# Is that that famous singer singing background? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [March 10, 2022, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-that-famous-singer-singing-background/960844 "2022-03-10T20:00:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2022, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-that-famous-singer-singing-background/960844/1 "2022-03-10T20:00:24Z")
Listening to Steve Windwood’s Higher Love-- is that Chaka Khan singing backup? Google says yes! Always thought that was Mick Jagger singing back up on Carly Simon’s You’re So Vain but since it’s reported to be about him, maybe not. Since today’s songs are all bylined: Bigname O’Deday feat. U. Kno-me with Upen Comer, the latest example of sort of uncredited backup singer I can think of is Michael Jackson on Rockwell’s Somebody’s Watching Me. There used to be a lot more songs like this, right? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2022, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-that-famous-singer-singing-background/960844/2 "2022-03-10T20:03:58Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Always thought that was Mick Jagger singing back up on Carly Simon’s You’re So Vain but since it’s reported to be about him, maybe not. Carly says he did: > **[When Carly Simon and Mick Jagger Hit No. 1 With ‘You’re So Vain'](https://ultimateclassicrock.com/carly-simon-mick-jagger-youre-so-vain/)** > > Mick Jagger secretly guested on Carly Simon's ‘You’re So Vain,' which rose to the top of the charts on Jan. 6, 1973. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2022, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-that-famous-singer-singing-background/960844/3 "2022-03-10T20:05:49Z")
Chaka Khan is also in the [background of the church scene](https://www.blackcatholicmessenger.com/content/images/2021/05/Blues-Brothers-Chaka-Khan-1980a--2-.JPG) in The Blues Brothers. And Young Americans by David Bowie…that’s [Luther Vandross singing back up](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydLcs4VrjZQ) (wearing the blue suit). ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2022, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-that-famous-singer-singing-background/960844/4 "2022-03-10T20:08:07Z")
Speaking of Bowie, he is on Arcade Fire’s Reflektor. And speaking of Bowie, John Lennon is on Fame. My favorite is Jack White in Electrix Six’s Danger! High Voltage, because of how obvious it is and how silly their attempts to deny that it’s him are. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2022, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-that-famous-singer-singing-background/960844/5 "2022-03-10T20:10:14Z")
Weird Al on tambourine: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/TmG0DqhfDbY/maxresdefault.jpg "Thinking 'Bout Somethin'") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmG0DqhfDbY) ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2022, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-that-famous-singer-singing-background/960844/6 "2022-03-10T20:11:30Z")
Liz Phair sings backup on Sheryl Crow’s “Soak Up the Sun.” IIRC the story is Phair just happened to be in the studio at the same time and they literally ran into each other in the hall or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2022, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-that-famous-singer-singing-background/960844/7 "2022-03-10T20:12:58Z")
Oh! Oh! I may have mentioned it a time or twenty but we saw Toto and Journey live recently and my husband lamented that Cheryl Lynn didn’t show up to sing Georgy Porgy with Toto. I did not now that was Cheryl although always thought it could have been Chaka. Since I’ve come to learn that someone I think is well known isn’t known at all, especially if it’s someone black, Cheryl Lin: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/fI569nw0YUQ/maxresdefault.jpg "Cheryl Lynn - Got To Be Real (Audio)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fI569nw0YUQ) ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2022, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-that-famous-singer-singing-background/960844/8 "2022-03-10T20:16:08Z")
Stevie Nicks does backup on “Hello, it’s Me” by Todd Rundgren, “Magnet and Steel” by Walter Egan, “Gold” by John Stewart (can definitely hear her), and one source sez “Don’t Come Around Here No More”. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2022, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-that-famous-singer-singing-background/960844/9 "2022-03-10T20:16:38Z")
John Lennon (under the name Dr. Winston O’Boogie) sang and played guitar on Elton John’s cover version of _Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds_. ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2022, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-that-famous-singer-singing-background/960844/10 "2022-03-10T20:22:06Z")
Oh, also! This is America, Childish Gambino. All of the “yeahs” and “oohs” and “ayys” and stuff (and nothing else) are from big names. Quavo and Young Thug and I forget who else. ---
