Post by Henny Macc on Jan 19, 2021 6:49:13 GMT
Patrick Torpey (December 13, 1953 - February 7, 2018)
Years active: 1985-2018
Country of origin: United States of America
Recorded vocal range: E2-E5
Band history:
- 1985-1986 - John Parr (drums)
- 1986-1987 - Belinda Carlisle (drums)
- 1987 - Impellitteri (drums)
- 1987-1988 - The Knack (drums)
- 1988-2002 - Mr. Big (drums, percussion, backing vocals)
- 1998-1999 - Pat Torpey (lead vocals, drums)
- 2001-2010 - The Knack (drums)
- 2006-2014 - The Social Exile Club (drums)
- 2009-2014 - Mr. Big (drums, percussion, backing vocals)
- 2014-2018 - Mr. Big (percussion, occasional vocals)
Recorded high notes:
E5: "Fool Us Today" live at Budokan Hall 1996
D♯5/E♭5: "Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy" live at the Akasaka Blitz 2015, "What's It Gonna Be", "Wind Me Up" live New Haven 1989
D5: "QP Doll", "To Be with You"
C♯5/D♭5: "Goin' Where the Wind Blows" live at Budokan Hall 1996, "Jane Doe", "Mr. Gone" live Tokyo 1993, "QP Doll", "Voodoo Kiss" live at the Hard Rock Cafe Singapore 1996, "Where Do I Fit In?" live acoustic Tokyo 2011, "To Be with You" live at the Akasaka Blitz 2015
C5: "Alive and Kickin'", "As Far as I Can See" live at Osaka Castle Hall 2011, "Carry On" live at Osaka Castle Hall 2011, "Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy (The Electric Drill Song)" live at Budokan Hall 1996, "Dilemma", "Fool Us Today", "Green-Tinted Sixties Mind" live at the Whisky a Go Go 2015, "Hell on Highwater's Son", "Jane Doe", "Just Take My Heart" live at Budokan Hall 2014, "Lucky This Time" live San Francisco 1992, "Open Your Eyes", "QP Doll", "Stranger in My Life", "To Be with You" live at Budokan Hall 2014, "Wild World" live at Budokan Hall 1996
B4: "Ain't Seen Love Like That" live at the Akasaka Blitz 2015, "Ain't That a Shame", "Be Kind", "Buildings", "Defying Gravity", "East/West" live at Budokan Hall 2014, "Falling Off the Sun", "How Can You Do What You Do" live Hampton Coliseum 1990, "I Love You Japan" live at Budokan Hall 1996, "It's for You" live Budokan Hall 2009, "I Really Don't Mind", "Long Way Down", "Lost in America" live Tokyo 2002, "Merciless", "Next Time Around", "Stay Together", "Superfantastic" live Tokyo 2002, "Take Cover" live at Budokan Hall 1996, "Temperamental" live Tokyo 1993, "30 Days in the Hole", "To Be with You", "Where Are They Now" live Tokyo 2002
A♯4/B♭4: "Alive and Kickin'", "All the Way Up" live acoustic Tokyo 2011, "A Rose Alone" live at the Aksaka Blitz 2015, "Around the World" live at Budokan Hall 2014, "Carry On" live at Osaka Castle Hall 2011, "Circus of Circumstances", "Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy (The Electric Drill Song)" live at Budokan Hall 1996, "Dazed and Confused" live at Budokan Hall 2017, "Dilemma", "Everybody Needs a Little Trouble" live Milan 2017, "Green-Tinted Sixties Mind" live at the Whisky a Go Go 2015, "I Forget to Breathe" live at Budokan Hall 2014, "Jane Doe", "Living After Midnight" live at Budokan Hall 2014, "1992", "On a Bender", "Out of the Underground" live at Budokan Hall 2014, "Stranger in My Life", "Sucker for a Pretty Face" live at the Akasaka Blitz 2015, "Superfantastic" live at the Akasaka Blitz 2015, "Undertow" live at Budokan Hall 2014, "We're an American Band" live at Budokan Hall 2017, "What If We Were New?" live at the Akasaka Blitz 2015, "Wind Me Up", "Wink and a Smile" live at the Akasaka Blitz 2015
