Judy Davis; Vocal Coach for Sinatra, Streisand

Judy Davis, 81, vocal coach for such legendary singers as Frank Sinatra and Barbra Streisand. Describing herself as a “vocal plumber,” Davis became known for teaching singers how to breathe properly, enunciate and strengthen their vocal cords with a series of vocal exercises to control their sound. Sinatra consulted her for problems in the 1950s and again in the 1970s. Streisand sought Davis’ help in the early 1960s while singing at San Francisco’s hungry i. Born in Red Bluff, Calif., and raised in Oakland, Davis studied music and dancing and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at UC Berkeley. She never sang professionally, having been injured during a tonsillectomy when she was 19. Intent on learning about vocal cords after her injury, which left her with a raspy voice, she became an expert in the physiology of voice production. On Friday in Oakland of heart failure.