Post by Henny Macc on Jun 8, 2020 22:29:02 GMT
Glenn Raymond Tipton (October 25, 1947 - )
Years active: 1968-present
Country of origin: England
Recorded vocal range: C♯2-G♯5 (D♭2-A♭5) - 3.6 octaves
Band history:
- 1968-1969 - Merlin (guitar)
- 1969-1971 - Shave 'em Dry (guitar)
- 1971-1974 - The Flying Hat Band (lead vocals, guitar)
- 1974-present - Judas Priest (lead guitar, occasional backing vocals and keyboards)
- 1994-1997 - Tipton, Entwistle and Powell (lead vocals, guitar)
- 1997 - Glenn Tipton (lead vocals, guitar)
Recorded high notes:
G♯5/A♭5: "Victim of Changes" live San Bernardino 1983
E5: "Paint It Black"
C♯5/D♭5: "Extinct"
C5: "Give Blood", "Left for Dead", "Never Say Die", "The Healer"
B4: "Edge of the World", "Extinct", "Left for Dead", "Never Say Die", "Rocka Rolla" live Old Whistle Grey Test 1975, "The Holy Man"
A♯4/B♭4: "Edge of the World", "Fuel Me Up", "Give Blood", "Left for Dead", "Resolution"
A4: "Crime of Passion", "Cruise Control", "Devil's Child", "Edge of the World", "Enter the Storm", "Extinct", "Friendly Fire", "Fuel Me Up", "Give Blood", "Hard Core", "Himalaya", "Kill or Be Killed", "Never Say Die", "Paint It Black", "Resolution", "Stronger Than the Drug", "The Healer", "The Holy Man", "Unknown Soldier", "Walls Cave In"
G♯4/A♭4: "Cruise Control", "Enter the Storm", "Extinct", "Friendly Fire", "Kill or Be Killed", "Resolution", "The Holy Man", "Voodoo Brother"
G4: "Coming of the Lord", "Crime of Passion", "Cruise Control", "Edge of the World", "Friendly Fire", "Fuel Me Up", "Give Blood", "Hard Core", "Himalaya", "Kill or Be Killed", "Left for Dead", "Never Say Die", "New Breed", "Reaching for the Stars", "Resolution", "Rocka Rolla" live Old Whistle Grey Test 1975, "Searching", "Seventh Plain", "Stronger Than the Drug", "The Healer", "Unknown Soldier", "Walls Cave In"
Recorded low notes:
E3: "Crime of Passion", "Cruise Control", "Edge of the World", "Enter the Storm", "Fuel Me Up", "Hard Core", "Himalaya", "New Breed", "Resolution", "The Healer", "Walls Cave In"
D♯3/E♭3: "Lost Time", "Searching", "Voodoo Brother"
D3: "Edge of the World", "Hard Core", "Left for Dead", "The Healer"
C♯3/D♭3: "Enter the Storm"
C3: "Edge of the World", "Left for Dead", "Unknown Soldier"
B2: "Edge of the World", "The Healer"
A2: "The Healer"
G♯2/A♭2: "Extinct", "Fuel Me Up", "The Holy Man"
G2: "Left for Dead"
F♯2/G♭2: "Extinct"
F2: "Extinct"
E2: "Resolution"
C♯2/D♭2: "Baptizm of Fire"
.......................................................
*Blue marks soft falsetto notes.
*Italics mark non-melodic notes.
*Underlines mark notes in backing vocals or otherwise muffled/obscured in the song mix.
{Detailed bio}
Best known as one of the Turbo Twin guitarists from Judas Priest, Glenn Tipton has made an extensive career as one of the most iconic guitar shredders in the world of heavy metal, but has also had a few lesser-known stints as a vocalist. Before joining Judas Priest, Tipton played in a band called Merlin, which underwent some lineup changes after a year of its inception and was renamed Shave 'em Dry. This band also was later renamed The Flying Hat Band, at which point Tipton stepped into the role of vocalist for the band in addition to guitarist. The Flying Hat Band released one demo in 1974, entitled Buried Together, which featured four songs played in a very Black Sabbath-esque stoner rock style, with vocals by Tipton that sounded somewhat reminiscent of Ian Anderson.
