# 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:** 19\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![bmoak1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f4b2a3/32.png) [@bmoak1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak1)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2021, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/101 "2021-06-04T04:25:15Z")
> [@TCMF-2L](#): > > 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 Kate Bush sang backup on Big Country’s “The Seer”, the title track from their third album. ---
**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 4, 2021, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/102 "2021-06-04T11:37:02Z")
**Kate Bush** was coming off **Hounds of Love** in the mid eighties cementing her place as both a great musician and a popular (in the UK) musician. A status she still holds today. **Big Country** haven’t lasted quite so well in the memory (in the UK) but they were considered good if not great musicians then and despite not topping the charts were very popular. Albeit they were automatically described as ‘the band with guitars that sound like bagpipes.’ **Big Country** front man **Stuart Adamson** (died far too young from alcohol abuse) was already famous for his previous band **The Skids** who had several hits including the absolutely fantastic **Into The Valley**. His time in that group led to him being considered one of the best British guitarists to emerge from the punk / New Wave era. You have to consider whether his status would have increased if he had lived longer. Although he died much older than Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Kurt Cobain. TLDR: At the time **Kate Bush** and **Big Country** were similar status. TCMF-2L ---
**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 4, 2021, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/103 "2021-06-04T14:07:09Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Despite being in The Band and playing The Last Waltz I’m pretty sure his back up singers on his first solo album were more famous. Bono was singing back up on “Sweet Fire of Love” and “Testimony”. All of U2 was his backing band on both those songs. Peter Gabriel sang backup and played keyboards on “Fallen Angel” and added some vocals to “Testimony.” I love that album. Oops, I think you forgot to mention the artist. I googled, and looks like you meant Robbie Robertson. ---
**Author:** ![Chad\_Sudan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chad_sudan/32/4509_2.png) [@Chad\_Sudan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chad_Sudan)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2021, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/104 "2021-06-04T14:36:24Z")
Beyoncé makes an ethereal contribution to the end of Frank Ocean’s “Pink + White.” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/uzS3WG6__G4/maxresdefault.jpg "Frank Ocean - Pink + White") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzS3WG6__G4) The _Guardian_ once asked various stars what their [all-time favorite love songs](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/feb/09/it-gives-me-those-flutters-stars-pick-their-favourite-love-songs) were. Neneh Cherry picked this one. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2021, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/105 "2021-06-04T14:40:04Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > I couldn’t tell you who the lead singer of Dire Straits is. Mark Knopfler [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/TVL4mDFX3rY/hqdefault.jpg "He Thinks He'll Keep Her") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVL4mDFX3rY) Mary Chapin Carpenter is pretty well known, but check out that group of backup singers! (I know, live is cheating.) ---
**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:** [June 4, 2021, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/106 "2021-06-04T15:01:40Z")
> [@digs](#): > > > [@Loach](#): > > > > Despite being in The Band and playing The Last Waltz I’m pretty sure his back up singers on his first solo album were more famous. Bono was singing back up on “Sweet Fire of Love” and “Testimony”. All of U2 was his backing band on both those songs. Peter Gabriel sang backup and played keyboards on “Fallen Angel” and added some vocals to “Testimony.” I love that album. > > Oops, I think you forgot to mention the artist. I googled, and looks like you meant Robbie Robertson. Yes Robbie Robertson’s first solo album. I was so intent on getting the song titles right I forgot to put that in. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/FqUFRUQ8uZI/maxresdefault.jpg "Testimony") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqUFRUQ8uZI) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/0MGXnMLESEA/maxresdefault.jpg "Robbie Robertson - Fallen Angel") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MGXnMLESEA) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2021, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/107 "2021-06-04T15:46:35Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Neko Case often sings and tours with The New Pornographers, although it’s questionable as to which one is more popular. She sings backupmon some songs, lead on others. Does that count? AFAIK Neko Case is considered a full member of The New Pornographers, so that’d be a separate category: where a member of a group/band is more famous as a solo artist. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2021, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/108 "2021-06-04T17:32:19Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Oh, and our own @Dr.Winston_OBoogie (John Lennon) sang backup on Elton John’s version of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”. He (I?) also sang backup on Frank Zappa’s “Scumbag” ---
