Let’s play Rock ‘n Roll General Manager, shall we? You are the GM of a band that has just lost its lead singer to mental breakdown/rehab (think Shane McGowan suddenly leaving The Pogues). The style of this band is whatever you want it to be. The band is in need of a veteran lead singer with optional songwriting skills to quickly fill the gap in time for recording a new album and going on tour.
Long-term, it’s possible that the original lead singer will come to his or her senses and rejoin the band, or another established member of the band may step forward and pick up the reins, but today the band needs a new frontman who will fit your band’s chemistry.
This year the free agent pool of vocalists is especially rich in “second-option” singers, that is, those singers of 2 to 3 songs per their band’s album – the singers you wish, in your deepest rock ‘n roll fantasies would take over the lead vocal role from their regular band’s once-cool, now-cocky or cheesy singer. So, you’ve got the pick of the following litter at the specified point in their career. Who would you pick, and by what criteria would you base your choice? If none of these choices fits your criteria, please list another second-option singer you might look to pry loose via trade.
- Mick Jones (Clash version, circa London Calling)
- Pete Townshend circa Who’s Next
- Keith Richards, hot off Exile
- Art Garfunkel, hot off “Bridge Over Troubled Water”
- George Harrison, circa All Things Must Pass
- Ronnie Lane, circa Faces’ Long Player
- Joe Jack Talcum, circa “Punk Rock Girl”
- Ron Wood, circa interrupted New Barbarians’ tour
- Colin Moulding or Colin Newman
I look forward to your responses.
I saw a good example of that a few years back when Paul Rodgers was touring with Queen. He’s no Freddie, BUT he has one of the most classic classic rawk voices and it seemed to fit.
I’m shocked to hear that Paul Rodgers worked in that context. And stunned. At the time, that struck me as one of the most unusual replacement choices imaginable. So a good pickup by Queen.
I wish I’d gotten to see The Pogues on their brief tour with Joe Strummer subbing in. I loved Strummer. Too bad he didn’t live long enough to tour with some reconstituted 101ers and drop the World Music/name-checking rut he never crawled out from beginning somewhere on the 3rd album of Sandinista.
Looking forward to what the rest of you Rock GMs have to say. I hear that Garfunkel has been jogging up arena steps – says he’s in the best shape of his career.
Jim
I was half expecting to see your name listed, Homes 🙂
Along the lines of Citizen Mom’s comment – How about when Gary Cherone replaced Sammy Haggar in VH Mach III?
I wish Spiral Stairs from Pavement would have stepped up to the plate on Pavement’s last album. I envision Malkmus, fed up with the praise Spiral Stairs’ songs got on the previous album, Brighten the Corners, quitting the band in a huff, when the now cocky second banana brings in 20 songs superior to the lackluster Malkmus tunes to the session. The Malk solo career starts a few years early, Pavement picks up Nels Cline to play lead guitar, and Stairs handles lead vocal duties.
this works out for the band, Malk gets even more jealous, and begs to rejoin after two pretty decent solo albums. The Face The Truth songs are now brought to the table for the Pavement reunion album.
Nice scenario, Kevin. So you’re developing your home-grown talent without need for the stop-gap singer.
I’m cool with the band Malkmus uses on Face the Truth. I think whoever drums on that is more nimble than the Pavement drummer. Same goes for the bassist. You’ll have to excuse my ignorance on Pavement band members’ names.
I like to call it the Phil Collins/Genesis approach!
Yeah but does Phil Collins count since he was already part of the band? Wondering.
on my team, Team Dexter, we like to rebuild using our well stocked farm team. We then can use the salary cap space we saved from not having to go out and buy an expensive lead singer, that money know goes to filling a cheaper slot. Gunslingers for hire can be had for a much more reasonable price, since there’s so many of them. A good singer, much like a good starting pitcher, can break the bank. In more ways than one.
I’ve got 3:
One that happened, one that should have happened, and one that can’t happen(without a time machine)
Wendy O. Williams sings for KISS on the W.O.W Album
(Actually Happened)
John Oates replaces Holly Johnson in FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD. (Should have happened. good moustache compatability, and maybe Oates would have helped them write a decent song)
Black Thought, decides to take a year off from THE ROOTS to go a capella and release a spoken word album. To replace him for the upcoming tour and sessions ?uestlove and co. get into the TIME MACHINE, and bring back 1979’s Mick Jones(Still could Happen)
i remember people wishing that mike mills would sing for r.e.m. because his backing vocals were so great, and getting better with each album. then “life’s rich pageant came out” with their cover of “superman” featuring mills’ most up front vocal. lotsa “toldja so’s” goin on while that track was playin’ in the background in ’86 /’87. of course, little did we know that stipe was really only in the beginning phases of becoming stipe.
I saw the version of X with Dave Alvin filling in for the recently departed Billy Zoom. He was just a hired gun there, and the show I saw was kind of a mess, but it’s interesting to think about what that band would have sounded like behind him singing his own songs.
Mike Mills is a GREAT one. Who’s the longtime Buffalo Bills backup who finally got his chance to shine, Joe Ferguson (or is it Ferguson’s backup I’m thinking about)?
Reports from Arizona are that Garfunkel is enduring a rigorous training program that involves 4-octave vocal leaps and a system of implied harmonies with his own lead singing. Could be a sleeper in the free-agent class!
glad you like the mills example.
of course, people may also include tobin sprout in this group, but i’m not so sure i would.
when i heard the song “eric’s trip” on ‘daydream nation’, i was convinced that sy should let lee renaldo do more vocals. but then something happened…he hasn’t put together lyrics that good since. nor has he sung what he’s written with as much confidence.