A4: "A Little Too Loose", "Big Love", "Buildings", "Crawl Over Me" Influences version, "Everyday" live at the Akasaka Blitz 2015, "Fool Us Today", "Fragile" live at Budokan Hall 2014, "Hell on Highwater's Son", "Hold Your Head Up", "I Get the Feeling", "It's Always About That Girl", "I've Learned My Lesson", "Jack the One-Eyed Jill", "Johnny B. Goode" live Tokyo 1993, "Just Take My Heart", "Lemoncello", "Lost in America" live Tokyo 2002, "Man on the Ground", "Price You Gotta Pay" live Tokyo 1993, "QP Doll", "Smoke on the Water" live São Paulo 2011, "Spit It Out", "Suffocation" live Tokyo 2002, "Superfantastic" live Tokyo 2002, "Temperamental", "30 Days in the Hole", "To Be with You" live Tokyo 2002, "Trapped in Toyland", "We're an American Band" live at Budokan Hall 2017, "What If We Were New?", "What's It Gonna Be", "Where Are They Now" live Tokyo 2002, "Whole World's Gonna Know", "Woman from Tokyo" live Tokyo 1991
G♯4/A♭4: "Addicted to That Rush" live at Budokan Hall 2014, "Ain't a Shame", "Around the World" live at Osaka Castle Hall 2011, "As Far As I Can See" live at Osaka Castle Hall 2011, "Circus of Circumstances", "Dancing with My Devils" live at the Akasaka Blitz 2015, "Don't Stop" live at the Akasaka Blitz 2015, "East/West" live at Budokan Hall 2014, "Goin' Where the Wind Blows" live at Budokan Hall 1996, "Gotta Love the Ride" backstage rehearsal at the Whisky a Go Go 2015, "Green-Tinted Sixties Mind", "Hold Your Head Up" live at Budokan Hall 2009, "I Love You Japan" live at Budokan Hall 2009, "It's for You" live Budokan Hall 2009, "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" live Chicago 1996, "Joystick", "1992", "Nothing But Love", "Road to Ruin", "Shine" live at the Whisky a Go Go 2015, "Stranger in My Life" live at Osaka Castle Hall 2011, "Sucker for a Pretty Face" live at the Akasaka Blitz 2015, "Superfantastic" live at the Akasaka Blitz 2015, "To Be with You"
G4: "Ain't That a Shame", "Crawl Over Me" Influences version, "Crazy Thing", "Dumb It Down", "Epitaph", "Everyday" live at the Akasaka Blitz 2015, "Fly on the Wall" live at the Akasaka Blitz 2015, "Forever and Back", "Green-Tinted Sixties Mind" live at Budokan Hall 2014 "Had Enough", "Hell on Highwater's Son", "I Really Don't Mind", "Just Take My Heart", "Let Yourself Go", "Living After Midnight" live at Budokan Hall 2014, "Low Bottom Savior", "Mama D.", "Mean to Me", "Mr. Gone", "Out of the Underground" live at Budokan Hall 1996, "Seven Impossible Days", "Stranger in My Life", "Take Cover" live at Budokan Hall 2014, "The Light of Day" live Santiago 2015, "The Long and Winding Road" live at Budokan Hall 2009
F♯4/G♭4: "Addicted to That Rush" live at Budokan Hall 2014, "Ain't Seen Love Like That" live at the Akasaka Blitz 2015, "Buildings", "Electrified" live Tokyo 2002, "Hangover", "I Just Want to Celebrate" live at the Akasaka Blitz 2015, "I Love You Japan", "It's for You" live Budokan Hall 2009, "Joystick", "Nobody Left to Blame" sung in studio 2010, "Nothin' Bad ('Bout Feeling Good)", "Once Upon a Time" live at Osaka Castle Hall 2011, "She's All Coming Back to Me Now", "Shine" live Tokyo 2002, "Smoke on the Water" live at Budokan Hall 2009, "Some Kind of Wonderful" soundcheck Milano 2017, "Spit It Out", "Sucker for a Pretty Face" live at the Akasaka Blitz 2015, "Superfantastic" live Tokyo 2002, "The Light of Day" live at Budokan Hall 2014, "The River", "The World Is on the Way", "We're an American Band" live at Budokan Hall 2017, "Yesterday" live at Budokan Hall 1996
Recorded low notes:
E3: "Buildings", "Cheap Little Thrill" solo demo, "Crazy Thing", "Deep Dark Secret" solo demo, "Dumb It Down", "Falling Off the Sun", "Hangover", "Hell on Highwater's Son", "On a Bender", "Smoke on the Water" live at Budokan Hall 2009, "The River", "To Be with You"
