# Best songs not sung by the lead singer **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 20, 2012, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-not-sung-by-the-lead-singer/628813 "2012-07-20T03:56:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-not-sung-by-the-lead-singer/628813/81 "2012-07-25T12:26:09Z")
> [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](#): > > Gotta go with “Tempted” by Squeeze, the only lead vocal from Paul Carrack, their keyboardist for one album. It’s probably their best known song in the US. Ooo - great call; great song. ---
**Author:** ![Lunar\_Saltlick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/977dab/32.png) [@Lunar\_Saltlick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lunar_Saltlick)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-not-sung-by-the-lead-singer/628813/82 "2012-07-25T12:37:01Z")
Although I love Liam Gallagher’s vocals, and he was indisputably the lead singer, I gotta say that Don’t Look Back In Anger is the best Oasis ever did, and it’s sung by Noel. Noel supposedly insisted to Liam that he was going to sing Wonderwall so that Liam would fight to keep it and forget about DLBIA. Liam took the bait and Noel was left with what he considered to be the superior tune. In the end, both songs were big hits. Anyway, some people considered both of them to be lead singers, so it maybe doesn’t count. ---
**Author:** ![Wargamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Wargamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wargamer)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-not-sung-by-the-lead-singer/628813/83 "2012-07-25T14:45:45Z")
No one has mentioned The Beatles _Something_ yet? ---
**Author:** ![Tad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@Tad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tad)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-not-sung-by-the-lead-singer/628813/84 "2012-07-25T14:59:41Z")
[The Raspberries Goin’ Nowhere Tonight](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvZU-eiR00U) ---
**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:** [July 25, 2012, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-not-sung-by-the-lead-singer/628813/85 "2012-07-25T15:02:07Z")
> [@Lunar\_Saltlick](#): > > Although I love Liam Gallagher’s vocals, and he was indisputably the lead singer, I gotta say that Don’t Look Back In Anger is the best Oasis ever did, and it’s sung by Noel. Noel supposedly insisted to Liam that he was going to sing Wonderwall so that Liam would fight to keep it and forget about DLBIA. Liam took the bait and Noel was left with what he considered to be the superior tune. In the end, both songs were big hits. Anyway, some people considered both of them to be lead singers, so it maybe doesn’t count. Noel has a better emotive voice, IMO. I nominated “Talk Tonight” as an example upthread. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-not-sung-by-the-lead-singer/628813/86 "2012-07-25T16:12:40Z")
> [@Wargamer](#): > > No one has mentioned The Beatles _Something_ yet? The Beatles all sang lead, though. John and Paul had more songs to themselves than George and Ringo did, but George and Ringo sang on every Beatles album, and John and Paul “allowed” George two tracks on both halves of the White Album and two more on Abbey Road. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-not-sung-by-the-lead-singer/628813/87 "2012-07-25T16:31:41Z")
_Throwing Muses_, Not Too Soon, sung by Tanya Donelly, is one of my favorites from them. ---
**Author:** ![Lunar\_Saltlick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/977dab/32.png) [@Lunar\_Saltlick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lunar_Saltlick)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-not-sung-by-the-lead-singer/628813/88 "2012-07-25T17:17:57Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > Noel has a better emotive voice, IMO. I nominated “Talk Tonight” as an example upthread. I know – I saw your post and was surprised you picked _Talk Tonight_. I like the tune, of course, but it wouldn’t be even my number two Noel-as-lead-singer song. After DLBIA, I think the best song Noel sang was _The Importance of Being Idle_. Anyway, I actually do prefer Liam’s buzzsaw whine of a voice for the louder ones, such as _Morning Glory_, but you’re right – Noel’s voice is perfect for the ones that he chose to sing himself. What a pity they split up. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-not-sung-by-the-lead-singer/628813/89 "2012-07-25T17:24:46Z")
Very late in the thread for the first mention of Night Ranger’s “Sister Christian” (drummer Kerry Keaggy on vox). ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-not-sung-by-the-lead-singer/628813/90 "2012-07-25T18:50:15Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > Great song. Up until Dark Side Of The Moon, Wright was pretty much one of three lead vocalists for Pink Floyd, including singing on some of the early singles. If we’re counting him as an occasional vocalist, “Remember A Day” is my contribution for this thread. > > He also sang joint lead with Gilmour on some of his recent solo tours, and the version of “Comfortably Numb” from _Live In Gdansk_ is probably my favourite version of it, with Wright doing the vocal part Waters did on the original. > > If you like “Wearing The Inside Out”, it might be worth checking out Wright’s solo album _Broken China_. It’s not the most cheerful of albums, but has a somewhat similar feel to that song. I might have to check that out. While I liked Remember a Day and Paintbox when I first heard them, they quickly became too twee to listen to a whole lot. But if his solo stuff is more like Wearing the Inside Out and Stay, then it might be good. ---
