Are vocals the most important part of a song?

  • Thread starter Thread starter ido1957
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I agree, Mike, but I could not make out the lyrics to over half of the songs I've heard on the radio over the past 40 years.

I recall some heated arguments with school chums over what was being sang on many songs. Of course, we didn't have the Internet to verify lyrics or trivia back then, but there were weekly magazines with top 40 song lyrics on grocery stores and the like. Remember those?
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Joseph, I had to LOL when I read your comment....I know you love Barry Gibb and the Bee Gees as an influence...I remember being on the dance floor in 1978, and for six months, KNOWING that the Bee Gees were singing....
"Bald headed woman.....bald headed woman, do me"

When I finally bought Saturday Night Fever, I saw "More Than A Woman" on the track listing, and knew that I'd been joyfully belting out the wrong lyrics as I danced the nights away.... :-/

-Mike
 
Strat1958 said:
Joseph, I had to LOL when I read your comment....I know you love Barry Gibb and the Bee Gees as an influence...I remember being on the dance floor in 1978, and for six months, KNOWING that the Bee Gees were singing....
"Bald headed woman.....bald headed woman, do me"

When I finally bought Saturday Night Fever, I saw "More Than A Woman" on the track listing, and knew that I'd been joyfully belting out the wrong lyrics as I danced the nights away.... :-/

-Mike
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LOL. Others have mentioned those same lyrics, Mike. Heh.

One of the biggest complaints among hard core Gibb fans is the unintelligible lyrics on many of their songs.

But I sought out those lyrics at an early age when I realized that quoting the words from Barry Gibb love songs in love letters to girls at school did wonders for my popularity. Heh. Lots of good times, circa 1977-1985!

Cheers,
Joseph
 
Greg_L said:
Not to me. Pretty much not at all. I'm perfectly fine with instrumentals, and I'm of the opinion that deep lyrical content or a message in song is pompous and arrogant. As evidenced by my own creations, lyrics and vocals mean almost nothing to me. I don't know the lyrics or names of songs that I love and have heard a billion times.
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I actually disagree and think lyrics are a lot more important even in your songs than you realize.
You may not write songs that are deep or sage, but the clever, tongue-in-cheek lyrics are a big part of what makes them appealing. I keep "Help You Die" and "No Class" in pretty heavy rotation on my song lists, but I probably wouldn't if I wasn't amused by the lyrics.

That being said, there is a lot of music where vocals are less important. In that case, a catchy hook is usually the most important bit. They're usually the most important part of a pop song, but other genres often de-emphasize them.
 
Strat1958 said:
Joseph, I had to LOL when I read your comment....I know you love Barry Gibb and the Bee Gees as an influence...I remember being on the dance floor in 1978, and for six months, KNOWING that the Bee Gees were singing....
"Bald headed woman.....bald headed woman, do me"

When I finally bought Saturday Night Fever, I saw "More Than A Woman" on the track listing, and knew that I'd been joyfully belting out the wrong lyrics as I danced the nights away.... :-/

-Mike
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I had a friend who for years thought the line in the CCR tune "there's a bad moon on the rise" was "there's a bathroom on the right"...

Here's one take on this:

A song is like a cake, and when you see a cake, you see the frosting. Usually the singing, or lead instrument if it's an instrumental, will be the frosting. The frosting is no good if the cake is crumbling underneath, and same for the vocals.

Bassist Flea once said "the groove isn't the main thing, it's THE ONLY THING!" and there's something to that. If a groove captures you then the vocals can suck and you'll still listen. So in a way, the groove is the most important thing... sorta... but who wants sucky vocals?

Then you have the top level (for me it's Earth, Wind & Fire) where the groove AND the vocals are both off the scale good... I'd say aim for that!
 
I spent an entire afternooon with some people from Power Station New England as they listened to demo tapes from perspective clients.......

In each and every case their deciding factor in yes or no had to do with the hook.

Something about the song that jumps out and grabs your attention - be it a vocal phrase or a musical twist.

If a hook existed then they followed through with the client - if not they suggested that they keep their day job until they figured it out.

I believe everything else works around this - but of course that is just an opinion.

Rod
 
You can tell that lyrics can't be the most important thing if you have ever heard any music from Gucci Mane Or OJ Da Juice Man..... They say absolutely NOTHING... like alot of one hit wonder dance song artist.... Most of them don't last though. Try doing both... Notice the artist that stick around can catch your ear with alot more then just a groove like Dintymoore said.

-HyPe Has Both
 
ido1957 said:
Well, are they?
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I know many people who just don't have the nerv to listen to a whole instrumental. Of course they will listen to the same song with vocals. So from that point of view: yes vocals are the most important thing. :D
 
geco zzed
if lyrics are not important at all,why bother? if lyrics are meant to be like another instrument. use another instrument!
 
dintymoore
amen to that! for years record moguls have been trying to find the magic formula and haven't yet. nor will they ever! as a result a good many super talented people have been turned down as "no talent bums" only to turn up later as solid gold on another label that had the ears to hear talent! as in Buddy Holly,(turned down by decca in '56 only to reamerge ayear later on Brunswick which, odly enough was a subsidiary of decca! the b
Beatles were originally rejected by Capitol in the U.S. ! see.....
 
gethypedmusic said:
You can tell that lyrics can't be the most important thing if you have ever heard any music from Gucci Mane Or OJ Da Juice Man..... They say absolutely NOTHING... like alot of one hit wonder dance song artist.... Most of them don't last though. Try doing both... Notice the artist that stick around can catch your ear with alot more then just a groove like Dintymoore said.

