Information about Backing Vocalist
A backing vocalist or backing singer (or, especially in the U.S., backup singer or sometimes background singer) is a singer who sings in harmony with the lead vocalist, other backing vocalists, or alone but not singing the lead. A backing vocalist will usually work with a lead vocalist, but this is not always true.
In many bands, one or more musicians other than the lead singer take on the duty of backing vocalist while playing their instruments. Some backing vocalists may also have solos from time to time. An example is guitarist John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who sings all backing vocals (few songs are recorded without backing vocals) often singing some parts without accompaniment from lead vocalist Anthony Kiedis. John usually covers a song by himself during concerts. Another example is former member of Scottish band Wet Wet Wet, Angus "Gusboyslim" Cameron whose dulcet tones can be heard in such classics as "Billy Boys" and "Follow Follow". Other examples include Mike Dirnt of Green Day, Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park, Malcolm Young of AC/DC (along with Cliff Williams, who joined the band in 1977), Nick McCarthy of Franz Ferdinand, Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones, The Edge of U2, Pete Townshend of The Who, Mick Jones of The Clash, Jason Newsted of Metallica, Michael Anthony of Van Halen, Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe, and Dusty Hill of ZZ Top, and Adrian Smith and Steve Harris of Iron Maiden. In some cases, drummers can do backing vocals in addition to other guitarists and the bassist. This is seen in bands such as Relient K, Sum 41, Samhain, Black Sabbath, Foo Fighters, Franz Ferdinand, Kiss, Queen, Mötley Crüe, Velvet Revolver, Linkin Park, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Police, The Yardbirds, Atreyu, Underoath, Inhale Exhale, and Family Force 5.
Among the pioneers of pop music two producers should be noticed for their work with backing vocals - Phil Spector, who used b vox (backing vocals) and lavish orchestration to create a bombastic sound - and Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys who composed some of the most intricate vocal harmonies in pop music. Both producers have greatly influenced the vocal harmony style of The Beatles, who explored it further. Since all four members of The Beatles sang lead on various songs, all served as creative backup singers for the others at various times. The same can be said for the (main) members of KISS
The English rock group Queen are very famous for complex harmonies. Along with dynamic lead vocalist Freddie Mercury two bandmates Roger Meddows-Taylor and Brian May have strong voices which blend intricately together along with Freddie's voice and Queen songs were rarely recorded, particularly early on, without backing vocals.
In the recording studio, some lead singers choose to record their own backing vocals. Ian Gillan of Deep Purple is one of the best known examples, as are Brad Delp of Boston, who recorded all lead and backing vocals on the first three Boston albums, Lemmy of Motörhead, Justin Hawkins of The Darkness Sting of The Police, Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, Rob Halford of Judas Priest, Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin and Thom Yorke from Radiohead.
Many metalcore and some post-hardcore bands, such as As I Lay Dying and Alexisonfire, feature a main vocalist who does the lead singing/screaming, whilst the backing vocalist sings harmonies during choruses to create a contrast to the music tone's color. Some bands, such as My Chemical Romance and Hawthorne Heights flip this process, and have screaming to highlight specific lyrics in contrast to the more harmonic and traditional lead vocals.
Famous singers who began as backing vocalists:
Franz Ferdinand are an award winning rock band, from Glasgow, Scotland. Formed in 2001 and named after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the band consists of Alex Kapranos on lead vocals and
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David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961 in Barking, East London, UK), more widely known by his moniker The Edge
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In many bands, one or more musicians other than the lead singer take on the duty of backing vocalist while playing their instruments. Some backing vocalists may also have solos from time to time. An example is guitarist John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who sings all backing vocals (few songs are recorded without backing vocals) often singing some parts without accompaniment from lead vocalist Anthony Kiedis. John usually covers a song by himself during concerts. Another example is former member of Scottish band Wet Wet Wet, Angus "Gusboyslim" Cameron whose dulcet tones can be heard in such classics as "Billy Boys" and "Follow Follow". Other examples include Mike Dirnt of Green Day, Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park, Malcolm Young of AC/DC (along with Cliff Williams, who joined the band in 1977), Nick McCarthy of Franz Ferdinand, Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones, The Edge of U2, Pete Townshend of The Who, Mick Jones of The Clash, Jason Newsted of Metallica, Michael Anthony of Van Halen, Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe, and Dusty Hill of ZZ Top, and Adrian Smith and Steve Harris of Iron Maiden. In some cases, drummers can do backing vocals in addition to other guitarists and the bassist. This is seen in bands such as Relient K, Sum 41, Samhain, Black Sabbath, Foo Fighters, Franz Ferdinand, Kiss, Queen, Mötley Crüe, Velvet Revolver, Linkin Park, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Police, The Yardbirds, Atreyu, Underoath, Inhale Exhale, and Family Force 5.
