I writing this knowing full well I have no musical talents. After all, how many folks do you know who have been kicked out of seventh grade recorder band?
Against that backdrop I have zero credentials for criticizing other folks. 'Course that's not going to stop me from putting this list on the web.
# 10 - Tony Bird
Bird's a white African born in Malawi, living in New York. He's recorded sporadically since the mid-'70s with a couple of obscure albums seeing an American release (1976's "Tony Bird", 1978's "Tony Bird of Paradise", and 1990's "Sorry Africa"). Imagine a mash-up of old Bob Dylan and "Graceland" era Paul Simon and you'll have a rough idea of what Bird sounds like. His voice is something else. Thin, dry, and nasally, he sings as if infected with a nasty lisp. His accent (apparently a mix of English and Afrikaans) makes it even harder to figure out what he's singing about (though the themes are often activist in nature related to his home country).
Admittedly the sound quality isn't particularly good and this is a live performance, but this clip from a 1983 performance at the Winnipeg Folk Festival will give you a taste of Mr. Bird: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyJRQ2JWkEg
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