Songs where the singer's voice (purposefully?) cracks

[Talon_Karrde]

I don’t think it’s intentional but one that I really like is in “Anarchy in the UK”. When Johnny Rotten sings the line “is this the IRA?” his voice cracks and he comes off singing the A in a high voice.

[fuffle]

Ken Stringfellow of the Posies uses this technique to great effect. His singing chokes me up every single time I hear it.

[vetbridge]

@Ruby

Joe Cocker’s voice just simply cracks all the time. Have you ever seen him sing? He one of the few artists that can make singing a melody look like it f’ing hurts.

I was watching concert footage of Joe. His hair looked like shit 20 years ago. It has not changed one bit since then.

[control-z]

Kurt Cobain in many (most?) Nirvana songs.

[DooWahDiddy]

@Ruby

Joe Cocker’s voice just simply cracks all the time. Have you ever seen him sing? He one of the few artists that can make singing a melody look like it f’ing hurts.

@Zeldar

All I can think of where it seems to be done on purpose for effect.

If you take the meaning of “purposefully” to include the idea that somebody is singing for others’ entertainment while having a voice that tends to crack, the count would be in the hundreds, I imagine.

I was correcting John DiFool’s assertion that James Taylor sang “You Are So Beautiful”.

[Zeldar]

@DooWahDiddy

I was correcting John DiFool’s assertion that James Taylor sang “You Are So Beautiful”.

No doubt. The thread title made me think of Joe Cocker and your post mentioned him, so I latched onto your post to give you credit for mentioning him first.

[Wee_Bairn]

@control-z

Kurt Cobain in many (most?) Nirvana songs.

A DENIAAAAAAL!

[Marley23]

@control-z

Kurt Cobain in many (most?) Nirvana songs.

I think he copied that habit from Ian Curtis, but I could be misremembering something I read.

[Dunderman]

Bonnie Tyler’s voice is pretty much constantly cracked.

[PunditLisa]

Michael Jackson deliberately cracks his voice during the last line of “She’s Out of My Life.”

And I’m proud to say that I hated it for being too schmaltzy even back when he was popular.

[Nzinga_Seated]

Regina Spektor. She has a lovely, lilting voice that often fades out a bit on the high notes. I love her.

[elfkin477]

Can someone define “crack”? I thought I knew what that meant, but from the examples in this thread, I clearly don’t.

[Arnold_Winkelried]

elfkin477 - I found this article (vocalist.org.uk) once when I was trying to understand what people mean about “breaking your voice” in yodel.

Passaggi, passaggio, passagio, passage, bridge, crossing, break and yodel spot are all terms used to describe the transition area between a series of notes, usually occuring between registers of the voice (i.e., between the chest voice and the head voice or middle to the high notes of the vocal range). Where the transition point/s occur differs with each individual although it is generally somewhere between B flat below C to the F# above and can encompass anything from three to seven semitones.

[Phantom_Dennis]

John Lennon in I Am the Walrus, one of my favorite songs, ever:

I’m cryyyyyyyyyyying.
I’m cryyyyyyyyyyy–choke!

[picunurse]

Janis Joplin.

[auRa]

“The Winner Takes It All” by ABBA - Agnetha Fältskog’s voice cracks in the beginning of the final verse, around “and I understand/you’ve come to shake my hand”. A poignant complement to lyrics about a broken-down marriage.