Bassists as lead vocalists

[mic mac moe]

Anyone in this field? Any favourite artists? I'm considering stepping up to bat, and I'm looking for some ideas, please. I've done backing vocals for years, and I sing tenor in my church choir. Plus I can drum and sing, so the independence isn't an issue (much!) 

[TorturedSaints]

Geddy Lee of Rush is probably the most well known lead vocalist bass player.  I'm sure there are others though, they just don't come to mind as easily. 

[casapete]

I’ll beat Bluewine to this and go with Paul McCartney. Legendary player/songwriter, and manages to come up with amazing bass lines whilst singing brilliantly. His vocal range has changed as he’s got older, but for me still is up there for all time greatness.

Bassist who do lead vocals I also admire? Alan Gorrie ( Average White Band ), Justin Currie (Del Amitri), Jack Bruce.

[OutSpoon]

There's plenty! Sting, Phil Lynott, Les Claypool need I go on?

[BigRedX]

Julian Cope. In his Teardrop Explodes days I remember reading an interview with him where he said he would try to make the bass lines as complicated as possible while he was singing.

Edited August 29, 2018 by BigRedX

[OutSpoon]

Lemmy! Gene Simmons, Suzi Quattro... 

 

[OutSpoon]

Mark King, MeShelle Ndegeocello.. 

 

[dmccombe7]

Burke Shelley, John Wetton, Greg Lake, Glenn Hughes

[WinterMute]

BUDGIE...! 

 

The Gedster obviously.

 

I've been known to do this, used to front bands in the 80's, and am doing both on the current project, but it's unlikely to see live action, so i've not really been paying attention to the problems of singing whilst playing the basslines... Geddy Lee says that the most often heard phrase during Rush rehearsals used to be "I can't do all this at the same time..."

[ezbass]

In addition to the above: Jack Bruce, Felix Pappalardi, Bryan Adams, Burke Shelley, Roger Waters, John Wetton, Martin Turner, Sting.

I started doing some lead vocals a few years back, the hardest thing I found was not letting the vocal line mess up the groove. It took a lot of practice at home and it still doesn’t come naturally with any new songs, but it is doable.

 

EDIT: beaten to the punch by some of the above 

Edited August 29, 2018 by ezbass

[Barking Spiders]

there's loads of bass players doing lead vocals, adding Troy Sanders from Mastodon, the bloke in Royal Blood, Bootsy Collins, Larry Graham when in Graham Central Station,  Tom Araya from Slayer,  Benjamin Orr from The Cars who sang on Drive,  Colin Moulding from XTC.. The one who impresses me most is Mark King as it's 'kin hard playing his machine gun style of slap n pop while singing

Edited August 29, 2018 by Barking Spiders

[Happy Jack]

Moving away from the endless (and predictable) list of famous singing bass players, unless you really believe that you are Geddy Lee or Paul McCartney you're not going to learn much from watching them on YouTube. 

I take lead vocals on about one song in five with The Junkyard Dogs - the main singer has a much better voice than me and (of course) as a guitarist in a 2-guitar band he can sing far more easily on far more songs.

If you're looking for advice on how to do it, start with songs which are

1. Already very familiar to you, things you don't even need to think about,
2. Well within your range, so that you're not stretching yourself too much,
3. Have basslines that are either simple or which you have played so many times that you can repeat on autopilot.

Unless your voice has particular qualities - perfect pitch or wonderful clarity or a superb timbre - it's well worth investing in one of the Mic Mechanic range range: https://www.gak.co.uk/en/tc-helicon-mic-mechanic-2-tc169/908532?gclid=Cj0KCQjwiJncBRC1ARIsAOvG-a4QT1xvpe-BI507WxACfOmH5CoPso1jsGLNjTEhvd5QGkEFNjd6DeMaAn5jEALw_wcB or https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/TC-Helicon-Duplicator-Effects-Processor/1VBM?origin=product-ads&campaign=PLA+Shop+-+GENERIC&adgroup=GENERIC&medium=vertical_search&network=google&merchant_id=1279443&product_id=87250d1&product_country=GB&product_partition_id=126958483519&gclid=Cj0KCQjwiJncBRC1ARIsAOvG-a4jdDf2J_yfQwwmC3DKP7TpJLrBXlnx4TdxbCy2KuQwbOQMjTiQHKYaAgedEALw_wcB

[mic mac moe]

Cheers, guys. I'm firmly of the Sting/Lynott era. Although I absolutely love Rush, I'm more of a solid groover on bass (being a former drummer). Maybe that's where my love of the p bass comes from! 

     I hear what you say about not overstretching vocally. I'm currently doing high harmonies etc and the Sting part on "money for nothing". My biggest issue is confidence. I think you really have to know yourself and be comfortable with it. I do like a challenge, though! 