D♯3/E♭3: "Carry On" live at Osaka Castle Hall 2011, "Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy" live at the Akasaka Blitz 2015, "Goin' Where the Wind Blows" live at the Akasaka Blitz 2015, "My New Religion" live at the Akasaka Blitz 2015, "Superfantastic" live at the Akasaka Blitz 2015, "To Be with You" live at the Akasaka Blitz 2015
D3: "Deep Dark Secret" solo demo, "Epitaph", "I Really Don't Mind", "Mr. Big Yakisoba Live" Raw Like Sushi II backstage footage, "The River", "Yesterday" live Budokan Hall 1996
C♯3/D♭3: "The World Is on the Way"
C3: "Crawl Over Me" Influences version, "I Left My Voice in Sendai City" Raw Like Sushi II backstage footage, "I Really Don't Mind", "The World Is on the Way" live at Osaka Castle Hall 2011
B2: "Mr. Big Yakisoba Live" Raw Like Sushi II backstage footageA2: "Alive and Kickin'" live at the Akasaka Blitz 2015, "Low Bottom Savior"
G♯2/A♭2: "Crawl Over Me" Influences version, "Hangover"
G2: "Low Bottom Savior"
F♯2/G♭2: "East/West" live at the Akasaka Blitz 2015, "Circus of Circumstances"
F2: "Hangover", "On a Bender"
E2: "On a Bender"
.......................................................
*Blue marks soft falsetto notes.
*Italics mark non-melodic notes.
*Underlines marks notes in backing vocals or otherwise muffled/obscured in the song mix.
{Album ranges}
Pat Torpey:
Mr. Big:
Eric Martin:
Pat Torpey:
- Odd Man Out (1998) - F2-D3-B4
- Y2K (1999) - E2-C5-D5
Mr. Big:
- Back to Budokan (2009) - E♭3-B4-D♭5
- Raw Like Sushi 114 (2015) - E♭3-C5-D♭5
Eric Martin:
- Over Japan (2016) - F♯2-C♯5-D♯5
{Detailed bio}
Though best known as a drummer, Pat Torpey is someone who did a surprising amount of quality singing over the course of his career, between serving as a frequent backing/harmony vocalist in Mr. Big and also handling vocal duties on his own two solo albums. He possessed a very naturally pleasant vocal timbre, and generally had quite a bit of ease in his high range that allowed him to sing throughout the fourth octave regularly, and could even belt into the fifth octave with decent consistency, though he tended to be more reserved about going for notes above C5. He also had a decent low range and at times demonstrated ability to sing down to the mid second octave fairly casually, despite generally not using his low range much for lead vocals. Torpey stated in interviews that he originally learned to sing as an addition to his drumming abilities because he was told early on that a drummer who could sing was "more of an asset to a band than a drummer who doesn't sing". Aside from his significant contributions to the backing vocals of Mr. Big, he also became known for performing drum solos with the band, during which he often made the unique addition of singing Beatles songs over his playing, such as "Yesterday" or "The Long and Winding Road".
Torpey first started out his career as a drummer for hire in Los Angeles during the early 1980s, doing gig work for musicians such as Ben E. King, Mike + The Mechanics, Melissa Manchester, and Bob Geldof. This eventually led to him landing a consistent job as the drummer for pop-rock singer John Parr, whom Torpey played with for one tour, before going on to drum for Berlinda Carlisle, whom he also played with for a tour. From there, he went on to join up-and-coming shred metal band Impellitteri, and played on their first full length album, 1987's Stand in Line. Soon after this, however, he left to join The Knack and played with them for the remainder of 1987 to 1988, but then left them as well when he received an offer from established musicians Paul Gilbert and Billy Sheehan to join a new band that they were forming, called Mr. Big. Upon joining Mr. Big, that band became Torpey's primary and consistent focus for almost the next decade and a half.
