# Bands that you didn't realize had two singers **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [September 21, 2019, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-you-didnt-realize-had-two-singers/840616 "2019-09-21T16:31:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2019, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-you-didnt-realize-had-two-singers/840616/21 "2019-09-23T20:24:27Z")
Not sure if [Temple of the Dog](http://www.templeofthedog.com/) counts, since they were a one-off, but they featured both Eddie Vedder and Chris Cornell on vocals. ---
**Author:** ![Labtrash](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/labtrash/32/528_2.png) [@Labtrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labtrash)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2019, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-you-didnt-realize-had-two-singers/840616/22 "2019-09-23T20:27:46Z")
His recent passing reminded me: While written by Ric Ocasek (RIP), the track “Drive” was sung by bassist Benjamin Orr ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2019, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-you-didnt-realize-had-two-singers/840616/23 "2019-09-23T20:43:20Z")
> [@Labtrash](#): > > His recent passing reminded me: While written by Ric Ocasek (RIP), the track “Drive” was sung by bassist Benjamin Orr First two sentences of the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Labtrash](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/labtrash/32/528_2.png) [@Labtrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labtrash)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2019, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-you-didnt-realize-had-two-singers/840616/24 "2019-09-23T20:56:46Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > First two sentences of the OP. Humbly noted. ---
**Author:** ![dzeiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@dzeiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzeiger)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2019, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-you-didnt-realize-had-two-singers/840616/25 "2019-09-23T21:09:39Z")
Eric Bloom is the primary lead singer of Blue Oyster Cult, but Buck Dharma also sings lead on some tracks–including “Don’t Fear the Reaper” and “Burnin’ for You,” their most popular songs. I was surprised to find out that the Bangles actually split lead singing duties between them, but the record company kept pushing the Susanna Hoffs songs as singles. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2019, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-you-didnt-realize-had-two-singers/840616/26 "2019-09-23T23:03:07Z")
The first few Alan Parsons Project songs I became aware of had Eric Woolfson on lead vocals, so it was a bit of a surprise when I found out how many different lead vocalists they used. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-you-didnt-realize-had-two-singers/840616/27 "2019-09-24T03:16:52Z")
For Steely Dan’s first tour (and a couple songs off “Can’t By a Thrill”) David Palmer took on the vocal chores before it was decided that Donald Fagen’s voice was preferred. Saw an old video of “Do It Again” and saw some ugly dude singing on stage, and I’m like - that’s not Fagen! heh - did John Oates ever sing lead?😛 ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-you-didnt-realize-had-two-singers/840616/28 "2019-09-24T03:25:15Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > heh - did John Oates ever sing lead?😛 More often than I realized, according to [this list](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Oates#Hall_&_Oates_songs_featuring_John_Oates_on_lead_vocal) in his Wikipedia entry. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-you-didnt-realize-had-two-singers/840616/29 "2019-09-24T05:40:41Z")
I’m aware of the fact that the Eagles had more than one singer, but I’ll be damned if I can tell them apart. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-you-didnt-realize-had-two-singers/840616/30 "2019-09-24T07:14:35Z")
For over a decade I had no idea that guitarist Graham Coxon contributed lead vocals to a number of Blur’s songs, including my very favourite “Coffee and TV”. I had simply assumed that Damon Albarn sang lead on everything. I discovered my error only some time in the last couple of years, when reading the Wikipedia article for the band or one of their albums. ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-you-didnt-realize-had-two-singers/840616/31 "2019-09-24T08:38:42Z")
> [@dzeiger](#): > > I was surprised to find out that the Bangles actually split lead singing duties between them, but the record company kept pushing the Susanna Hoffs songs as singles. True, but the _Walk like an Egyptian_ video, arguably their best-known song, made it very clear that each of them had singing (or whistling) duties. ---
