You know, when I opened this thread I was really not expecting the first words I saw to be 'Dan Ackroyd'
― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Thursday, 29 November 2018 23:36 (five years ago) link
Fucking hell, the Coop looks a bit beered-up in that pic. Better than crack cocaine Coop circa '81, mind
He is looking rough.
― Monica Kindle (Tom D.), Thursday, 29 November 2018 23:36 (five years ago) link
honestly, one of the songs I thought of was a weird example -- "Debris," by the Faces. No guest vocals, Rod and Ronnie are permanent members of the band, but Ronnie sings lead and Rod's backing vocals on the chorus are sublime.
― galaxy brian (voodoo chili), Thursday, 29 November 2018 23:38 (five years ago) link
U2's "Love Rescue Me" featured a pretty well-buried Bob Dylan
― omar little, Thursday, 29 November 2018 23:39 (five years ago) link
Neil Tennant and Neil Hannon both on Robbie Williams' 'No Regrets'
― Le Baton Rose (Turrican), Thursday, 29 November 2018 23:40 (five years ago) link
lol "the passenger" backing vox always sounded so loutish and unschooled to me, thought it was one of the band members. Same with "success".
― brimstead, Thursday, 29 November 2018 23:40 (five years ago) link
You’re so vain - Mick Jagger
― 29 facepalms, Thursday, 29 November 2018 23:40 (five years ago) link
Neko Case provided background vox on Jakob Dylan's 2010 album Women + Country.
― plant a twee or die (morrisp), Thursday, 29 November 2018 23:41 (five years ago) link
I feel like Case was also a background singer (with a few others) for another artist on a recent TV performance, but don't know what I'm thinking of.
― plant a twee or die (morrisp), Thursday, 29 November 2018 23:42 (five years ago) link
Michael McDonald on Steely Dan's 'Peg' ...
― Le Baton Rose (Turrican), Thursday, 29 November 2018 23:46 (five years ago) link
Here's a heavily f'd-with clip (presumably to avoid a DMCA takedown) of Sam Jayne singin' backup and shakin' maracas for Modest Mouse:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aP-W-0h4Zu4
― plant a twee or die (morrisp), Thursday, 29 November 2018 23:46 (five years ago) link
Does Sting on Phil Collins' 'Long Long Way to Go' count?
― Le Baton Rose (Turrican), Thursday, 29 November 2018 23:48 (five years ago) link
Neil Young, singing backup on the great Warren Zevon song Splendid Isolation
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 29 November 2018 23:50 (five years ago) link
See also: overqualified rhythm guitar players. Thinking of Steve Lukather on Beat It
― calstars, Thursday, 29 November 2018 23:56 (five years ago) link
― Le Baton Rose (Turrican), Thursday, November 29, 2018 6:46 PM (thirteen minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
And on Christopher Cross' "Ride Like The Wind":https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0HzWMqLeiE
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Friday, 30 November 2018 00:02 (five years ago) link
there's no such thing as an overqualified backing singer. michael mcdonald is the perfect backup vocalist but also better than anyone he sings backup for. there is no contradiction
― ( ͡☉ ͜ʖ ͡☉) (jim in vancouver), Friday, 30 November 2018 00:05 (five years ago) link
love that SCTV clip so much
― Οὖτις, Friday, 30 November 2018 00:05 (five years ago) link
Robert Plant's Now and Zen has both Kirsty Maccoll and future Curve vocalist Toni Halliday on backing vocals.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 30 November 2018 00:06 (five years ago) link
Luther Vandross on Richard Marx’s “Keep Coming Back”.
― breastcrawl, Friday, 30 November 2018 00:23 (five years ago) link
George Michael (and Nik Kershaw apparently) on Elton John’s “Nikita”.
― breastcrawl, Friday, 30 November 2018 00:35 (five years ago) link
David Bowie is also on Arcade Fire’s Reflektor.
