# Uncredited Singers On Songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 26, 2010, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncredited-singers-on-songs/548019 "2010-07-26T05:18:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncredited-singers-on-songs/548019/1 "2010-07-26T05:18:40Z")
I was listening to Prince’s, _U Got The Look_ and clearly Sheena Easton is doing the back up vocals on that song. You can listen to John Denver’s, _Fly Away_ and clearly hear Olivia Newton-John doing the repeats in song. Of course if you listen to _Bad Blood_ (Neil Sedaka) or _Wrap Her Up_ (George Michael) you can easily tell it’s Elton John doing the back ups In Barbara Mandrell’s, _I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool_ which had a blip by George Jones who was never credited. I also believe (but am not sure) that Kenny Longins’s song, _Whenever I Call You Friend_ did not credit Stevie Nicks. Any other similar examples of famous artists backing other famous people without getting credit. Only thing I don’t count sampling of other people’s work ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncredited-singers-on-songs/548019/2 "2010-07-26T06:01:55Z")
Was Sting credited on Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing”? Don’t remember… ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncredited-singers-on-songs/548019/3 "2010-07-26T06:09:02Z")
I’m pretty sure you can hear Mick Jagger backing up Carly Simon on “You’re So Vain.” ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncredited-singers-on-songs/548019/4 "2010-07-26T06:28:30Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Of course if you listen to _Bad Blood_ (Neil Sedaka) or _Wrap Her Up_ (George Michael) you can easily tell it’s Elton John doing the back ups “Wrap Her Up” is a duet, it appeared on Elton’s album “Ice on Fire” and it was written by Elton, Bernie Taupin and Elton’s band. It’s by no means a George Michael song and there’s no way Elton was uncredited for it. (Popularly, it’s George whose credit goes missing more often than not.) Sting isn’t credited as a duet artist on “Money for Nothing” for backing vocals, but he is fully credited on the liner notes for the album. Famously, Martha Wash was not credited in any fashion for her contribution to C&C Music Factory’s “Everybody Dance Now” and to make matters worse, her part was lip-synced by another woman in the popular video. Wash sued and won big. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncredited-singers-on-songs/548019/5 "2010-07-26T07:43:03Z")
Milli Vanilli backed up Marcel Marceau on his last album. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncredited-singers-on-songs/548019/6 "2010-07-26T08:03:45Z")
> [@tumbleddown](#): > > > [@Markxxx](#): > > > > Of course if you listen to _Bad Blood_ (Neil Sedaka) or _Wrap Her Up_ (George Michael) you can easily tell it’s Elton John doing the back ups > > “Wrap Her Up” is a duet, it appeared on Elton’s album “Ice on Fire” and it was written by Elton, Bernie Taupin and Elton’s band. It’s by no means a George Michael song and there’s no way Elton was uncredited for it. (Popularly, it’s George whose credit goes missing more often than not.) Nice catch, I had it backwards, I messed up combining the two Elton entries into one line. _Wrap Her Up_ was an Elton John song and George Michael was uncredited. ---
**Author:** ![multimediac17](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@multimediac17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/multimediac17)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncredited-singers-on-songs/548019/7 "2010-07-26T09:13:28Z")
This happened a bit to rappers on early nineties hits - the person doing that rap in Michael Jackson’s ‘Black Or White’ is certainly not Macaulay Culkin, it’s a guy called LTB, who also plays the father in the beginning of the album version. Dannii Minogue and Kylie Minogue also had uncredited rappers on ‘Jump To The Beat’ and ‘Shocked’ respectively. Michael’s ‘In The Closet’ had female vocals by Princess Stephanie Of Monaco, credited in the album notes as “Mystery Girl”, and the big rumour at the time was that Mystery Girl was actually Madonna. On Prince’s album _Come_, there’s a song called ‘Orgasm’ which is exactly what it says on the tin. The female moaning was credited to “she knows” but was actually his former protegé Vanity. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncredited-singers-on-songs/548019/8 "2010-07-26T13:31:42Z")
I don’t think Odia Coates was credited on Paul Anka’s “I Don’t Like to Sleep Alone,” but she was on “One Man Woman.” I don’t know whether Stevie Nicks was credited on “Magnet and Steel” by Walter Egan, or John Stewart’s “Gold.” ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncredited-singers-on-songs/548019/9 "2010-07-26T13:34:23Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > I was listening to Prince’s, _U Got The Look_ and clearly Sheena Easton is doing the back up vocals on that song. To my knowledge, she’s credited. Heck, she’s in the video. I am trying to remember if Elvis Costello and Paul Young are credited with backup vocals on Squeeze’s Black Coffee in Bed… ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncredited-singers-on-songs/548019/10 "2010-07-26T13:39:05Z")
Jack White on Electric Six’s “Danger! High Voltage.” Or maybe not, accounts vary. ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncredited-singers-on-songs/548019/11 "2010-07-26T13:47:27Z")
