# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/81 "2009-05-26T16:09:52Z")
No takers for Aaron Neville? Looks like a longshoreman, sounds like a castrato. Also, Jay Siegel of The Tokens, who sang _The Lion Sleeps Tonight_. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/82 "2009-05-27T21:06:26Z")
> [@Sparky812](#): > > /hijack - What about the other way around? For example, “High School Confidential” by Rough Trade, I remember being shocked when I finally saw Carol Pope was the lead singer!? “I’m Going to Make You Love Me” by Diana Ross and the Supremes. Half of the verses are sung by Ms. Ross, the other half by one of the others. Ms. Ross’ voice is recognizable, but the other one sounds like a man singing falsetto. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/83 "2009-05-27T22:15:56Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > “I’m Going to Make You Love Me” by Diana Ross and the Supremes. Half of the verses are sung by Ms. Ross, the other half by one of the others. Ms. Ross’ voice is recognizable, but the other one sounds like a man singing falsetto. Thought that was Smokey Robinson. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/84 "2009-05-27T22:56:28Z")
The guy from Air Supply ---
**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:** [May 27, 2009, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/85 "2009-05-27T23:06:23Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > “I’m Going to Make You Love Me” by Diana Ross and the Supremes. Half of the verses are sung by Ms. Ross, the other half by one of the others. Ms. Ross’ voice is recognizable, but the other one sounds like a man singing falsetto. > [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Thought that was Smokey Robinson. It’s Eddie Kendricks of the Temptations. That song is by [the Supremes and the Temptations combined](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_Ross_%26_the_Supremes_Join_the_Temptations). ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/86 "2009-05-28T00:13:42Z")
> [@Sparky812](#): > > /hijack - What about the other way around? My husband and I are constantly having to delete YouTube comments for [this video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8Zzt3PEwuM) because it seems like every other one is of a “Wow, is that a dude?/Sounds like a guy/It’s a man, right?” nature with nothing else added to make the comment even partially worth reading. We just delete those now. The video got discovered by Bowie fans thanks to a Cat Power commercial and though most of the Comments are great, some people apparently only listened to the first few seconds before Commenting, because it sure doesn’t sound like a dude later in the song. The [much better-sounding color version](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSCf15tBGqE) doesn’t get as many of those types of comments, but then, it doesn’t get as many hits either. [This song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zzcMmfGBjY) features both her very low and very high voice. [This one too](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytyc72RiXE0). > [@Sparky812](#): > > For example, “High School Confidential” by Rough Trade, I remember being shocked when I finally saw Carol Pope was the lead singer!? I mainly know Carole Pope from [this song (“All Touch”)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BOZYM8kw6I) which got lots of play in MTV back in the olden days when they actually cared about music. I hadn’t heard “High School Confidential” until a few minutes ago. I like “All Touch” much better. I never thought she was a man, but it wouldn’t have surprised me if someone had told me she was a transvestite. Not that it mattered either way. She’s very cool. [QUOTE=cactus waltz] Are female singers who sing in a lower register more likely to be perceived as masculine, than male singers who sing in a higher register are to be perceived as feminine? [/QUOTE] Speaking of transvestites, it’s a running joke with HTR, and has been her entire career. [Here’s a funny story](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eACEYTQkoLA) she told in concert about being thought a transsexual (the story continues after the song). ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/87 "2009-05-28T00:35:05Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I remember as a child being astonished to find out the Newbeats’s “Bread and Butter” was sung by a guy. a) This is the first one mentioned in this thread that I thought sounded like a girl. b) It makes Bread and Butter a LOT less interesting. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/88 "2009-05-28T00:59:20Z")
The guy from \*\*Simply Red \*\*? \*Holding Back The Years \*is the song, I think **S R** ’s the name of the band. His voice is not just high but also feminine IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Susie\_Derkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Susie\_Derkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susie_Derkins)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/89 "2009-05-28T01:13:25Z")
