The Burt Bacharach Discussion Forum

Can anyone tell me who sings the 2nd verse on BB's recording of Who are these people? It's not stated who the vocalist is in the liner notes of the CD, although she's obviously female and almost certainly black and yet doesn't sound like either Josie James or Donna Taylor.

Bonjour Sara;

Speaking with Donna Taylor when this song came out, Donna informed me that it was Josie & her singing Along with John on this song.

Yes, but there is a distictive female lead vocal for the 2nd verse, "Who are these people who destroy everything and sell off the future for what ever it brings and what kind of leader can't admit when they're wrong, make them stop." Her role is just as key as Elvis Costello's in this recording and yet she's uncredited!

Sara;

The next time I speak with Donna Taylor, I will ask her who this 3rd female singer is!

Vince will be able to clear this up definitively, but in the meantime I have a thought.
Back in the early days of be-bop (and even rock) some performers were contractually unable to perform beyond their legally established labels (or those approved by their "handlers").
Thus, Charlie Parker appeared on more than one session as "Charlie Chan".
I have no inside knowledge, but it may be that Burt just wanted someone not quite available to him to do this vocal part.

Yes, I've always thought it was a curious oversight that the woman vocalist on this track wasn't credited on the disc's notes, not even under an alias. I think that If she was famous we would have recognised her, which makes it more interesting to know exactly who she is. Judging by the one verse she sings, she certainly has a strong voice.

Blair;

Thanks for your insight on this subject!

Bonjour Sara D;

I received confirmation from Donna Taylor that only her, Josie & John were the vocalist on the recording of, “Who are these people!” Also Josie confirmed what Donna said!

I guess either Donna or Josie stepped it up on the recording. If I had to guess, I think it was Donna!

Thanks, Vincent, for your enquiries. Do you think you can now get one of the lovely ladies to own up to that lead vocal part?! It's only because the voice on the record seems to be about an octave lower than either of them usually pitch it that made me think it might be someone else. All I've heard about BB's live renditions of this number in recent years is that John P sings Elvis Costello's lines. Sadly, it wasn't performed when I saw BB at the London Roundhouse last October.

So we still haven't quite managed to nail the female lead vocalist on the 2nd verse. Yes Sara, watching the Roundhouse concert again on DVD and listening closely to Donna and Josie's vocals that night it seems that they'd both have to pitch it about an octave lower than usual to have sung that lead part. Of course it was great to be reminded of a wonderful night and I watched the recording with a friend who's not a real BB fan but was still obviously moved by the ladies' very touching renditions of 'Anyone who had a Heart' and 'Close to you'.

It belatedly occurs to me that Donna and Josie each have a vocal range extending beyond an octave, thus perhaps eliminating the "mystery."

Yes, but which one from Donna & Josie? Anyone remembering seeing BB perform this live in the last 3 or 4 years should be able to tell us, but the only name I've seen mentioned whenever the live rendition has been discussed is John Pagano.