Singers whose voices are - not what they used to be...

jaymenon

It seems sad that many pop / rock singers, whilst sounding good naturally  have not had proper vocal coaching and so strain to hit high notes. I wonder if this increases the likelihood of permanent vocal damage - since many of their voices get pretty much ruined over a few years. 

It would also appear that in the studio, they attempt impossibly high notes that they'll never be able to sing live.  I imagine they probably succeed in hitting those notes on that one 'take' that makes it on to the final mix - pretty much guaranteeing that for the rest of their lives they're struggling to sing those songs live.

Here are a couple that are really sad to watch lately:

Paul Young



Bobby Kimball



An ageing voice can of course in itself be a thing of beauty - other singers have aged gracefully, accepting and using their ageing voices beautifully.
Feels nice to watch and listen to them...

Tom Jones



Robert Plant



Ian Anderson
..has lately brought in a new singer.  His flute playing being integral to the band, I suppose he could do this - unlike someone who is purely a singer.  I do wish he'd done it a long time ago...


There again, perhaps those with naturally good technique retain their voices? Paul Rodgers is a case in point...

pintspiller

I saw The Who in Belfast on the Quadrophenia tour and was somewhat disappointed. But he is so much older these days, so I wasn't really surprised to be honest. He was singing from his chest the way I've noticed Brian Johnson doing, so I assume that's how one can recapture some of the rock'n'roll-ness.

FelineGuitars

David Coverdale 

Paul Stanley

Grumpyrocker

We all get older. There's no shame in it. We should be glad those folks had great voices we once enjoyed. 

jaymenon

Grumpyrocker said:

We all get older. There's no shame in it. We should be glad those folks had great voices we once enjoyed. 

I agree completely.

However there is a difference between people who accept gracefully their ageing (and adapt their singing accordingly) and other people who embarrass themselves.  Apparently at the last Paul Young tour, many people walked out and demanded the money back.  That’s very sad - and completely avoidable...

PS. I really liked your 'Blackstar Unveils Revolutionary Marketing' blog 

fretmeister

Seb Bach.

mrkb

Aled Jones

prowla

Gillan ain't what he used to be, but was better than I expected when I saw DP a couple of years ago.

Planty's not bad for an old fogey.

Geddy Lee couldn't do the high songs by the time Rush called it a day.

stephen.wood125

completely agree with Geddy Lee, gone very "yelpy" that particualr Bobby Kimball clip is both sad, and hilarious, like a whole exercise in WTF... see also: bassist trying to sound like Jaco in the Stoke branch of PMT.

thumpingrug

Paul McCartney lost it a long time ago,

and, even though im a big fan, Fish's voice isn't what it used to be.

mudslide73

Oh Bobby... (Kimball not Percy).

Perdix

Don't think Bonnie Tyler sounds quite like she used to. Her gravelly tones haven't mellowed with age, they seem to have gone the other way.

Kebabkid

Elton John
Michael McDonald
Steve Perry

phil_b

Aled Jones

digitalscream

Geoff Tate. Oh, boy...

steven70

Dylan's still got it, I reckon...

mrkb

phil_b said:

Aled Jones

Keep up at the back!

phil_b

mrkb said:

phil_b said:

Aled Jones

Keep up at the back!

I missed your post as I have you on ignore

(just kidding) 

steven70

Phil Mogg still sounds great - has that 'reaching for the notes' thing, but it works.

vasselmeyer

How about going the other way? I saw Bryan Adams recently and they're playing in standard tuning and the songs in the original key. He sounded wonderful and his mic technique is outstanding.

Philly_Q

Coverdale is horrendous now, even on record.

His one-time bandmate, Glenn Hughes, can still sing - I think - but I can't bear to listen to him nowadays (although unlike some, I liked him in Deep Purple).  Maybe it's the material more than the voice.

Don Dokken.  Voice is very bad, and he doesn't look healthy either.

Going back to the opening post, I saw Paul Young live a few years ago, his voice really is totally shot.