# Best harmonies by band and song **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 15, 2007, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-harmonies-by-band-and-song/419278 "2007-09-15T04:16:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2007, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-harmonies-by-band-and-song/419278/41 "2007-09-16T00:43:47Z")
Well heck, as long as we’re doing YouTube clips, here are some from **The Everly Brothers** : [Love Hurts](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffynuKji3RY) [Dream, Dream, Dream _and_ Cathy’s Clown](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKn6h2x5IcY) [('Til) I Kissed You](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baczqYeCU8A) [Wake Up Little Suzie](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvJJN5MuKfM) [Bye Bye Love](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFoIdxLBm_A) ---
**Author:** ![rayh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@rayh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayh)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2007, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-harmonies-by-band-and-song/419278/42 "2007-09-16T02:34:36Z")
[The Flying Pickets - Only You](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgDKtLPp46s). ---
**Author:** ![Leechboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9fc348/32.png) [@Leechboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leechboy)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2007, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-harmonies-by-band-and-song/419278/43 "2007-09-16T03:33:21Z")
On the proggier side of things - Gentle Giant managed to combine unusual time signatures with some tight harmony. [Pure Reason Revolution](http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=153209995) manage to combine a folksy type of harmony while existing in the Pink FLoydish end of rock. For two bands that never really broke into mainstream both King’s X and Galactic Cowboys did interesting things with Beatles style harmony and hard rock. Alice In Chains managed to make harmony disturbing. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2007, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-harmonies-by-band-and-song/419278/44 "2007-09-16T03:54:40Z")
The Association were the equal of any 60s group with their harmonies. Of newer groups, I’ve heard beautiful work a number of times from Barenaked Ladies. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2007, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-harmonies-by-band-and-song/419278/45 "2007-09-16T04:07:55Z")
[QUOTE=Chefguy] Right the fuck on. Most of the groups mentioned, including the Beatles, all gave props to [The Everley Brothers] as being the inspiration for their harmonies. [/QUOTE] Yep. Everyone always talks about the influence of blues and country music on rock and roll, but I think the high harmonies of the Kentucky-born Everly Brothers are an example of the influence of bluegrass on rock and roll. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2007, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-harmonies-by-band-and-song/419278/46 "2007-09-16T04:11:37Z")
Although they’re a hard rock/metal(ish) power trio, **King’s X** has always had very tight harmonies. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2007, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-harmonies-by-band-and-song/419278/47 "2007-09-16T04:45:35Z")
Off the top of my head: **Kirsty MacColl,** A New England **10cc,** I’m Not In Love **R.E.M.,** Harborcoat **Alice In Chains,** No Excuses ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2007, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-harmonies-by-band-and-song/419278/48 "2007-09-17T22:47:03Z")
**Steeleye Span** did wonderful harmony (my favorite, in fact), especially on “Below the Salt,” “Now We Are Six”, and “Parcel of Rogues.” **The Byrds** were another band with beautiful vocal harmony, mainly because of David Crosby, who has said he was born to sing harmony. ---
**Author:** ![bstenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/54ee81/32.png) [@bstenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bstenger)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2007, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-harmonies-by-band-and-song/419278/49 "2007-09-17T23:14:06Z")
Stupid question: Is the harmony any part of a song where two or more people are singing the same words at the same time? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2007, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-harmonies-by-band-and-song/419278/50 "2007-09-17T23:58:20Z")
[Harmony.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmony) Usually same words, same time, different pitch. ---
**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 18, 2007, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-harmonies-by-band-and-song/419278/51 "2007-09-18T00:06:13Z")
51 posts and no love for Rockapella? Carmen Sandiego! ---
