Jimmy Buffett did backing vocals on The Eagles’ “The Greeks Don’t Want No Freaks.”
My favorite is the time Michael Jackson sang backup for Joe “King” Carrasco. Evidently they were in adjacent studios that day. Two very different musicians, to say the least.
Bob Dylan, credited as “Robert Milkwood Thomas,” sang backup on a couple of songs on Steve Goodman’s Somebody Else’s Troubles album.
And, of course, there’s Michelle Phillips and Ronnie Spector singing backup on Cheech and Chong’s Basketball Jones. (And George Harrison, Billy Preston, and Carole King playing guitar and piano, respectively.)
Me too. Also, Adam Duritz on Jacob Dylan’s Sixth Avenue Heartache and Daryl Hall on INXS’s Original Sin. It’s so obvious once you know.
Chaka Khan not only sang backup, but she was also in the video.
Bryan Adams’ “This Time” has always been a favorite of mine. I didn’t know until just a few years ago that Lou Gramm sang backup, but now that I know, I can’t believe I missed it.
which reminds me that Daryl Hall sang backup on Elvis Costello’s “The Only Flame In Town.”
Dylan sang “background” on “Wallflower”, his own composition that was unreleased, on Doug Sahm’s album “Doug Sahm And Band”. His voice was so prominent in the mix that it could pass as lead. Doug was one of Bob’s biggest buddies.
Dylan also appeared early in his career under the moniker Blind Boy Grunt on albums by Odetta and Richard Farina And Eric Von Schmidt, but I believe he only contributed harmonica and some guitar, no vocals.
I’ve mentioned before that Aretha had the incomparable Sissy Houston singing backup on “Ain’t No Way”. What an astonishing voice.
Missed this!
Well, there goes my theory. But maybe not-- they do harmonize on the line, “I bet you think this song is about you, don’t you?” So meta!
Arcadia, a side project featuring most of Duran Duran, had 3 famous guests on their one album. Their hit “Election Day” had Grace jones (although she sings slightly more than backup), whom I did identify correctly when I heard it. They also had a song with a backing singer which I vaguely recognized but just couldn’t place which turned out to be Sting, and a song or two had guitar that I could identify as being similar to David Gilmour (without thinking too firmly it was him like the case with Jones), and which did indeed turn out to be Gilmour.
Olivia Newton-John sang on John Denver’s Fly Away.
Linda Ronstadt sang on the (Nitty Gritty) Dirt Band’s song An American Dream.
That’s Lou Rawls call and answering with Sam Cooke in Bring It On Home to Me.
Linda only wanted to spend her life singing with her friends. Off the top of my head, besides the bands/singers mentioned, she backed:
Toto
James Taylor
The Eagles
Randy Newman
Andrew Gold
Paul Simon
The Seldom Scene
Not to mention the backing vocals that the supergoup Trio (Dolly, Linda, Emmylou) did on each other’s solo albums, like the one of Linda backing Emmylou:
Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Raitt, all sang back up for lowell gerorge.
Well, when it comes to All-Star backup…
Daryl Hall sings backup on Eric Clapton’s “No Alibis.”
Paul McCartney and John Lennon sang on the Stones’ “We Love You.” McCartney is also faintly audible in the background of Donovan’s “Mellow Yellow.”
Kate Bush sang on Peter Gabriel’s “Games Without Frontiers” years before she sang on “Don’t Give Up.”
The Eagles also on Boz Scagg’s “Look What You’ve Done to Me”.
Oh, and the Oak Ridge Boys helping Paul Simon on “Slip Slidin’ Away.”
I’m gonna say The Eagles are a bit of a cheat. Weren’t they a sessions band who were encouraged to record their own music by Linda Rondstadt (if I spelled her name wrong blame it on ThisSpaceForRent).
Axl Rose sang back up for Don Henley on “I will not go quietly.”
U2 backed up Robbie Robertson on several tracks of his first solo album. Bono sang back up.
Testimony is one of my favorite songs of all time on one of my top 10 albums of all time.