# Bands With Multiple Lead Vocalists **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 27, 2013, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-multiple-lead-vocalists/672386 "2013-10-27T18:22:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-multiple-lead-vocalists/672386/41 "2013-10-28T18:31:09Z")
The later version of Todd Rundgren’s band _Utopia_ had four members who were all lead singers and songwriters - Todd (guitar), Kasim Sultan (bass), Roger Powell (keyboard) and Willie Wilcox (drums). Each would sing lead during the same album or concert or even the same song. On the song _Love Alone_ (written by Sultan) [they would even do barbershop harmonies.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTtm0uiFrqQ) ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-multiple-lead-vocalists/672386/42 "2013-10-28T19:03:20Z")
Little Feat. In the heyday, Paul Barrere, Sam Clayton, Lowell George, and Bill Payne all took turns on vocals. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-multiple-lead-vocalists/672386/43 "2013-10-28T20:09:36Z")
[Hairball](http://www.hairballonline.com/index.html). 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-multiple-lead-vocalists/672386/44 "2013-10-28T20:24:03Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > Kiss. Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley shared lead vocal duties. And Ace and Peter sang lead on some of thier most famous songs. Peter scored thier highest charting hit with _Beth_ pretty much without the rest of the band. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-multiple-lead-vocalists/672386/45 "2013-10-28T20:40:35Z")
In the original lineup of the Stranglers, lead vocals were shared between bassist J.J. Burnel and guitarist Hugh Cornwell (plus the occasional contribution from keyboardist Dave Greenfield). When Cornwell left the band, he was replaced by both a guitarist and a full-time lead singer, and Burnel contributed fewer vocals during those years. Now they’re back to the quartet format with Burnel and current guitarist Baz Warne sharing lead vocal duties. ---
**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:** [October 28, 2013, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-multiple-lead-vocalists/672386/46 "2013-10-28T21:40:03Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > **Styx** (at least, in their heyday; can’t say what’s going on with them now) would oft feature Tommy Shaw doing lead vocals on some songs (_Blue Collar Man, Foolin’ Yourself_); James Young on one or two others A(_Miss America, Snowblind_); and Dennis DeYoung handling the lion’s share. Just to answer “what’s going on with them now”: Styx still tours, pretty much all the time – in the past few years, they seem to do a joint tour with another classic-rock band or two in the summer (I saw them with Boston in '08, and with Kansas and Foreigner in '10), then tour on their own in the winter. They replaced DeYoung with a Canadian keyboardist, Lawrence Gowan, but Tommy and JY are still with the band (and, really, the two of them seem to be the ones in charge). When they perform, they almost exclusively play their 1970s - early 1980s stuff; it winds up being about half Tommy on lead, with Lawrence doing most of the rest, and JY singing the songs that he sang in the first place (like Miss America and Snowblind). They haven’t issued an album of original music since [Cyclorama](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclorama_%28album%29) in 2003 (shortly after Gowan joined the group); on that album, Tommy sang most of the leads, followed by Lawrence. In 2005, they released an [album of cover songs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bang_Theory_%28Styx_album%29) – that one, too, had a similar breakdown of lead singing (Tommy, then Lawrence, then JY). ---
**Author:** ![Brainiac4](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brainiac4/32/3534_2.png) [@Brainiac4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brainiac4)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-multiple-lead-vocalists/672386/47 "2013-10-29T02:54:51Z")
Barenaked Ladies, until the recent departure of Steven Page, had two vocalists: Page and Ed Robertson. ---
**Author:** ![Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harvey_The_Heavy)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-multiple-lead-vocalists/672386/48 "2013-10-29T06:42:20Z")
311: Nick Hexum and SA Martinez Devo: Usually Mark Mothersbaugh or Gerald Casale, occasionally Bob Mothersbaugh. ZZ Top: I think it’s mostly Billy Gibbons, with a good chunk by Dusty Hill. Pink Floyd: Waters and Gilmour, and Waters and Barrett back in the day, with Wright once in a while. Don’t know if Mason ever sang lead. Hawkwind: Brock, Turner, Lemmy, et. al. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-multiple-lead-vocalists/672386/49 "2013-10-29T08:40:46Z")
Journey famously got a new lead singer from a YouTube video, Arnel Pineda. Virtually indistinguishable from perry, imho. A lot of 50s groups changed lead singers and often entire memberships. One member would own the rights to the name and replace members as needed. The pussycat dolls change leads every few years. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-multiple-lead-vocalists/672386/50 "2013-10-29T13:38:07Z")
Depeche Mode. Usually, David Gahan sings the fast songs, Martin Gore sings the ballads. The formula has become a little jumbled as time has gone on but it’s still generally true of their catalog. It’s amazing how many people genuinely can’t tell the difference as to who is singing what song sometimes, though. ---
**Author:** ![SykoSkotty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@SykoSkotty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SykoSkotty)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-multiple-lead-vocalists/672386/51 "2013-10-29T13:44:01Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > Kiss. Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley shared lead vocal duties. . Along with the occasional song by Ace Frehley & Peter Criss. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-with-multiple-lead-vocalists/672386.md?page=2)