**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 18, 2007, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-harmonies-by-band-and-song/419278/52 "2007-09-18T01:13:46Z")
Billy Joel’s [The Longest Time](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICEKMMt4-Ss) (and all the older doo wop songs to which it pays homage) ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-harmonies-by-band-and-song/419278/53 "2007-09-18T03:38:24Z")
It occurs to me that I should have included some examples of my own here. [Hide and Seek](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cpSv2mNhhc) by Imogen Heap. This is the best usage of a vocoder that I have ever heard, dissonant harmony perfercted. Think she can’t do the song live? [Think again](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeL_6jv_774). [Destined For Nothing](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tgmpdza18rI) by Bad Religion is one of my favorites. Sorry for the anime in the video, it’s the only one that came up. [Infected](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPSJTVB3UAA) and [Sorrow](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7YazwP8GtY&mode=related&search=), both by Bad Religion, have some really thick harmonies, especially in the choruses. Those guys rock! The Journey song that was the impetus for this thread is [Loving Touching Squeezing](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtnVjy7GrjE) The harmony starts at 2:29, and is isolated at 3:43, very deep harmony there. ELO is in a category all their own. Jeff Lynne is a man to be respected. [Don’t Bring Me Down](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTjy_LW8DGM), [Livin’ Thing](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0x-mkJKT90A), [Strange Magic](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFK1fJBRRnU), [Evil Woman](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8RdYjpiScE) and [Turn To Stone](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzAJ9PHz-Ic) are all harmonic master pieces IMO. That last video is possibly the best video to have ever been made. 😃 Even if you hate the song, watch the video. Toad The Wet Sprocket deserves a couple of honorable mentions for [All I want](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ut_TYY0Wog) (sorry, more anime) and [Walk on the Ocean](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4gLW9Kp7Tg&mode=related&search=). Sorry, I couldn’t find a better version of the last one. Great three part harmonies though. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-harmonies-by-band-and-song/419278/54 "2007-09-18T04:07:07Z")
Oh, good! I get to be the one who mentions the '80s version of **Yes**. On the Rhino remaster of _90125_ there’s a bonus track of the acapella mix of “Leave It” that’ll put you on the floor. It was originally only on the B-side of the single, but thankfully, you can get it on CD, if you can find it now. It’s hard to fathom that humans can make such incredible sounds with only their voices. I third or fourth or fifth The Beach Boys. I hope Capitol issues a box set of the “Smile” sessions someday. It’s a pity that unless you have the bootlegs of them, you can’t hear them singing “Our Prayer,” the track which would have opened the album. Brian Wilson’s group sang it on “Brian Wilson Presents Smile” but The Beach Boys sang it even better. The hours and hours of vocal tracks they sang for “Smile” that went unused are just stunning. Brian would make them run through 50 takes or more of a tiny section of a song, until they got it right, and when they did, it was magic. There’s a bonus track on the twofer CD “Smiley Smile / Wild Honey” of them rehearsing, doing an acapella cover of “Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring.” It proves that they were the best barbershop quintet, ever. This track gives me a lump in my throat, it’s so beautiful. Todd Rundgren did an album in 1985 titled “A Capella” using only his voice, multitracked dozens of times. It’s not only a feat of engineering, but of composition, arrangement and execution. ---
**Author:** ![Hometownboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5e9695/32.png) [@Hometownboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hometownboy)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-harmonies-by-band-and-song/419278/55 "2007-09-18T04:46:52Z")
If you like harmony, let me suggest two of the biggest sources on the Internet, [Primarily A Capella](http://www.singers.com/) and [A Capella.com](http://www.a-cappella.com/), formerly Mainely A Capella (It was based in Maine). You will find hundreds of harmony CDs for purchase or download, in such categories as contemporary, vintage (back to the 1920s in some cases, but through the Andrews Sisters, King Family, Ames Brothers, Chordettes, etc), doo-wop, college, gospel, world, choral, Christian, and, yes, barbershop and sweet adelines. And may I highly suggest attending a regional or national competition for the [Harmony Sweepstakes](http://www.harmony-sweepstakes.com/). Regional locations are Boston, Chicago, Rocky Mountain (Denver), Los Angeles, New York, Pacific Northwest (Olympia, WA), San Francisco, Mid Atlantic (Alexandria, VA). Imagine an evening of competition from 9-12 a capella groups of various styles with the winner going to