A spinoff of my thread about bands with recognizable lead singing voices using other members for occasional songs.
This is for bands that feature(d) multiple lead vocalists, such that there wasn't a single readily identifiable voice for the group (Tyler for Aerosmith, Lee for Rush, Mercury for Queen, Jagger for the Stones, etc.)
Chicago -- Lamm/Kath (and successors)/Cetera (and successors)
Kiss -- Stanley/Simmons/Criss/later Frehley
Eagles -- Frey/Henley/Walsh/others?
Beatles -- Lennon/McCartney/occasionally Starr/occasionally Harrison
Damn Yankees -- Shaw/Nugent
Triumph -- Moore/Emmett
Styx was mentioned in the other thread. I'm sure I'm forgetting some others
The Beach Boys primarily used Brian Wilson or Mike Love as lead vocalists, but Carl Wilson did lead vocals on God Only Knows and Good Vibrations, Al Jardine did Help Me Rhonda, Dennis Wilson did some great vocals on lesser known songs (I highly recommend "Forever"), Dean Torrence (of Jan & Dean fame) did guest lead vocals on Barbara Ann, Bruce Johnston did some lesser known songs in the late 60's, and the entire group did vocals on In My Room.
The Cars - Ric Ocasek/Ben Orr
The Raveonettes - Sune Rose Wagner/Sharin Foo (both sing in harmony)
Fugazi - Ian MacKaye/Guy Picciotto
Actually most of Ian MacKaye’s bands
My Bloody Valentine - Kevin Shields/Bilinda Butcher (harmony?)
I think New Order tried using all three surviving Joy Division members as vocalists on their first album before committing with Bernard Sumner.
Grateful Dead: Garcia/Weir, et al occasionally
Doobie Brothers: Patrick Simmons and either Tom Johnston or Michael McDonald depending on the era.
Utopia: Todd Rundgren/Kasim Sulton
Frank Zappa: Zappa and others
I would count The Who here too. Pete sings enough songs to almost qualify as a co-lead singer with Daltrey
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on July 15, 2021, 08:52:39 PM
I would count The Who here too. Pete sings enough songs to almost qualify as a co-lead singer with Daltrey
I don't think I'd go that far. The only track I associate readily with him on lead vocals is Eminence Front.
Bachman-Turner Overdrive was another one. Randy Bachman, Fred Turner, with Tim Bachman on the first two albums.
Also, ZZ Top. Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill.
Not sure how I could have forgotten those two bands, as I was a fan of both in my youth.
Linkin Park - many of their songs, especially on Hybrid Theory & Meteora, have Mike Shinoda rapping the verses and Chester Bennington (RIP) singing the chorus & bridge. There's even one song from Meteora (From the Inside) where Shinoda & Bennington go back-and-forth a couple times within each verse.
Queens of the Stone Age had three lead singers at one time.
Don't know if The Alan Parsons Project counts, as that "group" only had two official members (Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson) and an ever-rotating mix of studio musicians. At least a dozen people sang lead vocal on one or more songs, with Lenny Zakatek and Chris Rainbow among the more regularly-appearing of them.
Men at Work.
Mostly Colin Hay, but also Greg Ham frequently and Ron Strykert at least once ("Settle Down My Boy").
Quote from: hbelkins on July 15, 2021, 05:30:49 PM
A spinoff of my thread about bands with recognizable lead singing voices using other members for occasional songs.
This is for bands that feature(d) multiple lead vocalists, such that there wasn't a single readily identifiable voice for the group (Tyler for Aerosmith, Lee for Rush, Mercury for Queen, Jagger for the Stones, etc.)
Eagles -- Frey/Henley/Walsh/others?
Timothy B. Schmidt ("I Can't Tell You Why"), and before him, Randy Meisner ("Take It To The Limit"), both took occasional turns at lead vocals.
The Clash mostly split vocals between Joe Strummer & Mick Jones (bassist Paul Simonon sung on Guns of Brixton and Clampdown)
Blue Oyster Cult: Eric Bloom, Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser, and both Bouchard brothers
Pink Floyd with Gilmore and Waters.
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on July 16, 2021, 02:36:57 AM
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on July 15, 2021, 08:52:39 PM
I would count The Who here too. Pete sings enough songs to almost qualify as a co-lead singer with Daltrey
I don't think I'd go that far. The only track I associate readily with him on lead vocals is Eminence Front.