Another from the other side of the coin: when I first heard [Yazoo](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaHuzkyurC0) I had no idea the lead singer was a woman. Now I wish I could sing like Alison Moyet! Err, what **AqualungBats5th** said but with a bonus link! ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/90 "2009-06-03T07:23:48Z")
Nick Gilder (first I’ve heard of him) doesn’t sound like a woman, to me, but then, I’m a sucker for high-pitched, androgynous vocals. When I heard Russel Mael of Sparks sing for the first time at age 15, I was blown away. As ambiguous as it gets (couldn’t find ‘Equator’ on YouTube, which is the pinnacle of Mael’s vocals but below are two other classics): [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JwTdddZTFIk/hqdefault.jpg "Sparks - This Town Aint Big Enough promo 1974") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwTdddZTFIk) [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hSldOricDE](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hSldOricDE) Not a lead vocalist, but Sweet’s guitarist Andy Scott could reach incredible heights with his vocal harmony shrieks. Past Halford and Dickinson, I think, and very cool-sounding. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1tMyVXpZmI](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1tMyVXpZmI) (listen to the intro at 0:10) [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUQscmCkM1g](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUQscmCkM1g) (chorus harmony starting at 0:40). ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/91 "2009-06-03T12:32:55Z")
Phil Everly. No contest. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/O32XTdv-0p4/hqdefault.jpg "Phil Everly - Last thing on my mind") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O32XTdv-0p4) ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/92 "2009-06-03T17:58:53Z")
Haven’t read the whole thread, but how about the dude from Steelheart? [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxnGaURm3B8) [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62Nb9oYTAqQ) ---
**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:** [June 3, 2009, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/93 "2009-06-03T18:03:37Z")
Whoever was the lead singer for German one-hit (barely) wonders [Lake](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ud43RBjoYaQ). ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/94 "2009-06-03T18:04:42Z")
I gotta go with the one mentioned in the first response, Brian Aubert of _Silversun Pickups_. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/95 "2009-06-03T18:19:57Z")
I think it’s really the two of them meeting in the middle, but Steven Tyler and Janis Joplin can sound very similar sometimes. There have been a few of her songs that I only recognized as hers only because I have a ton of Aerosmith and figured I’d know it if it were them. ---
**Author:** ![abcdefz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@abcdefz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefz)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/96 "2009-06-03T19:20:45Z")
Little Jimmy Scott. Technically not a rock singer, but since he appears on a Lou Reed album, I’ve gotta toss him in. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/97 "2009-06-03T19:52:49Z")
Great choices so far. My pick whom I don’t believe has been named yet: Timothy B. Schmidt, from the Eagles. For _ages_ (before I knew it was an Eagles song) I thought [I Can’t Tell You Why](http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x17uy7_the-eagles-i-cant-tell-you-why-live_music) was sung by a woman. Fabulous song, too. For an unknown (at least to most people): [Drew Sarich](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=De_Nih5G8Qw). He actually has a heavier rock voice, but when he wants to, he can go angelic and delicate. An astonishing range. ---
**Author:** ![beatlejuice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a8b319/32.png) [@beatlejuice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beatlejuice)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/98 "2009-06-03T20:03:26Z")
These lyrics in the song TAXI by Harry Chapin are sung by a man. I swear. I saw him on American Bandstand. Baby’s so high that she’s skying, Yes she’s flying, afraid to fall. I’ll tell you why baby’s crying, Cause she’s dying, aren’t we all. Unless maybe it was a bearded woman. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/99 "2009-06-03T21:23:32Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > The guy from \*\*Simply Red \*\*? \*Holding Back The Years \*is the song, I think **S R** ’s the name of the band. > His voice is not just high but also feminine IMO. Mick Hucknall. I never thought of him as a woman, or as Black - I’ve heard people say this about him. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452/100 "2009-06-03T21:39:55Z")
> [@Pyper](#): > > 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. I agree with this. This song, too: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xBZ3kjeG-A](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xBZ3kjeG-A) And this one: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0yNiWOipIo](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0yNiWOipIo) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-rock-singers-with-the-highest-or-most-feminine-voices/497452.md?page=6)