Band that had the greatest number of members take lead vocals

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Bands with high turnover will rule of course (singing one or two lines don't count, must be the lead vocal on the whole song and "guest" vocalists don't count either, must be full-time member)

Byrds - 10 [mcguinn,clark,crosby,hillman,gram parsons, gene parsons, john york,clarence white,skip battin, kevin kelly (thanks to that latest Sweetheart reissue)]

Fairport Convention - 9(dyble, matthews, denny, thompson, swarbrick, nicol, pegg, lucas, chris leslie ) but recent reissues/bootlegs may up the count, i believe jerry donahue sang lead on a "nine" outtake

Fleetwood would do well here but i don't know enough about the early bluesy incarnations to comment. The Dead also (stretching the definition of "singers" there)

― timmy tannin (pompous), Sunday, 7 May 2006 07:41 (nineteen years ago)

also Flying Burrito Bros. but god bless you if you can sort through all those later incarnations with dubious claims to the name.....

― timmy tannin (pompous), Sunday, 7 May 2006 07:45 (nineteen years ago)

Lords Of Acid might compete here.

― DOQQUN (donut), Sunday, 7 May 2006 08:04 (nineteen years ago)

Wu-Tang Clan

― AaronHz (AaronHz), Sunday, 7 May 2006 08:16 (nineteen years ago)

the Spice Girls

― Siegbran (eofor), Sunday, 7 May 2006 09:23 (nineteen years ago)

Jefferson Airplane/Starship:

Marty Balin
Signe Anderson
Grace Slick
Paul Kantner
Jorma Kaukonen
Spencer Dryden (if "A Song for All Seasons" counts as a duet lead)
David Freiberg
Jack Traynor (one song)
John Barbata (one song)
Mickey Thomas

and if we count touring units, which we probably shouldn't,
Diana Magnano
Darcy Gould

― Joseph McCombs (Joseph McCombs), Sunday, 7 May 2006 15:25 (nineteen years ago)

and if we count touring units, which we probably shouldn't,

TMI

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 7 May 2006 15:26 (nineteen years ago)

Belle and Sebastian (5):

Stuart Murdoch
Stevie Jackson
Stuart David
Isobel Campbell
Sarah Martin

That must be more than the Spice Girls, surely they can't have let Victoria sing lead vocals?

― ailsa (ailsa), Sunday, 7 May 2006 15:32 (nineteen years ago)

Beach Boys (12):

Brian Wilson
Carl Wilson
Dennis Wilson
Mike Love
Alan Jardine
Bruce Johnston
Blondie Chaplin
Jack Rieley
Van Dyke Parks
John Stamos
Marilyn Wilson
Ricky Fataar

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Sunday, 7 May 2006 15:53 (nineteen years ago)

Van Dyke Parks...?

― Mark (MarkR), Sunday, 7 May 2006 15:56 (nineteen years ago)

Parks, Reiley and Wilson shared the lead on "Day in the Life of a Tree"

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Sunday, 7 May 2006 15:58 (nineteen years ago)

Do loose collectives like Massive Attack count? If so they have a score of 12 (and probably some more I've forgotten):

3-D
Daddy G
Tricky
Horrace Andy
Tracy Thorn
Sinead O'Connor
Shara Nelson
Nicolette
Elisabeth Fraser
Terry Callier
Sara Jay
Tony Bryan

― chap who would dare to be a nerd, not a geek (chap), Sunday, 7 May 2006 16:11 (nineteen years ago)

"guest" vocalists don't count either, must be full-time member

I'm guessing that rules a few out of your Massive Attack list.

― ailsa (ailsa), Sunday, 7 May 2006 16:13 (nineteen years ago)

Oops, you're probably right... It's hard to know with some of them though - Horrace Andy, for example, who isn't seen as a core member, but has done a few tracks on every album.

― chap who would dare to be a nerd, not a geek (chap), Sunday, 7 May 2006 16:16 (nineteen years ago)

Sloan has 4:

Chris Murphy
Jay Ferguson
Patrick Pentland
Andrew Scott

― mervin heinz, Sunday, 7 May 2006 16:16 (nineteen years ago)

"guest" vocalists don't count either, must be full-time member

This would cut out Marilyn Wilson and maybe John Stamos (touring only apart from the one song he sings).