Here’s a few:
https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2015/07/9-famous-backup-singers-on-classic-pop-songs.html
And this one is fairly more interesting:
https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/unsung-heroes-18-songs-with-secret-superstars-on-backing-vocals__17833/
Several in there that I had no idea existed like Robyn on a Britney song.
― ✖✖✖ (Moka), Friday, 30 November 2018 00:38 (five years ago) link
Neil Young, on the live version of "Downtown" on Tonight's the Night (though he pretty much takes it over by the end).
Stephen Stills, moaning over the outro on Neil's "Til the Morning Comes".
Barry Gibb (or is it all the Bee Gees?) backing Dionne Warwick on "Heartbreaker". Not sure if "Emotion" counts given how he dominates the chorus.
― gjoon1, Friday, 30 November 2018 00:44 (five years ago) link
Don't know about overqualified but I want to include the Jesus & Mary Chain shouting "guilty" on Drama! by Erasure
― PaulTMA, Friday, 30 November 2018 00:50 (five years ago) link
Debbie Harry guesting as D.H. Lawrence jr on several tracks on the Gun Club's Miami. It was produced by Chris Stein and Jeffrey lee Pierce had been Blondie's fan club head.
― Stevolende, Friday, 30 November 2018 01:02 (five years ago) link
Chrissie Hynde (billed as “Mrs. Christine Kerr") on U2's "Pride (In The Name Of Love)"
― Elvis Telecom, Friday, 30 November 2018 01:17 (five years ago) link
Of all people, Joe Satriani is credited with backing vocals - vocals - on the first Crowded House record.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 30 November 2018 01:43 (five years ago) link
!
― My Ital Rival (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 30 November 2018 11:00 (five years ago) link
Pete Townshend sings backup (but doesn't play guitar, for some reason) on the Ramones' cover of "Substitute."
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Friday, 30 November 2018 15:56 (five years ago) link
Squeeze's Black Coffee In Bed has both Elvis Costello and Paul Young (No Parlez, not Sad Cafe guy)
― PaulTMA, Friday, 30 November 2018 17:22 (five years ago) link
EC is all over those squeeze records (the ones he produced, anyway)
― galaxy brian (voodoo chili), Friday, 30 November 2018 17:28 (five years ago) link
I know Eno does a lot of backing vocals on some of the albums he produced too
Maya Angelou on Herbie Mann's The Common Ground
― The Poppy Bush AutoZone (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 30 November 2018 17:29 (five years ago) link
Springsteen has an uncredited cameo on Lou Reed's "Street Hassle," but I think cameos like that are almost a totally different thing. Like, I dunno, Tom Waits popping up in "Tommy the Cat" by Primus or Iggy Pop popping in "New York City" by the Cult.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 30 November 2018 17:38 (five years ago) link
Back to Phil, "Take Me Home" has both Sting and Gabriel on backing vocals.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 30 November 2018 17:40 (five years ago) link
EC didn't produce Black Coffee In Bed, Phil Wainman did (it's on Sweets From A Stranger). The only other song he sings on is Tempted (from the album he did produce): "The people keep on crowding, I'm wishing I was well"
― PaulTMA, Friday, 30 November 2018 17:49 (five years ago) link
I mainly hear Eno in the Once In A Lifetime chorus, same for U2's Lemon
― PaulTMA, Friday, 30 November 2018 17:51 (five years ago) link
Talking of Paul Young and "No Parlez", Dagmar Krause provides backing vocals on his version of "Love Will Tear Us Apart".
― Monica Kindle (Tom D.), Friday, 30 November 2018 17:55 (five years ago) link
Just listening to it now and she actually does a spoken word section - a bit like Nico does on Tiny Tim's first album.