**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:** [March 10, 2022, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-that-famous-singer-singing-background/960844/11 "2022-03-10T20:26:58Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Michael Jackson on Rockwell’s Somebody’s Watching Me. That song, for me, lives in the same space as Eddie Murphy’s “Party All the Time,” on which Rick James (who also wrote and produced it) sang backup. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2022, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-that-famous-singer-singing-background/960844/12 "2022-03-10T20:30:27Z")
Rick had to pay for the couch he messed up when he was high. Cocain’s a hellava drug! ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2022, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-that-famous-singer-singing-background/960844/13 "2022-03-10T20:39:42Z")
In Blood Sweat and Tears’s first album, “Child is Father to the Man,” one of the backup singers was listed at “Melba Moorman” in the original album credits. I wondered at the time if that was really Melba Moore, who had begun her Broadway career in the musical _Hair_ the year before. Turns out it was Moore, and the credits have been adjusted. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2022, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-that-famous-singer-singing-background/960844/14 "2022-03-10T20:42:31Z")
From SCTV’s “The Gerry Todd Show”: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/b0HzWMqLeiE/hqdefault.jpg "MICHAEL McDONALD - A Tribute To The Greatest Backing Vocalist Of All Time") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0HzWMqLeiE) ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2022, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-that-famous-singer-singing-background/960844/15 "2022-03-10T20:43:43Z")
James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt on Neil Young’s, “Heart of Gold.” ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2022, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-that-famous-singer-singing-background/960844/16 "2022-03-10T20:50:29Z")
A write-up on Tina Turner singing, uncredited, for Frank Zappa: > **[How Tina Turner and Frank Zappa Whipped Up Some Dirty Love](https://www.denofgeek.com/culture/tina-turner-frank-zappa-apple-tv/)** > > Before Tina Turner was doubly inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, she heated up some tracks for Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2022, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-that-famous-singer-singing-background/960844/17 "2022-03-10T20:59:38Z")
Linda Ronstadt on Paul Simon’s “Under African Skies” The Eagles on Bob Seger’s “Fire Lake” ---
**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:** [March 10, 2022, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-that-famous-singer-singing-background/960844/18 "2022-03-10T21:10:27Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > the latest example of sort of uncredited backup singer I can think of is Michael Jackson on Rockwell’s Somebody’s Watching Me. That’s the first one I thought of when I saw the thread title. But, what definition of “uncredited” are we using? It’s true that Jackson’s name wasn’t included in the byline (the way it often is in modern “feat.” music). But it was no secret at the time that that was him singing. I had the cassette back in the day, and I can’t remember for sure whether Michael Jackson was listed in the credits/liner notes, but I kind of think he was. _Slightly_ later than that was Dire Straits’ “Money For Nothing,” which featured prominent backing vocals by Sting. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2022, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-that-famous-singer-singing-background/960844/19 "2022-03-10T21:18:57Z")
> [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](#): > > Speaking of Bowie, he is on Arcade Fire’s Reflektor. Also speaking of Bowie, he sings backup on two tracks on Scarlett Johansson’s Tom Waits cover album (yes, you read that right), including this lovely bit of harmonizing: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/8iVJmCrpwEo/maxresdefault.jpg "Fannin Street") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iVJmCrpwEo) ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2022, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-that-famous-singer-singing-background/960844/20 "2022-03-10T21:28:17Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > > [@Biggirl](#): > > > > Always thought that was Mick Jagger singing back up on Carly Simon’s You’re So Vain but since it’s reported to be about him, maybe not. > > Carly says he did: > [When Carly Simon and Mick Jagger Hit No. 1 With ‘You’re So Vain'](https://ultimateclassicrock.com/carly-simon-mick-jagger-youre-so-vain/) Once I learned that Mick sang backup on that song, I can’t not hear him. Since Cheryl Crow and Michael Jackson have both been mentioned in different contexts, it may be worth mentioning that Cheryl Crow used to sing backup for Michael Jackson. I think only on tour in the late 80s though, I don’t think any recorded songs. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-that-that-famous-singer-singing-background/960844.md?page=2)