Comments on: Karaoke suggestions for a bass/baritone voice needed.

Question: Karaoke suggestions for a bass/baritone voice needed.

ElfWord — Tue, 09 Aug 2005 00:39:38 -0800

I need karaoke song suggestions suitable for my voice. My range is somewhere between Bass and Baritone. I can go higher, but it's difficult for me to keep in the right octave, and I almost always end up dropping songs made for Tenors down an octave or two. Examples: Blink 182 songs, Inside Out, even Creed songs I tend to lower without realizing it.

Don't worry about genre or era, as I can point to at least one or two songs from any given genre that I enjoy, whether I can sing them or not. I'm also not looking for any specific emotional tone in the suggested songs. I generally try to sing more energetic songs at karaoke, but my choices vary so much based on my mood that the more options I have the better. Thanks for any and all suggestions!

By: Silky Slim

Silky Slim — Tue, 09 Aug 2005 02:53:04 -0800

do you know frank zappa's "po-jama people"?

By: CrunchyFrog

CrunchyFrog — Tue, 09 Aug 2005 04:55:22 -0800

The more recent Elton John songs are relatively low. (Can You Feel the Love Tonight, Circle of Life, etc.)

By: ibeji

ibeji — Tue, 09 Aug 2005 05:18:48 -0800

The Lizard King had a pretty deep voice. Do you like the Doors? Also, wikipedia tells me that Nat King Cole, Elvis, and David Bowie are baritones... Barry White is bass, I think.

By: box

box — Tue, 09 Aug 2005 05:56:10 -0800

I seem to recall that the Crash Test Dummies' 'Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm,' or whatever that song is called, is sung in a pretty low voice. Or you could find three pals and sing, y'know, Temptations and Four Tops and Boyz II Men and whatnot.

By: zardoz

zardoz — Tue, 09 Aug 2005 06:11:00 -0800

I sing at the same pitch, so I'm in the same boat. Through trial and error, I've found some good songs that aren't too high for me. You'll find that a large quantity of rock n rollers have high voices, lots of altos and even sopranos--Thom Yorke I think is a soprano.

Elvis is easy, Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, David Bowie. Rolling Stones (Mick). The Doors. Johnny Cash, though he's bass, I think, he's not too tricky. I like doing "The Distance" by Cake, it's more like rapping than singing. Speaking of rap, once I reluctantly joined in on Eminem's "Lose Yourself" and found that one to be a good match.

By: theinsectsarewaiting

theinsectsarewaiting — Tue, 09 Aug 2005 06:28:39 -0800

Leonard Cohen.

By: Faint of Butt

Faint of Butt — Tue, 09 Aug 2005 06:32:09 -0800

Another baritone karaoke fan here, so I'll be paying close attention to this thread. Bobby Darin's "Mack the Knife" sounds great and doesn't go too high. Same for "Stray Cat Strut." "One Week" and "Pinch Me" by Barenaked Ladies are also good. I definitely second the suggestion of "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm." And finally, if you don't mind something in a more comedy/novelty vein, "The Monster Mash," "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" and "Sweet Transvestite" also work very well.

By: creeront

creeront — Tue, 09 Aug 2005 07:38:31 -0800

Nat King Cole, Johnny Cash, Pearl Jam (Eddie Vedder is a Baritone), Red Hot Chili Peppers.

By: ewagoner

ewagoner — Tue, 09 Aug 2005 07:40:31 -0800

I'm in the same boat, and always get a great reception with the Big Bopper's Chantilly Lace.

By: LionIndex

LionIndex — Tue, 09 Aug 2005 07:41:21 -0800

I don't know if they'll be on any karaoke list, but Mark Sandman of Morphine has a fairly low singing voice.

By: Asparagirl

Asparagirl — Tue, 09 Aug 2005 09:18:46 -0800

I second the recommendation of Frank Sinatra, who was a baritone. Plus, he's classier than most of the usual bar karaoke crap.

By: Crosius

Crosius — Tue, 09 Aug 2005 10:49:45 -0800

Nick Cave if you like angy alternative
Stan Rogers can bring the house down, if it's a Pub.

By: winston

winston — Tue, 09 Aug 2005 11:44:51 -0800

Barry White

By: lesingesavant

lesingesavant — Tue, 09 Aug 2005 12:17:09 -0800

I'm a bari also. Morrison is too low for me, though.

David Byrne has a high voice, but it's so shaky that early Talking Heads sounds great sung low (Sugar on My Tongue, Psycho Killer).

I second Johnny Cash, one of the great pop music baritones.

Eddie Vedder, also seconded, just sort of bellows, but he's probably bellowing in your range.

The melodicism of Tom Waits' songs are often overlooked, but his growl translates quite well to the low range. Tom Traubert's Blues (Waltzing Matilda), Jockey Full of Bourbon, and Yesterday is Here are all great.

By: ludwig_van

ludwig_van — Tue, 09 Aug 2005 12:32:09 -0800

Stephin Merritt of The Magnetic Fields is quite the bass, and writes beautiful pop songs to boot. Surely at least one of the 69 Love Songs will suit you.

By: Asparagirl

Asparagirl — Tue, 09 Aug 2005 22:27:55 -0800

Yes, but I've never seen any MF ever available as karaoke songs. Trust me, I would have jumped at the chance to do "Papa Was A Rodeo", and I'm an alto.