**Author:** ![LLCoolL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/llcooll/32/3596_2.png) [@LLCoolL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LLCoolL)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-you-didnt-realize-had-two-singers/840616/32 "2019-09-24T11:05:53Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I’m aware of the fact that the Eagles had more than one singer, but I’ll be damned if I can tell them apart. I can probably tell Frey apart from Henley with about 80% accuracy. But I’ve gotta admit I frequently can’t tell who is singing lead between John and Paul in early Beatles tracks. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-you-didnt-realize-had-two-singers/840616/33 "2019-09-24T13:47:30Z")
The Goo Goo Dolls. Every single hit on the radio has had Johnny Rzeznik singing the vocals, so I was disappointed when I bought A Boy Named Goo and encountered a whole bunch of songs featuring a different singer that, in my opinion, sounded completely different and not as good. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-you-didnt-realize-had-two-singers/840616/34 "2019-09-24T14:26:20Z")
Another one I didn’t realise for a long time is ZZ Top - Dusty Hill does the lead on a few songs, probably most famously Tush. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-you-didnt-realize-had-two-singers/840616/35 "2019-09-24T14:33:59Z")
Those damn CSNY kids… I can usually pick out when it’s Nash (lead in “Our House”, with barely detectable Brit accent) or Young (well, 'cuz Neil), but Crosby and Stills are trickier because they slightly blend together a bit more, I find. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-you-didnt-realize-had-two-singers/840616/36 "2019-09-24T14:41:18Z")
> [@LLCoolL](#): > > But I’ve gotta admit I frequently can’t tell who is singing lead between John and Paul in early Beatles tracks. ☹ A fair number of the earliest Beatles songs (From Me To You, She Loves You, I Want to Hold Your Hand, and so forth) feature both John and Paul, singing in two part harmony. It’s arguable which of them should be called “lead” vocalist on tracks like that. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-you-didnt-realize-had-two-singers/840616/37 "2019-09-24T15:00:41Z")
Singularly noteworthy example: Dez Dickerson, Lisa Coleman, and Jill Jones have some lead vocals on “1999,” which was, IIRC, completely unheard of to that point on a Prince album. (Dez also gets a guitar solo on “Little Red Corvette.”) ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2019, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-you-didnt-realize-had-two-singers/840616/38 "2019-09-24T15:59:39Z")
> [@LLCoolL](#): > > I can probably tell Frey apart from Henley with about 80% accuracy. Frey had the more “ordinary” voice. Same with Grateful Dead songs, the voice with almost no vibrato or diaphragm stress is Jerry. > [@](#): > > But I’ve gotta admit I frequently can’t tell who is singing lead between John and Paul in early Beatles tracks. ☹ We were such Beatles fans as kids and would lipsync (using tennis rackets as guitars) and do each Beatle’s mannerisms. But damned if we could tell when _The Kid Being Paul_ should sing, or back off the mophead microphone and let _Jimmie Trying To Be John_ should sing. We weren’t the only ones, and the record company actually printed who was singing on each track on the back of the LP covers. Didn’t help us at that age, though. All we could afford were the 45s… > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > The first few Alan Parsons Project songs I became aware of had Eric Woolfson on lead vocals, so it was a bit of a surprise when I found out how many different lead vocalists they used. I had no idea Colin Blunstone of the Zombies was one of those. He and Rod Argent had just reunited and I ran up to Milwaukee where they played for hours: early oldies from their garage band days, Zombies stuff, solo work, then Manfred Mann and Argent songs. Then we all looked at each other in surprise as they launched into some Alan Parsons… A history of R&B-Rockabilly-Prog-Moody-Rock for free\*… \*Summerfest, got in “free with the donation of a slightly used children’s book” and saw them on one of the free stages. ---
**Author:** ![NetTrekker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nettrekker/32/2909_2.png) [@NetTrekker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NetTrekker)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2021, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-you-didnt-realize-had-two-singers/840616/39 "2021-01-31T14:36:59Z")
‘You’ve Got That Lovin’ Feeling’ is the only one I could name without looking it up… ---
**Author:** ![2\_More\_Bits](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2_more_bits/32/4148_2.png) [@2\_More\_Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2_More_Bits)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2021, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-you-didnt-realize-had-two-singers/840616/40 "2021-01-31T17:25:37Z")
Or George, I’d add. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-that-you-didnt-realize-had-two-singers/840616.md?page=1)