Songs with horribly off key vocals

I was listening to the Rolling Stones last night and I was amazed at the off key harmony vocals on "Dandelion". I can't imagine why they let that recording be pressed up without doing the harmonies over. Maybe everyone was stoned. The funny part is that I still love the track as off as it is.

I thought it might be fun to see if anyone else has any "favorite" off key recordings.

 

Three words:

Florence Foster Jenkins

 

I'll top that: Donna Jean Godchaux

 

One springs to mind, which is otherwise such a lovely song: Santana's Everything Is Coming Our Way. Carlos doesn't have a strong enough falsetto to keep up, and he soon sings OOK. Too bad, like I say, it is one of my favourite Santana "hits"...

One of his other tracks where he sings lead, All The Love Of The Universe, on Caravanserai, is pretty irritating also!

OK, but they're not >horrible<, sorry...

However, his chorus on Love, Devotion, Surrender on Welcome is lovely and perfect: he doesn't force his weak voice as much, and it has that more intimate, Joao Gilberto type effect.

 

Bjork.

 

Heat Wave by the Who. Backing vox are scary.

 

Tangerine - Led Zeppelin

 

That's character, me brother!
I wouldn't want to hear it any other way.

 

hootie

 

Two words:

Yoko Ono

Cheers.

 

'Priscilla millionaira'--The Lovin' Spoonful

 

Just heard one on the radio today..."We'll Sing in the Sunshine" by Gale Garnett.

She has a somewhat low voice, and there are definitely moments when she's off-key. Still a good song, but not one to listen to if you have perfect pitch.


For a song with one dreadfully off-key moment, try The Shirelles' "Tonight's the Night." The line at the end of the bridge, "...fall apart," is really hurting. Again, it doesn't take away from it overall being a very good song...but it hurts a little.

 

That last big note in Whitney Houston's version of "I'll Always Love You". Perhaps it's not quite horrible but my musician friend with perfect pitch cringes every time he hears it and wonders how the producer could have let that out of the studio.

 

Peter Brady - Time To Change

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iV4hdjXJ2cw

 

I'll top that: Ron "Pigpen" McKernan

 

"Just a Friend" by Biz Markie is probably the most off-key Top 10 hit in history.

 

Dean Torrence is famous for off key vocals.
Jan Berry could sing off key too.
But I still them.

 

The entire song Walk on the Wild Side by Lou Reed!!

 

Those high notes Todd Rundgren 'tries' to hit during his vamping towards the end of "La La Means I Love You" on A Wizard A True Star could take the chrome off of a trailer hitch.
Otherwise I find his voice exceptional...especially from '85 on up.

Oh, I would like to add the '..everybody asks..' harmony vocals on "Mated" from Utopia's "P.O.V" album. One of those guys (Likely Willie Wilcox) seems to be singing in a wayyyy different key than Kasim on those parts.

 

Ian Hunter of Mott the Hoople - "Whizz Kid"

 

Well, this one's hard to narrow down, seeing as a large proportion of my favorite frontpersons sing off key (or, as the Silver Jews' David Berman says, "all my favorite singers couldn't sing"), but to pick one off the top of my head:

Jonathan Richman, of the Modern Lovers

 

Jack White hits a wildly sharp note toward the end of "Conquest." I bet he left it in because it's funny.

 

Jon Anderson (Yes) hits a nasty sharp note at the end of "Soon" on Relayer.

 

Another Silver Jews fan That makes 3 of us here