Top 10 Songs with Harmonies That Give Us Chills

What constitutes a perfect vocal harmony? They’re everywhere in music, but the best ones reach out, grab our hearts, and make us feel something. Call it the chills, nostalgia, or simply “that lovin’ feelin’,” but we know it when we hear it. The Righteous Brothers work perfectly off each other here on 1964’s “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’,” while Phil Spector’s “Wall of Sound” production amplifies everything to evoke a certain time and place. Bill Medley’s lead, baritone vocal sets everything up before Bobby Hatfield hits the high harmony for the chorus. Hatfield also delivers some banger high notes near the song’s tail end, but it’s all about that chorus, man.

We’re sticking with the Phil Spector “Wall of Sound” style here once again for our next entry, an absolute classic slice of early ‘60s pop. Ronnie Spector (then under the name Veronica Bennett) is actually the only member of The Ronettes to sing on the track, overdubbing all of the backing harmonies that lift up her soaring vibrato. It’s these sweetly-sung backing “oohs and aahs” that make Bennett’s already powerful work on the chorus feel truly iconic. The end results evoke those nostalgic, slightly sad melodies that make “Be My Baby” tug at so many heartstrings.

The Byrds may not have written “Turn! Turn! Turn!”- that honor belongs to folk singer Pete Seeger - but it’s their version that’s arguably gone down as the most well-known. It also doesn’t feel unfair to surmise that the band’s amazing harmony vocal work helped make their take on “Turn! Turn! Turn!” feel so indicative of the 1960s. Roger McGuinn takes the lead, while David Crosby and Gene Clark assist on harmony vocals, and it’s truly the stuff of magic. It’s still folky, sure, but there’s also a rock backbeat, and a proto-psychedelia that would define The Byrds’ musical direction into the future. The vocals are insistent and captivating, possessing this glorious echo that makes “Turn! Turn! Turn!” feel and sound like no other song from the era.

One does not simply discuss rock vocal harmonies without praying at the altar of The Beach Boys. It doesn’t matter whether we’re listening to the old-school surf-rock fun of “I Get Around,” or our number seven entry, “God Only Knows,” The Beach Boys are absolute masters of their craft. A bevy of instruments were laid down in the studio for this latter song, including everything from sleigh bells and clarinets to everyday kitchen cups. At the end of the day, however, it’s all about how Brian Wilson and Bruce Johnston harmonize Carl Wilson’s soaring lead vocal. This is a tender, yet deceptively complex song with devastating arrangements and the kind of vocal performances that make the goosebumps rise, and the hair stand on end.

The Beatles were another band whose career trajectory saw them embracing some of the most forward-thinking vocal arrangements to go along with their influential songwriting talents. “Because” from 1969 couldn’t sound further removed from the band’s early pop hits, but instead feels more at home with late-period gems like “Eleanor Rigby” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” The direct inspiration from Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” lends “Because” a gothic and grandiose atmosphere, like something out of the “Castlevania” franchise. Elsewhere, the Moog synthesizer and electric harpsichord underline those haunting vocal harmonies that stress that aforementioned melody lift from Beethoven. It’s brilliant stuff.

The opening of “Thank You for the Music” by ABBA sounds like a Broadway show tune, which is fitting since it’d later be used in “Mamma Mia!” There’s a grand, cabaret style to this track that’s not quite the disco for which ABBA was largely known, but more of a sweeping pop ballad with great vocal harmonies. The group had already proved they could deliver some amazing harmonies on songs like “Knowing Me, Knowing You,” and “Thank You for the Music” underlines this fact in a great way. The chorus sounds particularly massive as Agnetha Fältskog handles the lead, while Anni-Frid Lyngstad and the other backing vocals echo Fältskog in fantastic fashion.

It seems difficult to believe that the debut album from Simon & Garfunkel, featuring the original version of “The Sound of Silence,” failed to make an impact back in 1964. Yet, if that hadn’t happened, then perhaps we’d never have this 1965 remix to enjoy, a take many feel is the definitive version of the song. The electrified instrumentation doesn’t hamper the folk duo’s amazing harmony vocals. If anything, they amplify how “The Sound of Silence” resounds as a defining song of the 1960s, an evocative tune where Simon and Garfunkel become, almost in an instant, icons of their generation. This reputation would be further cemented on tear-jerkers like 1970’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”

The Dude may hate the Eagles, but even he probably couldn’t deny the vocal harmonies present on their version of Steve Young’s “Seven Bridges Road.” Or maybe we better address the elephant in the room by calling it Iain Matthews’ arrangement of “Seven Bridges Road” that was allegedly heisted by Eagles for their 1980 hit? It doesn’t really matter on which side of the argument you lay because there’s no denying that this live track really captures how well the band harmonized out on stage. The quintuple harmony in particular is incredible to behold, creating a moment of musical history that’s difficult to beat. The control and attention to detail is just astounding.

The musical climate of the 1960s was one that supported huge growth, from West Coast folk and psych rock, to psychedelia and British Invasion imports. The Mamas & the Papas were from the former camp, and their hit “California Dreamin’” is perhaps THE song that could serve as a time capsule relic from this very important decade. The lead vocal by Denny Doherty, as well as the harmonies by John and Michelle Phillips with Cass Elliot were actually laid over instrumentation by the Barry McGuire version of the song. Yet, it’s the The Mamas & the Papas warm harmonies, together with a ghostly, improvised flute solo by Bud Shank, that makes “California Dreamin’” one for the ages.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

“Angel” (1988), Aerosmith
A Power Ballad for the Ages

“When Something Is Wrong with My Baby” (1967), Sam & Dave
The Beauty of Soul

“Knoxville Girl” (1956), The Louvin Brothers
Blood Harmony for a Murder Ballad

“My Immortal” (2003), Evanescence
Shut Up, YOU’RE Crying

“Alone” (1987), Heart
Ann & Nancy Forever

What is it about pop hits from the 1950s that make us cry: Every. Single. Time? There’s an innocence and nostalgia associated with songs like “All I Have to Do Is Dream” that makes the listener yearn for a time and place that may or may not exist. The harmonies of The Everly Brothers on here are bittersweet and slightly melancholic. Their voices evoke imagery so closely associated with this decade: sharing milkshakes, young sweethearts holding hands at the drive-in, and those same sweethearts dancing close to this song. The Everly Brothers captured lightning in a bottle with “All I Have to Do is Dream,” their harmonious voices achieving not only Billboard chart success, but musical immortality.

Why do these songs make us feel the way they do? What makes a GREAT vocal harmony, and who are some artists who carry this torch in the modern day? Let us know in the comments!