Among the pioneers of pop music two producers should be noticed for their work with backing vocals - Phil Spector, who used b vox (backing vocals) and lavish orchestration to create a bombastic sound - and Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys who composed some of the most intricate vocal harmonies in pop music. Both producers have greatly influenced the vocal harmony style of The Beatles, who explored it further. Since all four members of The Beatles sang lead on various songs, all served as creative backup singers for the others at various times. The same can be said for the (main) members of KISS
The English rock group Queen are very famous for complex harmonies. Along with dynamic lead vocalist Freddie Mercury two bandmates Roger Meddows-Taylor and Brian May have strong voices which blend intricately together along with Freddie's voice and Queen songs were rarely recorded, particularly early on, without backing vocals.
In the recording studio, some lead singers choose to record their own backing vocals. Ian Gillan of Deep Purple is one of the best known examples, as are Brad Delp of Boston, who recorded all lead and backing vocals on the first three Boston albums, Lemmy of Motörhead, Justin Hawkins of The Darkness Sting of The Police, Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, Rob Halford of Judas Priest, Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin and Thom Yorke from Radiohead.
Many metalcore and some post-hardcore bands, such as As I Lay Dying and Alexisonfire, feature a main vocalist who does the lead singing/screaming, whilst the backing vocalist sings harmonies during choruses to create a contrast to the music tone's color. Some bands, such as My Chemical Romance and Hawthorne Heights flip this process, and have screaming to highlight specific lyrics in contrast to the more harmonic and traditional lead vocals.
Famous singers who began as backing vocalists:
- Whitney Houston
- Mariah Carey
- Luther Vandross
- Melissa Manchester
- Patti LaBelle
- The Pointer Sisters
- Cher
- Glen Campbell
- Marc Anthony
- Diana Ross
- Minnie Riperton
- Deniece Williams
- Patti Austin
- Anita Baker
- Linda Ronstadt
- Laura Branigan
- Donna Summer
- Madonna
- Dionne Warwick
- Phyllis Hyman
- Chaka Khan
- Florence Ballard
- Mary Wilson
- Marvin Gaye
- Elton John
- Bette Midler
- Brian Wilson
- Gerald Levert
- Joe Hahn
A singer is a musician who uses their voice to produce music. Often the singer is accompanied by musicians and instruments. While many people sing for pleasure, vocal skill is usually a combination of innate talent and professional training.
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harmony is the use and study of pitch simultaneity, and therefore chords, actual or implied, in music. The study of harmony may often refer to the study of harmonic progressions, the movement from one pitch simultaneity to another, and the structural principles that govern such
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A singer is a musician who uses their voice to produce music. Often the singer is accompanied by musicians and instruments. While many people sing for pleasure, vocal skill is usually a combination of innate talent and professional training.
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guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Professional guitarists may perform solo pieces or play with ensembles and bands of a wide variety of genres. The guitar is an incredibly versatile instrument, and like the piano, it can play chords, melodies, solos, or help to gel a
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Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1983. For most of its career, the group has consisted of vocalist Anthony Kiedis, guitarist John Frusciante, bassist Michael "Flea" Balzary, and drummer Chad Smith.
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Anthony Kiedis (born November 1, 1962) is the lead singer and a co-founder of the alternative rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. He is also responsible for writing most of the band's vocal melodies and lyrics.
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Wet Wet Wet are a successful Scottish pop band of the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. They scored a number of hits in the British charts and around the world. The band comprises Marti Pellow (vocals), Tommy Cunningham (drums, vocals), Graeme Clark (bass, vocals) and Neil Mitchell
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The Billy Boys is a loyalist song from Glasgow and Belfast, sung to the tune of Marching Through Georgia.[1] It originated in the 1930s as the signature song of a street gang led by Billy Fullerton[2]
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Mike Dirnt (born Michael Ryan Pritchard on May 4, 1972, in Rodeo, California) is best known as the bassist and backing vocalist of Green Day. While at school, he would play unamplified plucking the strings, making a noise soon familiar (dirnt, dirnt, dirnt), he later adopted
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Green Day is an American rock band formed in 1988. The band consists of three core members: Billie Joe Armstrong (guitar, lead vocals), Mike Dirnt (bass) and Tré Cool (drums).
