Favorite back up vocals

[wahfreak]

I generally always ignore back up vocal performances but when I really listen I hear how important they are for holding a song together. The Beatles were great for back up vocals. What's your favorite back up performance?

[jhvox]

First one that comes to mind is The Beatles, "Hello Goodbye."

[defcrew]

I love Keith Richards' Back up vox on "Casino Boogie" off of Exile on Main Street. Classic Keith...

[kev324]

The Beatles are hard to top for backups. One of my favs from them would be "I'm only Sleeping"

[robelinda2]

Great thread!!! So many bands these days dont have great backing vocals, I love great harmonies, what a joy.

[benjammin420]

The Beatles are hard to top for backups. One of my favs from them would be "I'm only Sleeping"

+1000 the greatest backup vocals ever

[defcrew]

David Bowie always had some nice backups, eg, "Drive In Saturday."

[Kayo88]

"It Won't Be Long" has such great attitude! Punky even

[defcrew]

Ry Cooder had killer back ups all over Bop Till You Drop...Trouble You Can't Fool Me, I Can't Win, Thing That Makes You Rich Makes Me Poor...

Agree that backup vox are kind of a lost art. The country artists have some really nice stuff. It isn't always about harmonizing perfectly but the timing, lyrics and personality of it.

[8Painting]

Cocker's "With a little Help From my friends"

[HHB]

Gimme Shelter

[defcrew]

What's the name of that last tune on Dark Side of the Moon where the lady just wails? Gimme Shelter a good one...All Down the Line?

[rwe333]

Gimme Shelter

...oh MAN! Merry Clayton. DAMN!!!
http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/00Images%20Late%202007/Merry-Clayton-1971.jpg

[defcrew]

Funny story about he vox on gimme Shelter. they say she did one verse and then stopped the recording and negotiated her pay before continuing. I guess she knew of Sir Mick's rep as a cheapskate. For some reason though I was thinking it was Clydie King.

[wahfreak]

What's the name of that last tune on Dark Side of the Moon where the lady just wails? Gimme Shelter a good one...All Down the Line?

Clare Torrey (sp?)

It's funny, my wife hates this song. She say's "what the hell is she screaming for?" It sounds like she being murdered!

[MOJO]

personally i think Richie Sambora does an excellant job on the
the background vocals for Bon Jovi..actually i think Richie has
the better voice of the two

[robelinda2]

Agree! Sambora does a great job in Bon Jovi. He the first guy I thought of when I read this thread, but didnt want to say!

[GAT]

I always like the backup singers on the Steely Dan and Boz Scaggs albums.

[benjammin420]

Sly and the Family Stone. Parliament-Funkadelic too, George Clinton was symphonic when arranging vocals ("Flashlight" and "Knee Deep" come to mind)

[dmczern]

Peter Gabriel always has some killer back up vocalists. I loved the stuff Paula Cole did with him years ago...

[louderock]

The entire Queen catalog comes to mind.

[PosterBoy]

Julie Miller on her and Buddy doing Rock Salt and Nails

[gainiac]

Cake has a bunch of good ones.

[offbeat]

The obvious ones are the Eagles, the Doobie Brothers, Restless Heart, Journey,etc.
One of my favorite BV arrangements is on Elton John's "In Neon", where the vocals almost act as an orchestral part.
Here's an obscure one: When I want a musician to hear how backing vocals are supposed to sound, I dig out an old Charlie album from the 70's, "No Second Chance". Listen to the title tune or "Lovers" to hear some of the tightest, lushest harmonies ever.

[hcole]

Alice in Chains does an excellent job with backup vocals, Cantrell and Staley's voices are like peanut butter and jelly.

[Jack Gilvey]

"Nowhere Man" has always done it for me. Whenever I hear it, I sing along with the backups, not the lead.

[Poppa Stoppa]

Some of the best backing vocals ever are those on Gladys Knight & The Pips 'Midnight Train to Georgia'. An absolute masterpiece.

