We're talking today about what happens when actors decide they are also singers. For many of us, the scars of William Shatner's "The Transformed Man" and Leonard Nimoy's "Mr. Spock's Music From Outer Space" - two transcendently bad, unintentionally hilarious albums - have made us recoil in horror from the idea of actors trying to sing. And yet, no one bats an eye when singers try to act. Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra certainly did both, and no one complained if their acting skills were not quite up to Laurence Olivier status. So why are we suspicious of actors who release albums?
If you think of it, it makes sense for actors to try their hands at music. Many people who are drawn to performing study both acting and singing, and many budding actors start in school productions, which are often musicals. Mare Winningham and Rick Moranis are two actors who've been on Soundcheck because of their musical pursuits, and both did a fine job with records that didn't aim at the pop charts but which sounded genuine and creative. And Minnie Driver, who most recently was in the TV series The Riches, had to remind listeners when she visited that she was in fact a musician first.
I think what bothers us is the sense that an actor with a big following can simply slide over into the music world and expect the weight of Hollywood to make him/her a success in the music world too, whether it's deserved or not. An actor like Zooey Deschanel doing her "She And Him" project with M. Ward doesn't bother me at all. Sure, it got more attention because she was on it, but that was actually a pretty good record, and it was definitely aimed at the indie singer/songwriter crowd. But when Eddie Murphy goes for the top of the pops and enlists Prince and Michael Jackson to help, well, that's just wrong. It's not that "Whatzupwitu" is a bad song - it's no worse than any other wannabee hit, and Prince does know how to write. And Eddie Murphy can sing. It's the cynical way that the pieces are put together, and the very generic results they get, that irritate me.
Tell us: what do you think of celebrity albums?
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John Schaefer has hosted Soundcheck since the show’s inception in 2002. He has also hosted and produced WNYC’s radio series New Sounds since 1982 (“The No. 1 radio show for the Global Village” – Billboard) and the New Sounds Live concert series since 1986.
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