-HyPe Has Both
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thanks... AC/DC is another example of where the vocals AND groove are off the scale good. Marvin Gaye too.

Neil Young takes the cake on lyrics. Paul Rogers sure is good. Was there ever a better singer than Freddie Mercury?

Growing up though, I never listened to vocals until my 20's or so. Before that was I was just listening to the "basement" - the bass and drums... the groove.
 
dodgeaspen said:
I think you hit the mark. Points for you.
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going way back, in 1956 GENE Vincent and the Bluecaps had a monster hit that is a rock standard till this day. you may remember it. the flip side,(records had 2 sides then),was called Woman Love and was banned from radio because dirty minded people heard the lyric,"fuckin' and kissin' and smoochin' all the time" when Gene actually sand ,"huggin and kissin"'(etc.). tape echo caused the mistaken perception! so.. i guess in that case lyrics are important!
 
Are vocals the most important part of a song ? Well, that depends on the song {and the vocalist !:)}.
Let me put a slightly different spin on it {Ha, "Spin on it !" used to be a good old kid cuss:D}. Do the things people have said thus far apply if the song you're listening to is in a language you don't understand ?
 
The melody (or hook/tag/gimmick if there's no melody) is the important piece.
If the voice carries the melody, and the melody is strong enough to be in control of the song, then the voice will be king. Otherwise it's what ever carries the main melody.
Folk end up humming the melody (unless it's purely a dance floor filler but then again they use the HOOk in those too) even if the melody is an ostinato.
Lyrics give the melody a non musical context that can be almost as effective as melody but only almost.
I've almost always been interested in lyrics but then again I've almost always been interested in reading & writing.
Disco was despised by many as a debasing of music but here we are 30+ years later - the songs are getting played again, the rhythm section isn't nearly as debased as the sampling of them has become &, post baggy, dancier rhythms underpin much of rock. BUT the melodies of many disco tracks shine even better
in this new light.
You don't get many people beat boxing I Will Survive but the melody is herocially murdered by hummers, mummers & bummers world wide.
Me, I couldn't write a melody to save my life.
An example of the general disregard for lyrics:
I recall when Every Breath You Take by the Police was released in Australia: I was instantly taken by the sinister intent of the story. The vast majority of listeners, & my friends, were instantly taken by the sumptuous melody nestled in that terrific arpeggio (& my oh my wasn't taht a terrific pacjkage!) The arp was rarely heard before but I think either Nick Lowe or Rock Pile used it before the Police. It became the romantic touchstone for weddings everywhere as, even after some time and analysis had passed, the melody, setting & the 1st few words of the refrain were all that registered with most folk.
 
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Vocals are the most human element of the song - the singing usually expresses the most emotion. Take out Karen Carpenter from one of her songs and you are left with nothing more than a kariokial ting-a-ling.
On the other hand some instrumentals are more expressive and draw out more of an emotional response than the vocalist. The lyrical bass in Rick Astley's version of 'Vincent' is an example of that.
Some people prefer Edge's guitar than Bono's voice, likewise they prefer the melodic twangs of Marr than the sometimes nasalish shouts of Morrissey.

What makes the job harder for home recordists is that they may have to strive to be expressive not just in one instrument but be fully versatile from percussion to voice to lead melodies. That's the tough one.
 
All I have to say regarding this is: I don't like music that treats the vocals as the most important thing. Vocals are just part of the big picture as far as I'm concerned and shouldn't be in the spotlight any more than any of the other instruments.
 
Introducing a song to someone is just like meeting a blind date for the first time.
We MUST remember that most people are not musicians or engineers.
#1 The beat. The first thing they hear is the beat. It has just seconds to grab them and keep them until the vocals start.
#2 Yes, the vocals. Great tone and melody, and of course a killer hook.

Most people don't care about bass riffs and guitar solos.

They just don't.
 
i'm surprised at alot of comments here..

vocals are not the most important part. neither is the music..

Every instrument has it's part and it's place. Great songs work with every element..

you could have the best singer and lyricist in the world on a song but if the rest of the song is terrible.. if the playing is bad. Or if the overall mood of the song makes no sense with the vocals, the song will be bad.

Yes sometimes the vocals are noticed more than the backing music.. and sometime the vocals are more upfront and showcased in a song.. but with out the backing song those vocals are not effective.. It doesn't matter if the majority of the people don't understand much about songwriting or guitar solos. It doesn't matter if they'll hum or sing along with the lyrics. The point is they like any particular song because of everything in the song. The music is just as important.. not more not less.
 
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