The Most Infamous Vocal Declines (5,422 views)

[Osmosis]

Who are the notable singers who have experienced a major decline in their vocal quality over the years? It could be a deficit in their tone, ability to access notes or a decrease in how satisfying their performances have become overall.

Having just done a vocal timeline for Liam Gallagher, he would be my first pick to kick things off. I don't know how to succintly sum up how far he fell from grace other than to link these two clips: 1993 and 2006. 

SPOILER: Click to show

{The Most Infamous Vocal Declines}
In no particular order:

• Liam Gallagher
• Harry Nilsson
• Whitney Houston
• Vince Neil
• David Coverdale
• Bon Jovi
• Brian Johnson
• Ian Gillan
• Geddy Lee
• Roger Taylor

[Steingrim]

Jan 16, 2023 12:20:47 GMT Osmosis said:

Who are the notable singers who have experienced a major decline in their vocal quality over the years? It could be a deficit in their tone, ability to access notes or a decrese in how satisfying their performances have become overall.

Having just done a vocal timeline for Liam Gallagher, he would be my first pick to kick things off. I don't know how to succintly sum up how far he fell from grace other than to link these two clips: 1993 and 2006. 

A couple of bassy singers that come to mind, are Leonard Cohen and J D Sumner. They both belonged to the cigarette era. To a low singer that may be less of a problem, so their careers didn't hurt from it. 

[Homelander]

Harry Nilsson. Compare his voice in 1971 to his “voice” in 1974. Very stark difference over the course of just three years.

[blazejecar2]

Axl Rose and Vince Neil immediately come to mind

[fallenalien]

Leonard Cohen did not have a vocal decline at all. His vocals were a lot stronger and more pleasant sounding on later albums like "I'm Your Man" or "The Future".

Only the fetishization of high notes would have someone believe that and Cohen never was a singer of high notes.

[Steingrim]

Jan 22, 2023 13:26:39 GMT fallenalien said:

Leonard Cohen did not have a vocal decline at all. His vocals were a lot stronger and more pleasant sounding on later albums like "I'm Your Man" or "The Future".

Only the fetishization of high notes would have someone believe that and Cohen never was a singer of high notes.

Those aren't particularly late, he released albums for a period of 24 years after those. Something happened to his voice some time after those albums.

[fallenalien]

Jan 22, 2023 16:07:58 GMT Steingrim said:

Jan 22, 2023 13:26:39 GMT fallenalien said:

Leonard Cohen did not have a vocal decline at all. His vocals were a lot stronger and more pleasant sounding on later albums like "I'm Your Man" or "The Future".

Only the fetishization of high notes would have someone believe that and Cohen never was a singer of high notes.

Those aren't particularly late, he released albums for a period of 24 years after those. Something happened to his voice some time after those albums.

Yes, but it's to be expected that a guy in his 80's does not perform at peak vocal capacity. It's not a particular notable decline, imo. The old age allowed him to reach extreme low notes.

He went through changes in that his tone darkened, but otherwise I'm not sure.

[Steingrim]

Jan 22, 2023 17:42:55 GMT fallenalien said:

Jan 22, 2023 16:07:58 GMT Steingrim said:

Those aren't particularly late, he released albums for a period of 24 years after those. Something happened to his voice some time after those albums.

Yes, but it's to be expected that a guy in his 80's does not perform at peak vocal capacity. It's not a particular notable decline, imo. The old age allowed him to reach extreme low notes.

He went through changes in that his tone darkened, but otherwise I'm not sure.

His career didn't hurt from it, whatever the reason was. As you said, he didn't sing high notes anyway. And he managed to incorporate the change into his style of singing.

[Discount Roger Taylor]

A lot of well-known male singers who did crazy high stuff in head/mixed voice, including Robert Plant, Ian Gillan, Geddy Lee, Roger Taylor, and to a (slightly) lesser extent Matt Bellamy. Glenn Hughes, Rob Halford, and Justin Hawkins (among others) have all maintained most of their upper range throughout their careers, but they also seemed to be insanely comfortable in that range to begin with.

[Baronessa]

Axl's vocal decline is overblown, in my opinion. I mean, he had some REALLY rough years (see, the infamous deleted 2011 files), but I remember him being pretty good with AC/DC a few years back. He's honestly the most durable singer I've heard who sings in that heady distortion style. Brian Johnson on the other hand had his voice completely at death's door in the early 2000s, and even though he's had sort of a second wind his voice hasn't really been the same since like 1986.

Dan McCafferty of Nazareth was also surprisingly durable, but also by the 2000s his voice was shot beyond repair. He doesn't really sound that bad on Rock 'n' Roll Telephone, and I think he used his experience with using distortion to his advantage even late on in his career, but yeah he really needed to branch out and balance out.

David Coverdale also sounds like a frog now. From what I recall anyways; I haven't had the courage to look up 2020s concerts by Whitesnake.

[Bink]

Jan 25, 2023 12:26:24 GMT Baronessa said:

David Coverdale also sounds like a frog now. From what I recall anyways; I haven't had the courage to look up 2020s concerts by Whitesnake.

