# Where has the harmony gone? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 5, 2013, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-has-the-harmony-gone/668035 "2013-09-05T00:04:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-has-the-harmony-gone/668035/21 "2013-09-06T11:09:13Z")
In the subways in NY, where buskers come into subway cars and perform briefly for tips then move to the next car, I’ve encountered a black group doing mostly-a-capella rap but with really nice harmony refrain bits. Old-fashioned sound, like soul harmony from the 1960s. It would be nice if that would catch on. The lack of vocal harmony and of instrumental richness is a big part of why rap doesn’t do much for me. Having those chorus refrains come around with such a contrast to the rap verses, that was nice. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-has-the-harmony-gone/668035/22 "2013-09-06T11:50:51Z")
Pomplamoose has Nataly harmonizing nicely with herself on their version of “[Mr. Sandman.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xMCNmUaGko)” ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-has-the-harmony-gone/668035/23 "2013-09-06T11:56:21Z")
> [@Becky2844](#): > > I feel the lack, too, but _Civil War_ does it in spades. Nice. The Civil Wars sound great - too bad they don’t seem to find away to get along well enough to keep it together… ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-has-the-harmony-gone/668035/24 "2013-09-06T12:02:21Z")
There’s the pretentious-indie-band-that-still-somehow-hits-the-top-40-and-is-mainstream group fun. (Yes, “fun.”, it starts lowercase and the period is part of the name). I’ve heard their song [Some Nights](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQkBeOisNM0) called “their Bohemian Rhapsody”. It definitely has a very busy vocal harmony going on, though perhaps not the most complex one. They do definitely use some autotune in there, but not everywhere, and where it is used it’s clearly a deliberate stylistic choice (at one point they literally use autotuned vocals as what amounts to a guitar solo). I don’t know, I usually am not fond of pop music and like “busier” music (lots of different parts going on at once) which includes vocal harmonies, but I really like that song. Edit: Oh, also Van Canto’s cover of [The Bard’s Song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBxCl2TJNnQ). Just 'cause. They’re an a capella band so vocal harmonies are sort of their thing. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-has-the-harmony-gone/668035/25 "2013-09-06T13:24:00Z")
Actually, Nataly’s self-harmonzing is even better on Pomplamoose’s cover of [Lady Gaga’s Telephone](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vEStDd6HVY). ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-has-the-harmony-gone/668035/26 "2013-09-06T13:29:51Z")
> [@Rachellelogram](#): > > The Beach Boys did a lot of vocal acapella… Not really. You may be able to find acapella mixes of some of their songs, but they basically always performed with accompanying instruments. ---
**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:** [September 6, 2013, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-has-the-harmony-gone/668035/27 "2013-09-06T14:01:28Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Not really. You may be able to find acapella mixes of some of their songs, but they basically always performed with accompanying instruments. I’d replace “always” with “usually.” “[Their Hearts Were Full of Spring](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1aHyjVHrHA)” – the song also appears on their _Live in London_ album. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-has-the-harmony-gone/668035/28 "2013-09-06T14:04:46Z")
You can also find some unreleased studio rehearsals with them doing some acapella stuff, but that’s just not what they were known for. I still think Brian Wilson was a damn genius for creating the stuff he did. ---
**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:** [September 6, 2013, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-has-the-harmony-gone/668035/29 "2013-09-06T14:07:51Z")
One of the best groups of modern era was the collaboration between Ronstadt, Parton and Harris on tunes like [Mr. Sandman](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjFwTLGMe9Q). Also, the collaboration of Ronstadt and Aaron Neville on songs like [Don’t Know Much](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLl0H70SwjM). ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-has-the-harmony-gone/668035/30 "2013-09-06T14:14:27Z")
I would say that Crosby Stills Nash and Young were our best harmonizers since the Beach Boys, [Suite Judy Blue Eyes](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2T0RpkyqUU) being a fine example, though The Eagles could give them a run for their money, for example, [Seven Bridges Road.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-q7Mih69KE) But I can’t think offhand of any more modern examples of great harmonizing being popular. ---