In Mr. Big, Torpey's usual drumming role expanded to one that also included a prominent role as backing vocalist. Though it wouldn't be for another decade that he got behind the microphone as a lead vocalist on any songs, the backing vocals in Mr. Big played a big part in their music, with harmonies by Gilbert, Sheehan, and Torpey backing up frontman Eric Martin on many songs, particularly on their first two albums - Mr. Big (1989) and Lean into It (1993). During these early days of the band, Torpey regularly sang the band's middle harmonies, with Sheehan taking the upper parts and Gilbert handling the lower ones. However, around the time of Mr. Big's third album, 1993's Bump Ahead, they changed things up so that Torpey was now frequently taking the highest parts, Gilbert was singing the middle ones, and Sheehan sang the bottom ones. This continued to be their vocal dynamic for the next few years until Gilbert left the band in 1997, at which point he was replaced by guitarist/vocalist Richie Kotzen. The band put out two more albums with this lineup, 1999's Get Over It and 2001's Actual Size, though these albums featured prominently fewer vocal harmony arrangements than the band's earlier albums. In 2002, Mr. Big broke up, and all of its members went their different ways.
In 1998, Torpey released his first solo album, entitled Odd Man Out, on which he handled all vocal duties for the first time ever. Overall this album proved him to be quite a competent singer with a good voice, though he mostly played it safe range-wise and didn't sing outside of the D3-A4 much on it (though he does hit quite a strong B4 on "Buildings"). The following year, he released a followup album, entitled Y2K, which showcased quite a bit more of his vocal range and singing abilities, with a solid C5 in "QP Doll", strong B♭4s in "Dilemma" and "On a Bender", and some surprisingly strong lows down to F2 and E2 in "On a Bender" as well. Due to Mr. Big's extensive popularity in Japan, Torpey released these two albums exclusively there, and never gave them a proper international release for other countries, and as a result they are something of rare collector's items to this day. Torpey also never toured or performed live as a solo artist, but towards the end of his time with Mr. Big he went on to rejoin The Knack and recorded the 2001 album Normal as the Next Guy with them. He continued to play with them for the next nine years, until their dissolution in 2010. In addition to this, he resumed playing as a drummer for hire during these years, serving as a session musician and touring member for a number of artists, and eventually joining the cover band The Social Exile Club in 2006
In 2009, Mr. Big reformed and released the live album Back to Budokan, which featured their entire first reunion concert as well as several new studio songs. This concert specifically showed spotlight on other members' vocal contributions to the band besides Eric Martin, as it featured a cover of the song "It's for You", on which Torpey, Paul Gilbert, and Billy Sheehan all shared vocal duties together singing in three-part harmony, along with an "instrument swap" cover of "Smoke on the Water", where Sheehan sang the first two verses and Torpey sang the last. The band went on to record two more albums with its classic lineup reunited, 2011's What If... and 2014's ...The Stories We Could Tell. However, a few months prior to the release of the latter album, Torpey was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, which left him weakened and with limited ability to continue playing drums. As a result, during the subsequent tour for this album, Mr. Big hired touring drummer Matt Starr to play his drum parts, while Torpey sat in on percussion and backing vocals. However, due to his diminished drumming role in the band, Torpey's vocal role increased during this time, singing lead vocals on another "instrument swap" cover of Judas Priest's "Living After Midnight", as well as doing co-lead vocals with Eric Martin on the Mr. Big original "The Light of Day". It was also around this time that Martin's voice began to decline, and Torpey's solid high range came to his aid for select notes on certain songs, such as the C5s in "To Be with You" and "Just Take My Heart". Following the tour for ...The Stories We Can Tell, Torpey accompanied Martin as a solo artist for his 2015 tour, playing percussion and singing backing vocals on a mix of Martin's solo material and covers of Mr. Big songs. This also included a cover of the Mr. Big song "East/West", which Torpey had originally written as a demo for his own Y2K solo album, and during these performances he sang lead vocals on the opening verse of it.
