Theory: The World's Sexiest Stutter

[Randy Bachman]

The birth of rock n' roll was instrumental before it was vocal. But as anyone with a soft spot for karaoke can tell you, there's a diffference between singing correctly and singing with style. Initially white rockers tried to sound like Chuck Berry and R&B vocalists, but given a little time, various distinctive vocal stylings emerged to define rock. 70s metal wails led to punk's aggressive un-prettiness which led to the raging screams of rap-metal fusion, the least interesting of the bunch, in my opinion. In some ways, much of rock's vocal stylings sought to undermine the prettiness of the crooner tradition and the show tunes popular in the previous generation (the first to hear those tunes broadcast free on radio airwaves).

Easily the coolest such innovation in rock vocal stylings was the adoption of the stutter. Who would have guessed that the trait that could easily mark a child for endless playground humiliations would sound so cool and confident on stage? Consider The Who: "Talkin' 'bout my g-g-g-g-generation. It's my generation, baby!" It's the deliberation of it, the sweet anticipation and syncopation that makes you grin or want to scream. Or their softer-rock offspring, Huey Lewis and the News: "Th-th-th-th-they say the heart of rock n' roll is still beatin'." Maybe it's the stutter's appropriateness to highlight a significant moment in the song. Maybe it's the breakdown of language into mere sound. Or the way the audience is thus taken inside the singer's mind. The bold among us might dare to say it's a moment when the performer's smooth persona (Everything he says is rehearsed after all) drops, if only momentarily, if only seemingly.

But the most powerful application of this souped up speech impediment came from Bachman Turner Overdrive in their 1974 hit "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet." "B-b-b-baby, you just ain't seen n-n-n-nothin' yet." Theirs is the very sexiest use, connecting the withheld syllables with the promise of the loving to come. I wish I could tell you they knew what they were doing. In fact, singer Randy Bachman was goofing on his brother, their manager, who did have a stutter. It was the record company that insisted this version was superior.

B-b-b-badass, regardless.