Famous songs with singer off key

An early instance -- the line "I don't want to bore you, with my troubles . . ." the bass vocal is off so much, it'll make you cringe (or at least a music education friend did when he first heard it). I think you can find plenty of off-key instances in the old doo wop/street corner harmony groups of the '50s.

The Clovers - One Mint Julep (1952)

 

That's a good tune!

 

Haven't heard it in a while but I seem to remember "What I Am" by Edie Brickell had a pitchy vocal (fitting the hippie vibe of the song).

 

I've found these videos on YouTube very interesting. This guy uses software called Vocal Pitch Monitor that measures how close a vocal is to hitting the notes. He goes into quite a bit of detail, across a number of videos, as to how singers approach hitting notes properly (e.g. the use of vibrato, etc.).

 

But this is deliberate for comedic effect - Jo Stafford must have worked hard to be this bad

 

A lot of these examples are successful songs that lots of people love and you’d have to be a vocal coach to even notice or care. What are some examples where the song is flat out derailed by the off key singing? Someone put I Touch Myself. lol, that was a number one single. More singers SHOULD be off key if that’s any example.

I’ve had friends literally yank the needle off the record when I’ve played them Mellow My Mind or Speakin Out by Neil Young. What are some examples like that?

 

This may not be bang on but the flat five in the melody over and over again makes it seem.much much worse.

 

When Adele goes into “peel paint” mode, I find her painfully (as in fingernails on chalkboard) pitchy sharp. Early Steve Winwood/Traffic, Jack Bruce and anyone in Chicago not named Pete Cetera would never be allowed in front of a mic these days. Tanita Tikiram has a delightfully out-of-pitch delivery, but I quite like it.

 

well, the video clip is a hoot.

 

Led Zeppelin's "All of My Love" always sounded terribly sung to me.

 

Surprised no one have mentioned Nico yet! Most of the notes she sang were off-pitch.

 

Coney Island Baby

 

Pleasant Valley Sunday by The Monkees. Micky's vocal line "I need a change of scenereeeee..." blemishes what otherwise might be a perfect pop recording.

 

vocal quality can be a very subjective thing. some people gave ethel merman a lot of stick for her crank it up to 11, trumpet voice. my mom used to say that she felt embarrased when she heard her sing. Ouch! however, irving berlin, jules styne, stephen sondheim and especially cole porter loved when she sang their songs. that's because ethel may have been very loud and in your face, but you understood and remembered every single word that she sang.

 

Stones - Singer Not The Song. Who sings that awful high harmony on the last note - Mick or Keef?

 

No! That is not off key singing you are hearing - that's her unique art. No wonder John loved her

 

Pretty much everything recorded before 1997 is "off-key" by modern pop chart standards, since Autotune (used on almost every record since then) enables a level of perfect pitch even the best singer can't match. I wonder if, to kids who grow up on this stuff, all of the old records we like will sound off-key?

 

I dig what you're screaming, tho I don't think it's terribly sung. There are a few spots in "Fool In The Rain" that make me cringe, but I still love the song (and Robert).

 

I really like that song, the vocal might not be perfect but I wouldn't call it out of key.

I think there's a difference between vocals not being perfectly on pitch and being out of key.

 

Which was the Monkees song with stupid jokes.

Hey can I have a glass of water.
Why are you thirsty?
No, just want to see if my neck leaks....

Maybe something like Gonna Buy Me a Dog?

One of my second cousins wrote lyrics for one of their songs so I had a promo copy of the second Monkees album when I was a kid.

 

Frank Zappa: I come from nowhere

 

When the word "Madly" appears 15 seconds into this. And the rest of it isn't exactly on point either.



Jan & Dean / Heart & Soul

 

Yes, I believe it is.

 

That hurt when I first heard it!