Upon joining Judas Priest in 1974, Tipton stepped away from singing, as the band already had Rob Halford as its vocalist at that point. Though Tipton still contributed some live backing vocals at times (as can be heard, for instance, in this 1974 BBC performance of "Rocka Rolla"), Halford handled both the majority of lead and backing vocals in the studio, which left Tipton to focus strictly on guitar as his main contribution to the band instead. Together with fellow Judas Priest guitarist K.K. Downing, the two of them pioneered the "twin leads" guitar style that would help create an integral part of the band's sound and inspire other metal guitarists for generations to come.
In the 1990s, however, Tipton began to write and record as a solo artist, for which he resumed handling all guitar and vocal duties himself. In 1997, he released his first solo album, entitled Baptizm of Fire, which featured a variety of bassists and drummers playing with him. Included among these bassists and drummers were John Entwistle and Cozy Powell, with whom he apparently recorded enough additional material during the Baptizm of Fire sessions to make an entire other album. For some reason, Tipton chose to keep this material shelved for a while, but eventually decided to release it in 2006 under the band moniker Tipton, Entwistle, & Powell. The album was titled Edge of the World, and was released as a posthumous tribute to Entwistle and Powell, who had both died in recent years prior to the album's release.
Aside from his solo side projects, Tipton has remained a dedicated member of Judas Priest since the 1970s (making him the only member who has consistently stayed a part of the band for that long besides bassist Ian Hill), and has released 18 studio albums with them and gone on over two dozen tours with them. Unfortunately, in 2018, it was revealed that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, which left him unable to play some of his more challenging material as a guitarist. As a result, Tipton has taken a step back from touring since then, and has mostly been replaced by Andy Sneap as a live guitarist, aside from making limited live appearances here and there. It looks like his touring days are mostly over at this point (which is fair after almost five decades of doing so), but he is still technically a member of Judas Priest, as there are apparently current plans to put out another album that he will be featured on.
As a vocalist, Tipton obviously isn't quite on the technical level of Rob Halford or Tim Owens, but he displays a wider range than one might expect on his solo work. His overall timbre and vocal style during his solo career actually remind me a lot of Dave Mustaine, though he doesn't quite have the attitude and character that Mustaine's vocals channel. In terms of tessitura, most of his singing typically sits in the third and fourth octave, though he occasionally teases demonstrations of range beyond those thresholds. So far I've only been able to find three notes above C5 by him, and he pretty much never sings melodies in the second octave, as most of his notes down there are either spoken passages or short dips down from otherwise higher melodies. He does, however, manage to sustain an E5 impressively at the end of his "Paint It Black" cover, and some of his lows in "Extinct" as well as the spoken E2 in "Resolution" show some strong second octave resonance that sounds like it could be applied to melody singing if he felt inclined to do so.
Considering that it's been some 14 years since the last time we saw a solo release from the man, I'm not counting on hearing more singing by him, but it's still interesting to see what he brings to the table vocally in addition to his awesome guitar chops!
Best known as one of the Turbo Twin guitarists from Judas Priest, Glenn Tipton has made an extensive career as one of the most iconic guitar shredders in the world of heavy metal, but has also had a few lesser-known stints as a vocalist. Before joining Judas Priest, Tipton played in a band called Merlin, which underwent some lineup changes after a year of its inception and was renamed Shave 'em Dry. This band also was later renamed The Flying Hat Band, at which point Tipton stepped into the role of vocalist for the band in addition to guitarist. The Flying Hat Band released one demo in 1974, entitled Buried Together, which featured four songs played in a very Black Sabbath-esque stoner rock style, with vocals by Tipton that sounded somewhat reminiscent of Ian Anderson.
