Some voices are so closely tied to an era that it takes only a few notes to recognize them. John Waite has one of them.
From his years fronting The Babys to a chart-topping solo career and later success with Bad English, Waite has spent decades building a catalog that stretches across several chapters of rock history. Live, those songs remain immediately recognizable—and so does the voice behind them.
From The Babys to “Missing You”
Waite first gained widespread attention as lead singer of The Babys, whose late-1970s and early-’80s catalog included songs such as “Isn’t It Time” and “Every Time I Think of You.”
His solo career would produce the song most closely associated with his name. “Missing You,” released in 1984, became a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and remains one of the defining pop-rock singles of the decade.
Waite later joined Bad English alongside guitarist Neal Schon, keyboardist Jonathan Cain, bassist Ricky Phillips and drummer Deen Castronovo. The band’s 1989 power ballad “When I See You Smile” also reached No. 1 on the Hot 100.
The Voice Is Still There
Decades after those records first hit radio, Waite’s live performance makes one thing particularly noticeable: the voice has held up.
Rather than simply leaning on the familiarity of his catalog, Waite still delivers the material with the distinctive tone that made those records recognizable in the first place.
That matters with songs audiences have heard thousands of times. Nostalgia may bring people through the door, but the performance still has to deliver once they’re there.
WATCH: John Waite Live
The Barrelassin’ footage above captures several moments from Waite’s live performance, including a turn into Led Zeppelin territory near the end.
More Than an ’80s Time Capsule
It’s easy to place Waite alongside the artists who defined rock radio in the 1980s, particularly because “Missing You” remains so strongly associated with that decade. But his career doesn’t fit neatly inside one era.
The Babys began building his audience in the 1970s. His solo career carried him through the following decade. Bad English introduced another chapter at the end of the ’80s and beginning of the ’90s, and Waite has continued recording and touring long after all three became part of classic-rock history.
The longevity of those songs is one thing. Hearing the person who originally recorded them still able to deliver them live is another.
John Waite can still do both.
