Strange background vocalist performances you might not know .

Clashman

If anyone knows a few more please add.
Carly Simon You're so vain had Mick Jagger on backing vocals nobody seemed to notice at the time it
was a hit but you can hear him singing quite definitely.
John Stewart who had a hit single with Gold had none other than Stevie Nicks on backing vocals.

JAYJO

Kate Bush on Games without frontiers Peter Gabriel
  Marcell Detroit  on lay down sally. (co wrote) Eric Clapton.

munckee

I'm sure everyone else knew but I only found out recently Sting does the vocals at the start of money for nothing.

Clashman

I never knew that!, thanks

Neill

Squeeze's hit single "Black Coffee in Bed" has Paul Young and Elvis Costello doing the backing. 

I believe they did it for free.

Mick Jagger turns up on quite few, Chris Farlowe's "Out of Time" (written by Jagger/Richards) for one.

The Bee Gees backed Diana Ross on "Chain Reaction"

prowla

Billy Squier had Freddie Mercury singing on "Love Is The Hero"



Here he is with Ringo on drums too (though RIngo's not singing)!



(He also had a choir dubbed "Billy's Choir" on another song.)


Led Zep all did rather drunken backing vocals on "Your Time Is Gonna Come".




Max Webster with Geddy...

Neill

If you want "strange" background vocals, and apologies to everyone that already knows this, listen to the ending of "Life On Mars", the bit where Rick Wakeman's piano comes back in. 

You hear the sound of a phone ringing faintly then Mick Ronson's voice cursing and swearing in the backgound.   

 

bingefeller

Deacon Blue - Real Gone Kid - backing vocals by Maria McKee who sang Show Me Heaven.

EricTheWeary

Chrissie Hynde is on Nite Klub by The Specials; I didn't know until recently when I read it in Horace Panter's book.

Reasonably well known but Luther Vandross on Bowie's Young Americans. 

munckee said:

I'm sure everyone else knew but I only found out recently Sting does the vocals at the start of money for nothing.

I didn't know that for ages but once you do know it seems incredibly obvious.

Not quite a BV but I read this the other day : Tony Peluzo is the DJ ( spoken word part) on The Carpenters version of Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft. I know he's not very famous but his solo on their Goodbye to Love usually comes up in Great Solos lists so it's nice to know he added something else to the band. 

blobb

Tina Turner (and the Ikettes) did the BV's for Zappa's Over-nite sensation & Apostrophe albums.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1qvaTTAxgk

Neill

EricTheWeary said:

Chrissie Hynde is on Nite Klub by The Specials; I didn't know until recently when I read it in Horace Panter's book.

Reasonably well known but Luther Vandross on Bowie's Young Americans. 

munckee said:

I'm sure everyone else knew but I only found out recently Sting does the vocals at the start of money for nothing.

I didn't know that for ages but once you do know it seems incredibly obvious.

Not quite a BV but I read this the other day : Tony Peluzo is the DJ ( spoken word part) on The Carpenters version of Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft. I know he's not very famous but his solo on their Goodbye to Love usually comes up in Great Solos lists so it's nice to know he added something else to the band. 

He's pretty famous in this house!  We used to do a cover of Goodbye to Love and I found the solo quite awkward to play, years later I read that Tony Peluso only ever played in FFCFAC - I've never heard of such a tuning. 

I certainly didn't know he had a vocal credit...  

EricTheWeary

Neill said:

EricTheWeary said:

Chrissie Hynde is on Nite Klub by The Specials; I didn't know until recently when I read it in Horace Panter's book.

Reasonably well known but Luther Vandross on Bowie's Young Americans. 

munckee said:

I'm sure everyone else knew but I only found out recently Sting does the vocals at the start of money for nothing.

I didn't know that for ages but once you do know it seems incredibly obvious.

Not quite a BV but I read this the other day : Tony Peluzo is the DJ ( spoken word part) on The Carpenters version of Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft. I know he's not very famous but his solo on their Goodbye to Love usually comes up in Great Solos lists so it's nice to know he added something else to the band. 

He's pretty famous in this house!  We used to do a cover of Goodbye to Love and I found the solo quite awkward to play, years later I read that Tony Peluso only ever played in FFCFAC - I've never heard of such a tuning. 

I certainly didn't know he had a vocal credit...  

The only thing I've ever known him for is Goodbye to love, looking at his Wiki entry outside of that band he was more successful as a producer and engineer more than a guitarist. Didn't know about his weird tuning though.

stimpsonslostson

Adriana Smith on Rocket Queen? That's a quite memorable background vocalist performance... especially as she was Steven Adler's girlfriend, but Axl is the one "helping" with her delivery. 

stimpsonslostson

I didn't recognize Emmylou Harris on Bright Eyes- I'm awake it's morning. I loved the sound, read the liner notes & thought "DOH!"

ICBM

Joe Satriani sings backing on the first Crowded House album - I forget which tracks, but World Where You Live and Something So Strong at least.

digitalkettle

JAYJO said:

Kate Bush on Games without frontiers Peter Gabriel

Kate's also on Peter's 'No Self Control'.

She also does a nice job on 'The Seer' by Big Country

digitalkettle

Kirsty MacColl on this one:

digitalkettle

MJ on this one: