overqualified backing vocalists

Alison Moyet did backing vocals on Fad Gadget's Under the Flag. It was recorded just before Upstairs at Eric's but released a few weeks later. She's part of a chorus of backing vocalists and doesn't really stand out. Waste of Alison Moyet basically.

Not vocals, but Simple Minds are credited with handclaps(!) on Gary Numan's "The Aircrash Bureau", an album track from Telekon. Apparently they were the opening act for his tour and happened to be in the studio that day.

how have the Turtles not been mentioned yet

(well, Flo & Eddie specifically)

I thought about mentioning them but were they really “overqualified”? Thought guesting as backing vocalists was just one of their things.

Kind of a waste of Howard Kaylan, who is a fantastic singer, whereas Mark Volman was a backing vocalist in the Turtles.

Fair enough

Ellie Greenwich on Blondie's "Dreaming" and "Atomic"

Lorna Luft on Blondie's "Accidents Never Happen" and "Slow Motion"

Mary Hansen tbh. she had impeccable pitch live

Toni 'Captain and' Tennille along with Carl and Bruce from The Beach Boys on Elton John's 'Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me'.

Alison Goldfrapp on 'FYUZ', 'Oh Yeah Oh No', 'Revenge of The Black Regent' and 'Total All Out Water' by Add N to X.

More than 'backing vocals' but I was a big fan of the Knife and also liked First Floor Power yet it took me ridiculously long to work out that Jenny Wilson sings a fair bit of You Take My Breath Away. DESPITE THEM LITERALLY POINTING IT OUT IN THE LYRICS gah

Joseph Arthur - Mercedes. Features Peter Gabriel and Brian Eno doing some harmonics in the background. You won't even notice it's them.

But it's awesome!

I got to know Joe's music because of this song, which was miscredited when I once found a supposed collection of Peter Gabriel rarities on-line. It said that it was by Peter, with Joseph Arthur and Eno on backing vocals. I had no idea who Joe Arthur was but I loved the other two so I checked it out. I was initially quite dismayed to hear those unique American vocals instead of what I expected, was about to instantly delete it, but then I thought... I might listen to it again, it's not bad!
Not long after, I dug up more and more of his stuff, started to collect everything the man released and he became one of my most favourite artist ever, which he still is now, 15 years later.

Sting is also on Arcadia's 'The Promise'.

Oh and not quite exactly 'backing vocals', but I love the story of how the Super Furry Animals got Paul McCartney to guest on their album and then they had him eat carrot and celery in the background of 'Receptacle for the Respectable'.

That Joseph Arthur album was on Real World, iirc, so there's your Peter Gabriel connection.

I've brought it up on the Eno thread, but Eno pops up as backing singer (but not producer) on a track on the Walkabout's "Scavenger," which fits this thread's criteria: obscure sort of folk-rock band on Sub Pop snags vox from Eno? That's not expected.

Joni Mitchell specializes in extremely qualified backing singers. Apart from the usual suspects, there’s Chaka Khan on “The Tenth World” and “Dreamland” on Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter and, new to me, Lionel Richie on “Ladies Man” and (more of a feature) “You Dream Flat Tires” on Wild Things Run Fast.

Scarlett Johanssons ’Fannin Street’ and ’Falling Down’ features David Bowie. Makes both tracks immensely better!

I’m a Bowie fan though...

Björk on Ólöf Arnalds' "Surrender".
Thom Yorke on Björk's "Náttúra".
PJ Harvey on Sparklehorse's "Piano Fire" and "Eyepennies", as well as on Marianne Faithfull's Before the Poison record.

No one has mentioned JT and Linda R on young Neil’s “old man?”

I’m a Bowie fan though...

take it to the controversial music opinions thread

Emmylou

Toni 'Captain and' Tennille along with Carl and Bruce from The Beach Boys on Elton John's 'Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me'.

Toni and Bruce are also on Pink Floyd's "The Show Must Go On."

Al Jardine, Carl Wilson and Dennis Wilson on Chicago's "Wishing You Were Here." Both groups were recording at Caribou Ranch at the time.

The choir at the end of Squeeze's "The Day I Get Home" includes Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Michael Penn.

Oh yeah, and Dusty Springfield sings backup on Elton John's Caribou and Tumbleweed Connection albums.

Al Jardine, Carl Wilson and Dennis Wilson on Chicago's "Wishing You Were Here." Both groups were recording at Caribou Ranch at the time.
.

How many of these are a case of somebody dropping in from the studio down the hall?