― Monica Kindle (Tom D.), Friday, 30 November 2018 17:58 (five years ago) link
Eno is all over the place on he albums he's produced. That's his thing. But, like, Joe Ely as part of the Spanish call and response in the Clash's "Should I Stay Or Should I Go?", yeah, that's a bit closer to the thread theme.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 30 November 2018 17:59 (five years ago) link
... talking of unlikely appearances by female German vocalists. (xp)
― Monica Kindle (Tom D.), Friday, 30 November 2018 17:59 (five years ago) link
Certainly Aimee Mann popping up on Rush's "Time Stand Still," that was always pretty random. "Girls," by Dwight Twilley, has Tom Petty on backing vox.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 30 November 2018 18:02 (five years ago) link
I thought about Mann, but that feels like a real "featured" guest vocal, as you (and I) both dissected upthread
― very legal & very cool (morrisp), Friday, 30 November 2018 18:03 (five years ago) link
Yeah, it's more a lead part.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 30 November 2018 18:04 (five years ago) link
(I apparently posted a lot in this thread y'day, and none of my answers were on-point, lol)
― very legal & very cool (morrisp), Friday, 30 November 2018 18:04 (five years ago) link
Neil Tennant on Boy George's 'The Crying Game' and Dusty Springfield's 'Nothing Has Been Proved'.
― Dan Worsley, Friday, 30 November 2018 18:08 (five years ago) link
Squeeze again, both Difford & Tilbrook not exactly hidden in the mix herehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArXL7uEQsEg
― PaulTMA, Friday, 30 November 2018 18:16 (five years ago) link
I'm not sure Tennant counts in those contexts. PSBs produced "The Crying Game" and "Nothing Has Been Proved."
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 30 November 2018 18:21 (five years ago) link
Fair point. So onto...
Liam Gallagher on Echo & The Bunnymen's 'Nothing Lasts Forever'.
― Dan Worsley, Friday, 30 November 2018 18:26 (five years ago) link
a few from the grandest listening thread of them all:
Billy Joel, "My Life" - Peter Cetera and Donnie Dacus of ChicagoBilly Joel, "Everybody Has A Dream" - Phoebe SnowBilly Joel, "Storm Front" - Richard MarxBilly Joel, "All About Soul" - Color Me Badd, and Frank Simms aka the Kool-Aid ManCyndi Lauper, "Maybe He'll Know" - Billy JoelMick Jones, "Just Wanna Hold" - Billy Joel
― |Restore| |Restart| |Quit| (Doctor Casino), Friday, 30 November 2018 18:32 (five years ago) link
and the alt-rock edition:
Dave Matthews Band, "Don't Drink the Water" - Alanis MorrissetteThe Wallflowers, "Sixth Avenue Heartache" - Adam DuritzThe Urge, "Jump Right In" - Nick Hexum
Chaka Khan on "Higher Love."
― Your sweetie-pie-coo-coo I love ya (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 3 December 2018 20:09 (five years ago) link
somebody's watching me is hilarious because it's a talking heads song
― galaxy brian (voodoo chili), Monday, 3 December 2018 20:47 (five years ago) link
Can't believe nobody has mentioned Stevie and Lindsey on Bob Welch's "Sentimental Lady." Or David Crosby and Graham Nash on "Doctor My Eyes."
― Plinka Trinka Banga Tink (Eliza D.), Monday, 3 December 2018 21:03 (five years ago) link
guest harmonies from Carl & Dennis Wilson and Al Jardinehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41s69oNimZg
― PaulTMA, Tuesday, 4 December 2018 00:16 (five years ago) link
Rob Halford on QOTSA's "Feel Good Hit of the Summer".
Elton John, Mark Lanegan, Trent Reznor, Jake Shears and Alex Turner provided backing vox on various "...Like Clockwork" songs too.
