Backing vocals that make recordings special

The Millennium - 5AM
Gosdin Brothers - Catch The Wind
Queen - Nevermore
Elvis Presley - I'll Remember You
Joe South - Gabriel
Joe South - Don't It Make You Want To Go Home (it sounds like Darlene Love on the last 2.)

 

Amen!

 

Want to hear something slick but good? Listen to "Middle Man" by the Little River Band.

 

I know he has his detractors, but I really like Brian Kennedy's work on so many of Van Morrison's late period work. Love their call-and-response and the way the two of them mix it up. Love tracks like "Burning Ground" or the soul revue style backgrounds throughout A Night in SanFrancisco.

 

Yes, that's a very good one.

 

Ray Charles-"I Believe"-backing himself!
Curtis Mayfield's backing vocals on "He Don't Love You"
Luther Vandross and others on Bowie's "Young Americans"
Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor briefly on "Heart of Gold"

 

Almost anything by Dion & the Belmonts (I Wonder Why, Teen Angel, etc) or by the Marcels and Earls.

"Burned Like a Rocket" - Billy Joe Royal.

"Save the Last Dance for Me" - Drifters

Jordanaires backed Rick Nelson as well as Elvis (and others) and did a great job on "Lonesome Town."

 

My favorite backup vocals are the ones by John & Paul on "Boys". Sounds like they're having too much fun!

 

Those gals behind Roy Orbison on "Candy Man".

 

Mary Shelton on the Rolling Stones Gimme Shelter, makes the song.

The choir on This Corrosion by the Sisters of Mercy, and the female backup lead.

 

Sam Cooke and the Soul Stirrers.

 

For me..."Don't Worry Baby"-The Beach Boys

...and so many more

 

They did a killer "Where Or When"

 

You want an example of backing vocals making a recording special. Listen no further than the original Supremes. Every single hit they had and virtually every album track is an example of this. And IMO Diana Ross out of that context may have been a glorified diva but without her two other songbirds accompanying her, she lost the magic.

 

Roy Orbison - Blue Angel...sha nah nah...

 

Funny, because I saw the Hoodoo Gurus open for The Bangles in 1986. Great show.

For my money, The Bangles had the closest harmonies this side of John, Paul and George. It was that blend that made them rise above other 80's bands, and why I think their records, and the band itself, are way underrated.

They similarly elevated Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' "Waiting For Tonight" with their backing vocal work.

 

Beg your pardon, but I'm sure you mean Mary Clayton. Very close tho...


My offerings are:

What Is Life-George Harrison

Summer Nights-Grease


Ya can't have either of those songs without the trademark backing vocals.

 

Oh, and another by Little River Band:

Man On Your Mind

Awesome backing vocals on that one.

Say, am I the only one that always remembers the movie "Bad Boys" (the Sean Penn one, not the Will Smith/Martin Lawrence one) when hearing this song? I would NEVER, EVER listen to this song through a boombox hoisted on my shoulder...

 

Well, I didn't say it was impossible.

Here's another...

The Easybeats "Friday On My Mind"

 

Ken wins!

 

That's funny. I like how punchy and rockin' the vocals are. "Candyman-ah!"

I assume they are on "Uptown" also.

 

Midnight Train to Georgia......brilliant backround vox, complete with train whistle