Top 10 Singers Who Frequently Use or Used Double Tracking
In audio recording, double tracking is the process of recording a musical part (typically a guitar part or lead vocals) and then recording it again, thereby doubling it and giving it a stronger, fuller sound. This technique is far more prominent than many might think. However, some vocalists prefer to use delay effects or stitch together multiple takes to achieve the desired sound instead.There is also a second method called "Automatic Double Tracking" (ADT), where the part is split off through a tape delay by a few milliseconds, creating the illusion of double tracking without requiring multiple takes. ADT was famously pioneered at Abbey Road Studios and heavily utilized by artists like The Beatles during their mid-career recordings.
Double tracking is not necessarily a flaw. When done correctly, it enhances the production without the listener even realizing it. However, if poorly executed, it can result in sync issues, particularly in the lead vocals. A notable example of this can be found in The Beatles' version of "Matchbox," where some minor synchronization issues can be heard.
Feel free to provide more examples of artists or songs that employ double tracking. If you do, consider including additional background information on how extensively they utilized the technique!
John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 1940 - 8 December 1980), was an English singer, songwriter, musician, and political activist. He rose to worldwide fame as the co-founder, co-lead vocalist, and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles, the most commercially successful band in... read more The Beatles are considered to be the most famous users of double-tracking, with John Lennon using it the most of all. In fact, he motivated Ken Townsend, one of the engineers at Abbey Road Studios, to invent the first automatic double-tracking system after he got tired of having to do multiple vocal takes.
Roger Harry Daltrey is an English singer and actor. He rose to prominence in the mid-1960s as the founder and lead vocalist of the rock band The Who. The group released fourteen Top 10 singles in the United Kingdom across the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, including "I Can't Explain", "My Generation", "Substitute",... read more Roger Daltrey frequently used double-tracking throughout the sixties. It wasn't until Who's Next that he didn't use it as much.
Ian Gillan is an English singer and songwriter. He first gained fame as the lead singer and lyricist for Deep Purple, contributing to iconic songs such as Smoke on the Water. Gillan also performed the role of Jesus in the original 1970 rock‑opera concept album Jesus Christ Superstar, composed by Andrew... read more Listen to the early Mark II records, particularly In Rock, and you will hear that a lot of the vocals are double-tracked. Even on Child in Time, which means that he probably had to sing those high parts multiple times.
Marc Bolan, born Mark Feld (30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English singer-songwriter, musician, guitarist, and poet. He was best known as the lead singer of the glam rock band T. Rex. Bolan was one of the first pioneers of the glam rock movement of the 1970s. He died at age 29 in a... read more I don't think there's a T. Rex record where Marc Bolan isn't double-tracked. I even saw a performance on the German show Beat-Club (if I remember correctly) where he recorded the basic track live with the band and they filmed him doing the secondary vocals and guitar solo. They integrated the footage of the two Bolans together (horribly, though. Beat-Club had awful graphics).
Stanley Bert Eisen, known professionally by his stage name Paul Stanley, is an American musician, singer, songwriter and painter best known for being the rhythm guitarist and co-lead singer of the rock band Kiss. Not just Paul but Gene too - pretty much all of the 70s Kiss records had double-tracked vocals.
Bradley Edward "Brad" Delp was an American singer and songwriter. He was best known as the lead vocalist for the rock bands Boston and RTZ. His distinctive voice was a defining feature of Boston's sound, especially on their self-titled debut album released in 1976. Brad is an interesting case, as he didn't just double-track his lead vocals, he also double-tracked each harmony line. No wonder those Boston records sound massive!
Kurt Cobain (February 20, 1967 - April 5, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician, best known as the frontman of the grunge band Nirvana. Founded in 1987, Nirvana achieved global success in the early 1990s, reshaping rock music with albums like Nevermind. Cobain died by suicide in April... read more I once read that Butch Vig said that when they recorded "Nevermind," Butch motivated Kurt (who was reluctant) to double-track his vocals by telling him, "John Lennon did it." Apparently, he also had to trick Kurt into doing extra takes by telling him that something went wrong.
Freddie Mercury was a Zanzibari‑born British singer of Indian descent, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the rock band Queen. He achieved fame for his flamboyant stage persona and remarkable four-octave vocal range... read more Freddie used it in certain songs during the mid-70s. I remember watching a video where Brian May listened to the multi-track tapes of "Bohemian Rhapsody," and noted that the lead vocals on the "so you think you can stone me" section are not 100% in sync. Brian said that he kept some minor flubs on purpose to give the lead vocals a more natural sound.
Brian Douglas Wilson (1942-2025) was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer best known for being the multi-tasking leader and co-founder of the Beach Boys. In general, Brian Wilson insisted on double-tracking all lead vocals on Beach Boys albums from the Surfin' U.S.A. album onwards, regardless of who was singing.
James Alan Hetfield was born on August 3, 1963. He is an American musician, singer and songwriter known for being the co-founder, lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and main songwriter for the American thrash metal band Metallica. Double-tracking is a staple of Metallica's music, even though you may not realize it. Just listen to any of the isolated vocal tracks from the 80s.
The Newcomers
Eric Bellinger Jr., born March 26, 1986, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Los Angeles, California.He is best known for his work as a songwriter, writing for artists such as Chris Brown (most notably "New Flame"), Usher ("Lemme See"), and Justin Bieber ("Right Here").
As... read more
Mariah Carey, born March 27, 1970, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She's one of the best-selling female artists in music history, with 19 number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100... read more
Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson, professionally known as Katy Perry, was born on October 25, 1984, in Santa Barbara, California. She is a singer, songwriter, actress, and has served as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 2013... read more
Layne Thomas Staley was an American musician who served as the lead singer and co-songwriter of the rock band Alice in Chains, which he founded with guitarist Jerry Cantrell in Seattle, Washington, in 1987. Alice in Chains rose to international fame as part of the grunge movement of the early 1990s... read more Layne, in my opinion, had the most unique voice among the singers listed. His use of double-tracking on their records really helped to showcase the power of his vocal ability. He's also my favorite singer of the bunch, so that never hurts.
Alice In Chains used to do this a lot during their career in the 90s. You can listen to a perfect example of Layne doing this in the song Brush Away from their self-titled record (commonly known as Tripod). Other examples are Them Bones from their second album Dirt, and the chorus of We Die Young from their debut album Facelift. Needless to say, he always made it sound badass.
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer. With John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, he gained worldwide fame as a member of the rock band The Beatles, one of the most popular and influential groups in the history of pop... read more
Ariana Grande‑Butera (born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four‑octave vocal range has earned widespread critical praise, and her personal life continues to attract significant media attention. She has received numerous honors, including two Grammy Awards, a Brit... read more
Curtis Adams, better known by his stage name Unkle Adams is a Canadian motivational speaker and rapper. He is known for his song "Original" which was reacted to by popular music reviewer Anthony Fantano. Adams received massive criticism from the song but also developed a fanbase that calls themselves... read more