Five songs that were improved by their backing singers
There’s an antiquated idea of backing singers that widely misses the mark. Sure, on stage, they might be there to provide some supportive dance choreography and some much-needed structure to a live performance, but in the studio, they are so much more.
Harmonies and ad-libs provide a layer of depth that, on some occasions, an instrument just can’t provide. Inherently emotive and spontaneous in their expression, backing vocals can either provide an important contrast of light or dark, depending on what the lead is doing.
In history, some of the finest examples have also been an opportunity to make miniature easter eggs to be hidden. Whether it was Mick Jagger providing ironic backing vocals on Carly Simon’s ‘You’re So Vain’, an iconic track by Jagger’s ex, about a former lover so consumed with their vanity that it could have been about Jagger himself.
Or what about Josh Homme crooning over the top of Arctic Monkeys’ ‘Knee Socks’, to see the transatlantic worlds of rock and roll collide on a modern classic. Shared vocals are and always will be the purest example of collaborative musical joy, and so it’s no surprise they’ve been at the heart of some of music’s best moments.
Of all the songs to celebrate the backing vocal, here are five of the best.
Five songs improved by their backing singers:
‘The Weight’ – The Band
The backing vocals empower the overall message of this track.
Taking a load off and placing it on a friend simply can’t be sung by a standalone voice. It needs the vocal crutch of a musical compatriot, and that’s exactly what Richard Manuel and Rick Danko provide.
It culminates in the utterance of “and” during the chorus line. The three-part harmonies of Manuel, Danko and lead vocalist Levon Helm echo slightly out of time with one another, like a thrice completed trust fall that ultimately creates this heavy yet hearty chorus line to let you know it’s all going to be just fine.
‘Peg’ – Steely Dan
In fairness, this song is so densely packed with textures that you may feel as though you could strip the backing vocals away and notice no difference. But that, in essence, is what makes Michael McDonald’s flourishes so brilliant on ‘Peg’.
Subtle in their delivery and humble in their ability to contribute alongside the list of instruments, yet crucial to the final product of the song.
McDonald provided four tracks of vocal harmonies for the chorus, stretching his vocals across the spectrum of tone for each one to create a layered vortex of his own voice. McDonald marvelled at the end result, explaining, “It created kind of an ethereal–sounding harmony – almost like they made a keyboard from my voice.”
‘Under The Bridge’ – Red Hot Chili Peppers
In a track exploring the darkness of Anthony Kiedis’ drug addiction, the harmonic backing singers feel like a necessary lift in the chorus. They almost feel like a troupe of guardian angels, who descend upon the broken Californian scene to lift the vocalist out of the depths of his own misery.
Maybe the warmth that laces through their backing vocals is rooted in the fact that the choir in question was actually John Frusciante’s mother’s. Gail Bruno was a classically trained vocalist who led her church choir into the studio to sing on this now iconic track, giving it an almost biblical sense of catharsis.
‘Gimme Shelter’ – The Rolling Stones
I can understand why you may think this one doesn’t count, given how important it is to the song. Merry Clayton’s powerful vocals almost feel like the lead in this inspired rock classic, powerfully taking it into the realms of soul.
But I think this one just about passes for the list, given the fact that Jagger remains the lead vocalist on the track. Now, Jagger has never been the most natural vocalist we all know that, and compared to Clayton, it’s blindingly obvious. But the end result sees the pair dovetail beautifully, as the sharpness of Jagger’s British schoolboy drawl almost cuts through the richness of Clayton’s vocals with a vibrant acidity.
‘Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes’ – Paul Simon
A triumphant response to the criticism thrown at Simon for breaching South African apartheid laws, the marriage of Simon’s voice with the joyous Ladysmith Black Mambazo is, in many ways, everything that’s right with music.
The introduction, which sees Lady Smith Black Mambazo smoothly swing the melody through different keys like a rollercoaster, is captivating enough, even without the support of the instrumental composition. They set the stall out for what’s to come, allowing Simon’s chirpy melody to make sense of itself thereafter.
But as you spend the entire runtime of the track missing them, Mambazo return to close out the track with a beautiful chorus of triplet la’s, to deliver the greatest backing vocals of all time.