**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 4, 2021, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/109 "2021-06-04T17:36:27Z")
> [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > He (I?) [![](http://images.45cat.com/elton-john-lucy-in-the-sky-with-diamonds-1974-26.jpg) ](http://images.45cat.com/elton-john-lucy-in-the-sky-with-diamonds-1974-26.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2021, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/110 "2021-06-04T17:53:19Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Huey Lewis and the News’s 1986 song \*Hip to Be Square" has several members of the San Francisco 49ers as backup singers They paid it forward, singing backup on Nick Lowe’s “I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock ‘n’ Roll)” ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2021, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/111 "2021-06-07T17:18:21Z")
I’m not sure who was bigger at the time(s), but Carole King sang backup on James Taylor’s version of Carole’s song You’ve Got a Friend, and vice-versa. And Joni Mitchell was on both as well. ---
**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 7, 2021, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/112 "2021-06-07T22:43:06Z")
King and Taylor were both fairly early in their solo recording careers: “You’ve Got a Friend” appeared on King’s second album, and Taylor’s third. Taylor was, maybe, a bit bigger of a “star” at that moment, as his second album, _Sweet Baby James_, was a top 10 hit, and had “Fire and Rain,” which was also a hit. King’s first album had not done as well, but she had been a well-known songwriter for over a decade, and had had a couple of minor hits as a singer in the '60s. So, overall, they were probably at not-dissimilar levels of fame. (Also, their two versions of that song were recorded more-or-less at the same time, and in addition to having Mitchell on both versions, they also had many of the same musicians.) ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2021, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/113 "2021-06-08T00:58:33Z")
On the recording of the song “Basketball Jones” by Cheech and Chong, the singers and musicians include George Harrison, Billy Preston, Carole King, Darlene Love, Michelle Phillips, and Ronny Spector: > **[Basketball Jones featuring Tyrone Shoelaces](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basketball_Jones_featuring_Tyrone_Shoelaces)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > "Basketball Jones featuring Tyrone Shoelaces" is a song by Cheech and Chong that first appeared on the 1973 album Los Cochinos. > Sung in falsetto by Cheech Marin, playing the title character Tyrone (as in "tie-your-own") Shoelaces, it tells the story of Shoelaces' love of basketball. It is a parody of the No. 16 Billboard Hot 100 song "Love Jones" by Brighter Side of Darkness. In the album version, the song is preceded by a mock interview with J... ---
**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 8, 2021, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/114 "2021-06-08T22:05:41Z")
“Weird Al” Yankovic provides backup vocals for [“Time,”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmE4r7i-rLY) by Ben Folds. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2021, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/115 "2021-06-09T14:51:29Z")
Weird Al also plays tambourine in Hanson’s tribute to the Blues Brothers. I don’t think he sings, though. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/TmG0DqhfDbY/maxresdefault.jpg "Thinking 'Bout Somethin'") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmG0DqhfDbY) ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2021, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/116 "2021-06-09T21:35:49Z")
Michael McDonald sang backup and co-wrote Kenny Loggins’ “This Is It.” While McDonald was with a more popular band, I think that Loggins had more name recognition. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2021, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/117 "2021-06-10T01:52:33Z")
Speaking of Michael McDonald, this skit belongs on this thread: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/b0HzWMqLeiE/hqdefault.jpg "MICHAEL McDONALD - A Tribute To The Greatest Backing Vocalist Of All Time") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0HzWMqLeiE) ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2021, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/118 "2021-06-10T01:55:01Z")
From the accounts that I’ve read and heard, Michael McDonald is one of the nicest guys in the music business. ---
**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 10, 2021, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467/119 "2021-06-10T01:59:12Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > Michael McDonald is one of the nicest guys in the music business. Well, then I’ll revise my opinion (not about him personally, but about the Doobie Brothers suddenly becoming the Mikey McD band…). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-where-the-backup-singers-are-more-famous-than-the-lead/943467.md?page=5)