10 Great Side-Person Lead Vocals
Some of rock’s legendary moments have occurred when the side man (or person) steps to the mic and takes a lead vocal. While Keith Richards tends to business on tunes like “Happy” or “Before They Make Me Run,” Mick Jagger traditionally goes off stage to rest his wiggling buttocks. As a matter of fact, we’re going to call this the ‘Keith Richards Tribute List.’ Oddly, Mr. Richards is not featured on this list, but he is indeed its very inspiration (we simply could not agree on the best Keef vocal to include).
Chris Bisha and I collaborated on this list, and we learned something interesting about the way bands are promoted these days. Labels don’t promote a group with its individual members, they get behind songs with little regard for the personalities in the band. Great bands tend to take on a whole different vibe when someone other than the front person takes the wheel. We made sure to to push at least into the ’90s and bands with great individual personalities like Oasis and Wilco.
There were some restrictions on eligible tunes. No co-lead vocalists (Mick Jones). No regularly contributing band features (George & Ringo). No guest stars or ‘featurings’ (Roy Harper on Floyd’s “Have a Cigar”).
Here we celebrate 10 great moments of shadow step-out, and pay tribute to those brave rock warriors who have indeed stepped out of those shadows to strut their stuff, and give the regular guy a rest.
Kim Deal – Pixies
“Gigantic”
Kim Deal steps up to the vocal plate on “Gigantic,” a crowd favorite as well as the closest the Pixies would come to a proper radio hit. Somewhat inspired by the film Crimes of the Heart, in which Sissy Spacek has an affair with a teenage African-American boy. The word “gigantic” is all Black Francis had so Kim added the voyeuristic lyrics describing an inter-racial tryst. A simple, hooky bass line drives the track while Kim’s vocals explode front and center. Unfortunately, there would only be a handful of tunes featuring Kim as the lead, since the tension between her and Francis would force them to part ways (via fax) in 1993, the first of her two departures. -PC
John Entwistle – The Who
“Boris the Spider”
For The Who’s second album all members were instructed to write a song. John “The Ox” Entwistle would contribute “Boris the Spider.” After weeks of procrastination (and an alleged night out drinking with Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones) John scrawled his creepy-crawler track in under ten minutes. “Boris the Spider” would become a fan favorite in the arenas, and according to Pete Townsend, it was Jimi Hendrix’s favorite song by the band. On a less credible note, there are some people out there who believe the basso profundo vocal style on “Boris the Spider” is the beginning of the “death growl” used in many styles of metal music. -PC
Ron Wood – Faces
“Ooh La La”
On my 30th birthday in 2003 I received as a present a “mixed CD,” one of the last I would receive. This special mix contained “Ooh La La” which had always been a track I enjoyed. As a fan of Faces, but a much larger Stones fan, I always thought it was great that Ronnie Wood sang lead on “Ooh La La.” Rod Stewart and Ronnie Lane gave it a go in the studio, but producer-engineer extraordinaire Glyn Johns thought Wood’s version was the best. “Ooh La La” is the title track and the last song on the last album released by the short-lived (but very influential) Faces. Ronnie Wood, Rod Stewart and the late Ronnie Lane would all continue to perform “Ooh La La” throughout their careers. -PC
Noel Gallagher – Oasis
“Don’t Look Back in Anger”
Love it or hate it, “Don’t Look Back in Anger” has become an international anthem, featuring an explosive chorus that is hard to shake off. For this 1996 Oasis track, Noel Gallagher (the songwriter and guitarist) gave Liam Gallagher (the singer) the choice of two songs to sing — Liam chose “Wonderwall” and Noel took “Don’t Look Back in Anger.” This was the first time that Noel sang lead on a single and it provided a glimpse into the future of a band doomed by an extraordinary sibling rivalry. Later that same year, Noel would sing all of the band’s hits to date on MTV Unplugged, when Liam decided right before the show that he had a sore throat. A sore throat would keep Liam from singing that night but not from heckling his brother from the audience. And Bob’s your uncle. -PC
Paul Simonon – The Clash
“Guns of Brixton”
Paul Simonon gave The Clash its name and its look, but he couldn’t even play bass when the band was formed. Fortunately, by the time London Calling was being recorded, Paul had plenty of skill and experience with his instrument. (That’s actually him smashing his bass on the cover of the album.) However, he hadn’t yet participated in the songwriting for the band. In an effort to cash in on some songwriting royalties, Paul penned this gritty, bass-heavy track about civil unrest in South London. Paul would cash out a second time with “Guns of Brixton,” after Beats International sampled his bass line for the 1990 UK hit “Dub Be Good To Me.” -PC
Mike Mills – REM
“Superman”
I credit Mike Mills with revealing to me the magic of backing vocals. But this cover of the 1969 The Clique song featured Mills front and center. Mills came out of Michael Stipe’s shadow in a big way on Life’s Rich Pageant. (The lead single, “Fall on Me,” was essentially a duet.) It shows the confidence the band had in Mills’s voice that this was chosen as the second of only two singles released from a record loaded with single-worthy tracks. -CB
Roger Taylor – Queen
“I’m in Love with My Car”
It was all about “Bohemian Rhapsody” when I purchased this 45 in 1975. I was in sixth grade and collecting primarily AM radio singles when “Rhapsody” took my pre-adolescence by storm. But this B-side paean to machines, belted by Roger from behind the drum kit, also “got a grip on my boy-racer roll bar.” Roger reportedly locked himself in a closet until his bandmates agreed to make this the B-side, a decision which eventually caused some royalties strife between Roger and Freddie Mercury. -CB
Randy Meisner – Eagles
“Take it to the Limit”
My favorite scene in the Eagles documentary History of The Eagles, is where Glen Frey and Randy Meisner come to blows backstage because Randy doesn’t want to sing this vocally-taxing crowd-pleaser every night. (Henley keeps security from breaking it up.) This ongoing dispute led to Meisner leaving the band. He was replaced by Timothy B. Schmit, the very same bassist who had replaced him in Poco. Meisner re-recorded this track for his first solo record, Randy Meisner, with David Cassidy on backing vocals. Seriously Randy? -CB
John Stirrat – Wilco
“It’s Just That Simple”
Legendary alt-country band Uncle Tupelo’s final lineup included bassist John Stirratt, who stuck with Jeff Tweedy when Jay Farrar left and Tweedy formed the soon-to-be-legendary band Wilco. Not only is this a great track reminiscent of a Jerry Garcia/Dead song, it’s notable for being the only Wilco song not sung by Tweedy. Stirratt also fronts his own group, The Autumn Defense, which occasionally opens for Wilco on tour. -CB
Patrick Simmons – Doobie Brothers
“Black Water”
Guitarist Patrick Simmons stepped out from behind front man Tom Johnston for this #1 Doobies hit from 1975. This was originally the B-side to “Another Park, Another Sunday,” which reached #32 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Black Water” achieved the rare feat of reaching #1 having already been released as a B-side to another Hot 100 hit. My sister and I wore this 45 out on our Kenner Close ‘n’ Play. We simply could not get enough of “that funky Dixieland” and the killer a capella section. -CB
