Any Major Dude With Half A Heart

Backing singers tend to be taken for granted, maybe less so than the bass player, but still, they are just there. Sometimes they stand out so much that you have to take notice, but usually the focus is firmly on the lead singer. That’s how it should be — the backing singers and the bassist are auxiliaries to the singer, whose performance they are to enrich, not to eclipse.

But even the greatest singers need good backing singers. Imagine Elvis without The Jordanaires, or Aretha Franklin without her sisters (and whoever else). Imagine Respect without Erma and Carolyn’s urging “just a little bit…” and that percussive “sockittome”.  Aretha would just be shouting into the air.

So here’s the first collection of songs that are elevated by great backing vocals. The mix starts off, deliberately, with the voices of backing singers, going “Doop doo doop wow”. More on them shortly. And then the Franklin sisters and others match the genius of Respect.

Aretha Franklin and backing singers.

Of course, we could quibble about what constitutes backing vocals. Is Cheryl Lynn, a great recording artist in her own right, providing backing vocals on Toto’s on Georgy Porgy, or is she singing co-lead? What about Clare Torry on Pink Floyd’s The Great Gig In The Sky? Or Carol Kenyon on Heaven 17’s Temptation (she later became the lead singer of Soul II Soul). Or, not featured here, Merry Clayton on Gimme Shelter, or Emmylou Harris harmonising with Gram Parson on a record on which she was originally supposed to have been co-headliner?

The approach I have taken here is that if they are credited as backing vocalists, as Lynn and Torry are, or otherwise not billed as duet partners, then they qualify for this collection. So band members harmonising with their lead singer don’t qualify. Alas, this also rules out The Pips, whose vocals on Midnight Train To Jordan would qualify them as inaugural members of the Backing Singers’ Hall of Fame (I assume there is no such thing).

Sometimes backing singers came as a band. The Sweet Sensations are a famous example of that. They feature here backing Aretha Franklin— and by the virtue of that, the recently late Cissy Houston features twice on this mix (on Chain Of Fools and on Sweet Revenge by John Prine). On A Stubborn Kind Of Fellow, Marvin Gaye is backed by a trio called The Del-Phis, plus Martha Reeves. Soon Martha joined forces with The Del-Phis, now renamed The Vandellas.

Then we have Hot, Buttered & Soul — the sisters Pat and Diane Lewis and Rose Williams — which was assembled by Isaac Hayes to tell him to shut his mouth when he’s talking about Shaft. Thunderthighs — Casey Synge, Dari Lalou and Karen Friedman — backed Lou Reed on Walk On The Wild Side, and they were not “colored girls”, as falsely announced by Reed. Thunderthighs might also have featured here for their work on Mott The Hoople’s Roll Away The Stone.

The question now is: are The Ikettes backing singers, or rather an integrated part of the Ike & Tina Turner revue?

Talking of Marvin Gaye, there’s another track of his waiting for Volume 2 (you can guess which; it’s the obvious one). I suppose one could do a Motown Special of great backing vocals. One track that would have been an automatic choice is Diana Ross’ version of Aint’ No Mountain High Enough, but that featured recently on Diana Ross Sings Covers, so it would have been too much of a good thing. It might yet find inclusion in a future mix (FYI, the monumental backing vocals on that track are by The Andantes, Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson, Jo Armstead, Jimmy Beavers, Brenda Evans and Billie Calvin).

I mentioned above that Merry Clayton is missing here. Gimme Shelter is shortlisted; in the event I went for a different Stones song for this mix. Clayton is sort of a gold standard for backing singers, but it wasn’t she who first inspired this mix. The concept came to me when I saw Ednah Holt and Lynn Mabry backing Talking Heads on stage in the film Stop Making Sense.

Michael McDonald must have had a lot of time on his hands at the height of his success with the Doobie Brothers. A bit like Michael Jackson, who popped up on the most unlikely records, McDonald’s distinctive voice was everywhere. I will grant anyone the right to dislike McDonald’s voice on lead vocals, but as a backing singer the man made every song on which he appeared better. I was seriously torn between two contenders for inclusion on this mix: Christopher Cross’ Ride Like The Wind and Steely Dan’s Peg. On both, McDonald is the actual star turn. I went for the latter, and sort of regret it now. But then I hear Peg, and I sort of don’t…

I always thought that George Michael’s Father Figure had a bunch of backing singers; it turns out there was only one, Shirley Lewis. The sister of the wonderful, late Linda Lewis, Shirley backed acts like Millie Jackson, Miquel Brown (on Close To Perfection), Matt Bianco, Elton John (also on the Live in Australia recording), Evelyn Thomas (on High Energy), Spandau Ballet (on Through The Barricades), Swing Out Sister, Rick Astley (on Whenever You Need Somebody), Pet Shop Boys (on I Get Excited), Bros (she was married to one of them), Sting, and others.  She was also on duty when Elton John and George Michael recorded the hit live version of Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me, and did superb work on another GM track, Freedom 90.

I have a long shortlist (!) of candidates for Volume 2. But which backing vocal performances do YOU love?As always, the mix is timed to fit on a standard CD-R and includes home-scenestealing covers, and the above (and below) in a PDF.

1. Marvin Gaye – Stubborn Kind Of Fellow (1962)
The Voices: Martha Reeves, Del-Phis (Rosalind Ashford, Gloria Williams, Annette Beard)

2. Aretha Franklin – Chain Of Fools (1967)
The Voices: The Sweet Inspirations, Carolyn Franklin, Erma Franklin, Ellie Greenwich

3. John Prine – Sweet Revenge (1973)
The Voices: Cissy Houston, Deidre Tuck, Judy Clay

4. Wet Willie – Country Side Of Life (1974)
The Voices: Donna Hall, Ella Avery, Joyce Knight

5. The Rolling Stones – Tumbling Dice (1972)
The Voices: Clydie King, Venetta Fields, Sherlie Matthews

6. David Bowie – Young Americans (1974)
The Voices: Ava Cherry, Robin Clark, Luther Vandross

7. Talking Heads – Slippery People (1984)
The Voices: Ednah Holt, Lynn Mabry

8. Heaven 17 – Temptation (1983)
The Voice: Carol Kenyon

9. Primal Scream – Movin’ On Up (1991)
The Voice: Denise Johnson

10. Terence Trent D’Arby – If You Let Me Stay (1987)
The Voices: Lance Ellington, Tony Jackson

11. George Michael – Father Figure (1987)
The Voice: Shirley Lewis

12. Steely Dan – Peg (1977)
The Voice: Michael McDonald

13. Boz Scaggs – What Do You Want The Girl To Do (1976)
The Voices: Maxine Green, Pepper Swenson

14. Toto – Georgy Porgy (1978)
The Voice: Cheryl Lynn

15. Isaac Hayes – Theme from Shaft (1971)
The Voices: Pat Lewis, Diane Lewis, Rose Williams

16. Barbara Jean English – So Many Ways To Die (1972)
The Voices: not credited!

17. Elvis Presley – Suspicious Minds (1969)
The Voices: Donna Thatcher, Jeannie Greene, Ginger Holladay, Mary Holladay

18. Joe Cocker – With A Little Help From My Friends (1962)
The Voices: Madeline Bell, Rosetta Hightower, Sunny Wheetman

19. Lou Reed – Walk On The Wild Side (1972)
The Voices: Thunderthighs (Casey Synge, Dari Lalou, Karen Friedman)

20. Pink Floyd – The Great Gig In The Sky (1973)
The Voice: Clare Torry

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