# Lead singer takes a break: best and worst examples **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 16, 2016, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singer-takes-a-break-best-and-worst-examples/746273 "2016-02-16T16:47:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singer-takes-a-break-best-and-worst-examples/746273/61 "2016-02-17T04:18:29Z")
[This is the first Tubes song I ever heard](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90PI_8NyMoQ) That is not the lead singer ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singer-takes-a-break-best-and-worst-examples/746273/62 "2016-02-17T04:34:19Z")
ABBA - Björn sings lead on [Does Your Mother Know?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkL7Fkigfn8) I like it but I’m an ABBA fan in general. It’s not one of their best songs, though. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singer-takes-a-break-best-and-worst-examples/746273/63 "2016-02-17T04:56:39Z")
Does Robert Plant count? ---
**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:** [February 17, 2016, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singer-takes-a-break-best-and-worst-examples/746273/64 "2016-02-17T06:09:30Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > He was a lead singer. Ocasek was one, too, but Orr could actually sing. He sang their first single, Just What I Needed, and many other of their hits. Thanks for the info, **WordMan** , I didn’t know Orr sang that much lead. I also didn’t know he died in 2000. Dammit! ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singer-takes-a-break-best-and-worst-examples/746273/65 "2016-02-17T06:28:13Z")
Somebody upthread already mentioned Queen’s Roger Taylor singing I’m In Love With My Car. I do love that song. > [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Peter Criss sang lead on _Beth_, one of KISS’s biggest hits and I think his voice suited it, too. Gene is too Cookie Monster and Paul is too . . .smarmy. Dammit! You just ruined Kiss for me. Cookie Monster indeed. (That’s not to say that Kiss hadn’t already ruined themselves 30-odd years ago. Taking off the makeup was[a REAL bad idea.](http://youtu.be/Gcj34XixuYg). Check out Cookie Monster trying to look menacing in a pink tank top. ) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singer-takes-a-break-best-and-worst-examples/746273/66 "2016-02-17T13:04:44Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > Dammit! You just ruined Kiss for me. Cookie Monster indeed. > > (That’s not to say that Kiss hadn’t already ruined themselves 30-odd years ago. Taking off the makeup was[a REAL bad idea.](http://youtu.be/Gcj34XixuYg). Check out Cookie Monster trying to look menacing in a pink tank top. ) “Cookie Monster” is a pretty common derogatory term for certain styles of [Heavy Metal singing.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_growl) ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singer-takes-a-break-best-and-worst-examples/746273/67 "2016-02-17T13:24:16Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > Somebody upthread already mentioned Queen’s Roger Taylor singing I’m In Love With My Car. I do love that song. > > Dammit! You just ruined Kiss for me. Cookie Monster indeed. > > (That’s not to say that Kiss hadn’t already ruined themselves 30-odd years ago. Taking off the makeup was[a REAL bad idea.](http://youtu.be/Gcj34XixuYg). Check out Cookie Monster trying to look menacing in a pink tank top. ) And you got me right back by reminding me of that video. It still makes me cringe (AND the song is now stuck in my head. Darn you to heck, **Green Bean** 😛 ) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singer-takes-a-break-best-and-worst-examples/746273/68 "2016-02-17T15:03:46Z")
**Heaven Beside You** is sung mainly by Jerry Cantrell for the band Alice in Chains. Layne Staley does sing during the chorus, but he is the back up on this one to Cantrell’s lead. Jerry sing’s even more now that they replaced deceased Staley, but Layne was clearly the lead singer in the band. It’s a great song, too. One of Alice in Chains best, although I’m a huge fan who enjoys a lot of their music. Jerry wrote most of their songs and sang a lot, but this one is probably the most prominent. ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singer-takes-a-break-best-and-worst-examples/746273/69 "2016-02-17T15:19:12Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > And you got me right back by reminding me of that video. Oh yes, I remember that, too ! It was a huge deal at the time - their taking off their make-up, I mean. Not the song, which flopped IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singer-takes-a-break-best-and-worst-examples/746273/70 "2016-02-17T15:28:40Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > (That’s not to say that Kiss hadn’t already ruined themselves 30-odd years ago. Taking off the makeup was[a REAL bad idea.](http://youtu.be/Gcj34XixuYg). Check out Cookie Monster trying to look menacing in a pink tank top. ) Is it just me, or is the image that your link freezes on make Vinnie Vincent (far right) look like Michelle Trachtenberg? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singer-takes-a-break-best-and-worst-examples/746273/71 "2016-02-17T15:50:10Z")
There’s only one time that I recall that Ian Anderson wasn’t the lead in a Jethro Tull song. This was in their concept album _Passion Play_. Bass player Jeffrey Hammond narrated _The Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles_ in the middle of the album. ---
