Shakespeare got it right, when he famously said, “If music be the food of love, play on. Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting,

The appetite may sicken and so die.” From Twelfth Night, Act 1, Scene 1, line 1-3.

There’s a lot more that Shakespeare wrote about being in a state of love, but for me, music’s connection to the very “food of love,” is a marriage, blending together the passion of beautiful music with songs sung from the heart.

Having grown up with a father who had a beautiful baritone singing voice, every occasion of our family’s excursions by car, were elevated to a performance if a radio was present, or if my dad and I simply took over with the words and melody.

Years later, my husband recognized that I was entirely truthful when I confidently told him, “I know all the words to every song I ever loved.”

And the result has long been the gift of listening to and recognizing gorgeous hours of outstanding musical talent.

Barbra Streisand is still a leader in the vocal skills of those who can sing to the angels, performing to wild applause since she was still under age 18.  I’m reading her 900-page book... slowly... and while long and filled with excessive detail, the result of all that she’s already achieved, plus her continued excellence as a performer is mind-blowing!

In the house I share with my husband, music can always be heard. And fortunately, my husband shares our similar love for the beautiful instrument of a skilled and practiced vocalist.

Since one singer’s voice and tone may differ greatly from another, comparing the two is often a matter of the love you feel within, from just hearing each of them.

The renowned Italian opera singer, the tenor Luciano Pavarotti, can steal my heart with his powerful high note in Nessun Dorma, an aria from the final act of Puccini’s opera “Turandot.”

   Yet there are so many different voices, singing styles, musical instruments and forms of presentation, that we can all enjoy the gift of what Shakespeare still classified as a form of “love.”

Just consider a few more of the world-renowned voices, and some of their vastly different styles and sounds: The gifted American gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, who can bring the roof down with her rendering of “In the Upper Room.” Last Christmas morning, my husband and I roared aloud while dancing to it.

There’s Kathleen Battle, the opera singer who could send her voice soaring to the rafters of an opera house when she sang an a capella version of “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.” And Paul Robeson, with his deep baritone that could turn “Old Man River” with its repeated “he don’t say nothing, but he must know something ...” into thoughtful commentary.

There are countless more singers of great merit, some noted as much for their originality, as for their naturally gifted voices. Whitney Huston was one of the greats, gone far too soon, for all the wrong reasons. Elvis, too, was an extraordinary original.

I saw him in person many years ago, when he was still pure showmanship, and the audience was deafening the hall with screaming until the pressures of demands on his time and talent took too tough a toll on his health.

And there are still more musical greats from so many different styles of songs and presentations: The Beatles, incredibly successful when they exploded onto the music scene, then dealt the tragic loss of John Lennon who was murdered, yet still remembered for his genius. And American country singer, guitarist and songwriter Willie Nelson, at 91, still “On the Road Again.”

Also, Bob Marley, a true original who brought his own intensity along with rousing Jamaican music about love to the world. And carried on determinedly through the illness that would eventually kill him.

I got married in the Caribbean, some years after Marley had died, but my husband and I never forgot the internationally upbeat vibe that Marley had brought to world music, and the love that so many people had for him and mourned his loss.

There are undoubtedly many more great vocalists and singing stylists yet to be noted, and many others previously brought to music-lovers’ attention and revered.

I’d be truly interested to hear back from some of you reading this, with responses about who are, or have been, your own favourite vocalists and songwriters.

Email me ([email protected]) about how a particular song/singer has moved your heart and I will print a selection of them.