# Popular songs where the backup singers are more famous than the lead **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [June 2, 2021, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467 "2021-06-02T13:07:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/61 "2021-06-02T21:19:16Z")
Stevie Nicks was and is definitely more famous than former Kingston Trio member John Stewart, who hit the US Top 5 with “Gold”. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/62 "2021-06-02T21:20:57Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > Not to take anything away from Brian May, I think that Steve Howe is more accomplished at flamenco-style playing. I could see them inviting him to spice the recording up. On lead guitar, Brian May is at least Steve Howe’s equal. Definitely agreed. Both are insanely good guitarists, but Howe’s style include more aspects of classical guitar and jazz guitar than May’s does. Could Brian May play flamenco-style if he had to, and be really good at it? With a little practice, I would defintely think so. Howe wouldn’t have needed the practice. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/63 "2021-06-02T21:25:41Z")
Cissy Houston (Whitney Houston’s mother) sang backup for Aretha Franklin on “Ain’t No Way”. Now, it certainly could be argued that by then Franklin was a star, but Cissy was easily one of the best-known vocalists in R&B circles. Listen to her soar on that song and be properly astonished. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/WzRA9UzuU8c/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-BIAC4AOKAgwIABABGGUgUihFMA8=&rs=AOn4CLDhiuAJRK341Crb5W9IIkR_SUmfYQ "Ain't No Way Aretha Franklin") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzRA9UzuU8c) ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/64 "2021-06-02T21:37:18Z")
> [@TCMF-2L](#): > > **Neil Finn** sang background vocals on **Sheryl Crow** ’s **Everyday Is A Winding Road.** He’s sung and played on a lot of songs, like _Red Dress_ with Jonatha Brooke (of The Story), and a bunch with Eddie Vedder and Johnny Marr. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/65 "2021-06-02T21:58:20Z")
Rosie Velez, a former supermodel, put out a fine album in 1985 called _Zazu_. Probably nobody remembers it. But she had the same manager as Walter Becker and Donald Fagan and they liked her demos. So both played on the album, the only time in the 80s they worked together. ---
**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:** [June 2, 2021, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/66 "2021-06-02T22:19:58Z")
Nitpick: Rosie **Vela** – somehow she got involved with Jeff ( **ELO** ) Lynne and toured with a re-vamped version of the group. I’ll have to put on that album again if I ever get a replacement turntable. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/67 "2021-06-02T22:35:58Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > That one has to be the weirdest. Michael was an ultra-mega-superstar. Jermaine was a fairly big star in his own right. No one had ever heard of Rockwell. It was the debut single from his debut album. > > He used the name Rockwell, and cut his first record deal in secret, because he didn’t want to be accused of nepotism. (His father was Berry Gordy.) He wanted to achieve success on his own merit. But, apparently, having two Jacksons in the background didn’t count. 😁 Kennedy Gordy (Rockwell) was just keeping it in the family. He and Michael had been friends since childhood, and Jermaine at the time was married to Kennedy’s sister Hazel. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2021, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/68 "2021-06-02T22:57:45Z")
and he was in the buggles also … ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2021, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/69 "2021-06-03T00:38:03Z")
Right. I thought Velez looked wrong and found Vela. How it didn’t get changed I don’t know. Thanks for the correction. She deserves proper recognition. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2021, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/70 "2021-06-03T00:45:19Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Nitpick: Rosie **Vela** – somehow she got involved with Jeff ( **ELO** ) Lynne and toured with a re-vamped version of the group. Nittier pick: that ELO lineup never actually toured. Vela sang on a couple of songs on the _Zoom_ album in 2001, but the tour in support of that album was cancelled shortly before it was to begin, due to low ticket sales. I had tickets to see them here in the Chicago area, though that date would have undoubtedly been cancelled or postponed, had the tour actually gone off, as it was scheduled for September 12th, 2001. However, they did a video recording of a live performance, made prior to when the tour would have happened, [which can be found on DVD](https://www.amazon.com/Electric-Light-Orchestra-ELO-Zoom/dp/B00005QBZD/), and Vela is the primary backup singer in that performance. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2021, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/71 "2021-06-03T00:54:10Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > and he was in the buggles also … Not precisely. The two members of the Buggles, Trevor Horn and Geoffrey Downes, were working on their second album, and Yes was working on an album in the adjacent studio. At that point, Yes did not have a vocalist or a keyboardist, and so, Horn and Downes wound up becoming part of Yes for that one album (_Drama_), along with Steve Howe, Chris Squire, and Alan White; after recording that album, Yes disbanded. On the first day that they finally got around to recording the second Buggles album, Downes left the Buggles to join Howe in Asia; Horn finished that album with guest musicians (though Downes still contributed to several tracks). Then, when members of Yes re-formed, Horn produced their comeback album, _90125_ (though it didn’t feature Howe, who was still with Asia). ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2021, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/72 "2021-06-03T01:49:43Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > > [@mbh](#): > > > > Rockwell’s “Somebody’s Watching Me” had Michael Jackson and Jermaine Jackson on backup. > > > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > > > First thing I thought of when I saw the thread title. > > That one has to be the weirdest. Michael was an ultra-mega-superstar. Jermaine was a fairly big star in his own right. No one had ever heard of Rockwell. It was the debut single from his debut album. > > He used the name Rockwell, and cut his first record deal in secret, because he didn’t want to be accused of nepotism. (His father was Berry Gordy.) He wanted to achieve success on his own merit. But, apparently, having two Jacksons in the background didn’t count. 😁 Oh, I think I can beat that. Ani DiFranco’s 1999 album _To The Teeth_ featured the song “Providence”, which had backing vocals from…Prince. Ani had a solid following by then, and was on her way to becoming an indie legend; but given that she eschewed the record company path and only released under her own label, Righteous Babe Records, and thus got no radio airplay and almost no publicity, she had nowhere near the recognition or stature of Prince. Viewed strictly from the perspective of relative fame, it was like Derek Jeter showing up to play shortstop for a church-league softball team. I always thought that was a testament to Prince’s musical generosity, and his willingness to stretch boundaries and work with musicians he admired. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/vZKFeI5Q6uA/hqdefault.jpg "Ani DiFranco/Prince "Providence"") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZKFeI5Q6uA) ---
**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:** [June 3, 2021, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/73 "2021-06-03T03:30:25Z")
Linda Ronstadt took a Warren Zevon song and made a hit: [Poor Poor Pitiful Me](https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=linda+rondstat+poor+poor+pitiful+me&view=detail&mid=BBDE1878925410DFE703BBDE1878925410DFE703&FORM=VIRE0&ru=%2fsearch%3fq%3dlinda%2brondstat%2bpoor%2bpoor%2bpitiful%2bme%26cvid%3d1d07c3b79aa6480eafd9eefebb95833a%26aqs%3dedge..69i57.13860j0j1%26pglt%3d43%26FORM%3dANNAB1%26PC%3dU531) I saw Warren Zevon in Boulder circa 1978 and Warewolves of London. He was sooooo wasted he couldn’t stand up. It was still a rocking show. People were making fun of LA Session guitarist Waddy Watchell as a long haired hippy, who played on at least a lot of Linda’s albums. Warren stands up (swaying dangerously like in an earthquake), saying “coloradoans should be mellow. Smoke a joint. Take some valium. Shit, hold on, here take some of my valium” and tossed a pill bottle out into the crowd. It really was a great show even though Warren was ripped to the gills. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2021, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/74 "2021-06-03T04:34:51Z")
One of my all-time favorite songs is also one of the most forgotten hits by Bryan Adams. I did not know until recently that Lou Gramm did the harmony, and now that I do, I can’t see how I missed that all these years. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/XqxLt5KWDik/maxresdefault.jpg "Bryan Adams - This Time") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqxLt5KWDik) ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2021, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/75 "2021-06-03T05:06:19Z")
Bryan Adams sang backup on Glass Tiger’s [“Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone)”](https://youtu.be/Jx6_-urg5fo) This one may be a little subjective, or maybe a little bit of a cheat, but Axl Rose sang backup on “I Will Not Go Quietly,” by Don Henley. As a former member of the Eagles, Henley was probably more famous overall, but I think that this qualifies based on name recognition among the desired audience. I was working as a disc jockey at the time, and our base (teenage to young adult) would have recognized Rose with no explanation, but a good many would need Henley explained to them. Billy Joel sang backup on Cyndi Lauper’s “Maybe He’ll Know.” ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2021, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/76 "2021-06-03T07:22:38Z")
“Veronica” was technically a duet between Elvis Costello and Paul McCartney, but it was on Costello’s album, so I’m counting it. If either of them has had a bigger hit since this one, I don’t know about it. Kirsty McColl was a bigger deal _as a singer_ than Tracey Ullman, and sang backup on the latter’s “They Don’t Know.” ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2021, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/77 "2021-06-03T12:39:12Z")
In 1980 Peter Gabriel had a hit with **Games Without Frontiers** which had **Kate Bush** on backing vocals (she later did a full duet with Gabriel on the song **Don’t Give Up**.) I reckon to the casual pop fan in the UK in 1980 Kate Bush was better known than ‘the ex-Genesis drummer’. TCMF-2L ---
**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:** [June 3, 2021, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/78 "2021-06-03T13:07:04Z")
Nitpick - Gabriel was not the drummer, he was the front man. After he left Genesis, the drummer - Phil Collins - took over the vocals. ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2021, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/79 "2021-06-03T13:17:13Z")
Blimey! I (as you can obviously tell) was never a Genesis fan. All these years I thought Gabriel was the drummer and vocalist who left the drums to be a flamboyant front man. Then left for a solo career. Indeed this belief was reinforced by (to my ears) there was a lot of drumming on Gabriel’s solo stuff. You live and learn… TCMF-2L ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2021, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/80 "2021-06-03T13:27:20Z")
The Go-Go’s we’re probably more famous than Sparks when Jane Weidlin sang on “Cool Places”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467.md?page=5)