# Lead singers who are bassists.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singers-who-are-bassists/414311>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [August 3, 2007, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singers-who-are-bassists/414311 "2007-08-03T18:00:15Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Captain\_Socks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a8b319/32.png) [@Captain\_Socks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Socks)\
**Post date:** [August 4, 2007, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singers-who-are-bassists/414311/41 "2007-08-04T19:10:42Z")

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Geddy Lee, Rush.

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**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\
**Post date:** [August 5, 2007, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singers-who-are-bassists/414311/42 "2007-08-05T03:31:11Z")

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Oh, and Peter Cetera, Chicago’s bassist, shared lead vocal duties with Robert Lamm & Terry Kath.

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**Author:** ![dbygawdcapn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dbygawdcapn/32/3995_2.png) [@dbygawdcapn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dbygawdcapn)\
**Post date:** [August 5, 2007, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singers-who-are-bassists/414311/43 "2007-08-05T03:54:47Z")

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Don Dixon

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**Author:** ![CaerieD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@CaerieD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaerieD)\
**Post date:** [August 5, 2007, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singers-who-are-bassists/414311/44 "2007-08-05T04:05:18Z")

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Technically speaking, Brandon Flowers with **The Killers** is a bassist lead singer. Of course, they _have_ a bassist, but during live performances of “For Reasons Unknown” he plays the bass while the bassist, Mark Stoermer, plays backup guitar.

Sigh. I’m sure the part of my brain that’s taken up with this trivia once held the genitive case in German or something else useful.

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**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\
**Post date:** [August 5, 2007, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singers-who-are-bassists/414311/45 "2007-08-05T16:25:39Z")

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IIRC, Jeff Tweedy of Wilco played bass when he was in Uncle Tupelo.

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**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\
**Post date:** [August 5, 2007, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singers-who-are-bassists/414311/46 "2007-08-05T20:06:20Z")

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Though a good lead player too, I seem to remember Paul Weller played bass for The Jam. Probably why the songs have kick ass bass lines, like in Down in the Tube Station at Midnight.

And when I check it up it was only on very early stuff for the Jam… damn memory.

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**Author:** ![Henrichek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5daacb/32.png) [@Henrichek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Henrichek)\
**Post date:** [August 5, 2007, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lead-singers-who-are-bassists/414311/47 "2007-08-05T20:52:33Z")

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Hansi Kürch in Blind Guardian used to play bass until their Nightfall in Middle-earth album. Then he decided to focus on the vocals, and they hired some bassist instead.

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