Hot Chocolate: How to Sing Like Errol Brown

Hot Chocolate was a British band renowned for their soulful funk-disco sound in the 1970s. The lead singer Errol Brown has a unique vocal style characterized by his deep and smooth tone with a hint of growl. Achieving his singing prowess requires a combination of skills, techniques, and experience. In this article, you will learn how to sing like Errol Brown, discover his unique vocal technique and the songs that showcase it, and find practical tips and relevant Singing Carrots resources that will help you attain the same level of vocal excellence.

Vocal Technique

To sing like Errol Brown, you need to master the following vocal techniques:

1. Breathing coordination: Hot Chocolate songs feature long, sustained phrases that require proper breathing coordination. To develop this skill, use our breathing basics article and Farinelli breathing exercise to train your lungs and diaphragm, and improve your breath support.
2. Vocal range control: Errol Brown’s vocal range spanned from baritone to tenor. To increase your vocal range, take our Vocal range test, then use Pitch training to enhance your range and agility.
3. Voice registers: Errol Brown often uses chest voice, mixed voice, or falsetto with stability. To learn how to sing in different voice registers, check out our register article, Chest Voice Explained, Voice Break, and Mixed Voice exercises.
4. Articulation: Errol Brown’s lyrics frequently feature rhythm and rhyme. To deliver these lyrics accurately, use our articulation article and Finger Bite Exercise to train your mouth muscles.
5. Vocal style: Errol Brown's singing style is characterized by his deep and smooth tone with occasional growls. Achieving this style requires a lot of practice and experimentation to find out what works for your own unique voice. To develop your own style while still honoring Errol Brown's legacy, incorporate elements from Contemporary vocal techniques: Heavy modal, Twang, Belting, Vocal distortion & Growling, and Singing with Vibrato exercises.

Signature Songs

Here are some of Hot Chocolate's signature songs that showcase Errol Brown’s unique vocal style:

1. You Sexy Thing: Listen to Errol Brown's flawless delivery of this iconic hit, featuring sustained notes, a catchy melody, and an increasing tempo. Start by singing along with the Pitch accuracy test and take advantage of Pitch Training for building your intonation skills and sense of pitch.
2. Every 1's a Winner: This song is another good example of Errol Brown's vocal brilliance. The memorable soprano and bass interplay in the chorus will require you to practice your vocal transition skills, breathing coordination, and phrasing. Use Sustain Vocal exercise and Humming exercise to help you accomplish this.
3. No Doubt About It: This song is a fantastic demonstration of Errol Brown's vocal agility and control.