The Song is Over.
Going Mobile
Acid Queen
The Monkees. One thing interesting though is Mike Nesmith don't sing backing when Dave Jones or Mickey Dolenz sing lead despite he sings lead and has a singing voice.
Peter Tork sang occasionally but not on the show.
The B-52s had some songs where Fred was singing and some songs where the girls were singing.
Fleetwood Mac had three lead vocalists.
Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie and Lindsay Buckingham
Quote from: steviep24 on July 17, 2021, 01:26:31 PM
Fleetwood Mac had three lead vocalists.
Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie and Lindsay Buckingham
More than that, if you count the various lineup changes over the years.
Quote from: kevinb1994 on July 17, 2021, 01:46:32 PM
Quote from: steviep24 on July 17, 2021, 01:26:31 PM
Fleetwood Mac had three lead vocalists.
Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie and Lindsay Buckingham
More than that, if you count the various lineup changes over the years.
Peter Green and Bob Welch also sang lead in the band's early days, on Black Magic Woman and Ebony Eyes, respectively.
Squeeze with Glenn Tilbrook and Paul Carrack
Blind Faith with Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood
Cream with Clapton and Jack Bruce
Humble Pie with Steve Marriott and Peter Frampton
Ted Nugent solo with Nugent and Derek St. Holmes
Traffic with Winwood and Dave Mason
Alice In Chains had Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell. William Duvall currently sings the songs Layne Staley sang.
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on July 17, 2021, 06:17:20 PM
Ted Nugent solo with Nugent and Derek St. Holmes
Almost mentioned Nugent. St. Holmes left after "Cat Scratch Fever" and seems like there's been a revolving door of rhythm guitarists/vocalists since then. Charlie Huhn, I believe, was St. Holmes' first replacement.
The "Free For All" album had three lead vocalists. Nugent, St. Holmes, and ... Meat Loaf, who sang on several of the tunes. The album came out before Mr. Loaf brought "Paradise By The Dashboard Light" to the masses.
Quote from: roadman65 on July 17, 2021, 11:19:53 AM
The Monkees. One thing interesting though is Mike Nesmith don't sing backing when Dave Jones or Mickey Dolenz sing lead despite he sings lead and has a singing voice.
All four Monkees contributed vocals to
Pleasant Valley Sunday, as did producer/bassist Chip Douglas (who had been bassist/backing vocalist with the Turtles, so he had experience in the role). I'm sure there were others that Nesmith sang backing vocals on.
QuotePeter Tork sang occasionally but not on the show.
Tork sang 2nd lead on
Words, which was featured in at least one episode of the show. Unfortunately, he wasn't much of a singer, barely a few notches above Bob Dylan and Keith Moon. He was, however, the best musician of the four, as admitted by Mike Nesmith.
Arguably the 1980s lineup of Yes, where Trevor Rabin could be considered the second lead vocalist after Jon Anderson - even Chris Squire got some lead vocal time.
Quote from: KeithE4Phx on July 17, 2021, 08:02:06 PM
Quote from: roadman65 on July 17, 2021, 11:19:53 AM
The Monkees. One thing interesting though is Mike Nesmith don't sing backing when Dave Jones or Mickey Dolenz sing lead despite he sings lead and has a singing voice.
All four Monkees contributed vocals to Pleasant Valley Sunday, as did producer/bassist Chip Douglas (who had been bassist/backing vocalist with the Turtles, so he had experience in the role). I'm sure there were others that Nesmith sang backing vocals on.
QuotePeter Tork sang occasionally but not on the show.
Tork sang 2nd lead on Words, which was featured in at least one episode of the show. Unfortunately, he wasn't much of a singer, barely a few notches above Bob Dylan and Keith Moon. He was, however, the best musician of the four, as admitted by Mike Nesmith.
It's not perfect, but for a supposed "pre-fab" group, the Monkees do an admirable job on this a cappella arrangement:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riG85oA6Wy4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riG85oA6Wy4)
Nesmith and Tork are singing Tenor II and Bass in this arrangement which, while not requiring the best vocal sound, do require the stronger musicianship. I doubt Dylan or Moon could slip into the middle of a quartet like this.