Don’t know if he was credited or not, but Luther Vandross famously sang backing vocals on David Bowie’s **Young Americans** album (and consequently went on tour with him as a back up singer). Also, John Lennon famously sang back up on the Thin White Duke’s “Fame”. And gospel singer Andre Crouch sang back up on Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” (and was none too pleased with the video, apparently). ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncredited-singers-on-songs/548019/12 "2010-07-26T13:58:33Z")
Paul McCartney (credited as _Paul Ramon_) sang back-up vocals on Steve Miller’s “My Dark Hour”. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncredited-singers-on-songs/548019/13 "2010-07-26T15:46:00Z")
I don’t know of Linda Ronstadt was credited on the Dirt Band’s “American Dream.” ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncredited-singers-on-songs/548019/14 "2010-07-26T18:13:06Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > > [@Markxxx](#): > > > > I was listening to Prince’s, _U Got The Look_ and clearly Sheena Easton is doing the back up vocals on that song. > > To my knowledge, she’s credited. Heck, she’s in the video. Definately not credited. I also checked my old Billboard magazines and the review of “Whenever I Call You Friend,” says Stevie Nicks is uncredited as well. I think in the 90s they started using phrases like “featuring…” and such to credit famous people doing back ups and repeats and such. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncredited-singers-on-songs/548019/15 "2010-07-26T18:35:34Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > > [@WordMan](#): > > > > > [@Markxxx](#): > > > > > > I was listening to Prince’s, _U Got The Look_ and clearly Sheena Easton is doing the back up vocals on that song. > > > > To my knowledge, she’s credited. Heck, she’s in the video. > > Definitely not credited. Do you remember the original video? It’s not on youtube She was all over that - and she had already collaborated with Prince - he wrote her hit “Sugar Walls” - oh, that Prince, he’s a naughty one… Ah - [here it is](http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x14hgh_prince-sheena-easton-u-got-the-look_creation): Credited to Prince featuring Sheena Easton…she’s all over the video, but Sheila E. looks better 😉 ---
**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:** [July 26, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncredited-singers-on-songs/548019/16 "2010-07-26T18:42:54Z")
The [Funk Brothers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Funk_Brothers) were almost never credited with the arrangements and as session musicians for a very large percentage of the Mo-Town hits. ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncredited-singers-on-songs/548019/17 "2010-07-26T19:34:08Z")
> [@tumbleddown](#): > > Famously, Martha Wash was not credited in any fashion for her contribution to C&C Music Factory’s “Everybody Dance Now” and to make matters worse, her part was lip-synced by another woman in the popular video. Wash sued and won big. Others along the same line: -The Crystals’ “He’s A Rebel” was actually recorded by Darlene Love & the Blossoms -Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles “I Sold My Heart to the Junkman” was actually recorded by the Starlets -The ‘Ike’ part in Ike & Tina Turner’s “It’s Gonna Work Out Fine” was actually performed by Mickey ‘Guitar’ Baker of Mickey & Sylvia ---
**Author:** ![Chicagojeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@Chicagojeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicagojeff)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncredited-singers-on-songs/548019/18 "2010-07-26T19:59:41Z")
Johnny Bristol on The Supremes “Someday will be together”… also. Rory Dodd on Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart” come to mind… Oh yeah… Sandy Denny on “Battle of Evermore” on Led Zepp IV… I don’t remember her being mentioned on the album cover… ---
**Author:** ![natterj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/dbc845/32.png) [@natterj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/natterj)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncredited-singers-on-songs/548019/19 "2010-07-26T20:43:00Z")
> [@Chicagojeff](#): > > Oh yeah.. Sandy Denny on “Battle of Evermore” on Led Zepp IV.. I don’t remember her being mentioned on the album cover.. Actually, NOTHING was mentioned on the album cover - it is completely without any text, no band name, no title, nothing\*. She is however mentioned on the paper sleeve inside, but it just says “Sandy Denny appears courtesy of Island Records” without indicating which song she appeared on. So technically, I guess she isn’t credited (at least not properly). \*At least this is the case for the original vinyl album, which is sitting on my lap as I type, but the CD case may differ. That is downstairs in my CD collection but I’m too lazy to go down and check right now. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncredited-singers-on-songs/548019/20 "2010-07-26T21:02:51Z")
Tommy Smothers is one of the singers in the chorus and plays an acoustic guitar on John Lennon’s “Give Peace a Chance”. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncredited-singers-on-songs/548019.md?page=2)