[Bob Longo]

Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young

[jam10]

I think Jerry Cantrell of Alice In Chains did an awesome job with Layne Staley when Layne was alive. I would say that Alice In Chains has the best harmonies I have ever heard.
Ofcourse the Beatles were great too.

[Gargloic]

Nancy Wilson of Heart is hard to beat!

Richie Sambora is incredible too

Michael Kyske in Helloween probably does his own harmonies, great stuff!


Gargloic

[MOJO]

eagles, alice in chains... lots of good ones being posted

actually Eddie's and Mike Anthony's backgrounds on the old VH albums
are pretty good also

funny someone mentioned "Gimme Shelter" ( one of my favorite Stones song of all time) ..it's a litle weird but one of my favorite parts of that song it that one Crash cymbal thru out the entire song.. it's like "Perfect"
anyone else know what i'm talking about?

[Big_Daddy]

Eagles, Beatles, Dixie Chicks, Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks (the Lickettes).

[crzyfngers]

early little feat. nicolette larson, bonnie raitt, wooohooo.

[Bussman]

The Raelettes on You Are My Sunshine.

[Brian Maestro]

Red Hot Chili Peppers on Stadium Arcadium.

[readymade]

Mike Mills from REM is really under-recognized as a very gifted backup/harmony singer.

[BPSUL]

Jerry Cantrell backing Layne Staley. Best harmonies ever in hard rock.

[Pietro]

Queen

Manhatten Transfer

And... (I can't believe I'm the first on this...) THE BEACH BOYS!

[smallbutmighty]

The obvious ones for me were:

Journey
Eagles
Beatles
Queen
Beach Boys (has any mentioned them yet?!)

Other that are not so obvious (and maybe not so technically great) but are perfect for the band's sound:

The Wailers (Bob Marley)
Boston
AC-DC (she's got the *JACK!*, she gave me *JACK!*, she holdin' the *JACK!*)

[CharAznable]

3 pages and no one has mentioned The Byrds??

Also, maybe not 4 part harmonies or whatever, but to me, Michael Anthony's backup vocals are as important to the Van Halen sound as Eddie's guitar.

[ckeathley14]

King's X. I learned how to sing harmony listening to them.

[dverna]

The Edge (U2) - Beautiful Day

[Higher Landrons]

Night Moves

[m1911]

Michelle John and Sharon White with Eric Clapton do a nice job!

http://www.ericclaptonphotos.com/pics/294_1153296921.jpg?1244494640

Also Skynyrd's own Honkette's were pretty good with sister Cassie Gaines
http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd242/m26jimbo/TheHonkettes.jpg

[Kentano2000]

I always loved "Nowhere Man" and "Please Please Me" by the Beatles, not to mention all their other great stuff. Love the Beach Boys backing vox, especially "Don't Worry Baby" and "In My Room." Jellyfish carried the vocal torch well. And I love classic VH. Tunes like "I'm the One," "Dance the Night Away," and "In a Simple Rhyme" are killer :dude.

[Eddie V]

Michael Anthony of Van Halen cranked some cool vocals!
Def Lepoard?
Styx?
:dude:dude:dude

[robelinda2]

Dixie Chicks, yes!

[patl]

In newer stuff, I'm fascinated by what Fleet Foxes do, with nearly all their lyrics done in multipart harmonies (not quite lead/background vocals, but that's why it's unique).

[Steve Foley]

Gimme Shelter

Exactly what I was getting ready to type - the Stone's version.

First one that came to my mind.

A couple of others for me:
Alison Kraus and John Waite "Missing You"
Ike and Tina Turner "Wanna Take You Higher"
Toto "Africa"

[Steve Foley]

Check out almost any of the Motown catalogue, as well: Diana Ross & the Supremes, Temptations, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Jackson Five, Spinners, Four Tops, to name a few..... :dude

[SL_22]

personally i think Richie Sambora does an excellant job on the
the background vocals for Bon Jovi..actually i think Richie has
the better voice of the two
Sambora is always the first to come to mind when someone mentions backing vocalist. Keyboardist David Bryan is very good too.
The Eagles, Journey, & Van Halen are outstanding too.
I like Accept's backing vocals too. They sound like an army on some of their songs.

