...with a raw, first-rate rock voice...
You might want to use "raw-sounding" or "gritty" instead of "raw".

This word is new to me. I'm always learning something new in LEO. :-)

Your example doesn't seem to be the typical way "Rockröhre" is used in the text passages I found using google. But since google is not by any means a language guide(on the contrary, it often just perpetuates mistakes and bad usage of others) I assume your example is correct. In the examples I found it was used to describe a person and not what a person has.

Hope this helps.

Wie mpr schon ausführt, bezeichnet "Rockröhre" normalerweise die Person, die da singt, nicht die Stimme, mit der gesungen wird. Mit anderen Worten: Das man auch eine Stimme als "Rockröhre" bezeichnet, ist mir als deutschem Muttersprachler völlig neu. Aber man gewöhnt sich an allem, auch am Dativ ...

Hey Norbert, or anyone else: Where does this expression come from? Is it because rock singers always have a microphone in their hands? I think I have heard "Röhre" used for microphone, as in condenser microphones. Or is "Röhre" just a slang word for "voice"? Or is it something else? Just curious.

Vielleicht kommt es vom Verb: Der Hirsch röhrt.

"Rockröhre" is derived from the verb "röhren", which is probably cognate with the English word "roar" and in many cases means exactly that, e.g. a roaring motorcycle is a "röhrendes Motorrad". "röhren" means to produce a rough, loud, bellowing sound. One of the original uses was with respect to the sound made by rutting deer: "der röhrende Hirsch".

Thus, a "Rockröhre" is a rock singer with a rough, loud, bellowing voice.

"Rockröhre" is derived from the verb "röhren", which is probably cognate with the English word "roar" and in many cases means exactly that, e.g. a roaring motorcycle is a "röhrendes Motorrad". "röhren" means to produce a rough, loud, bellowing sound. One of the original uses was with respect to the sound made by rutting deer: "der röhrende Hirsch".

Thus, a "Rockröhre" is a rock singer with a rough, loud, bellowing voice. In my experience, it is more frequently applied to female singers, e.g. the Italian singer Gianna Nannini (I am probably dating myself here :-)

Sorry for the double post. I got an error message from the forum software the first time around, and after reloding the forum my post did not show up, so I figured it had been lost and re-posted. The robustness of LEO's forum software (or rather the lack thereof) is frightening.

wpr,

stimme dir und norbert juffa zu: man kan keine rockröhre haben, das erinnert mich zu sehr an einen klempner, der ein stück rohr herbeiträgt; außerdem ist eine "rockröhre" eine kennzeichnung für eine weibliche stimme; gute alte rock-n -roller, wie jerry lee lewis oder little richard,chuck berry oder selbst fats domino waren das auf ihre eigene art, selbst wenn der letztere ein weich daher röhrender hirsch war, halt ein südstaatenhirsch?

letztere bemerkung - wpr - erklärt wohl auch das wort röhren/röhre.(der hirsch, der röhrt, wenn er brunftiger stimmung ist, - und da sind wir wieder bei der ursprünglichen bedeutung von rock-n-roll, oder etwa nicht???

(und wenn ich darüber nachdenke, möchte ich carl perkins, the big bopper und jeden anderen, der jemals einen richtigen rocksong gesungen hat, nicht ausschließen: rock röhrt, wenn er denn das echte ding ist.

Wow, thanks a million Norbert and holger! I never would have dreamed that was where it came from. I tried googling for "Jazzröhre" and found some hits, albeit considerably less than for "Rockröhre".

Jetzt bin ich wieder etwas verwirrt. Wieso wird "Rockröhre" nur/hauptsächlich für weibliche Stimmen benutzt? Der röhrende Hirsch ist doch männlich, oder? Wird damit angedeutet, dass die so bezeichnete(weibliche) Stimme die Kraft und Klangfarbe einer Männerstimme hat?

No idea why it usually applies to female singers. Your explanation sounds plausible though.

geh vier höher und guck dir meinen senf an, steht alles drin.

@peter (p)h.(rustrated) s.: Sorry, maybe I am having a blonde moment, but I am unable to find the answer to wpr's last question in what you wrote. What am I missing? His question is: If "röhren" is something a rutting _male_ deer does, why is "Rockröhre" usually applied to _female_ singers, not male ones ? I don't see where you have addressed this ?

I agree on the gender question: if you have a radio report on, say, Gianna Nanini, you just know that sooner rather than later the words "die italienische Rockröhre" will rear their ugly heads. As for men, just think of a similar report on Rod Steward, and you'll immediately wait for them to say "Reibeisenstimme", which they inevitably will. Contrary to Rockröhre, you can be as well as have a Reibeisenstimme, I think.
wpr., now that you have discovered this new word, don't overuse it. It's journalese for "I can't say Gianna Nanini again, I just did in the last sentence". Comparable to "die Mainmetropole" for ...(can you guess?) and der Andenstaat for... and others too numerous to mention.