sorry for the double post!!
I do it all the time and don't think it's something you have to "get away with". When playing the type of music you mention (which is the same type I do), the audience is going to focus more on the singing and melody than anything else. Given the choice between an excellently skilled guitarist with an average voice and an excellent singer with average guitar skills, the audience will overwhelmingly like the good singer better. Unless the lead line is really important (Daytripper by the Beatles for example), not only is it not really missed, but it's tough to make it work as a solo performer. I'll give you an example: Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison is a song I do and it has a pretty recognizable intro lick. I skip it completely and just play a few intro chords and start singing quickly and I think it works fine.
This of course is my humble opinion and works for me but YMMV. And FWIW, there are songs I've been playing for many, many years that I will hear on the radio and think "wow, I don't really do it like the record at all".
Good luck
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