The only - and that would also make it the most important one, as well - quality a singer needs to have is being able to get a person's attention and thus transforming them into a listener in the first place.

Everything else follows from and relies on that one quality.

Once the attention has been got, the 'promise' needs to be fulfilled. For that you need skills... musical skills, lyrical skills, acting skills, empathy skills, people skills... you name it.... the more of and the better balanced they come, the better.

Some find a different mix than others to suit their needs and abilities; Cash was maybe not as much a vocalist as Michael Bublé would be - but then how many stories have you heard Bublé tell, that you remember, or that would have touched you... (genre doesn't come into play as much... just take "Hurt" for example, a genreless, eternal masterpiece of performance and understanding of the song as a song.)

Everybody has a voice. And if not crippled with being tone deaf or outright un-musically talented, they have some kind of quality that seperates them from others - their individuality. If it catches a person's attention, it turns them into a listener. The rest is skill.

So yeah, Mr Dunbar.... you're right. Of course. You just don't beat around the bush as much as me... smile

Mike