By the time Mr. Big began to work on their next studio album, 2017's Defying Gravity, Torpey's health issues had unfortunately exacerbated to the point that he was only able to perform on certain tracks, and thus Matt Starr was called in to serve as a studio musician in his stead for this album as well. However, the band insisted on still having Torpey be as involved in the writing and recording process as he could, and thus he is credited as a "drum producer" for that album, and additionally made his usual backing vocal contributions as well. The band embarked on a tour promoting this album later that year, which once again featured an "instrument swap" routine in which Torpey performed lead vocals on a cover of "We're an American Band". Sadly, this would go on to be Torpey's final tour with the band, as he died of complications from Parkinson's Disease on February 7th, 2018. The remaining members of Mr. Big along with a variety of other musicians including Richie Kotzen performed a tribute concert for him several months later, and Eric Martin has since mentioned plans to release live albums of some of Torpey's final shows as a memorial to him. Though his death is indeed tragic, his drumming style and vocals will always have been a key part that made Mr. Big's music what it was, and fans of the band will always remember him for the outstanding contributions he made to their sound.
Though best known as a drummer, Pat Torpey is someone who did a surprising amount of quality singing over the course of his career, between serving as a frequent backing/harmony vocalist in Mr. Big and also handling vocal duties on his own two solo albums. He possessed a very naturally pleasant vocal timbre, and generally had quite a bit of ease in his high range that allowed him to sing throughout the fourth octave regularly, and could even belt into the fifth octave with decent consistency, though he tended to be more reserved about going for notes above C5. He also had a decent low range and at times demonstrated ability to sing down to the mid second octave fairly casually, despite generally not using his low range much for lead vocals. Torpey stated in interviews that he originally learned to sing as an addition to his drumming abilities because he was told early on that a drummer who could sing was "more of an asset to a band than a drummer who doesn't sing". Aside from his significant contributions to the backing vocals of Mr. Big, he also became known for performing drum solos with the band, during which he often made the unique addition of singing Beatles songs over his playing, such as "Yesterday" or "The Long and Winding Road".
Torpey first started out his career as a drummer for hire in Los Angeles during the early 1980s, doing gig work for musicians such as Ben E. King, Mike + The Mechanics, Melissa Manchester, and Bob Geldof. This eventually led to him landing a consistent job as the drummer for pop-rock singer John Parr, whom Torpey played with for one tour, before going on to drum for Berlinda Carlisle, whom he also played with for a tour. From there, he went on to join up-and-coming shred metal band Impellitteri, and played on their first full length album, 1987's Stand in Line. Soon after this, however, he left to join The Knack and played with them for the remainder of 1987 to 1988, but then left them as well when he received an offer from established musicians Paul Gilbert and Billy Sheehan to join a new band that they were forming, called Mr. Big. Upon joining Mr. Big, that band became Torpey's primary and consistent focus for almost the next decade and a half.
In Mr. Big, Torpey's usual drumming role expanded to one that also included a prominent role as backing vocalist. Though it wouldn't be for another decade that he got behind the microphone as a lead vocalist on any songs, the backing vocals in Mr. Big played a big part in their music, with harmonies by Gilbert, Sheehan, and Torpey backing up frontman Eric Martin on many songs, particularly on their first two albums - Mr. Big (1989) and Lean into It (1993). During these early days of the band, Torpey regularly sang the band's middle harmonies, with Sheehan taking the upper parts and Gilbert handling the lower ones. However, around the time of Mr. Big's third album, 1993's Bump Ahead, they changed things up so that Torpey was now frequently taking the highest parts, Gilbert was singing the middle ones, and Sheehan sang the bottom ones. This continued to be their vocal dynamic for the next few years until Gilbert left the band in 1997, at which point he was replaced by guitarist/vocalist Richie Kotzen. The band put out two more albums with this lineup, 1999's Get Over It and 2001's Actual Size, though these albums featured prominently fewer vocal harmony arrangements than the band's earlier albums. In 2002, Mr. Big broke up, and all of its members went their different ways.
