Harold Stevenson has a pimp-daddy, FM deejay voice that makes Barry White sound like Pee-wee Herman. When he clears his throat, it’s like you’re stuck in traffic next to a guy whose bass speaker cost more than the car that it’s in.

He is a man of many talents, not the least of which is singing. He sings like fish swim — effortlessly and wherever they want to go. Harold has picked up a few bucks singing in his 71 years, but mostly he just sings for the joy of it. You just go out in the middle of the desert and whisper “karaoke,” and he’ll be there as fast as his nonsurgically repaired (but old) knees can take him. 

As it happens, the United States Karaoke Association (I didn’t know there was one, but why not?) is holding its first-ever U.S. Open Karaoke Championship Finals this week in Las Vegas. Representing Arizona will be its karaoke champion, Harold Stevenson. He won a couple of preliminary things up in the Chandler area, then won the state championship at The Outlaw here in Tucson a few weeks back.

He’s been singing his entire life. A lot of singers point to their origins singing in church, but Harold says that he didn’t start singing in church until he was 26. He was born in tiny Marianna, Arkansas. It’s a town that’s so small that the nearby towns of Smith Corner, Nash Corner and Clarks Corner all compete to see who can beat up Marianna and take its lunch money. (Odd fact: There are two relatively nearby towns in opposite directions from Marianna, both named Rich.) 

Despite being on the downhill side of retirement age, Harold still plays in competitive men’s basketball leagues. He’s still able to hit a wide-open three and, like most shooters, he’s still willing to attempt a closely contested three. He currently plays on a team called Frosty Hesson. Playing on a team based in the Sonoran Desert that is named for a legendary surfer fits right in with his eclectic lifestyle/history.

It was while playing basketball that one of his teammates suggested that he try karaoke. The rest (and all of his opponents) are history.

With his being African American and of a certain age, one might expect his musical taste to drift toward Marvin Gaye or Earth, Wind & Fire. But Harold says that these days, he does most of his singing with country bands. That’s cool. There is a long tradition of African American guys singing country. I mean, there was Charley Pride 50 years ago, then Darius Rucker around the turn of the century, followed by Lil Nas X for a few weeks in 2018, and now Shaboozey (sorta). Quite the pantheon.

I was throwing names at him, asking him to rate them on a 1-10 scale. When he gave Marvin Gaye only a nine, I wanted to end the interview and go wash the hand that I had been using to write stuff down. But I pressed on. He gave British soul singer Mick Hucknall (Simply Red) a five, but Willie Nelson got a 10. So did Christopher Cross. He was kinda all over the place, but we finally agreed on Otis Redding and Teddy Pendergrass. 

His favorite of all time is Nat King Cole, who was a smooth baritone, which is at least in the vicinity of Harold’s BASS!

He offered that he’s particularly drawn to outstanding female singers. Names flashed in my head — obviously Aretha, but also Whitney Houston and Barbra Streisand. Or, for someone closer to his vocal range, Dusty Springfield, whose album “Dusty in Memphis” is a soul masterpiece. The first name out of his mouth: Patsy Cline. I thought I’d throw him a curve with Amy Winehouse, but he gave her an enthusiastic 10, so we moved on.

He warmed up for the Vegas competition by singing at Karaoke Night at the Famous Sam’s on River and La Cholla. I stopped in to listen and oh my God! He asked for any suggestions as to what he should sing. I immediately came up with Larry Graham’s “One in a Million (You).” There’s a place at the end of the first verse where Graham sings “…said you can’t win…” and hits the lowest note I’ve ever heard in a song.

Harold found the basement of that note, causing a few guys in the audience to suddenly rethink their own sexual orientation.

For his Vegas playlist, he thought of doing George Strait’s “Amarillo by Morning” or Josh Turner’s “Your Man.” But he’s sticking with three of his favorites: Barry White’s “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe,” Willie Nelson’s “Always on My Mind,” and Neil Diamond’s “Hello Again.”

He’s hoping to hit a note low enough to register on the Richter scale.