[strattele335]

Little River Band
Huewy Lewis and the News could really nail 'em live back in the day.
I always liked Kansas' bvg's too.

[SideBMusic]

I was surprise to see the Beach Boys not mentioned until far down the list. Quite an obvious choice for me. Someone mentioned the Fleet Foxes and I agree with that choice. CSN, The Eagles... how about The Four Seasons?

[PosterBoy]

Anyone else heard of Girlyman?

The have some awesome vocals

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lb1UCA2VE2Q

[Jason UP]

What about The Band? Danko, Manuel, Helm? The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down comes to mind with Danko / Manuel carrying the torch. Just something organic about it; not worrying about "perfection" but just singin' the song. Also anything CSN. Modern stuff I really like the Band of Horses and am getting into the Fleet Foxes stuff as well...tight harmonies throughout.

[CAJUN]

Chicago 1 thru 11

[anyone]

Queen
Jellyfish
U2
Ray LaMontagne (esp. on "Meg White")

[anyone]

Oh yeah!
Don't forget Ben Harper and the Blind Boys from Alabama.

[a1briz]

Beatles and AIC have been mentioned - these are my favs.

But also America and I really like the Garza brothers harmonies in Los Lonely Boys. Some of the best I've heard in certain songs.

[Snowdog]

Steve Miller (some of the coolest harmornies to be found).

Chris Difford (for Glenn Tilbrook).

America.

[jam10]

Jerry Cantrell backing Layne Staley. Best harmonies ever in hard rock.
Agree 100%

[Bankston]

Some not mentioned:

Jeff Pilson and Mick Brown from Dokken. Jeff in particular is a great back up vocalist and sings lead very well, too.

Adrian Smith from Iron Maiden doesn't sing harmony often, but when he does, he's very good at it. Steve Harris? Not so much.

Gotta agree about Jerry Cantrell, though. AIC's harmonies were so damn haunting.

Richie Sambora is a good call, as is Def Leppard.

And did someone mention Queen? Bohemian Rhapsody? Hellz yea.

[James]

Great thread. The right backing vocal can make an already great song epic.

There's a few that come to mind. I know I'm forgetting a bunch.

1) Kris McKay's part on the Charlie Sexton/Tonio K. song "Broken Dream" from his Under The Wishing Tree record. She sounds just like an angel.

2) Shannon McNally's part on the Charlie Sexton song "Burn" from his "Cruel and Gentle Things" record.

3) Shawn Colvin's part on the Eric Johnson song "Your Sweet Eyes" from his Bloom record.

The Stones' "Gimme Shelter" is a classic. I've never even been able to understand what the hell she's saying, but it doesn't matter!

Oh! Bobby Whitlock on the Derek & the Dominos Layla and Live At The Forum records...Man, that guy can sing...

[robelinda2]

3) Shawn Colvin's part on the Eric Johnson song "Your Sweet Eyes" from his Bloom record.


Excellent choice! Thats my favourite part of that song, Shawn's vocals are a perfect match for Eric, a seriously toneful and great song, I LOVE IT!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHr5t_hUZkQ

[James]

Yeah! Shawn Colvin has one of the sweetest voices I've ever heard. Her part of that track is sublime.

[Big_Daddy]

I'm no Madonna fan but that gospel choir in "Like A Prayer" gives me chills up my spine.

[Strung Up]

Probably anything Clydie King, Venetta Fields & Sherlie Matthews did. And for a decade or so, they got around.

[scottlr]

Tower of Power has some great backing vocals.

[waxnsteel]

The Story - Damn Everything But the Circus

[shngn7]

Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young

Yes.

[claudel]

I'd split "harmony vocals" where there are multiple lead singers from "back-up vocals" where it's more of an accompaniment....

That said, Ms. Clayton still takes the prize...