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Sunday, 7 May 2006 16:19 (nineteen years ago)

The Boot Camp Click must have at least ten lead vocalists, though I'm not sure if they count as a "band".

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Sunday, 7 May 2006 16:20 (nineteen years ago)

If vocal groups count, various incarnations of The Temptations must take the price.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Sunday, 7 May 2006 16:21 (nineteen years ago)

Didn't know that about Parks -- but wouldn't he be considered a guest?

― Mark (MarkR), Sunday, 7 May 2006 16:22 (nineteen years ago)

According to AMG The Temptations members include the following:

Dennis Edwards
David Ruffin
Louis Price
Eldridge Bryant
Raymond Davis
David English
Melvin Franklin
Damon Harris
Eddie Kendricks
Glenn Leonard
Harry McGilberry
Richard Street
Ron Tyson
Ali "Ollie" Woodson
Ricky Owens
Dennis Williams
Theo Peoples
Paul Williams
Cal Osborne
Otis Williams

I'm not sure if all them have taken their turn on lead vocals though.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Sunday, 7 May 2006 16:24 (nineteen years ago)

P-Funk?

― Dr. Rodney's Original Savannah Band (R. J. Greene), Sunday, 7 May 2006 18:59 (nineteen years ago)

Didn't know that about Parks -- but wouldn't he be considered a guest?

Maybe officially, but he was more of an official member of the band than official guys like Jack and Blondie, who were more gap fillers than anything. Van Dyke was a major factor in the development of their sound and contributed a lot of songwriting and lyrical ideas during that period.

Then there are guys like Stamos, who was in the touring band and sung on the record, but calling him a Beach Boy leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Sunday, 7 May 2006 20:11 (nineteen years ago)

if you look at percentage instead of raw numbers, beatles had 100 percent obv.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Sunday, 7 May 2006 20:34 (nineteen years ago)

(i guess the who did too, right?)

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Sunday, 7 May 2006 20:34 (nineteen years ago)

I'm not sure if all them have taken their turn on lead vocals though.

Most did, at least the ones that were in Temptations during the 60s and 70s did.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Sunday, 7 May 2006 21:03 (nineteen years ago)

That must be more than the Spice Girls, surely they can't have let Victoria sing lead vocals?

Most Spice Girls featuring all members singing a few lines each, in the "Band Aid way". And that includes Victoria too.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Sunday, 7 May 2006 21:05 (nineteen years ago)

Velvet Underground & Nico (Lou Reed, Nico, John Cale, Moe Tucker, Doug Yule)

― Joe (Joe), Monday, 8 May 2006 00:03 (nineteen years ago)

Eagles had a few: Henley, Frey, Walsh, Schmitt, Felder...

as did Blue Oyster Cult: Bloom, Dharma, Bouchard, Bouchard (again)...don't think Lanier ever took lead, though...

― hank (hank s), Monday, 8 May 2006 01:33 (nineteen years ago)

So Solid Crew?

― stevo (stevo), Monday, 8 May 2006 05:37 (nineteen years ago)

if you look at percentage instead of raw numbers, beatles had 100 percent obv.

Which songs did Pete Best and Stu Sutcliffe sing?

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Monday, 8 May 2006 06:18 (nineteen years ago)

Several cases of 100% I think. For instance, 10cc had 100%.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 8 May 2006 10:40 (nineteen years ago)

I mean, not a leader by any means, but 10cc:
Eric Stewart
Graham Gouldman
Lol Creme
Kevin Godley
Rick Fenn

(Btw. checking more closely, not 100% as Tony O'Malley or Stuart Tosh did never sing - both appeared on two albums only though.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 8 May 2006 10:42 (nineteen years ago)

Supremes probably have a high count, although I have no idea about the names of those who have sung the lead vocals for the past 30 years.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 8 May 2006 10:45 (nineteen years ago)

Mekons:

Jon Langford
Sally Timms
Tom Greenhalgh
Rico Bell
Ken Lite
Kevin Lycett
Mark White

And possibly others in the early days.