Quote from: KeithE4Phx on July 17, 2021, 01:59:43 PM
Quote from: kevinb1994 on July 17, 2021, 01:46:32 PM
Quote from: steviep24 on July 17, 2021, 01:26:31 PM
Fleetwood Mac had three lead vocalists.
Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie and Lindsay Buckingham
More than that, if you count the various lineup changes over the years.
Peter Green and Bob Welch also sang lead in the band's early days, on Black Magic Woman and Ebony Eyes, respectively.
Other lead singers for Fleetwood Mac include:
Danny Kirwan (first few albums)
Dave Walker (only on one album pre-Buckingham/Nicks)
Billy Burnette (on the albums between Buckingham's first departure and return)
Rick Vito (on the album following Buckingham's first departure)
Bekka Bramlett (on the album just before Buckingham and Nicks returned)
Dave Mason (yes, THAT Dave Mason; appeared on the same album that Bramlett appeared on - which was basically half Fleetwood/J. McVie/Mason/Burnette/Bramlett and half C. McVie solo)
Neil Finn and Mike Campbell (live only, after Buckingham's second departure)
Surprised no one has mentioned The Band.
Rick Danko, Levon Helm, and Richard Manuel all sang, sometimes on the same song. Even Robbie Robertson did vocals on a couple of tracks. Really, the only one who never sang was Garth Hudson.
Quote from: achilles765 on July 18, 2021, 01:52:20 AM
Surprised no one has mentioned The Band.
Rick Danko, Levon Helm, and Richard Manuel all sang, sometimes on the same song. Even Robbie Robertson did vocals on a couple of tracks. Really, the only one who never sang was Garth Hudson.
robbie robertson did a really good solo song i want to say in the late 80's called 'sonewhere down the crazy river' ... neat song, neat vibe.
Quote from: zachary_amaryllis on July 18, 2021, 08:14:44 AM
Quote from: achilles765 on July 18, 2021, 01:52:20 AM
Surprised no one has mentioned The Band.
Rick Danko, Levon Helm, and Richard Manuel all sang, sometimes on the same song. Even Robbie Robertson did vocals on a couple of tracks. Really, the only one who never sang was Garth Hudson.
robbie robertson did a really good solo song i want to say in the late 80's called 'sonewhere down the crazy river' ... neat song, neat vibe.
I know it. I kinda like it. He was always a great guitar player but the only two songs he sang on with the band were ok. Actually I like one and not the other.
I think he gets a lot of hate for the band breaking up and all but when you hear his side it kind of seems like they all kind of bear some blame.
Quote from: roadman65 on July 17, 2021, 11:14:46 AM
Pink Floyd with Gilmore and Waters.
And Syd Barrett in the early days
Quote from: hbelkins on July 15, 2021, 05:30:49 PM
A spinoff of my thread about bands with recognizable lead singing voices using other members for occasional songs.
This is for bands that feature(d) multiple lead vocalists, such that there wasn't a single readily identifiable voice for the group (Tyler for Aerosmith, Lee for Rush, Mercury for Queen, Jagger for the Stones, etc.)
Chicago -- Lamm/Kath (and successors)/Cetera (and successors)
Kiss -- Stanley/Simmons/Criss/later Frehley
Eagles -- Frey/Henley/Walsh/others?
Beatles -- Lennon/McCartney/occasionally Starr/occasionally Harrison
Damn Yankees -- Shaw/Nugent
Triumph -- Moore/Emmett
Styx was mentioned in the other thread. I'm sure I'm forgetting some others
Mainly with like The Beatles it depended on who wrote the song pretty much. Ringo wasn't much of a songwriter but he was good on lead vocals with like Yellow Submarine and With A Little Help From My Friends but Ringo only wrote two songs with The Beatles, Don't Pass Me By and Octopus's Garden. John and Paul wrote songs for him to sing and did the same for George on a few early ones I do believe. But any song written by any of them the one that wrote the song sang lead vocals.
The Moody Blues, 4 of the 5 band members (all but the drummer) sang lead on songs.
They were another band that had a "you write it, you sing it" mentality to their songs.
This is very common in genres like metalcore and post-hardcore, where most bands will have both a "clean" and an "unclean"/screaming vocalist.
