Why Cold Chisel told Jimmy Barnes he needed to work on his vocals

Jimmy Barnes is rightly considered one of Australia’s finest vocalists – nailing driving rock and sweet soul.

But at the start of his time fronting Cold Chisel, ‘Barnsey’ was actually an insecure young man who’d often sing with his back to the crowd.

In the new LiSTNR exclusive podcast Cold Chisel, you learn about a meeting in 1974 where the band told Jimmy he needed to improve his vocal game.

Chisel guitarist Ian Moss remembers how the awkward conversation went.

“So Jim, you really need to get this vocal range happening because we’re not sure the whole thing’s going to work out. You go away and fix the problem, and we’ll just wait for you to get together if you can. Which is pretty, pretty tough,” Ian said.

However, Jimmy tells Cold Chisel he wasn’t offended by the ultimatum – he saw it as helpful encouragement to improve himself.

“I think more than saying I had to up my game, we were just prodding and pushing each other every step of the way,” Jimmy said.

“You see Ian practising guitar all day, and he’d say we need you to get your vocals stronger. So I’d sing more, I’d sing longer, and I’d sing all day.

“Singing is like a muscle: you do it and get stronger as you go.”

Ian said the tough love paid off.

“Somehow, almost like overnight, Jim found this incredible range,” Ian said.

“It wasn’t like a couple of extra high notes. It was like another octave. And to this day, I said how did you do it? Obviously, it’s there it’s genetic in your makeup, he just needed to develop it.”

By Cameron Adams – Music Features Writer, LiSTNR