Green Day was originally part of the punk rock scene at 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley, California.
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Green Day was originally part of the punk rock scene at 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley, California.
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Michael Kenji Shinoda (born February 11, 1977)[1][2] is an American musician, record producer, and artist from Agoura Hills, California. He is best known as the MC, Rapper and rhythm guitarist of Linkin Park, and his side project, Fort Minor.
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Linkin Park is a rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Forming in 1996, the band had since sold more than forty million albums and won two Grammys.[1][2][3] With their debut album, Hybrid Theory
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Malcolm Mitchell Young (born January 6 1953 in Glasgow, Scotland) is a founding member, rhythm guitarist, backing vocalist and co-songwriter for the Australian hard rock band, AC/DC.
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AC/DC are a hard rock band formed in Sydney, Australia in 1973 by brothers Angus and Malcolm Young. The band are considered pioneers of heavy metal, alongside bands such as Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath.
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Cliff Williams (Born December 14, 1949 in Romford, Essex, England) is the bassist for the Australian hard rock band AC/DC. He moved with his family to Liverpool when he was nine, where he spent the first two working years of his life as an engineer before joining his first band,
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Nick McCarthy (born Nicholas Augustine McCarthy December 13, 1974) is an English musician. He is the lead guitarist, backup singer, and keyboardist of the British band Franz Ferdinand.
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- For other uses, see Franz Ferdinand (disambiguation).
Franz Ferdinand are an award winning rock band, from Glasgow, Scotland. Formed in 2001 and named after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the band consists of Alex Kapranos on lead vocals and
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Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English guitarist, songwriter, singer, producer and founding member of The Rolling Stones. With songwriting partner and Stones lead vocalist Mick Jagger, he has written and recorded hundreds of songs.
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For other subjects called The Edge, see .
David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961 in Barking, East London, UK), more widely known by his moniker The Edge
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Pete Townshend (born Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend on May 19, 1945 in Chiswick, London), is an award-winning English rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer.
Townshend made his name as the guitarist and principal songwriter for rock band The Who.
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Townshend made his name as the guitarist and principal songwriter for rock band The Who.
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The Who are an English rock band that first formed in 1964, and grew to be considered one of the greatest[1] and most influential[2] bands in the world.
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Mick Jones (born Michael Geoffrey Jones, 26 June 1955, Brixton, South London, England) was the lead guitarist and a vocalist of the legendary British band, The Clash, before being fired in 1983.
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The Clash were an English punk rock band, active from 1976 to 1986, and part of the original wave of UK punk rock in the late 1970s. Although a punk rock band, the band experimented with reggae, funk, New Wave, dub, and rockabilly in their music[1][2].
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Michael Anthony Sobolewski (born June 20 1954) is an American musician. He is best known as the former bassist and a founding member of the hard rock band Van Halen. He is the only person credited for recording bass-guitar tracks with them.
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Van Halen is an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California in 1972. They enjoyed immediate popularity and influence from the release of their debut album, Van Halen in 1978, which lasted until the band's lineup destabilized in the late 1990s.
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Joe Michael "Dusty" Hill (born May 19, 1949, in Dallas, Texas, U.S.) is bassist and vocalist with Texas Boogie-Blues-Rock group ZZ Top. Hill is noted for his solid, unadorned bass playing, "leather-lung" vocal stylings and his love of Elvis Presley.
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ZZ Top is an American blues rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. The group members are Billy Gibbons (guitar, lead vocals), Dusty Hill (bass, vocals), and Frank Beard (drums, percussion).
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Adrian Frederik "H" Smith (born February 27, 1957 in Hackney, East London, England) is a songwriter and one of three guitarists/songwriters in the heavy metal band Iron Maiden. He also sings backing vocals on some songs, along with Steve Harris.
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Stephen Percy Harris (born March 12, 1956 in Leytonstone, London, England) is the bassist and primary composer of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden. In addition, he plays keyboards, sings backing vocals, and is the leader and sole owner of the band.
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Iron Maiden are a British heavy metal band from Leyton in the East End of London. The band were formed in 1975 by bassist Steve Harris, formerly a member of Gypsy's Kiss and Smiler.
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