― Brian G, Monday, 8 May 2006 16:04 (nineteen years ago)

Sabbath-Osbourne, Ward, Dio, Gillan, Martin, Halford (maybe he doesn't count) and I may be missing some.

― Bill Magill, Monday, 8 May 2006 18:42 (nineteen years ago)

Purple-Evans, Gillan, Hughes, Coverdale, Turner

― Bill Magill, Monday, 8 May 2006 18:45 (nineteen years ago)

in the 70's, there were lots of little Osmonds everywhere...

I think all of 'em (Wayne, Alan, Merrill, Donny, Jimmy, Marie, Grumpy and Doc) did lead at one point or another...

― hank (hank s), Monday, 8 May 2006 18:49 (nineteen years ago)

As for the Black Sabbath thing, you mean Osbourne and not Ward obviously and I think Glenn Hughes sang lead for them on one album (the Seventh Seal maybe?) though Halford never did.

Oh and I wanted to contribute to the Beach Boys thread as well. Sure Blondie and Ricky were gap-fillers, but I would argue that they contributed to the sound of the band (esp. live though they also wrote and sang their own songs with the Beach Boys) greatly during their tenure in '72-'74 whereas Van Dyke Parks only worked with them on Smile unless you count the middle eight in "Sail on Sailor" and the album he did with Brian Wilson in the '90s called Orange Crate Art and the new Smile. Also, unlike Blondie Chaplin and Jack Rieley (who also narrated Brian's "Mt. Vernon and Fairway" bizarro single), he never sang lead or narrated on a Beach Boys record, but he was obviously a writer on a lot of Smile-era tracks. It also must be mentioned that they abandoned said sound with Wild Honey, though.

― Matt Berlyant (incarag), Wednesday, 10 May 2006 19:41 (nineteen years ago)

P.S. When did Ricky Fataar sing lead for them? He was just Dennis' replacement on drums and the co-writer of "Here She Comes", "Hold On Dear Brother" and "Leaving this Town", respectively.

― Matt Berlyant (incarag), Wednesday, 10 May 2006 19:44 (nineteen years ago)

The Kelly Family

― billstevejim (billstevejim), Wednesday, 10 May 2006 20:20 (nineteen years ago)

All seven members*
of The Association
sang lead ON ONE ALBUM

*Larry Ramos, Terry Kirkman, Ted Bluechel, Jim Yester, Gary/Jules Alexander, Russ Giguere, Brian Cole

― Haikunym (Haikunym), Wednesday, 10 May 2006 20:26 (nineteen years ago)

"you mean Osbourne and not Ward obviously"

Bill Ward sang lead on one tune on 'Never Say Die' that they could not get Ozzy to recut the vocals, as they were recording the album with some other singer then Oz returned and refused to sing any lyrics writen for the other guy.

― Earl Nash (earlnash), Wednesday, 10 May 2006 23:50 (nineteen years ago)

as did Blue Oyster Cult: Bloom, Dharma, Bouchard, Bouchard (again)...don't think Lanier ever took lead, though...

Doesn't Lanier sing on "True Confessions?"

― LOL Thomas (Chris Barrus), Thursday, 11 May 2006 00:30 (nineteen years ago)

The Police and Pink Floyd are a couple of surprising 100%-ers

― LOL Thomas (Chris Barrus), Thursday, 11 May 2006 00:33 (nineteen years ago)

Joe Bouchard sang "True Confessions"...great song!...(I wish it were Lanier, to complete the 5-man sweep)...

― hank (hank s), Thursday, 11 May 2006 12:14 (nineteen years ago)

The Beatles:

John Lennon
Paul McCartney
George Harrison
Ringo Starr
Tony Sheridan
Horst Fascher
Yoko Ono
Wally
(and on live only..)
Pete Best
Stu Sutcliffe
Cilla Black

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 11 May 2006 12:27 (nineteen years ago)

Cilla Black was a member of The Beatles?

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Thursday, 11 May 2006 12:34 (nineteen years ago)

OK, so I included 'guest' vocalists.

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 11 May 2006 12:36 (nineteen years ago)

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