[OutSpoon]

I sang lead for a while in a classic rock trio and really enjoyed it. It is harder to groove when you are concentrating on singing as well. What I found was playing with a pick enabled me to focus on the rhythm more - fingerstyle and singing is really hard! ACDC and Thin Lizzy / ZZ Top are great places to start with singing and playing. 

[Baxlin]

The current lead singer with the Fortunes is the bassist, playing a right hand bass left handed, with as far as I could see the bass strung right handed, and the strap on what was now the bottom horn.

Looked most awkward, but obviously worked for him.

And come to think of it, Rod Allen, the original lead singer, also played bass.

Edited August 29, 2018 by Baxlin

[mic mac moe]

I love that. Quirky

[ezbass]

26 minutes ago, mic mac moe said:

 

     I hear what you say about not overstretching vocally. I'm currently doing high harmonies etc and the Sting part on "money for nothing". My biggest issue is confidence. I think you really have to know yourself and be comfortable with it. I do like a challenge, though! 

I’m lucky enough that the normal lead singer in our band also teaches and her encouragement and tips have helped both our keyboard player and me really get to grips with vocals (warm ups, technique tips, etc). Take a lesson if you can.

[mic mac moe]

That's a good shout. There are one or two vocal tutors in my area. 

      Another important aspect that I forgot to mention is monitoring. I'm looking into in ear jobbies at the minute

[Happy Jack]

I'd take this over in-ears any day:

https://www.pmtonline.co.uk/wharfedale-pro-wpm1-personal-monitoring-solution?utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&gclid=Cj0KCQjwiJncBRC1ARIsAOvG-a4p5M2Hh74s0pjYkoNmRoN1SVVsD2Zw4cm03PjJdwgRcVZ2cOaZF70aAhCBEALw_wcB

[fretmeister]

1 hour ago, TorturedSaints said:

Geddy Lee of Rush is probably the most well known lead vocalist bass player.  I'm sure there are others though, they just don't come to mind as easily. 

Paul McCartney and Sting are probably better known TBH.

[fretmeister]

I've fronted a few bands in my time.

The odd thing is I find it very easy when I'm playing guitar, but quite difficult when playing bass. 

I don't know why - I'm a far better bassist than guitarist but there is something rhythmically that seems to have vocal and guitar fit together easier. For me anyway.

The complexity or speed of the music doesn't seem to matter either. I struggle with bass and vocal on "Sittin' on the dock of the bay" but I can nail anything Metallica related on guitar and vocal.

 

I hate my brain sometimes!  

[EliasMooseblaster]

I used to front a blues-rock trio. Good fun, if very draining. If I can offer any single nugget of advice:

Make sure you can trust your drummer.

The logic is as follows: your attention is split between the bass and the vocal line, but the majority of the audience will focus more on the vocal line, so you need to make sure that is as spot-on as possible. As others have said, you may find you have to simplify the bass part as a result, and you won't be able to devote as much attention to the rhythm and the groove. Ergo, the last thing you need is a clodhopping shed builder behind you who can't keep time or lock in with the rest of the band.

[MrCrane]

57 minutes ago, Happy Jack said:

Moving away from the endless (and predictable) list of famous singing bass players,

 

And to go back to the list, Peter Cetera of Chicago. 🙂

[NickD]

I'm having a crack at this at the moment... and it's horrible!

I've always stepped up for backing vocals, which sounds fine in a band context, but I've never wanted to be at the front.... the very idea horrifies me. Basically, from an organizational point of view I honestly can't be bothered with any more than a 3 piece, so it's got to happen.

It's original stuff (well I 'say' original), and it doesn't help that the writing is bass & drum driven, so pretty off beat and funky, and I'm being stubborn in that I'm not prepared to sacrifice the basslines for the vocal, or the other way round, so it's just a case of having to get on with it.

I hated my voice to start with, but as it's opened up with practice, there are moments (we record all rehearsals) where it just seems to work, to fit in the overall sound... so I'm trying to figure out how and why and when that happens so I can do it deliberately.

I'm using Les Claypool as my motivation... if he can manage that insane stuff, surely I can get a grip on something slightly less insane.

[Akio Dāku]

9 minutes ago, Happy Jack said:

I'd take this over in-ears any day:

https://www.pmtonline.co.uk/wharfedale-pro-wpm1-personal-monitoring-solution?utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&gclid=Cj0KCQjwiJncBRC1ARIsAOvG-a4p5M2Hh74s0pjYkoNmRoN1SVVsD2Zw4cm03PjJdwgRcVZ2cOaZF70aAhCBEALw_wcB

Why so? Personally I'd go inears when singing, I just find them better for pitching.