In 1998, Torpey released his first solo album, entitled Odd Man Out, on which he handled all vocal duties for the first time ever. Overall this album proved him to be quite a competent singer with a good voice, though he mostly played it safe range-wise and didn't sing outside of the D3-A4 much on it (though he does hit quite a strong B4 on "Buildings"). The following year, he released a followup album, entitled Y2K, which showcased quite a bit more of his vocal range and singing abilities, with a solid C5 in "QP Doll", strong B♭4s in "Dilemma" and "On a Bender", and some surprisingly strong lows down to F2 and E2 in "On a Bender" as well. Due to Mr. Big's extensive popularity in Japan, Torpey released these two albums exclusively there, and never gave them a proper international release for other countries, and as a result they are something of rare collector's items to this day. Torpey also never toured or performed live as a solo artist, but towards the end of his time with Mr. Big he went on to rejoin The Knack and recorded the 2001 album Normal as the Next Guy with them. He continued to play with them for the next nine years, until their dissolution in 2010. In addition to this, he resumed playing as a drummer for hire during these years, serving as a session musician and touring member for a number of artists, and eventually joining the cover band The Social Exile Club in 2006
In 2009, Mr. Big reformed and released the live album Back to Budokan, which featured their entire first reunion concert as well as several new studio songs. This concert specifically showed spotlight on other members' vocal contributions to the band besides Eric Martin, as it featured a cover of the song "It's for You", on which Torpey, Paul Gilbert, and Billy Sheehan all shared vocal duties together singing in three-part harmony, along with an "instrument swap" cover of "Smoke on the Water", where Sheehan sang the first two verses and Torpey sang the last. The band went on to record two more albums with its classic lineup reunited, 2011's What If... and 2014's ...The Stories We Could Tell. However, a few months prior to the release of the latter album, Torpey was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, which left him weakened and with limited ability to continue playing drums. As a result, during the subsequent tour for this album, Mr. Big hired touring drummer Matt Starr to play his drum parts, while Torpey sat in on percussion and backing vocals. However, due to his diminished drumming role in the band, Torpey's vocal role increased during this time, singing lead vocals on another "instrument swap" cover of Judas Priest's "Living After Midnight", as well as doing co-lead vocals with Eric Martin on the Mr. Big original "The Light of Day". It was also around this time that Martin's voice began to decline, and Torpey's solid high range came to his aid for select notes on certain songs, such as the C5s in "To Be with You" and "Just Take My Heart". Following the tour for ...The Stories We Can Tell, Torpey accompanied Martin as a solo artist for his 2015 tour, playing percussion and singing backing vocals on a mix of Martin's solo material and covers of Mr. Big songs. This also included a cover of the Mr. Big song "East/West", which Torpey had originally written as a demo for his own Y2K solo album, and during these performances he sang lead vocals on the opening verse of it.
By the time Mr. Big began to work on their next studio album, 2017's Defying Gravity, Torpey's health issues had unfortunately exacerbated to the point that he was only able to perform on certain tracks, and thus Matt Starr was called in to serve as a studio musician in his stead for this album as well. However, the band insisted on still having Torpey be as involved in the writing and recording process as he could, and thus he is credited as a "drum producer" for that album, and additionally made his usual backing vocal contributions as well. The band embarked on a tour promoting this album later that year, which once again featured an "instrument swap" routine in which Torpey performed lead vocals on a cover of "We're an American Band". Sadly, this would go on to be Torpey's final tour with the band, as he died of complications from Parkinson's Disease on February 7th, 2018. The remaining members of Mr. Big along with a variety of other musicians including Richie Kotzen performed a tribute concert for him several months later, and Eric Martin has since mentioned plans to release live albums of some of Torpey's final shows as a memorial to him. Though his death is indeed tragic, his drumming style and vocals will always have been a key part that made Mr. Big's music what it was, and fans of the band will always remember him for the outstanding contributions he made to their sound.