Upon joining Judas Priest in 1974, Tipton stepped away from singing, as the band already had Rob Halford as its vocalist at that point. Though Tipton still contributed some live backing vocals at times (as can be heard, for instance, in this 1974 BBC performance of "Rocka Rolla"), Halford handled both the majority of lead and backing vocals in the studio, which left Tipton to focus strictly on guitar as his main contribution to the band instead. Together with fellow Judas Priest guitarist K.K. Downing, the two of them pioneered the "twin leads" guitar style that would help create an integral part of the band's sound and inspire other metal guitarists for generations to come.
In the 1990s, however, Tipton began to write and record as a solo artist, for which he resumed handling all guitar and vocal duties himself. In 1997, he released his first solo album, entitled Baptizm of Fire, which featured a variety of bassists and drummers playing with him. Included among these bassists and drummers were John Entwistle and Cozy Powell, with whom he apparently recorded enough additional material during the Baptizm of Fire sessions to make an entire other album. For some reason, Tipton chose to keep this material shelved for a while, but eventually decided to release it in 2006 under the band moniker Tipton, Entwistle, & Powell. The album was titled Edge of the World, and was released as a posthumous tribute to Entwistle and Powell, who had both died in recent years prior to the album's release.
Aside from his solo side projects, Tipton has remained a dedicated member of Judas Priest since the 1970s (making him the only member who has consistently stayed a part of the band for that long besides bassist Ian Hill), and has released 18 studio albums with them and gone on over two dozen tours with them. Unfortunately, in 2018, it was revealed that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, which left him unable to play some of his more challenging material as a guitarist. As a result, Tipton has taken a step back from touring since then, and has mostly been replaced by Andy Sneap as a live guitarist, aside from making limited live appearances here and there. It looks like his touring days are mostly over at this point (which is fair after almost five decades of doing so), but he is still technically a member of Judas Priest, as there are apparently current plans to put out another album that he will be featured on.
As a vocalist, Tipton obviously isn't quite on the technical level of Rob Halford or Tim Owens, but he displays a wider range than one might expect on his solo work. His overall timbre and vocal style during his solo career actually remind me a lot of Dave Mustaine, though he doesn't quite have the attitude and character that Mustaine's vocals channel. In terms of tessitura, most of his singing typically sits in the third and fourth octave, though he occasionally teases demonstrations of range beyond those thresholds. So far I've only been able to find three notes above C5 by him, and he pretty much never sings melodies in the second octave, as most of his notes down there are either spoken passages or short dips down from otherwise higher melodies. He does, however, manage to sustain an E5 impressively at the end of his "Paint It Black" cover, and some of his lows in "Extinct" as well as the spoken E2 in "Resolution" show some strong second octave resonance that sounds like it could be applied to melody singing if he felt inclined to do so.
Considering that it's been some 14 years since the last time we saw a solo release from the man, I'm not counting on hearing more singing by him, but it's still interesting to see what he brings to the table vocally in addition to his awesome guitar chops!
{Album ranges}
The Flying Hat Band
Glenn Tipton:
The Flying Hat Band
- Buried Together (1974) - E♭3-G4
Glenn Tipton:
- Baptizm of Fire (1997) - C♯2-F♯2-E5
- Edge of the World (recorded 1994-1997; released 2006) - E2-C3-C5
{Best displays of vocal range}
"Extinct" (F2-C♯5)
"Resolution" (E2-B♭4)
"Left for Dead" (G2-C5)
"The Holy Man" (G♯2-A4-B4)
"The Healer" (A2-D3-C5)
"Fuel Me Up" (G♯2-A♯4)
"Edge of the World" (B2-B4)
"Extinct" (F2-C♯5)
"Resolution" (E2-B♭4)
"Left for Dead" (G2-C5)
"The Holy Man" (G♯2-A4-B4)
"The Healer" (A2-D3-C5)
"Fuel Me Up" (G♯2-A♯4)
"Edge of the World" (B2-B4)