― Vernon Locke, Tuesday, 4 December 2018 02:48 (five years ago) link
the jackson 5 sing background on stevie's you haven't done nothin
― Jeff the grown man (voodoo chili), Tuesday, 11 June 2019 17:52 (four years ago) link
the liner notes of the warren zevon s/t is just one overqualified backing vocalist after another
― american bradass (BradNelson), Tuesday, 11 June 2019 17:54 (four years ago) link
according to the credits on the promo 12-inch to jellybean's "sidewalk talk"...
lead vocals: catherine buchananbackground vocals: madonna, cindy mizelle, audrey wheeler
madonna wrote the song and her vox are quite discernible in the chorus. she had already become a pretty big crossover star by the time it got released on 45 so if you look on discogs you'll see some sleeves for the single that pretty prominently display "written by MADONNA" lol
― dyl, Wednesday, 12 June 2019 02:33 (four years ago) link
Prince on so many of his productions for other artists (777-9311, Glamorous Life iirc, etc)
― change display name (Jordan), Wednesday, 12 June 2019 03:17 (four years ago) link
Dumbstruck that Chrissie Hynde sang on U2's "Pride"... I've never heard a female vocal anywhere in that track in my hundreds of listens to it. Guessing she's a part of the oh-oh-ohs at the end?
― Vinnie, Thursday, 13 June 2019 15:51 (four years ago) link
singers who sang backup on covers of their own songs:
Dobie Gray, on Uncle Kracker's cover of 'Drift Away'Dolly Parton, on Mindy Smith's cover of 'Jolene'
― nothing in the dialog (unregistered), Monday, 6 January 2020 23:50 (four years ago) link
Pete Townshend sings backup (but doesn't play guitar, for some reason) on the Ramones' cover of "Substitute."― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Friday, November 30, 2018 10:56 AM (one year ago)
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Friday, November 30, 2018 10:56 AM (one year ago)
― nothing in the dialog (unregistered), Monday, 6 January 2020 23:51 (four years ago) link
Does this count?
"The Longest Time" is a doo-wop single by Billy Joel. The song was released as a single in 1984 as the fourth single from the 1983 album An Innocent Man. Following the theme of the album in paying tribute to Joel's musical influences, the song is presented in the style of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. It reached number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. In the United Kingdom the song reached number 25 on the UK Singles Chart.The song features Joel on lead vocals and all backing vocals. Two musical instruments are present in the song: a bass guitar and a snare drum being played with brushes. When the song is covered by vocal groups, the bass part is typically sung. All other sounds in the song are Joel's vocals, along with percussive sounds such as finger snaps and hand claps. Phil Ramone and Joel had intended to feature a vocal group but Joel recorded each of the parts himself.
The song features Joel on lead vocals and all backing vocals. Two musical instruments are present in the song: a bass guitar and a snare drum being played with brushes. When the song is covered by vocal groups, the bass part is typically sung. All other sounds in the song are Joel's vocals, along with percussive sounds such as finger snaps and hand claps. Phil Ramone and Joel had intended to feature a vocal group but Joel recorded each of the parts himself.
― BeerAdvocate in the streets, Wookiepedia in the sheets (morrisp), Tuesday, 7 January 2020 00:02 (four years ago) link
I knew Angel Olsen sang backup for Will Oldham for a bit but didn't realize for a long time that she's in the video for the second version of "I See A Darkness"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iV4NwSbscg
now in her band she has Heather McEntire of Mount Moriah, who's got a great Dolly Parton-y voice herselfhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2J7E5hqjX0o
― Greta Van Show Feets BB (milo z), Tuesday, 7 January 2020 00:12 (four years ago) link
Hardly proper "backing vocals" given that she sings much more than the billed artist, but: Annie Lennox on the 1984 solo single "Darling Don't Leave Me" by Robert Görl of DAF:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M95Dws35cKQ
― anatol_merklich, Tuesday, 7 January 2020 00:58 (four years ago) link
Lindsay Pagano - So Bad (ft. Paul McCartney)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQgLrQRaXIY
a literal nobody who was best known for appearing in an AOL commercial in 2001
Pagano was recording the album at the same Los Angeles studio where McCartney was recording Driving Rain when he introduced himself and asked to hear some of her music."I played him some, and he was dancing all around the studio," Pagano recalled. "Everyone was freaking out that it was Paul McCartney, and I would be like, 'Oh, I just saw Paul. Whatever.' He just became a regular person. He asked how the album was doing one day, and I said, 'Well, I'm just looking for a really simple acoustic song for the end of the album, just to end it.' And he said, 'Well, I wrote this song called 'So Bad,' which I think would go really good with your voice.' I laid down a rough track, and when I came back to work on it again, I hear this vocal in the back, and it's Paul's vocal. He was singing on it as kind of a surprise. So it became a duet."