Linda Ronstadt sang backup on Nicolette Larson's "You're Running Wild"

all five members of the Byrds backed Jackie DeShannon on "Splendor in the Grass" around the time they were recording Mr. Tambourine Man (I'm guessing this was a "dropping in from the studio down the hall" scenario)

Billy Ocean on Scott Walker's 'Track Three'

Mercury, May and Taylor on BVs (was never listed as "featuring Queen")
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJeBctbw7kc

Don't know about overqualified but I want to include the Jesus & Mary Chain shouting "guilty" on Drama! by Erasure

wow, I didn’t know this!!

Wild! was the first album I owned and for years wondered why the guilty's sounded so Scottish. Think they were recording Automatic in the same studio.

Oh and not quite exactly 'backing vocals', but I love the story of how the Super Furry Animals got Paul McCartney to guest on their album and then they had him eat carrot and celery in the background of 'Receptacle for the Respectable'.

― Valentijn, Friday, November 30, 2018 2:35 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

he'd done this on "vegetables" by the beach boys.

I just went round to the studio because they invited me. I just thought it would be fun to sit there and watch them record, ‘cause I’m a big fan. And so I was there, and then it was, I think, Brian who came over and said, ‘Oh Paul, got a favor to ask: would you mind recording something?’ I thought, ‘Oh, no! But great, I could do that!' Oh God, I’m gonna be singing on a Beach Boys record or something, you know! I got a bit kind of intimidated and thought, 'Okay, here goes nothing'. And they said, ‘Well, what we want you to do is go in there and just munch!’ … Well, I can do that! So, if you hear somebody munching celery, that’s me![10]

"Rockwell - "Somebody's Watching Me" - Michael Jackson"

what's weird about this is when this came out everyone assumed it was Michael Jackson but I believe it was denied so I assumed, for many years, until, like, seriously, last year, that this was NOT him.

wait MJ actually does sing on "Somebody's Watching Me"????

Yes.

Jermaine Jackson is on it too, iirc.

IMO the presence of Michael and Jermaine on 'Somebody's Watching Me' actually rescues the track - Rockwell was not one of Motown's great talents. I guess his dad being the label's founder went a long way to explaining why he was able to put out music.

Chaka Khan on "Higher Love."

somebody's watching me is hilarious because it's a talking heads song

Can't believe nobody has mentioned Stevie and Lindsey on Bob Welch's "Sentimental Lady." Or David Crosby and Graham Nash on "Doctor My Eyes."

guest harmonies from Carl & Dennis Wilson and Al Jardine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41s69oNimZg

Rob Halford on QOTSA's "Feel Good Hit of the Summer".

Elton John, Mark Lanegan, Trent Reznor, Jake Shears and Alex Turner provided backing vox on various "...Like Clockwork" songs too.

the jackson 5 sing background on stevie's you haven't done nothin

the liner notes of the warren zevon s/t is just one overqualified backing vocalist after another

according to the credits on the promo 12-inch to jellybean's "sidewalk talk"...

lead vocals: catherine buchanan
background vocals: madonna, cindy mizelle, audrey wheeler

madonna wrote the song and her vox are quite discernible in the chorus. she had already become a pretty big crossover star by the time it got released on 45 so if you look on discogs you'll see some sleeves for the single that pretty prominently display "written by MADONNA" lol

Prince on so many of his productions for other artists (777-9311, Glamorous Life iirc, etc)

Dumbstruck that Chrissie Hynde sang on U2's "Pride"... I've never heard a female vocal anywhere in that track in my hundreds of listens to it. Guessing she's a part of the oh-oh-ohs at the end?

singers who sang backup on covers of their own songs:

Dobie Gray, on Uncle Kracker's cover of 'Drift Away'
Dolly Parton, on Mindy Smith's cover of 'Jolene'

Pete Townshend sings backup (but doesn't play guitar, for some reason) on the Ramones' cover of "Substitute."

― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Friday, November 30, 2018 10:56 AM (one year ago)

Does this count?

"The Longest Time" is a doo-wop single by Billy Joel. The song was released as a single in 1984 as the fourth single from the 1983 album An Innocent Man. Following the theme of the album in paying tribute to Joel's musical influences, the song is presented in the style of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. It reached number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. In the United Kingdom the song reached number 25 on the UK Singles Chart.

The song features Joel on lead vocals and all backing vocals. Two musical instruments are present in the song: a bass guitar and a snare drum being played with brushes. When the song is covered by vocal groups, the bass part is typically sung. All other sounds in the song are Joel's vocals, along with percussive sounds such as finger snaps and hand claps. Phil Ramone and Joel had intended to feature a vocal group but Joel recorded each of the parts himself.