Over the decades there have been mega stars in film and television who's fame reached such a peak that someone felt these stars should have a music recording career on the side. And the results have often been jokes and/or embarassments that have left their fans and future generations shaking their heads in disbelief. And a few devoted fans in awe. And we should watch those fans very carefully.
So here are the fine examples of great actors who were not so fine recording artists. You would think they could act as a singer but......not really.
Listen at your own risk!
Pamela Suzette Grier, better known by the name "Pam Grier" and for me the first person I ever saw NEKKID in a movie. (DAMN!) An actress of great beauty and who whopped some serious ass as the queen of the Blaxploitation movie genre of the 1970s and grew into a beautiful woman in film and television from Miami Vice to Jackie Brown to "The L Word" where Pam Grier's character "Kit" was a singer. And Pam Grier actually can sing. But I don't think it was her singing talent that got her the chance to record this from one of her earliest films some 40 years ago.
"Long Time Woman" by Pam Grier
Pam Grier had a brief role at the love interest of "Ricardo Tubbs" on "Miami Vice" back in the 1980's. And while Crockett and Tubbs were out catching the drug dealers on the famous police show, real life law enforcement failed to stop the drug dealers that supplied music companies their fix because the music industry thought that the success of Miami Vice as a television show should require that its stars also put out their own albums.
Most famous of the Miami Vice stars on record was Don Johnson but I'll save the best..I mean worst for last. Phillip Michael Thomas didn't get as much attention for his 80's style R&B album called "Death Drug". A title better suited for an episode of "Miami Vice", the quick to the bargain bin album included the song "Just The Way I planned it".
If they didn't plan to have a hit song, then it really was just the way they planned it.
But just a "Heartbeat" away from Phillip Michael Thomas was his Miami Vice partner Don Johnson. And just like his "Sonny Crockett" got to drive the nicer sports car and seemed to be the bigger star than "Ricardo Tubbs", Don Johnson's song was quite the big hit song for a few months.
Lets be honest, the best music related to "Miami Vice" was its own soundtrack that didn't include any of its stars attempting to sing, and the music legends who were singers that dabbled in acting as guests on the show.
But back to actors who cursed us...I mean graced us with their singing efforts.
Kim Fields was a cute little girl when they cast her on the TV show "The Facts Of Life". And she was almost a typical teenager when someone allowed her to sing this tribute to Michael Jackson during the mega success of his "Thriller" album. And people were so serious about this that Don Cornelius had Kim Fields lip sync her song on Soul Train.
When I first heard "Dear Michael" my reaction was "Dear God"
Twenty years before Kim Fields ode to Michael Jackson, the star of Bonanza Lorne Greene recorded music. And to capitalize on the country theme of his television show, here is the country song "Ringo".
Can we call this an early country RAP?
What can we call William Shatner, perhaps the most successful TV star of the 1960's that recorded music we knew was horrible but we loved him anyway? So much that we laugh with him 40 plus years later as he parodies his own "singing career" and laughing all the way to the bank. He can afford Lucy, the sky and the diamonds.
And there are many more TV and movie actors who tried to sing. We will save those for future posts.
Thanks for reading and please don't give up your day job!
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