Supertramp: Roger Hodgson and Rick Davies
LEN: Marc and Sharon Constanzo
The Cars: Ric Ocasek and Benjamin Orr
Quote from: amroad17 on July 19, 2021, 03:38:11 AM
Supertramp: Roger Hodgson and Rick Davies
LEN: Marc and Sharon Constanzo
The Cars: Ric Ocasek and Benjamin Orr
is LEN still around? that was a neat buncha people..
Simon and Garfunkel had Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel; contrary to popular belief, they actually split time at lead. Most people think Art was the lead.
A side note of this thread, I have a few songs I consider my favorite by a band that was sung by their least popular, or even one off, singer in the group.
My favorite Beatles song is quite possibly "Here Comes the Sub" by George Harrison
My favorite REM song is "Don't Go Back to Rockville" by Mike Mills
My favorite Eagles song is "Take it to the Limit" by Randy Meisner
Steely Dan on their first album actually did have 3 lead vocalists - in addition to Donald Fagen, drummer Jim Hodder and vocalist David Palmer got turns in front of the mic. The success of the Fagen-focused singles Do It Again and Reelin' In The Years ultimately led to him being the only lead singer in the group, barring one or two songs sung by Walter Becker post-1994 reunion. (I actually like Walt's solo career a ton and prefer his voice to DF's)
Hall & Oates is an interesting case - despite the equal billing, Daryl Hall had the vast majority of leads, but John Oates did do co-lead on She's Gone and still always had a song or two on every album that he got to sing lead for (i.e. "How Does It Feel To Be Back" from the Voices LP).
Quote from: TheStranger on July 19, 2021, 12:06:18 PM
Steely Dan on their first album actually did have 3 lead vocalists - in addition to Donald Fagen, drummer Jim Hodder and vocalist David Palmer got turns in front of the mic. The success of the Fagen-focused singles Do It Again and Reelin' In The Years ultimately led to him being the only lead singer in the group, barring one or two songs sung by Walter Becker post-1994 reunion. (I actually like Walt's solo career a ton and prefer his voice to DF's)
Hall & Oates is an interesting case - despite the equal billing, Daryl Hall had the vast majority of leads, but John Oates did do co-lead on She's Gone and still always had a song or two on every album that he got to sing lead for (i.e. "How Does It Feel To Be Back" from the Voices LP).
I thought about Hall & Oats. Brooks & Dunn kinda parallels them in that Ronnie Dunn was lead vocalist on most song and their hits, but Kix Brooks did get a few songs on each album. Again, you write it, you sing it.
Quote from: ethanhopkin14 on July 19, 2021, 12:23:30 PM
Quote from: TheStranger on July 19, 2021, 12:06:18 PM
Steely Dan on their first album actually did have 3 lead vocalists - in addition to Donald Fagen, drummer Jim Hodder and vocalist David Palmer got turns in front of the mic. The success of the Fagen-focused singles Do It Again and Reelin' In The Years ultimately led to him being the only lead singer in the group, barring one or two songs sung by Walter Becker post-1994 reunion. (I actually like Walt's solo career a ton and prefer his voice to DF's)
Hall & Oates is an interesting case - despite the equal billing, Daryl Hall had the vast majority of leads, but John Oates did do co-lead on She's Gone and still always had a song or two on every album that he got to sing lead for (i.e. "How Does It Feel To Be Back" from the Voices LP).
I thought about Hall & Oats. Brooks & Dunn kinda parallels them in that Ronnie Dunn was lead vocalist on most song and their hits, but Kix Brooks did get a few songs on each album. Again, you write it, you sing it.
Wasn't really noticeable on the early Kiss songs, as many of them were Stanley/Simmons collaborations, but starting with "Love Gun," becoming really noticeable on "Dynasty," and then even into the 1980s albums, it was easy to tell which songs Stanley wrote and which ones Simmons wrote. Not just the vocals, either, but the entire style of the song. Stanley's were more layered and melodic, while Simmons' were stripped-down.
And the Ace Frehley-penned songs that he sang were also very noticeable.
I'd mentioned Chicago for their triumvirate of vocalists. Trumpet player Lee Loughnane sounded a whole lot like Terry Kath. He sang the Kath composition "Song of the Evergreens" on Chicago VII, and for years I had no idea it wasn't Kath singing. Loughnane also had a couple of vocals on X and XI, as did trombonist James Pankow. In later years after Kath's death, Loughnane often sang "Colour My World" in concert.
