4 Famous Songs That Feature Backing Vocals From Legends

Back in the day, quite a few legendary songs featured backing vocals from famous names in rock and popular music. However, some of those contributions weren’t really made known, outside of a few credits in the liner notes. Or, otherwise, they weren’t super obvious. Let’s take a look at a few surprising examples!

Videos by American Songwriter

1. “Code Of Silence”

This Billy Joel hit is a surprising example of songs that feature famous backing vocals, namely because Joel isn’t the biggest fan of collaborations. We get why. Joel is amazing at writing his own material, and collaborations usually don’t hit that well. 

However, he made a smart choice by including “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” hitmaker Cyndi Lauper in the 1986 song “Code Of Silence”. You can hear Lauper’s vocals in the background of the song, and she also helped Joel figure out the final cut of the lyrics.

2. “Peg”

Steely Dan were known for being a bit difficult to work with, namely because they valued perfection over anything else. This great example of songs that feature famous backing vocals showcases the vocal stylings of Michael McDonald of the Doobie Brothers fame.

“Peg” wasn’t McDonald’s first rodeo, either. He often provided backing vocal tracks to Steely Dan, as well as Toto and Kenny Loggins, among others.

3. “Whatever Gets You Thru The Night”

This John Lennon solo classic came at a time when the former Beatle was struggling to nail a chart-topping post-Beatles hit. “Whatever Gets You Thru The Night” is a gorgeous song and a great example of Lennon’s talents, but he did get a bit of help from none other than Elton John.

John played the keyboard for the track, as well as some higher-octave backing vocals. John even joked that Lennon would have to perform the song live with him if it became a no. 1 hit. Sure enough, “Whatever Gets You Thru The Night” was a huge hit, and the pair played it together at Madison Square Garden in 1975. That was Lennon’s final public set before his death in 1980.

4. “Money For Nothing”

This Dire Straits classic is a guitar-focused hit, and few might know that it features the vocal stylings of Sting. String sings the falsetto intro of the song, some background vocals, and the background chorus of “I want my MTV”. The music video for this song was huge in Europe, and “Money For Nothing” became Dire Straits’ most commercially lucrative song.

Photo by Sam Emerson/Courtesy of Disney+

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