**Author:** ![Capt\_Kirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@Capt\_Kirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_Kirk)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-has-the-harmony-gone/668035/31 "2013-09-06T14:49:41Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > “Hallelujah” is known the to person who uploaded that video as the “Shrek Song”. :smack: Agreed :smack: **Capt** ---
**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:** [September 6, 2013, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-has-the-harmony-gone/668035/32 "2013-09-06T16:13:40Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > I would say that Crosby Stills Nash and Young were our best harmonizers since the Beach Boys, [Suite Judy Blue Eyes](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2T0RpkyqUU) being a fine example, though The Eagles could give them a run for their money, for example, [Seven Bridges Road.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-q7Mih69KE) But I can’t think offhand of any more modern examples of great harmonizing being popular. For that matter, The Eagles were no slouches in the harmony department, nor were other groups with more than one voice like Chicago, ELO and Lynyrd Skynyrd. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-has-the-harmony-gone/668035/33 "2013-09-06T16:32:55Z")
I hate to bring this up, but what about One Direction? I think I’ve heard only one song of theirs, but **surely** they don’t have five members for their health. They’re a textbook boy band, they’re all singers. They almost certainly have to have vocal harmonies in their songs, right? I mean, sure, maybe they’re not **good** harmonies, but surely they don’t just all have them sing in unison or in turn all the time, right? ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-has-the-harmony-gone/668035/34 "2013-09-06T17:08:59Z")
Rockapella. Most famous for a cover of “Zombie Jamboree” in 1988, and the theme song for “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?” in 1991. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-has-the-harmony-gone/668035/35 "2013-09-06T17:46:07Z")
IIRC, bands like Fun, Of Monsters and Men, and Mumford and Sons have some good harmonies. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-has-the-harmony-gone/668035/36 "2013-09-06T17:54:45Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > I hate to bring this up, but what about One Direction? I think I’ve heard only one song of theirs, but **surely** they don’t have five members for their health. They’re a textbook boy band, they’re all singers. They almost certainly have to have vocal harmonies in their songs, right? > > I mean, sure, maybe they’re not **good** harmonies, but surely they don’t just all have them sing in unison or in turn all the time, right? From what I can tell, they all sing the same part. Granted, my exposure to them is rather limited. ---
**Author:** ![Philliam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/philliam/32/3011_2.png) [@Philliam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philliam)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-has-the-harmony-gone/668035/37 "2013-09-06T18:46:48Z")
Check out ‘ **The Bobs** ’ - A Capella with a wild sense of humor and no Autotune. Rockin’ it since the mid-80’s and still going strong. If you haven’t heard their take on “Purple Haze”, “White Room” or “Light My Fire” you’re missing a vocal treat. Got to see them twice in Portland and they totally killed.😃 ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2013, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-has-the-harmony-gone/668035/38 "2013-09-07T07:16:42Z")
Ah, the Bobs! I had forgotten them, with their a capella harmonizing. Are they still around? I saw them at McCabe’s Guitar Shop in Santa Monica years ago. Just the right size venue for their music. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2013, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-has-the-harmony-gone/668035/39 "2013-09-07T16:41:43Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > “Hallelujah” is known the to person who uploaded that video as the “Shrek Song”. :smack: The title on that video is “HALLELUJAH , (shrek song)”. So they got the name right and also noted the song was heard in Shrek. I don’t see a problem here. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2013, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-has-the-harmony-gone/668035/40 "2013-09-07T16:45:57Z")
The Beatles -[Medley from Abbey Road](http://dangerousminds.net/comments/acappella_abbey_road_sixteen_glorious_minutes_of_isolated_beatles) with the instrumental tracks stripped away. Now THAT’S vocal harmony. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-has-the-harmony-gone/668035.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-has-the-harmony-gone/668035.md?page=3)