**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:** [July 25, 2012, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-not-sung-by-the-lead-singer/628813/91 "2012-07-25T19:51:15Z")
> [@Lunar\_Saltlick](#): > > I know – I saw your post and was surprised you picked _Talk Tonight_. I like the tune, of course, but it wouldn’t be even my number two Noel-as-lead-singer song. After DLBIA, I think the best song Noel sang was _The Importance of Being Idle_. > > Anyway, I actually do prefer Liam’s buzzsaw whine of a voice for the louder ones, such as _Morning Glory_, but you’re right – Noel’s voice is perfect for the ones that he chose to sing himself. > > What a pity they split up. I like a lot of the B-sides. One that just came to mind is “Half a World Away.” I’m not as familiar with TIBI (was that on _Heathen Chemistry?_). I think there’s a special mention for co-leads. My favorite is “Acquiesce.” The brother’s voices are perfectly matched in that song, and when I’m in the car I tend to belt out Noel’s “Because we neeeeeed each other!” I suspect we will see an Oasis reunion in the next few years. Those guys fight all the time, the band was going nowhere commercially… good time for a split. Get back together in about five years for the big payday, I’d expect. ---
**Author:** ![Orville\_mogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/aeb1de/32.png) [@Orville\_mogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orville_mogul)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-not-sung-by-the-lead-singer/628813/92 "2012-07-26T10:33:26Z")
“[Can You Imagine](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8YkF_34e00)” and “[The Man You Always Wanted Me to Be](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zf4e4svPN2A)” by bassist Chris Squire of Yes ---
**Author:** ![Lunar\_Saltlick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/977dab/32.png) [@Lunar\_Saltlick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lunar_Saltlick)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-not-sung-by-the-lead-singer/628813/93 "2012-07-26T12:39:25Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > I like a lot of the B-sides. One that just came to mind is “Half a World Away.” I’m not as familiar with TIBI (was that on _Heathen Chemistry?_). > > I think there’s a special mention for co-leads. My favorite is “Acquiesce.” The brother’s voices are perfectly matched in that song, and when I’m in the car I tend to belt out Noel’s “Because we neeeeeed each other!” > > I suspect we will see an Oasis reunion in the next few years. Those guys fight all the time, the band was going nowhere commercially… good time for a split. Get back together in about five years for the big payday, I’d expect. If you enjoy Noel’s more emotive voice, you gotta listen to _TIBI_ again. Go to Youtube and find him doing it solo acoustic – it’s the version where he whistles one of the guitar solos, and his voice slides around from a Liam-ish whine to a Noel-ish falsetto. With a group, it’s not as impressive, as he doesn’t get to shine as much. Solo acoustic, it’s brilliant, as he’s responsible for everything – the guitar, the voice, the percussive element, the solos. _Acquiese_ is one of the all-time great co-leads, as you point out. How those two can do a song like that and later split up is beyond me, but there you go. If you watch live clips of _Morning Glory_, you’ll see that it’s also a semi-co-lead, as Noel usually handles the long Weeeeeellllllllllll bits. But that’s all he sings, as far as I can see. I think half the time they did co-leads it was just because Noel wrote the song in such a way – right at the limit of Liam’s capacity – that Liam would have no choice but to let Noel take at least a small chunk. _Live Forever_’s another – Noel does the falsetto line, but Liam sings the rest. I’m not sure they’ll ever get back together. They’re a couple of pretty immature guys, with a wide imbalance of talent, and they loathe each other. And yet, you’re right – if they were both to hit rock bottom financially at about the same time, I could see them swallow their pride and do a reunion tour. Problem is, Noel still tours pretty actively, writes new stuff, and does all the hits at sold-out shows. I’m not sure he’ll ever hit rock-bottom financially. ---
**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:** [July 27, 2012, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-not-sung-by-the-lead-singer/628813/94 "2012-07-27T11:24:00Z")
“Swinging The Chain” by Black Sabbath, with drummer Bill Ward on vox. And “Black Diamond”, “Mainline”, “Getaway”, “Baby Driver”, “Hooligan”, “Dirty Livin’” and “I Finally Found My Way” to complete the Peter Criss collection. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2012, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-not-sung-by-the-lead-singer/628813/95 "2012-07-27T12:37:19Z")
Since the Replacement’s Paul Westerberg wasn’t the lead singer of Kiss, I can say within the bounds of the OP that his [vocal](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXFdRoAqEbI) on “Black Diamond,” as well as the performances by rest of the band, IMO of course, make for a superior version of the song. ---
**Author:** ![AndyPolley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@AndyPolley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndyPolley)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2012, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-not-sung-by-the-lead-singer/628813/96 "2012-07-27T13:42:30Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > Great song. Up until Dark Side Of The Moon, Wright was pretty much one of three lead vocalists for Pink Floyd, including singing on some of the early singles. If we’re counting him as an occasional vocalist, “Remember A Day” is my contribution for this thread. This thread has kind of morphed to include guest singers and such, so I’ll contribute Pink Floyd’s rock-radio classic “ **Have a Cigar** ” sung by Roy Harper. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-songs-not-sung-by-the-lead-singer/628813.md?page=4)