And so was I, but you beat me to it. For the best Robin Trower albums he IS the voice of Robin Trower.
In my pre-internet days I loved Bridge of Sighs. I took awhile before I actually realized that Robin doesn’t sing.
OK, got it. Gram Parsons - or, in band terms, the Grievous Angels. The lead singer, Gram, who I think *was *a great singer, was completely overshadowed by his backup singer, Emmylou Harris.
And, BTW, another claim to the most rock’n’roll death of all time, albeit largely because of the events following his actual death.
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This is just so wrong.
Not to mention Eddie Van Halen with Gary Cherone for the three year Cherone was the “lead singer” for Van Halen.
Great example.
If we’re going with established bands who temporarily replaced the singer, then I’d select Motley Crue when they picked John Corabi to replace Vince Neil for a few years.
But I’d consider those to be temporary singers rather than the bands real singer. Vince Neil was always the front face of Motley Crue.
Nobody puts on a Steely Dan album just to hear Donald Fagan’s voice.
Gerry Rafferty comes to mind. Does anyone remember his vocal in Baker Street? Probably not nearly as many people as those who instantly recognize that saxophone solo.
Perhaps not completely overshadowed, but Johnny Marr and Noel Gallagher are often more credited for the success of their bands over their lead singing counterparts, Morrissey and Liam G.
So did Mike Love.
Based on videos I’ve seen of the Beach Boys performing, Mike Love doesn’t quite know what to do with himself during songs that he doesn’t sing, and he ends up just standing around awkwardly.
I’m not sure whether I’d call him The Lead Singer, but he is the frontman, bantering with the audience and introducing the songs during live performances.
But not looking nearly as much like dead wood as Davy Jones or Marc Volman.
Yeah, he’s the first name to come to mind when I think of the Who. But I may be sort of weird, as my next two names would be Moon and Entwistle before I got to Daltry. I don’t know why, but he’s always the one I most have trouble remembering. I mean, he was a great singer and certainly I should know his name immediately, but my brain has it on the bottom of the stack.
However, Daltry was known for spinning his microphone around like a lariat.
I was expecting the cable to quit working in the middle of a song or the mic to fly off the connector and bean someone in the audience.
The Doobie Brother’s first lead singer, co-founder Tom Johnston fell ill in the mid-70s, causing the band to find a replacement singer until Tom got better.
Tom got better, but never regained his position as lead singer as his replacement, Michael McDonald (then with Steely Dan) made the band far more popular, with Tom leaving the Doobies in 1976, 77.
"As soon as Keith joined the band we became four people vying for the audience’s attention. And I have to say that in the end Keith and I won over Roger and John. John just never bothered to join the fight, and Roger … Roger just lost, really "– Pete Townshend
Nobody puts on a Steely Dan album just to hear Donald Fagan’s voice.
Wrong. I might be in the minority, but Steely Dan just wouldn’t be worth listening to without Fagen.
I agree… His vocals have attitude along with those great lyrics.
Grace Slick live with* Jefferson Airplane*. I thought I’d be able to her her wail on *White Rabbit *and Somebody to Love, but the jamming, especially between Jorma and Jack is overwhelming. Great guitarists, but not what I listen to *Jefferson Airplane *for. She manages to hold her on on Volunteers and Wooden Ships though.
? I saw The Turtles in 1967, and Flo & Eddie in 1974, and Mark was anything but dead wood. (Of course I don’t know about the million and six other times he performed live with The Turtles and/or Howard Kaylan.) I agree that he looks lost on 60’s miming TV appearances.