Non singing musicians on vocals

[Lazylion]

Originally Posted by mellowinman

Lou Reed can't sing?
Then why do I enjoy listening to him sing so much?

I guess you'd have to answer that one!

Originally Posted by mellowinman

He seems to have built a career around this supposed inability to sing.

Indeed. It hasn't slowed him down one bit!

[JimK]

Originally Posted by powderfinger

Conversley, Kenny G (Ive always wondered what he sang like), claims he cannot sing, and hence does not. He falls into the category of "can't sing, and doesn't sing". Plus, I suppose it's hard to play the alto sax and sing at the same time.

Not to nitpick-
G-man plays soprano & tenor.

[JimK]

Originally Posted by Lazylion

Lou Reed and Ian Hunter, for the "can't sing, but has been singing for decades anyway" category.

Bob Dylan...Jim Morrison?
(although I do like Morrison's vocals).

Jaco sings "Fannie Mae" (sometimes the last tune in his Word Of Mouth sets)...he ain't bad.
So, in his day-
"Can sing...but not very often".
I was recently re-visiting Stanley Clarke's Journey To Love album...George Duke sings "lead" (very well)...I think Clarke sings a line or two...not very well, IMO.

Will Lee & Neil Jason are 2 examples of session bassists that play & sing very well.

[audreycashin]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fT6SqzgE9z8

[audreycashin]

Originally Posted by JimK

Bob Dylan...Jim Morrison?
(although I do like Morrison's vocals).

Jaco sings "Fannie Mae" (sometimes the last tune in his Word Of Mouth sets)...he ain't bad.
So, in his day-
"Can sing...but not very often".
I was recently re-visiting Stanley Clarke's Journey To Love album...George Duke sings "lead" (very well)...I think Clarke sings a line or two...not very well, IMO.

Will Lee & Neil Jason are 2 examples of session bassists that play & sing very well.

+1 on dylan......great songwriter but can't stand to hear him sing!

[Roscoe East]

Originally Posted by JimK

I was recently re-visiting Stanley Clarke's Journey To Love album...George Duke sings "lead" (very well)...I think Clarke sings a line or two...not very well, IMO.

Most of the vocals on that album are Duke and Clarke in unison...which is a good thing, because Duke's a good singer and he tends to mask a lot of Clarke's imperfections. But there's one moment during the title track where Clarke sings the line "returning to forever" (haha, get it?) solo, and holy crap is it bad sounding! Duke then gets the next solo interjection "you and I together" and all is right in the world once more.

Alphonso Johnson is another remarkably good bass player with a remarkably average voice:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ihs2wgh399Q

[Kmonk]

Originally Posted by Lazylion

Lou Reed and Ian Hunter, for the "can't sing, but has been singing for decades anyway" category.

I agree that Lou Reed can't sing but Ian Hunter does an ok job.

The guy I always wondered about was John Deacon. He rarely even did backups live. He didn't sing at all on Bohemian Rhapsody even though he was featured lip syncing harmonies in the video.

[DiabolusInMusic]

For the record Alex Lifeson can sing, I saw them recently and he was singing clearly in the mix and their voices actually blended great together. I honestly cannot remember the 2009 tour though, so this may be the first tour you can hear him the mix.

[powderfinger]

Originally Posted by Kmonk

I agree that Lou Reed can't sing but Ian Hunter does an ok job.

The guy I always wondered about was John Deacon. He rarely even did backups live. He didn't sing at all on Bohemian Rhapsody even though he was featured lip syncing harmonies in the video.

I enjoy Lou Reed's vocals, but pretty much everyone I know says he "can't sing". He "can't sing" in the same way that Bob Dylan or Neil Young "can't sing". Not a pretty voice. Not a trained voice. Not even a voice that stays in key. But a unique voice, that is original, and interesting.

[JimK]

Originally Posted by Roscoe East

Most of the vocals on that album are Duke and Clarke in unison...which is a good thing, because Duke's a good singer and he tends to mask a lot of Clarke's imperfections. But there's one moment during the title track where Clarke sings the line "returning to forever" (haha, get it?) solo, and holy crap is it bad sounding! Duke then gets the next solo interjection "you and I together" and all is right in the world once more.

Yes...that's what I was talking about!

[Orangeclawhamme]

WHO should have been the lead singer of the Who? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ugm1C1jSLDQ

[Unrepresented]

Jim Steinman. Wrote all the songs for Meatloaf on Bat Out of Hell and then when Meat wasn't immediately able to perform on the sequel they had Steinman do it. There is a reason that Meatloaf made a comeback and Steinman continued to write songs for better vocalists.

[pedro]

There is a difference between carrying a tune and being a singer.

[MatticusMania]

Originally Posted by powderfinger

I enjoy Lou Reed's vocals, but pretty much everyone I know says he "can't sing". He "can't sing" in the same way that Bob Dylan or Neil Young "can't sing". Not a pretty voice. Not a trained voice. Not even a voice that stays in key. But a unique voice, that is original, and interesting.

Going along with this... Im a huge fan of Sonic Youth, but not a one of them is any good at singin'.

[MarkMgibson]

Originally Posted by Orangeclawhamme

WHO should have been the lead singer of the Who? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ugm1C1jSLDQ

I heard Ozzy Ozbourne sing that song at one the Royal Variety concerts. Seems to be a good song for dodgy singers.

[MarkMgibson]

Originally Posted by powderfinger

So, this thread was propmted by a video I saw of Jeff Beck performing with Eric Clapton. Beck actually did lead vocals on the song they were playing (Hi Ho The Silver Lining, was the song). I never knew prior that Jeff Beck ever sang, but he really wasn't that bad. He kind of sounded like Keith Richards and Ron Wood when they sing, but with a bit more range and melody. So Beck falls into the "can sing, but doesnt sing" category.

Conversley, Kenny G (Ive always wondered what he sang like), claims he cannot sing, and hence does not. He falls into the category of "can't sing, and doesn't sing". Plus, I suppose it's hard to play the alto sax and sing at the same time.

Jimmy Page. He sings back up on Communication Breakdown and a couple of other songs. Nothing great. I guess he's in the category of "maybe can sing, would be interesting to see".

So any other musicians you guys have wondered, "hmmm, I wonder if he can sing"? OR any non singing musicians you have seen try to sing, and maybe should not sing again (I would honestly lump Ron Wood in this category).

That would have been the A.R.M.S concert, yes? Jeff Beck recorded that song as a joke, and has always been embarrassed by it (especially as it was a minor hit). You can see on that video that he's not happy about singing it, but did it because it was for charity.

[BrandonBass]

Chris Wolstenholme of Muse did lead vocals on 2 of the band's new tracks. Hes a decent singer, doesnt blow me away though. Matt Bellamy is better by far. Im impressed by his harmonies though.

Also, Ritchie Sambora from Bon Jovi is a killer singer for those of you who dont know

[Tanner5382]

Originally Posted by powderfinger

Jimmy Page sorta sounds like Ray Davies (early Kinks) a bit. Interesting.

JPJ isn't so bad either.

Funny you mention that, because "She Just Satisfies" is basically a Kinks ripoff.


The Zeppelin backing vocals that weren't sung by Robert Plant were usually pretty low in the mix. It would be nice if the other's backing vocals were a little more prominent.

[Tanner5382]

I like Jeff Beck's lead vocals on this one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPpSh1CkLLI

[JimK]

Originally Posted by Roscoe East

Alphonso Johnson is another remarkably good bass player with a remarkably average voice:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ihs2wgh399Q

Alphonso w/ George Duke-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cda693NGOc

Vocals at about 3:05 in...