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New Female lead singer - need song ideas

B

bspot

Sep 9, 2008
186
0
Charlotte NC
#1
Hey all-my reformed band has found themselves a killer female vocalist and we're compiling song ideas.

I've looked thru the threads on TB having to do with female lead singers and have come up with some good song ideas. But most of them are dealing with songs already sung by females [Heart, Paramore, Jeff. Starship, etc.]

I'm looking for more ideas like Led Zeppelin, Journey + newer stuff that female lead bands have had success with. Songs originally sung by men that are now working with female singers.

Any ideas would be appreciated! Thanks!
 
#4
Here is our initial idea list:

Black Crowes – Remedy
Fleetwood Mac – Second Hand News
Fleetwood Mac – Go Your Own Way
The Eagles – Seven Bridges Road
The Eagles – Those Shoes
The Eagles – Life In The Fast Lane
Bad Company – Feel Like Makin Love
Journey – Any Way You Want It
Journey – Lovin Touchin Squeezin
Sublime – What I Got
Heart – Magic Man
Led Zeppelin [Heart] – Rock N Roll
No Doubt – Just A Girl
No Doubt – Hey Baby
Nirvana – Heart Shaped Box
INXS – Need You Tonight
Janes Addiction - ?
Paramore – Crushcrushcrush
Pat Benetar – Heartbreaker
Pink Floyd – Comfortably Numb
Pretenders – Middle Of The Road
Prince – Kiss
Red Hot Chili Peppers - ?
REO Speedwagon - ?
Jet - ?
Tom Petty - ?
Blondie – Call Me
Alannah Myles - Black Velvet
Letters to Cleo – I Want You To Want Me
Veruca Salt
Guns N Roses – Sweet Child o Mine
Guns N Roses – Patience
Edie Brickel – What I Am
Joan Jett – Do You Wanna Touch, I Love Rock N Roll
ACDC - ?
Maroon 5 – Harder To Breathe
Bow Wow Wow – I Want Candy
Alanis Morrissette - You Oughta Know
Cranberries – Zombie
The Cult – Love Removal Machine
Sheryl Crow – My Favorite Mistake
Sheryl Crow – Every Day Is A Winding Road
Sheryl Crow – A Change Would Do You Good
The Donnas – Take It Off
 
#6
Spencer Davis Group "Gimmie Some Lovin'". Sexy! Plus, the bass line is a classic.

Also, check out "Fever" as done by The McCoys.

And finally, "I Put A Spell On You" as done by The Angels from the soundtrack to "Holy Smoke!". Great arrangement.
 
#10
Have her sing every song she sounds good singing regardless if the original singer was a male or female on the original recording. I would not go out of my way to find any "chick" songs but rather just great cover songs that rock the audience. I'm sure she will have some song ideas to throw in that showcases her vocal talents. Best of luck.....look like your off to a great start on your set lists.
 
#11
I Got the Blues..by the Rolling Stones...our female lead does it and it kills everytime...although she changed the lyrics slightly...she also does Going Down by Freddie King...another crowd pleaser, but we play mostly R&b, blues to an older crowd...a couple of suggestions just off the top of my head...Cause Cheap is How I Feel...Sheryl Crow? and Don't let me Down...the Beatles
 
#14
Not all women have the same range. Is she a soprano or an alto? I share lead singing responsibilities in the band I'm in, and we do all sorts of things, from Led Zep and Journey to Foo Fighters and Judas Priest. Your singer just needs to sit down with some songs everyone likes and try them on for size. Doing just Heart/Sheryl Crow/Pat Benatar/Joan Jett stuff can get boring and predictable.
 
#16
We have a mezzo-soprano singer who usually sings in the alto range. Here's some of the songs she sings:

Alone, Heart
Bobby McGee, Janis Joplin
Before He Cheats, Carrie Underwood
Cowboy Cassanova, Carrie Underwood
Dancing in the Streets, Martha & The Vandellas
Day Tripper, Beatles
Don’t Stop Believing, Journey
Fever, Eva Cassidy
Heard It Through the Grapevine, Marvin Gaye
Higher Ground, Stevie Wonder
Hit Me With Your Best Shot, Pat Benatar
Hot and Cold, Katy Perry
Hound Dog, Elvis
I Can't Make You Love Me, Bonnie Raitt
I Saw Her Standing There, Beatles
I Will Survive, Gloria Gaynor
I Wish, Stevie Wonder
Just a Little Bit, Magic Sam
Let It Be, Beatles
Like a Virgin, Madonna
Living on a Prayer, Bon Jovi
Love Shack, B52s
Man, I Feel Like a Woman, Shania Twain
Mercy, Duffy
Picture to Burn, Taylor Swift
Proud Mary, Tina Turner
Rehab, Amy Winehouse
Rhiannon, Fleetwood Mac
Rock N Roll, Led Zeppelin
Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay, Otis Redding
Stop in the Name of Love, Supremes
Stormy Monday, Eva Cassidy
Strawberry Wine, Deanna Carter
Suds in a Bucket, Sara Evans
Sweet Dreams, Eurythmics
There’s your Trouble, Dixie Chicks
These Arms of Mine, Otis Redding
Tonight the Heartache's On Me, Dixie Chicks
Wrap It Up, Fabulous Thunderbirds
You Belong to Me, Magic Sam
You Belong with Me, Taylor Swift
You Keep Me Hangin On, Kim Wilde
You Make Lovin Fun, Fleetwood Mac
 
#17
That's a great list, Jive.

To the OP- if your crowd can tolerate modern country music, you might mix in some Miranda Lambert and Gretchen Wilson, along with the country gals Jive mentioned (Carrie, Shania, Sara Evans). Any of them have songs that are rock enough to fly just about anywhere, and you shouldn't need a stage full of steel guitars to pull them off.
 
#18
One of my friends can do a killer cover of Breaking Benjamin and Metallica songs. She's got one helluva voice. Any song can work really, but a band that is good to look at if you want songs that were written with female vocals in mind would be Nightwish. In similar veins - Lacuna Coil, Evanescence, Within Temptation, and Epica.
 
#19
Zep and Journey can be tough unless she has the range to reach those upper notes and still hit the lower ones convincingly. Not a lot of people can do it, male or female.

My band has a female lead singer, and we do multiple Matchbox 20, Bare Naked Ladies, Goo Goo Dolls, Blue Rodeo, Trooper, April Wine, Black Crowes, Colin James, Cheap Trick, and Train songs.
We even do some Pearl Jam.
All of it works well, you don't really need to think original female vocals.

Matching the vocal key to something that will work for the guitar player is more of an issue if you have to radically change from the original key like we do, sometimes the riff doesn't sound strong enough when capo'd or played in a different position.
There's more compromise involved in song selection, but the impact live is well worth it.
It's just natural that many guys will prefer to go out to listen to a really good female singer than a male singer with equivalent talent.
 
#20
If she can do Zeppelin and Journey, look at REO, Heart, Pat Benetar, Boston, etc.

Like someone said, Zep and Journey done right are freakin tough. I've got a female-fronted band and my girl can do it, but there aren't many who can.

It also helps in a female fronted band if some of the guys can do a few token leads here and there to mix it up. For some reason there are some people who still have a "chick singer" issue when it comes to bands. People tend to be more critical of female singers.

Check out our song-list at Link Removed and see the ideas we came up with. Anything that looks obviously male in that song list probably is - ie. Pat Travers, Metallica, STP.
 

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