Gator By Marriage]

As a kid growing up, I loved listening to Curt Gowdy and Joe Garagiola calling baseball games and later Vin Scully. Mel Allen, who I only heard doing "This Week in Baseball" (as opposed to his regular job with the Yankees), was another great voice. For football, I always thought Pat Summerall had a great voice. (I enjoyed John Madden's analysis, but his voice is not memorable to me in a positive way.)

For documentaries, it seemed as a kid that they were all narrated by Alister Cooke, another great voice. @Gatordiddy is on the money about McCullough doing "The Civil War," but another great voice in that series is that of the author of the books used as the primary source: Shelby Foote. Foote had one of the most cultured Southern accents I have ever heard; I could listen to that man talk all day.

 

[Durty South Swamp]

 

[Gatordiddy]

Shelby Foote

In later years, Foote told a story of how, after he had written the trilogy, he had told somebody in the Forrest family that he considered the War to have had only two real geniuses: Forrest and Abraham Lincoln. The response he got was, "We have never been very fond of Mr. Lincoln."

Note: "Mr. Lincoln" versus President Lincoln. :)

 

[soflagator]

As it turns out, I do know what you mean.

 

[Nalt]

Mike Rowe has a good, distinct voice when he narrates documentaries.

 

[g8r.tom]

 

[Nalt]

Tom Selleck is another with a great voice

 

[cover2]

John Facenda



You won’t recognize his face because you probably never saw it, but his voice on the series of NFL Films was legendary. Loved them as a young man and still today!

 

[MJMGator]

Beth Mowens

 

[Gator By Marriage]

In later years, Foote told a story of how, after he had written the trilogy, he had told somebody in the Forrest family that he considered the War to have had only two real geniuses: Forrest and Abraham Lincoln. The response he got was, "We have never been very fond of Mr. Lincoln."

Note: "Mr. Lincoln" versus President Lincoln. :)

Foote is buried in Memphis next to the Forrest family plot.

 

[Spurffelbow833]

Might as well go with the guy central casting would send over for me.

 

[Spurffelbow833]

My favorite sports announcer voices were Don Criqui for football and Harry Kalas for baseball. Criqui called some legendary Orange Bowls and that unforgettable Miami-San Diego playoff game in '82. He also called a lot of New Orleans Saints and Denver Broncos games at different times in my life when they were the teams I was following. Harry Kalas followed John Facenda at NFL films and did a great job there. That was a tough act to follow.

So if I had "a football life" or "a baseball life" to document, those are the guys I'd want doing it.

 

[soflagator]

Beth Mowens

I know Bucs fans may feel differently because of Sundays, but I’ll put a dejected Gene Deckerhoff up there with anybody in terms of a pleasing sound. Big fan of his in that ‘04-10 stretch.

 

[Spurffelbow833]

I'll acknowledge the elephant in the room. Why are there so few good female narrators/voiceovers? Beth Mowens is bad, but it's not like any competition has been forthcoming. I would point out Kate Mulgrew as an example of a good female narrator/voiceover actress. A lot of material would be better in the hands of a good female voice, but there just don't seem to be that many. Too much inflection, too nasally, too sing-song, too preachy, whatever. Who are some other good ones that I'm overlooking?