From what I’ve heard there are a couple of strategies when having multiple lead singers in a band. The first strategy is to have obvious differences between the lead singers so one can easily tell the voices apart. This Strategy was done with Supertramp whose Roger Hodgson had a high distinct voice whereas Rick Davies’ low voice obviously contrasted.
It was also done with Styx. Dennis DeYoung’s voice was more theatrical as he almost acted out his different characters. Tommy Shaw took a more normal approach. Shaw lit up more when it came to background singing as the combined backing vocals of this band were quite distinct.
Also good at this strategy was Fleetwood Mac. Christine McVie’s singing was the most normal of the three singers of this band. Stevie Nicks, with a second female voice, was very distinct with the heavy vibrato on her voice. She had so much vibrato that she sounded like a sheep. There was no mixing up these two women. And Lindsey Buckingham had a definitely male voice that also contrasted with the other two.
The second strategy for having multiple singers in a band is to have them sound the same. I was surprised to find out that Triumph had two lead singers. Rik Emmett, the guitarist and Gil Moore, the drummer could quite possibly have learned to sing from each other.
I didn’t know Saga had two lead singers till I recently saw the video for Scratching the Surface. Both singers are strikingly the same as if they had learned to sing at the same singing school.
I was also shocked to find that Ann and Nancy Wilson can sound much the same as they do in the video for These Dreams. But these two are sisters and have similar genes so perhaps it’s not that surprising.
Wait just one moment! All the similar singing bands I listed are from Canada. Heart maybe less so but they were considered to be Canadian enough to be up for Juno awards one year.
What is it about Canada that makes bands want to conform? Are they worried about being called out for being a hoser?
Or maybe these bands are rebelling against another Canadian band like Rush and their singer Geddy Lee. Geddy Lee has such a distinct voice that no one else seems intent on mimicking. He sounds like what the wicked witch of the west should sound like. Excepting the green colour, he almost looked like the wicked witch of the west, too. Is Geddy Lee unhappy that they won’t accept men in the part of the wicked witch of the west in movies and on Broadway?
Anyhow, no Canadian singers want to miss their calling like Geddy Lee and, thus, they try to conform.
