Backing singing is harder than it sounds! Although there aren't many words to remember, you've got to get your entries right, and if - heaven forbid - you do actually forget the words, there's no option to make them up, because someone else is singing them too! No scatting allowed.
So my top ten list for August is a compilation of backing singing performances that have caught my attention for various reasons. Sometimes the recording artist records their own, and sometimes it is an artist in their own right.
Top Ten Backing Vocals
1. Take That
Instead of just singing a harmony to the tune on a chorus, Take That use their backing vocals as additional parts. An extra set of lyrics is sometimes added - take, for example in the song Sure...
Lead Vocal: "It's not a game so don't play hard to get"
Backing vocal: "I'm tired of running after you"
This is quite an obvious example, but this kind of exchange of words and melodies happens regularly, making the backing vocals integral to the song. Believe it or not, if someone is having trouble writing backing vocal lines I always encourage them to listen to Take That!
2. Prince (for Prince)
Unbelievably talented musician Prince apparently plays most of the instruments on most of his recordings. His ridiculous vocal range means that he can do most backing vocals himself. When I was growing up and watching Top of the Pops regularly, Prince appeared to change his name to 'The Artist Formerly Known As Prince,' or TAFKAP. Apparently this is just a title the media created because he had in fact changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol: 
In a modern world of smilies, I think I'll change my name to ;0)) . Call me TAFKASEH.
3. Prince (for Madonna)
Prince collaborated with Madonna on the album Like a Prayer. He co-wrote the track Love Song and sings backing vocals on it. On the same album, Prince also worked on one more track - Act of Contrition - which is Like a Prayer played backwards. An excellent idea for my next album! How about Drahn Ik Row or Eploe Pemos? (I know it's not exactly the same effect but it's the best I could do in the time given!)
4. Michael Jackson
An incredibly talented singer, Michael Jackson would record many of his own backing vocals. He also had a plethora of talented siblings to choose from. One of his backing singers in the 1990s was Sheryl Crow. Another interesting (or useless) fact: Michael Jackson was an Exeter City supporter.
5. Vivien Green – for Jill Scott on Later with Jools Holland Hip Hop Soul
As a teenager, when I first was becoming interested in music and singers, I discovered this DVD at a friend's house (No, I wasn't snooping around - we were watching it). It features brilliant live versions of songs such as Alicia Keys Falling, Mary J Blige Family Affair and Jill Scott Getting in the Way. Vivien Green appears as a backing singer for Jill Scott, and later on in the playlist as a performer in her own right with the breathtaking Fanatic.
It's an amazing collection of music - if you can ignore the need of Mr Holland to play a boogie-woogie solo over everyone's hip hop tune(?) - and there's a gem of an interview with Alicia Keys who treats the viewer to a spontaneous and unerringly passionate Never Can Say Goodbye.
6. Sarah Ellen Hughes
Ah, here I am again in my own top ten! This is because I'm extremely proud of my backing vocals on both of the original tunes of my album: Some People and Workin Hard (if you didn't get it earlier these are the backwards words in No. 2.)
While listening to the first mix with my drummer Darren, he dubbed the backings in the middle 8 of Some People the 'X-Factor moment,' and he can't resist singing them while sitting behind his drums on a gig. I should get him a mic. Thoughts, Darren?
7. Seal
One of the most beautiful arrangements of harmonies I've ever heard is on Kiss From A Rose from Seal's second album. In 1996 the song won 3 Grammy Awards - for Song of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. Surprisingly though, it only got to number 60 in the charts on its first release, but after being used under the credits for the film 'Batman Forever' it went straight to number 1.
8. Kurt Elling
On the album 'A Time For Love,' Kurt Elling records a wonderful multitrack version of Irving Berlin's The Best Things Happen When You Dance. It has inspired me to start a new group called 'Sector 7,' featuring jazz quartet and 3 vocalists, which will include new London jazz sensationKwabena Adjepong and London Jazz Vocalist Award nominee Emma Smith. I'm very excited and believe it will be the next big thing! So watch this space.
9. Rayne Fitton
Long before I had thoughts of becoming a professional singer, I would listen to my cousin, Rayne Fitton, singing and playing guitar with the various groups that she was in while still a UK resident. The most memorable of these groups for me was Johnson, signed to Sony for one beautiful album. The thing that made me listen most to Rayne was the fact that she never sang the tune when singing along to a song on tv or the radio... she would make up harmonies as she went. How did she do it?! I would marvel at this skill.
I do it a lot myself now - in practise for my backing vocals, or finding ideas for new arrangements of tunes - but whenever I find myself absently singing along to something in harmony I think of Rayne.
10. Jocelyn Brown
When preparing to sing at a wedding about 2 years ago, I was asked to learn the brilliant party tune Somebody Else's Guy. I went into HMV and bought 'Jocelyn Brown - The Hits.' The guy at the counter was amazed that Jocelyn Brown could have a Hits CD, given that she really has only this one notable song to her credit. However, as a backing singer and session vocalist, Jocelyn Brown has recorded some of the most memorable dance tunes of all time. Think Keep On Jumping, Love's Gonna Get You, the feel-good Always There and a stand-out version of Aint No Mountain High Enough, released in 1998. With a stack of top 20 UK hits and a long list of US number 1s, Jocelyn Brown is proof enough that the career of a backing singer can be as respected and lucrative as being the front woman.
PREVIOUS TOP TENS:
iPod Top Ten - click here to view
PREVIOUS TOP TENS:
iPod Top Ten - click here to view
Great list! I’m intrigued about Rayne Fitton’s work in Johnson. Were they a manufactured band or did she know the other member Noah Johnson previously? Prince could do no wrong, he is sadly missed.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I'm not entirely sure how they met. A vague memory tells me that it was a friend of a friend who introduced them on a night out, more as a personal match rather than a musical match. They worked together for years in various guises before they settled on the name and sound of Johnson.
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