the SF Bay Area for the nationals. Very cool evening of singing and more so in the lobby after the show as the groups teach each other “tags.” Hint for fans - Primarily A Capella offers full-length songs from selected CDs, and A Capella-com has short snippets of many songs to listen to online. For the record, I have no financial interest in either of the sites or the competition, but have driven 200 miles each way to see the Pacific Northwest regionals and it has been well worth it. Some of my favorite a capella groups: [The Nylons](http://www.singers.com/nylons.html) [The Blenders](http://www.singers.com/blenders.html) [The Real Group](http://www.singers.com/jazz/realgroup.html) [Throat Culture](http://www.singers.com/contemp/throatculture.html) [The Bobs](http://www.singers.com/bobs.html) [The Coats (originally The Trenchcoats)](http://www.singers.com/trenchcoats.html) If there aren’t any instruments, there’s nowhere to hide; the harmony has to be good. Turn yourself on to the pure stuff. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-harmonies-by-band-and-song/419278/56 "2007-09-18T05:20:22Z")
[QUOTE=fishbicycle] Oh, good! I get to be the one who mentions the '80s version of **Yes**. On the Rhino remaster of _90125_ there’s a bonus track of the acapella mix of “Leave It” that’ll put you on the floor. It was originally only on the B-side of the single, but thankfully, you can get it on CD, if you can find it now. It’s hard to fathom that humans can make such incredible sounds with only their voices. I third or fourth or fifth The Beach Boys. I hope Capitol issues a box set of the “Smile” sessions someday. It’s a pity that unless you have the bootlegs of them, you can’t hear them singing “Our Prayer,” the track which would have opened the album. Brian Wilson’s group sang it on “Brian Wilson Presents Smile” but The Beach Boys sang it even better. The hours and hours of vocal tracks they sang for “Smile” that went unused are just stunning. Brian would make them run through 50 takes or more of a tiny section of a song, until they got it right, and when they did, it was magic. There’s a bonus track on the twofer CD “Smiley Smile / Wild Honey” of them rehearsing, doing an acapella cover of “Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring.” It proves that they were the best barbershop quintet, ever. This track gives me a lump in my throat, it’s so beautiful. Todd Rundgren did an album in 1985 titled “A Capella” using only his voice, multitracked dozens of times. It’s not only a feat of engineering, but of composition, arrangement and execution. [/QUOTE] I almost mentioned “Close To The Edge” because it, as most Yes songs do, has a lot of somewhat complex harmonies. The a Capella version of “Leave It” is certainly impressive, and has depth, but seems to lack something in the richness department. I’m a HUGE YES fan, so I’m not playing favorites here. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-harmonies-by-band-and-song/419278/57 "2007-09-18T05:32:52Z")
Well this is off the top ten for sure, but **Fruit** is an Australian band I like that fits. The 3 front women all write sing and play, they do some harmonies that are _sweet_, the 2nd clip has pretty crappy audio though, [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4oTiATDj0Q) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Tr9bDskcQXg/hqdefault.jpg "Fruit Live 2005, edited by Mel Watson.") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr9bDskcQXg) ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-harmonies-by-band-and-song/419278/58 "2007-09-18T09:28:18Z")
Second page and no mention of **The Soft Boys**? Everyone\* always picks \*Underwater Moonlight \* as the masterpiece but in the the _Can of Bees_ lineup all four members sang and some of the arrangements are awesome. At the end of _Sandra’s Having Her Brain Out_ there’s a round - not something you hear often in rock music. All together now: ```auto Bloaty's having his newt installed Bloaty's having his newt installed Bloaty's having his newt installed ``` \*amongst people who have heard (and likes) The Soft Boys that is, which is definitely not everyone. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-harmonies-by-band-and-song/419278/59 "2007-09-18T10:04:03Z")
As already mentioned: The Flying Pickets! 🆒 Does [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_9gn5OaBcM) count? ---
**Author:** ![mamboman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecb155/32.png) [@mamboman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mamboman)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-harmonies-by-band-and-song/419278/60 "2007-09-18T10:49:48Z")
The Beach Boys could do _amazing_ things - “Meant for You”, “Keep and Eye on Summer” and, if you are only used the hearing “California Girls” on the radio, get in under the headphones and listen for the harmonies that start behind the line “I dig a French Bikini”… “And you dream comes true”, “Let Him Run Wild” - they were the kings! mm [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-harmonies-by-band-and-song/419278.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-harmonies-by-band-and-song/419278.md?page=4)