[tcforec]

"The Stones' "Gimme Shelter" is a classic. I've never even been able to understand what the hell she's saying, but it doesn't matter!"

War...children. It's just as shot away.

and when her voice hits that one where you can hear Mick in the control room, I thinnk it's the..."Rape....murder. It's just a kiss away" Gives me chills every time I hear it.


Also LOVE Brad Delp on top of Brad Delp on top of Brad Delp on top of Brad Delp! Never heard someone who sounded so good singing with himself.

[doublee]

The Band did pretty good with that.

[Texas_Blues]

The Beatles
Dr. Dog
John Frusciante's on RHCP

[Atomic Punk]

Van Halen
King's X
Porcupine Tree
Extreme
The Beatles
Alice in Chains

[Cary Chilton]

Beatles ANYTHING.... hehe The Eagles
VH AIC that is all that always comes to mind for me....

[bluesjunior]

I always like the way the girl singers voice in Deacon Blue blends with the lead singer Ricky Ross.

[Frank Prince]

No one has mentioned Earth, Wind, and Fire yet?

The breakdown at the end of Shining Star immediately leaps to mind, and the vocal outro on Can't Hide Love is just stunning. September, Sing a Song, and Fantasy have nice harmonies as well.

That band featured great vocal work on all their tunes as a rule.

[Bankston]

Watching a Heart concert on HDNet right now. Nancy Wilson is an amazing back-up vocalist and does a fine job when she sings lead. She and Ann harmonize so well together. You'd think they grew up singing together or something. ;)

[TwoTubMan]

Artist-Jack Bruce
Album-"Harmony Row"
Song-"Folk Song"

A dozen or so Jack's provide the overdubbed backing vocals. Pure bliss.

2nd place would be "The Night Before" from The Beatles "Help".

[Thor]

Page 6 and no mention of either YES nor PINK FLOYD?!?

Two great bands with plenty of great vocal talent and great harmonies.

[getbent]

The Pips on "midnight train to georgia"

"Fallin in love" hamilton, joe frank and reynolds

"One of a kind (love affair)" Spinners

"The world is a ghetto" War

"down so low" Linda Ronstadt

[harmonicator]

Michael Mcdonald's vocals on Peg by Steely Dan.

Earth Wind and fire

Commodores

[strings2wood]

Ry Cooder had killer back ups all over Bop Till You Drop...Trouble You Can't Fool Me, I Can't Win, Thing That Makes You Rich Makes Me Poor...

Agree that backup vox are kind of a lost art. The country artists have some really nice stuff. It isn't always about harmonizing perfectly but the timing, lyrics and personality of it.

=1.

all over his records:
Smack Dab in the Middle, Tattler, Yellow Roses, Married man's a Fool etc.

As well as Beatles I's also put up alot of Stones:
Wild Horses, Far Away Eyes, Hot Stuff, Fool to Cry etc.

Mama's and Papas nearly everyting

and showing my age.....but Peter Paul and mary on alot of stuff is almost lead backing vocals in unison. The chemistry of the 3 voices was a sonic Tour De understated Force.

[patl]

The guys behind Alison Krauss in Union Station are amazing at traditional harmonies and background vocals.

[ken budd]

Not anything specific but in general Vince Gill always produces great harmony and background vocals on his records.

[chinstrap]

Mick Jagger backing Carly Simon on You're So Vain.

[kevinhifi]

The Pips on "midnight train to georgia"

+1 on that.

My fav is "Centerfold" by the J. Geils Band.

[defcrew]

Mick Jagger backing Carly Simon on You're So Vain.
good one...how about Simon and Garfunkel "Sounds of Silence?"

[Geppetto]

Squire and Howe backing Anderson in the The Yes Album/Fragile/Close to the Edge era. (Your Move, I've Seen All Good People, for ex.). Superb backing vocals on Dark Side of the Moon as well.

[mr tom]

Leavin' on that midnight train...Whoo Whoo!

[Steve73]

As far as newer stuff, I really like David Crosby's and Graham Nash's backups on Gilmour's 'On an Island'.