Three Classic Rock Songs.
Highest notes that could be sung by male singers.
I normally don't talk much about vocals or singing here, but I thought I'd share something interesting with you about two famous male rock singers who were both capable of singing ultra high notes, well beyond the normal range.
I grew up in a time that had the most incredible music ever recorded. Yes, I'm talking about the 1970's. I'm talking about revolutionary songs in rock, pop, fusion jazz, and yes, even in something they used to refer to as soft rock.
During the early 1970's, multi-layered harmonies were all the rage. The Carpenters perfected this in just about every song they ever recorded. Abba was known for incredible pop songs that also incorporated multiple harmonizing vocals.
Then one day in the early 1970's, a band out of California came along and introduced a sort of new sound. It was known then as Southern California Rock, or Country Rock. This band, of course, were The Eagles.
On June 10, 1975, The Eagles released "One of these nights". It garnered such classic hits as "Lyin' eyes", "Take it to the limit" and the title track, "One of these nights".
Take it to the limit. (The credit card song).
Randy Meisner was the bassist for The Eagles until he was replaced by Timothy B. Schmit in 1977. Randy was well-known for his ability to sing incredibly high vocal harmonies. Ironically enough, The Eagles' biggest hit at the time (prior to Hotel California), was also on this album. That song was, "Take it to the limit", which was
sung by Randy Meisner. When The Eagles sang this song live, you can hear Randy reached for the stratosphere by briefly singing the "G#", three octaves above "middle C", followed by "F#" three octaves above "middle C" for the next two or three measures, until he fades out. These notes were part of his actual singing "head voice"; and they were not falsetto.
One of these nights.
"One of these nights" also spotlights Meisner's extremely high vocal range, during the bridge part of the song, where Meisner, Don Henley and Glenn Frey all reach for ultra high notes. Meisner can be heard hitting the "G", three octaves above "middle C". If you listen closely to the outro/fade of the song, you can also hear Don Henley hit that high "G" note too.
As amazing as these vocals were, they also attracted a large female audience to their music. Why? My guess is that it was mostly because of those high vocals. That is the "female" vocal range; and the girls loved to sing those songs too. Those who did not know who the Eagles were back then, probably thought that it actually was a female singing those high notes.
More than a feeling.
I believe that one of the most incredible debut rock albums of the 1970's, was Boston's first album, released in 1976. It is arguably, a perfect rock album. I've always thought so. Every song is fantastic. There are no fillers and no garbage on this album.
What made this album, this band so incredible? Well, brand new signal-processing technology, experimental creativity, and a whole lot of high vocals done by none other than Brad Delp.
The album begins with the biggest hit from this band. "More than a feeling" (Isolated vocals)
soared to the top of the charts and stayed there forever. You can hear Delp's incredible range of high vocals reach their pinnacle at the 3:21 mark of the song. Like Randy Meisner, Brad Delp was also capable of hitting that "G", three octaves above "middle C", and holding it out for one full measure.
Not only did he do this once, he did it twice! You see, back in those days, it was common to “double” vocals in the recording studio. If you listen closely to the lead vocals of the countless hit songs from the 1970's, you can hear doubled vocals everywhere.
Yes, the 1980's produced many glam-rock hair bands, and most of them had male singers with high vocals in them. However, in my opinion, the original pioneers in this part of rock history are far more important to me. Bass players like Randy Meisner, Timothy B. Schmit, Michael Anthony and Kip Winger have all been a huge influence in my music career. They all play extraordinary bass guitar and can sing ultra high vocals. Well, I'm a bassist who sang a lot of high harmonies in just about every band I was ever in.
It's amazing to me to think that this music was done decades before any sort of computer digital manipulation. It was real, they were real and the music was real.
Thanks for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed it. If so, you can help support my work by becoming a paid subscriber at only $5/month or $50/year. Thank-you, Dave