**Author:** ![Dahnlor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dahnlor/32/533_2.png) [@Dahnlor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dahnlor)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singer-takes-a-break-best-and-worst-examples/746273/72 "2016-02-17T15:50:59Z")
Not sure if this counts, but some of the best songs by Journey are sung by Greg Rolie, particularly [“Feeling That Way”, “Anytime”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OOUY1Z_XOQ) and [“Just The Same Way”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twC6FvDubLk). Of course, he sang lead before Steve Perry joined, so this might be more of a borderline example. ---
**Author:** ![Eutychus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singer-takes-a-break-best-and-worst-examples/746273/73 "2016-02-17T16:01:07Z")
Not because he was taking a break, but because of internal pressures within the band, John Fogerty let some of the other members take the lead on the “Mardi Gras” album. It was so ill-received that it probably led to the breakup of Creedence Clearwater Revival. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singer-takes-a-break-best-and-worst-examples/746273/74 "2016-02-17T16:25:46Z")
> [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](#): > > Oh yes, I remember that, too ! > > It was a huge deal at the time - their taking off their make-up, I mean. Not the song, which flopped IIRC. Okay, I don’t want to hijack this and turn it into the KISS and the HORRIBLE ,AWFUL VIDEO but I cannot stop watching it. Watching and laughing. Gene and the aforementioned pink tank top! Paul’s testicle tether! The, uh, other one with his belly shirt. Paul kind of looks like a slightly more demented Dr. FrankNFurter if he was trying to look like a 1980s rock star. Sorry; please carry on with the topic at hand. . . ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singer-takes-a-break-best-and-worst-examples/746273/75 "2016-02-17T16:45:21Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > There’s only one time that I recall that Ian Anderson wasn’t the lead in a Jethro Tull song. This was in their concept album _Passion Play_. Bass player Jeffrey Hammond narrated _The Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles_ in the middle of the album. Jeffrey also did “Sea Lion II,” but both of these are spoken-word, not singing. On Tull’s first album, however, Mick Abrahams sings the lead vocal on “Move on Alone.” (A couple of other tracks have Ian and Mick singing together.) ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singer-takes-a-break-best-and-worst-examples/746273/76 "2016-02-17T16:55:17Z")
Concrete Blonde’s guitar player, Jim Mankey, sang one song, “Close to Home,” on (what was then intended to be) their swan song album _Mexican Moon_. It does not fall into the “better” category. Timothy B. Schmidt, brought in as a hired gun just a few years prior, wrote and sang lead on the Eagles’ biggest hit, “I Can’t Tell You Why.” That’s Nick Mason er … vocalizing on Pink Floyd’s “One of These Days.” A personal favorite: one of my favorite Velvet Underground songs, “After Hours,” is sung by drummer Maureen Tucker. And one more vote for “You Got the Silver.” Awesome performance. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singer-takes-a-break-best-and-worst-examples/746273/77 "2016-02-17T17:09:05Z")
> [@Nonsuch](#): > > Concrete Blonde’s guitar player, Jim Mankey, sang one song, “Close to Home,” on (what was then intended to be) their swan song album _Mexican Moon_. It does not fall into the “better” category. > > Timothy B. Schmidt, brought in as a hired gun just a few years prior, wrote and sang lead on the Eagles’ biggest hit, “I Can’t Tell You Why.” > > That’s Nick Mason er … vocalizing on Pink Floyd’s “One of These Days.” > > A personal favorite: one of my favorite Velvet Underground songs, “After Hours,” is sung by drummer Maureen Tucker. > > And one more vote for “You Got the Silver.” Awesome performance. the Eagles’ biggest hit, “I Can’t Tell You Why.”?? Why have I never heard it? So Hotel California was a dud? ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singer-takes-a-break-best-and-worst-examples/746273/78 "2016-02-17T17:14:09Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > the Eagles’ biggest hit, “I Can’t Tell You Why.”?? > > Why have I never heard it? So Hotel California was a dud? I think it was one of the bigger hits in their post HC incarnation. Remember the \*Long Run \*era? ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singer-takes-a-break-best-and-worst-examples/746273/79 "2016-02-17T17:21:35Z")
> [@Enginerd](#): > > Another best: Dee Dee Ramone… I like C.J. doing the Dee Dee songs, and others, in end-period Ramones. ---
**Author:** ![WreckingCrew](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wreckingcrew/32/4080_2.png) [@WreckingCrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WreckingCrew)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singer-takes-a-break-best-and-worst-examples/746273/80 "2016-02-17T17:23:23Z")
> [@Labdad](#): > > “Ooh-La-La” and “Debris,” sung by bassist Ronnie Lane, are two of my favorite Faces songs. Ronnie Wood is the lead singer on “Ooh-La-La” by the Faces, and nobody was more surprised about it then he was. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ooh\_La\_La\_%28Faces\_song%29](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ooh_La_La_%28Faces_song%29) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singer-takes-a-break-best-and-worst-examples/746273.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singer-takes-a-break-best-and-worst-examples/746273.md?page=5)