Singers & Sidemen Songs

Sidemen are backing musicians who play for singers. They could be members of a singer’s band and/or session musicians. I decided to write an article collecting a set of songs of singers and a song one of their sidemen sing. I paired it so that the sideman played on the singer's song. These pairs are set where the first song is by the singer and the second song is by the sideman. There are even a few cases where the singer appears on the sideman’s song. We’ll start by going back 50 years.

Elton John - (Gotta Get A) Meal Ticket (1975)

I chose this song as Elton John’s “Captain Fantastic” album is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. I recently listened to the very good Dolby Atmos version of the album on Blu-ray audio. This is a powerful rocker opened by Davey Johnstone’s guitar. Davey plays great guitar throughout. Elton rocks out on his piano and also plays a clavinet which gives quirky keyboard parts. Elton’s vocals are aggressive. The backing vocals of Elton’s band support him well. Davey gives one of his signature sounding guitar solos. Nigel Olsson rocks very well with his powerful drumming. This song shows what a great rock artist Elton John is.

Nigel Olsson - Showdown (1980)

This is a solo song by Elton’s drummer Nigel Olsson. Nigel and Elton’s roles are inverted here as Elton plays piano on this song. Elton’s original bassist Dee Murray is also on this song. Nigel sings soulfully in this rock song and his drumming is powerful. The castanets remind me of those instruments featured on Elton’s rock classic “Funeral for a Friend / Love Lies Bleeding”. There are good synth parts featured in the song. This song has a good early 80s soft rock feel. Elton plays great rock piano especially at the end of the song.

Eric Clapton - Somebody’s Knockin’ (2016)

This is Eric Clapton’s version of an unreleased J.J. Cale song. It has a blues rock feel. Eric rocks out with his guitar in the opening section. Keyboardist Chris Stainton supports the song with his piano. A few minutes into the song, Chris gives a good piano solo. I like how he makes the notes go up and down. Following that, we get a bluesy organ solo by Paul Carrack. Paul’s organ has a good presence in the song following this solo. The song ends with Eric giving a powerful solo. In it, Eric’s guitar matches well with Chris’ piano and Paul interjects good organ parts in.

Ace (Paul Carrack) - How Long (1974)

This is a hit song Paul Carrack had with the band Ace. Paul has worked with Eric in the studio and been a member of his band for some tours. Paul wrote, sang and played keyboards on this song. It’s opened solely by its bass guitar part and Paul’s electric piano part soon joins in. Paul sings in a warm and melodic way. His electric piano matches well with the guitar solo. This is a 70s soft rock classic.

Jackson Browne - For Everyman (1973)

Jackson Browne’s folk rock song features a mix of guitars, piano and organ. The guitar part is mainly acoustic. Jackson and David Lindley both play that instrument, with David also playing electric guitar. Jackson sings in an intimate way. Craig plays a good piano part. The organ played by Jimmy Buffett’s keyboardist Michael Utley adds a lot of colour to the song. David plays a gentle electric guitar part near the end. This is an epic six minute long song.

Craig Doerge - Reno (1973)

This is a song from Craig Doerge’s solo album. Craig did a lot of work with Jackson Browne in the studio and has toured with him. He was part of Jackson’s hit album “Running on Empty” of original songs recorded on the road. Craig plays good rock piano and sings in a deep way. The backing vocals are strong and effective. The guitar comes in and out of the song with its strong parts. The guitar part at the end of the song goes well with Craig’s piano. This is a good mid-tempo rock song.

Michael Stanley - Sound of a Train (2015)

Michael Stanley is an American rock singer from Cleveland. I wish more people around the world knew about his work. This is a song he wrote with his guitarist Marc Lee Shannon. I had previously featured Marc’s version of the song in my article “Ten Train Songs”. This song features acoustic guitar, piano and organ. Michael sings in a warm and powerful way. The piano gives off a relaxing, warm feel and the organ adds to the song. It has an americana rock ballad feel, which reminds me of Bob Seger’s “Against the Wind” album.

Marc Lee Shannon - I’m On It (2006)

Michael produced Marc Lee Shannon’s debut album, which sees them reverse roles. Michael played instruments on the album, and he wrote and provided backing vocals on this song. It opens with a powerful drum beat and gets into this great rock feel. The song features a good mix of guitar, piano and organ. Marc sings in a tough way with passion. His vocals are very effective. Michael’s backing vocals come in which are featured in sections of the song. They support Marc well. I like how Marc and Michael’s voices go together. There’s a creative country influenced guitar solo I’m assuming is by Marc. I like the ad-libbing Marc does towards the end of the song. This is a catchy, melodic country rock song.

Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band - Little Drummer Boy (1987)

As we’re approaching Christmas, it’s fitting to feature a Christmas song. Bob sings this Christmas classic powerfully. Silver Bullet Band keyboardist Craig Frost provides a good piano part which gives a foundation to the song. Saxophonist Alto Reed provides nice sax parts. Alto mentioned that the Silver Bullet Band had recorded often with drummer Don Brewer, yet this is the only officially released studio track with him. Don was a touring drummer on most Silver Bullet Band tours from the 1980s to the 2010s. The guitar parts are played by Rick Vito and Bruce Springsteen guitarist Nils Lofgren. There is a great guitar part that comes throughout the song. It’s great to have a Christmas song given the Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band rock treatment.

Grand Funk Railroad (Don Brewer & Craig Frost) - We’re An American Band (1973) 

This #1 US hit is written and sung by Don Brewer who’s the drummer of Grand Funk Railroad. The song opens with a creative drumming part. Don sings loudly in a passionate way. He drums very well throughout this song, hitting the drums with intensity. The band’s keyboardist Craig Frost plays great electric piano. He does wonderful synth work in the choruses. Don and Craig would both end up working with Bob Seger’s Silver Bullet Band the following decade with Don as a touring musician and Craig an official member. Mark Farner gives a good guitar solo. This rock song is produced by Todd Rundgren.

These singers & sidemen songs feature a diverse range of rock songs. It’s interesting that the opening and closing pairs both feature a sideman song by a singing drummer. The singers in both pairs are my two favourite singers Elton John & Bob Seger. If you enjoyed this article, you might be interested in my previous article “Ten Songs Featuring Elton John Sidemen Vol. 2”.