It seems to have been a long time since anyone has added/replied to this forum, so I'm not even sure if this will be read. But I love singing harmony - so much so that given the choice as a leader, I'd teach someone else the lead line, then lay down harmonies on top -- because the opportunities for creativity - once the melody is established - are vast! I loved an earlier posting exalting Art Garfunkel as a harmonist, because of his freedom to depart from moving thirds/fourths above the melody.
I'll just add one BGV trick, and that is to underexecute 's's and 'p's, most especially in recording, sometimes even to the point of simply ending a word without those consonants. A group of people (more than 2) all laying down hard on sibillants and plosives (to use the tech term) can be a really harsh thing - better to avoid it!