After Jim Morrison's death, the Doors recorded two more albums as a three-piece with Robby Krieger and Ray Manzarek sharing the vocal duties. The surviving members of the band have more or less disowned these in the decades since and consider the band to have ended with Morrison's death.
And how did we get this far without mentioning Crosby, Stills & Nash (and sometimes Young)??
Why has no one mentioned Genesis? If I'm not mistaken, they once had Peter Gabriel as their lead vocalist in the 70's, before Phil Collins took over.
Quote from: wriddle082 on July 21, 2021, 08:22:46 AM
Why has no one mentioned Genesis? If I'm not mistaken, they once had Peter Gabriel as their lead vocalist in the 70's, before Phil Collins took over.
totally different sound, too. like two different bands, really.
Quote from: achilles765 on July 18, 2021, 01:52:20 AM
Surprised no one has mentioned The Band.
Rick Danko, Levon Helm, and Richard Manuel all sang, sometimes on the same song. Even Robbie Robertson did vocals on a couple of tracks. Really, the only one who never sang was Garth Hudson.
Does Bob Dylan qualify for a lead singer for The Band?
Quote from: zachary_amaryllis on July 21, 2021, 08:49:27 AM
Quote from: wriddle082 on July 21, 2021, 08:22:46 AM
Why has no one mentioned Genesis? If I'm not mistaken, they once had Peter Gabriel as their lead vocalist in the 70's, before Phil Collins took over.
totally different sound, too. like two different bands, really.
I was referring to groups with multiple singers at one time. The Genesis example is more like Van Halen when Roth quit and Hagar took over.
But the Genesis sound up until the self-titled album (the one with "Mama" and "That's All") was not significantly different after Gabriel left. The late 70s albums with Collins sound much like the earlier stuff with Gabriel.
Earth Wind & Fire
Toto
It took me a long time to learn the difference in voice between Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel. Because I'm a moron, apparently.
Quote from: jakeroot on July 21, 2021, 12:36:02 PM
It took me a long time to learn the difference in voice between Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel. Because I'm a moron, apparently.
Not really. Collins' voice on "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" on the "Seconds Out" live album is not appreciably different than Gabriel's.
Pentatonix. Although Scott usually sings lead, all the other singers have sung lead on some songs. I think I even remember Kevin (beat boxer) singing lead once.
Quote from: hbelkins on July 21, 2021, 02:36:04 PM
Quote from: jakeroot on July 21, 2021, 12:36:02 PM
It took me a long time to learn the difference in voice between Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel. Because I'm a moron, apparently.
Not really. Collins' voice on "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" on the "Seconds Out" live album is not appreciably different than Gabriel's.
I had to eventually learn which songs they did since the two voices always sounded similar to me. I've eventually developed a decent ability to tell but still struggle a bit.
I have trouble telling David Gilmore and Roger Waters apart in Pink Floyd.
Then Roy Harper on Have a Cigar was a surprise to learn
Quote from: roadman65 on July 21, 2021, 04:52:06 PM
I have trouble telling David Gilmore and Roger Waters apart in Pink Floyd.
I didn't have any trouble with these two once I learned which was which. Waters usually has a higher-pitched grating voice while Gilmour is usually more on the lower, smoother end. Richard Wright also co-led vocals on "Time" and full lead vocals on "Wearing the Inside Out".
I want to say the Cars' similar sounding vocalists was done intentionally, in case one of them left the band. It ended up working well for the 2010 reunion after Ben's death.
Quote from: ethanhopkin14 on July 21, 2021, 09:54:39 AM
Quote from: achilles765 on July 18, 2021, 01:52:20 AM
Surprised no one has mentioned The Band.
Rick Danko, Levon Helm, and Richard Manuel all sang, sometimes on the same song. Even Robbie Robertson did vocals on a couple of tracks. Really, the only one who never sang was Garth Hudson.
Does Bob Dylan qualify for a lead singer for The Band?
I would say technically no...
because they were his backing band in '66-'67, then Basement Tapes was unreleased until 1975... the only album in which he could be thought of as lead singer of the band would be "Planet Waves," but by then they had already established themselves as a separate musical act. And even on that album, they were just the backing band, they didn't write any of the songs nor sing.
I think of them as two separate musical acts that sometimes worked together