"I played him some, and he was dancing all around the studio," Pagano recalled. "Everyone was freaking out that it was Paul McCartney, and I would be like, 'Oh, I just saw Paul. Whatever.' He just became a regular person. He asked how the album was doing one day, and I said, 'Well, I'm just looking for a really simple acoustic song for the end of the album, just to end it.' And he said, 'Well, I wrote this song called 'So Bad,' which I think would go really good with your voice.' I laid down a rough track, and when I came back to work on it again, I hear this vocal in the back, and it's Paul's vocal. He was singing on it as kind of a surprise. So it became a duet."
― panburger partner (unregistered), Monday, 22 June 2020 22:54 (three years ago) link
that aol commercial song could have been legitimately great if they had just redone the entire song other than the chorus
― dyl, Tuesday, 23 June 2020 00:14 (three years ago) link
not sure if this sort of thing counts, but two 90s hiphop tracks immediately came to mind:
inspectah deck on 2pac's 'got my mind made up' and busta rhymes on capone n noriega's 'driver's seat.'
both were cases where the "featured" mc had a guest verse that was later cut and all that remained in the final mix were their adlibbed parts. like i said, kind of a grey area.
― Totally different head. Totally. (Austin), Tuesday, 23 June 2020 00:56 (three years ago) link
Not quite on topic but I was revisiting Lou's "Street Hassle" the other day and was startled I'd forgotten the uncredited cameo verse by the Boss.
― assert (MatthewK), Tuesday, 23 June 2020 01:08 (three years ago) link
Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham on "Magnet and Steel"
― justfanoe (Greg Fanoe), Tuesday, 23 June 2020 01:12 (three years ago) link
xp Bruce also does the almost inaudible backing vocals on John Prine's "Take a Look at My Heart."
― Greetings from CHAZbury Park (Lily Dale), Tuesday, 23 June 2020 01:23 (three years ago) link
...and that's also Bruce, very audible, on Graham Parker's "Endless Night"
― SlimAndSlam, Tuesday, 23 June 2020 02:06 (three years ago) link
Q-Tip, Slick Rick, and Biz Markie back up Jay-Z on “Girls, Girls, Girls”
― ACABincalifornia (voodoo chili), Tuesday, 23 June 2020 02:11 (three years ago) link
A Tom Waits song is the only possible context where Keith Richards would count as an "overqualified" backing vocalist.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgG4rxq8DhY
― but also fuck you (unperson), Tuesday, 23 June 2020 02:15 (three years ago) link
David Crosby on "Another Day in Paradise" (phil colins)
James Taylor on "Back in the high life" (steve winwood)
Shannon Hoon on "Dont Cry" (gnr)
Liz Phair on "Work" (jimmy eat world)
― billstevejim, Wednesday, 24 June 2020 06:38 (three years ago) link
Liz Phair on "Soak Up The Sun" by Sheryl Crow.
― "...And the Gods Socially Distanced" (C. Grisso/McCain), Wednesday, 24 June 2020 12:31 (three years ago) link
apparently michele phillips and diane warren harmonize on the chorus of “heaven is a place on earth”
― voodoo chili, Wednesday, 7 April 2021 15:58 (three years ago) link
Billy Ocean on Scott Walker’s Track Three
― In on the killfile (Boring, Maryland), Wednesday, 7 April 2021 16:05 (three years ago) link
Billy Ocean sings the high harmony for about 90% of the song, to be fair it's practically a duet.
― Halfway there but for you, Wednesday, 7 April 2021 16:13 (three years ago) link