I had to cast my vote for Whitney Houston, AKA The Voice.
She can be gigged for not writing her own material, but as a singer, her voice remains unparalleled. I posted this
link in the M-AD thread where I featured her, and I post it here again as Exhibit A of her vocal prowess. She could and did do it all. She even made a top 20 pop hit out of The Star Spangled Banner.
Her first 9 singles released all hit #1.
With just 7 studio albums and 3 movie soundtracks, these are the awards she earned:
22 American Music Awards
16 Billboard Music Awards
15 Billboard Year-End Awards
2 BRIT Awards
55 Cash Box Year-End Awards
2 Dove Awards
2 Primetime Emmy Awards
8 Grammy Awards
2 Grammy Hall of Fame entries
19 NAACP Image Awards
6 People's Choice Awards
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Member
9 Soul Train Music Awards
14 World Music Awards
31 Guinness World Records
Gone too soon, and pound-for-pound the greatest female singer ever.