Drummer Frontmen

[samjjones]

When you look at the history of music, it is impossible not to notice the paucity of band frontmen who also double as lead singer.

For instance, Dave Grohl had to wait for a guy to kill himself in order to assert himself as a frontman. For some reason, he also hired another drummer to play on his albums/tours.

Phil Collins sat backseat until Peter Gabriel's ego started writing checks his body couldn't cash; he then led Genesis through their most lucrative period.

Another dude who made this move was Don Henley. Coincidentally, he also became a prick and stopped drumming.

Charlie Watts doesn't sing. Tommy Lee doesn't sing. The poofy haired dude who wears the spandex in Aerosmith doesn't sing, either.

Why is there such a shortage of singing drummers? Is the physical act of drumming so difficult as to preclude its practioners from concurrently spilling out some sweet lyrics?

To test this theory, I played some pencil drums on my desk at work while listening to various songs, and singing along under my breath with the lead singer.

I've concluded that Don Henley really isn't that talented, as I was effortlessly able to keep time and sing "Hotel California" at the same time. The Foo Fighters' "Learn To Fly" was a bit more difficult, but I was still easily able to rip out some hot beats and lyrics simultaneously.

Conversely, I struggled mightily with "Invisible Touch", losing my drumming rhythm at various intervals, as well as forgetting most of the second verse.

I am interested in studying this phenomena further. Who are some other lead singer drummers?

[Slow Play Ray]

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Tommy Lee doesn't sing.

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He does, but he sucks.

[SmokeyRidesAgain]

You should really stand up to sing. Plus doing a good melody and rhythm is just weird.

[Wu36]

Different genre altogether but the drummers for Atreyu and Underoath both do a good amount of singing. Granted it might not count since there are other designated singers in both bands.

[mmbt0ne]

Fred LeBlanc of Cowboy Mouth is the lead singer and drummer. Plus he's awesome.

[mmbt0ne]

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Different genre altogether but the drummers for Atreyu and Underoath both do a good amount of singing. Granted it might not count since there are other designated singers in both bands.

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Same with From Autumn to Ashes. Maybe it's easier to scream and play drums.

[MikeyPatriot]

Ringo Starr and the All-Stars

I've seen bands that had drummers sing lead. It's a pretty awkward viewing experience.

[El Diablo]

samj,

I was gonna mention Cowboy Mouth. He's the only one who comes to mind, though Phil Collins and Dave Grohl will sometimes drum and sing at the same time.

[RedRover]

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Different genre altogether but the drummers for Atreyu and Underoath both do a good amount of singing. Granted it might not count since there are other designated singers in both bands.

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Same with From Autumn to Ashes. Maybe it's easier to scream and play drums.

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the screams there are more rhythmic than typical melodic singing. notice that all three bands the drummer is the screamer and not doing the melodic singing

[mmbt0ne]

Yeah, Francis from FATA does lead on the albums, but only on a few songs at shows.