Coverdale has lost almost all the soul that made him popular in the '70s and '80s, now he only really uses the screamy part of his technique, sounding way too breathy in his delivery outside of that. However, I've got to give him props for sustaining his voice at all considering his techniques and the fact that he is in his early 70s

[queenfan11]

If this clip is any indication, Jon Bon Jovi. He sounds almost unrecognizable.

[Osmosis]

I would add Whitney Houston to this list. The voice she had prior to her death was far cry from the performances that put her on the map. It’s too rapid a decline given she died at 48 to not be worth mentioning.

[Steingrim]

Jan 26, 2023 7:03:59 GMT queenfan11 said:

If this clip is any indication, Jon Bon Jovi. He sounds almost unrecognizable.

He managed some kind of A4 in there, but his octave 4 notes sounded like he just swallowed a frog and it got stuck.

[Osmosis]

Jan 25, 2023 12:26:24 GMT Baronessa said:

Axl's vocal decline is overblown, in my opinion. I mean, he had some REALLY rough years (see, the infamous deleted 2011 files), but I remember him being pretty good with AC/DC a few years back. He's honestly the most durable singer I've heard who sings in that heady distortion style. 

I would agree, however, the performances where he sang in pure falsetto were unsatisfying and grating on the ears and they lead people to believe his voice is shot. I'm all for singers trying to find ways of giving the fans the sound that made them popular for as long as possible, but in the case of Axl, why would you bother reaching for that largely lost upper register when you could give performances like this instead:

I haven't been following Guns n Roses too much recently so I do not know if this is the course he's going to continue on but I like this big time.

[upthebass]

Jan 22, 2023 18:28:56 GMT Steingrim said:

Jan 22, 2023 17:42:55 GMT fallenalien said:

Yes, but it's to be expected that a guy in his 80's does not perform at peak vocal capacity. It's not a particular notable decline, imo. The old age allowed him to reach extreme low notes.

He went through changes in that his tone darkened, but otherwise I'm not sure.

His career didn't hurt from it, whatever the reason was. As you said, he didn't sing high notes anyway. And he managed to incorporate the change into his style of singing.

Call me crazy, but I prefer his voice at the end (You Want it Darker, eg) to his voice decades earlier. Changed, yes. Declined? I'd say no!

[Henny Macc]

Jan 26, 2023 7:03:59 GMT queenfan11 said:

If this clip is any indication, Jon Bon Jovi. He sounds almost unrecognizable.

Oh wow, that old man voice kicked in HARD for him. Even singing the song a step and a half lower than the studio version, he has to opt out of singing the chorus high notes (which are now A4s on the first and second chorus) and have his bandmates sing them instead...that's just embarrassing I gotta say.   He manages to get one G♯4 on the second verse and one A4 the end of the second chorus, but honestly, I have to say his bandmates are carrying the song vocally wayyy more than him.

Anyway the lowered key means he's singing down to E3s in this version, so Smitty. add that to his thread I guess

[Osmosis]

Would Robert Plant be a candidate for this list? I'm no expert on his vocal timeline or history but things took a stark downwards turn in 1972, and even more so in 1973. His prime years were not long at all.

[Steingrim]

May 11, 2023 15:27:09 GMT Osmosis said:

Would Robert Plant be a candidate for this list? I'm no expert on his vocal timeline or history but things took a stark downwards turn in 1972, and even more so in 1973. His prime years were not long at all.

He went from extravagant to more ordinary. Which is nothing compared to Jon Bon Jovi. I don't like Led Zeppelin's live performance from 1979, things were getting old. Robert Plant was singing D5s live in 1969-70, now he was capping himself at A4.  

[kaji]

How is Mariah Carey not on here?

['S]

On what she puts out officially/on record she still sounds like herself, still pulls off impressive lows, melisma and whistles for the "vocal acrobatics" shtick.

The decline discussion comes more from a v. technical angle, and it's usually live vocals. From people more tuned to what's mostly tightness, dodging and lipping more often, not lipping period. Plus it's often select moments or off days, so a pinch of salt and all that.

I'd say Mariah has more infamous performances people continue to pick apart (the NYE sagas, janky vocal days of touring-when-drinking) rather than the most infamous decline overall. And the decline was from a bar set very high to a still manageable level rather than to true bottom (à la Whitney).

[kaji]

Well, I'm looking at this from the perspective of having heard everything of her that is online - every tour, every available performance. I researched her thoroughly to the point of being sick of hearing many of those songs (Emotions, Vision of Love) after hearing them thousands of times. And I would call it a true decline. She has very little voice left and what is there is quite frankly.. broken. Of course it could be salvaged with voice therapy and surgery but unlikely she'd do it.

['S]

Obviously it's a decline, I was exploring most infamous and the extent of decline. Tbf, though she's not full begrizzled yet I've had another closer listen to the most recent lives and yeah definitely struggling more than even a few years ago.

[Baronessa]

She is definitely not in the leagues of the people who have already been mentioned.

[Goober]

STEVE PERRY !