What is Paul doing with his voice here? Sounds like he’s imitating someone or…SOME…kind of affected style. Or am I wrong? And thats his normal singing voice?
To me, it sounds similar to the voice he used a few years later on “Coming Up.”
McCartney’s a very versatile vocalist and has used a number of different vocal personas over the years. Compare, for example, “Let Em In” vs “Monkberry Moon Delight” vs “So Bad”.
I don’t know if there’s a particular name or description for that style, or if he’s imitating anyone in particular.
Holy shit…I think I’ve heard “So bad” before, but I havent seen that video. That was lovely.
I’ve always thought that, in “1985,” Paul was, generally, mimicking old-time vocalists, maybe from the '30s or '40s – there’s a little bit of a nasal, “yowzah yowzah yowzah” tone to his voice in it.
There’s a little bit of Sammy Davis Jr. in that voice.
Thanks for posting that (Coming Up). Haven’t heard it in a long time, and it’s been even longer since I last saw the video. It does sound similar. The Wikipedia entry says he used a vari-speed tape machine to speed up the vocals.
I suggest combining all the threads:
Yeah, thanks to his father, McCartney grew up with the influence of British dance hall music from the 30s, and a lot of that influence showed up in his music-- what John Lennon disparagingly called “granny music” (‘Honey Pie’ and ‘When I’m 64’ being a couple of the granniest examples).
I saw a video in which he called his father’s music “ragtime.”
(not refuting your post)
I know this is an old thread, but if anyone’s still interested in analyzing Paul’s vocals on “1985,” I ran across this video:
Thanks that looks fun.