# Male rock singers with the highest or most feminine voices? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 24, 2009, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452 "2009-05-24T09:03:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/21 "2009-05-24T13:56:09Z")
I’m sure Valli saw the irony in that song. He strikes me as a pretty sharp and clever guy. I also think the Four Seasons and the culture of Italian singing that the band came out of did not think there was anything unmanly about singing in a high voice - they just wouldn’t have made that connection. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/22 "2009-05-24T14:18:13Z")
Even after having seen [the video](http://www.clevver.com/music/video/25758/jet-put-your-money-where-your-mouth-is-video.html), I still have trouble wrapping my mind around the idea that the opening lines of “Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is” by **Jet** is sung by a guy. ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/23 "2009-05-24T14:39:24Z")
Wayne Newton was my first thought. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/24 "2009-05-24T15:13:44Z")
I used to think Little Anthony (of Little Anthony and the Imperials) was a woman when I heard Out of my Head. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/25 "2009-05-24T15:40:56Z")
> [@minlokwat](#): > > The doo-wop singers of the 50’s featured guys who sang in the falsetto register with \*\*Frankie Valli \*\*being probably the most successful and who never saw the irony of belting out “Walk Like a Man” while singing like a girl. I’m pretty sure that Valli wasn’t belting at all. He’s not exactly feminine-sounding, but Freddie Mercury had one hell of an upper range. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/26 "2009-05-24T15:56:02Z")
Limahl, the former lead singer for Kajagoogoo. He doesn’t always sound effeminate, but when the theme song from _The NeverEnding Story_ was on the radio, I would have sworn it was sung by a woman. Seeing his face on an album cover was a shock. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/27 "2009-05-24T16:12:21Z")
**Argent Towers** , if you’re interested, here’s another with Nick Gilder singing lead: [Roxy Roller](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuoSB4cmrSU)," by a band named Sweeney Todd. This was a few years before Gilder went solo and did “Hot Child in the City.” Kind of interesting, I think. My contributions: Lou Christie and Del Shannon. With songs like “[The Gypsy Cried](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYQsbOYHKcA),” Lou could hit the high notes with an ease that made you wonder if he really was a guy. Del Shannon sounded much like a guy most of the time, but he could hit the high notes–listen to “[Runaway](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TLLcvWeiKw),” and especially to the “I wa-wa-wa-wa-nder, why; why-why-why-why” parts, where he hits the high notes. ---
**Author:** ![Slade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@Slade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slade)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/28 "2009-05-24T17:03:31Z")
He’s a jazz singer rather than a rock singer, but I found it impossible to believe Jimmy Scott was a man when I first heard him. He;s got a beautiful voice, but it’s a very feminine one. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/29 "2009-05-24T17:08:55Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > **Argent Towers** , if you’re interested, here’s another with Nick Gilder singing lead: [Roxy Roller](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuoSB4cmrSU)," by a band named Sweeney Todd. This was a few years before Gilder went solo and did “Hot Child in the City.” Kind of interesting, I think. Man, thanks for that link! One of my new fave songs now. Why oh why can’t they make music like this anymore?!?! ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/30 "2009-05-24T17:10:17Z")
I always thought the [Bee Gees](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCAjmuA1HDk)should be too embarrassed to sing in public. ---
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/31 "2009-05-24T17:48:46Z")
The lead singer of [The Darkness](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUoYDJDiY6U) has probably the highest singing voice of any rock singer I’ve ever heard, although when I first heard the band, I never mistook him for female. (Everyone must watch that music video. It’s the best music video of all time.) I _always_ thought Nick Gilder was a female. Even listening again to “Hot Child in the City” and the other song posted above, he still sounds female to me. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/32 "2009-05-24T17:51:13Z")
Yes, it’s not just that Nick Gilder’s voice is high, it’s that it’s high and _soft,_ and with a distinctly feminine inflection. It reminds me of Madonna singing “Crazy For You” in _Vision Quest._ ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/33 "2009-05-24T18:03:29Z")
Big John Wallace did the alto voice on Harry Chapin’s, “Taxi”. That was pretty high and I thought it was a woman singing. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/34 "2009-05-24T18:04:24Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > Man, thanks for that link! One of my new fave songs now. Why oh why can’t they make music like this anymore?!?! I thought \*\*Jet’s \*\*first and second albums, \*\*Get Born \*\*and **Shine On** , have a lot of this cool boogie/glam muscle and the songs are a bit more complex (well, not complex, per se - they are simply-structured rock songs, but they have a bit more going on in their sound…). I assume you have \*\*Desolation Boulevard \*\*by **The Sweet**? ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/35 "2009-05-24T18:11:25Z")
[Perry Farrell](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perry_Farrell) [Wayne Coyne](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Coyne) [King Diamond](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Diamond) ---
**Author:** ![bufftabby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/77aa72/32.png) [@bufftabby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bufftabby)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/36 "2009-05-24T18:16:24Z")
Placebo singer Brian Molko has a fairly androgynous voice, tending toward the feminine. His penchant for eyeliner and light crossdressing made me say, “There’s a girl named Brian?” when I first saw a captioned picture of him. ---
**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:** [May 24, 2009, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/37 "2009-05-24T18:36:12Z")
Jackie Wilson (Higher and Higher). Ever since seeing Ghostbusters (they played it when they made the Statue of Liberty Walk) I’ve wondered if it’s a girl or a guy. Just looked it up. He’s a guy. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/38 "2009-05-24T19:38:43Z")
Darren “Savage Garden” Hayes can sing high but it’s clear he’s a guy. He’s a good example of the difference between being able to sing in a high key and being able to hit a note or two in a high octive. But I can always tell it’s a man. I always thought Rod Stewart and Kim Carnes were sound-a-likes Check out the Wikipedia article on [Castrati](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castrati) Also check out [Michael Maniaci](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Maniaci) on YouTube. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Hen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@Small\_Hen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Hen)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/39 "2009-05-24T20:22:10Z")
The first time I really listened to the lyrics of “Laughter in the Rain”, I turned to my sister and said, “I’ll bet people were really up in arms when this became a hit in the 70s.” I honestly thought it was a lesbian love song. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/40 "2009-05-24T20:38:25Z")
Disco singer [Sylvester](http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:fifixqr5ldae), whose big hit was “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)”, belted it out in falsetto. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452.md?page=3)