# American singer who sounds like Elvis Costello? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 31, 2020, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-singer-who-sounds-like-elvis-costello/847283 "2020-01-31T12:32:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2020, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-singer-who-sounds-like-elvis-costello/847283/21 "2020-02-02T03:19:30Z")
It’s Kurt Baker , he’s from Maine not Austin [Kurt Baker Combo "(I Can't Help) Failing In Love" - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISvLpLKbLoc) ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2020, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-singer-who-sounds-like-elvis-costello/847283/22 "2020-02-02T03:32:05Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > It’s Kurt Baker , he’s from Maine not Austin > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISvLpLKbLoc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISvLpLKbLoc) Yes, he does indeed sound like he’s channeling some Elvis Costello there. In fact, this link led me to a different song, a terrific cover of Cruel to Be Kind. I’m glad you shared this artist! [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IBArHrEei5U/hqdefault.jpg "KURT BAKER - Cruel To Be Kind") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBArHrEei5U) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2020, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-singer-who-sounds-like-elvis-costello/847283/23 "2020-02-02T14:03:17Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Yes, he does indeed sound like he’s channeling some Elvis Costello there. In fact, this link led me to a different song, a terrific cover of Cruel to Be Kind. I’m glad you shared this artist! > > [https://youtu.be/IBArHrEei5U](https://youtu.be/IBArHrEei5U) Heh, “Cruel to Be Kind” is the one song I always get confused as being an Elvis Costello song. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2020, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-singer-who-sounds-like-elvis-costello/847283/24 "2020-02-02T15:33:57Z")
funny how I found him. Went to enter a URL and his wiki page was suggested since I visited that page before ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2020, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-singer-who-sounds-like-elvis-costello/847283/25 "2020-02-02T16:51:23Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Heh, “Cruel to Be Kind” is the one song I always get confused as being an Elvis Costello song. Nick Lowe is another one who I’ve occasionally mistaken for Elvis Costello. ---
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2020, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-singer-who-sounds-like-elvis-costello/847283/26 "2020-02-02T20:07:54Z")
Lowe produced Costello 's first few albums. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2020, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-singer-who-sounds-like-elvis-costello/847283/27 "2020-02-02T23:39:06Z")
> [@BeeGee](#): > > Lowe produced Costello 's first few albums. And of course Costello famously and very successfully covered Lowe’s “[What’s So Funny About Peace, Love And Understanding](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCGlwx3L-Xk)”. It’s one of my very favorite songs, a great recording (of course produced by Nick Lowe). ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-singer-who-sounds-like-elvis-costello/847283/28 "2020-02-03T12:51:22Z")
> [@Lamoral](#): > > Huey Lewis has been compared to Elvis Costello, but I think Huey has a far more bitter, cynical sense of humor. Compared!? They were the backing band for Costello’s debut album! ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-singer-who-sounds-like-elvis-costello/847283/29 "2020-02-03T12:52:54Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > It’s Kurt Baker , he’s from Maine not Austin > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISvLpLKbLoc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISvLpLKbLoc) Wow, you’re right, he sounds exactly like Elvis Costello. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-singer-who-sounds-like-elvis-costello/847283/30 "2020-02-03T13:35:29Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Good luck. Back in the 1990s I heard a radio article on NPR about a Scottish rock band. It sounded very interesting and I made a note to find out more. > > Of course, in the early 1990s, you couldn’t just pull out your phone and look up the transcript and then look up the band and stream the songs. All I could remember was that they were Scottish and the band’s name might have started with “T.”. Heh, I read this far and thought “Travis”. Should’ve asked on the Dope :). ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2020, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-singer-who-sounds-like-elvis-costello/847283/31 "2020-02-03T14:36:27Z")
> [@Dead\_Cat](#): > > Heh, I read this far and thought “Travis”. Should’ve asked on the Dope :). Ha! I probably did in the lost threads of the early 2000s. I should have repeated the call periodically. ---
**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2020, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-singer-who-sounds-like-elvis-costello/847283/32 "2020-02-05T03:08:58Z")
I used to mix up EC and [Marshall Crenshaw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZt1g09yvNg). Listening now, their voices aren’t really that similar. I think their styles are though. ---
**Author:** ![journeyman\_southpaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5e9695/32.png) [@journeyman\_southpaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/journeyman_southpaw)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2020, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-singer-who-sounds-like-elvis-costello/847283/33 "2020-02-07T01:03:13Z")
OP’s question has been answered but I think I might still be able to name the closest Elvis Costello soundalike yet: [Lowest of the Low - Do the Right Now](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-Yc5o_4G-o) ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2020, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-singer-who-sounds-like-elvis-costello/847283/34 "2020-02-07T01:15:22Z")
but they are Canadian which is like British but with a mostly American accent. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2020, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-singer-who-sounds-like-elvis-costello/847283/35 "2020-02-07T21:55:22Z")
Depending on the production, year, and type of song, often times Doug Sahm (of the Sir Douglas Quintet & Texas Tornados) sounds like Elvis Costello - or vice versa. He’s from San Antonio, not Austin. ---
**Author:** ![Quint](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/76d3ee/32.png) [@Quint](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quint)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2020, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-singer-who-sounds-like-elvis-costello/847283/36 "2020-02-07T23:37:05Z")
Don’t know where they are from or the name of their singer but I’ve always thought this [Parquet Courts](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHfOqqQ1DLQ0) song sounds like a lost Elvis classic. Great track, sorry I can’t be more help. ---
**Author:** ![hullabelew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f08c70/32.png) [@hullabelew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hullabelew)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2020, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-singer-who-sounds-like-elvis-costello/847283/37 "2020-02-07T23:53:19Z")
> [@Lamoral](#): > > Huey Lewis has been compared to Elvis Costello, but I think Huey has a far more bitter, cynical sense of humor. Crap. Someone beat me to it about the band. They were called Clover then. ---
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-singer-who-sounds-like-elvis-costello/847283/38 "2020-02-10T03:35:11Z")
The late [Pat Dinizio (of the Smithereens)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fA2mdIeCc3w) had that quality. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-singer-who-sounds-like-elvis-costello/847283/39 "2020-02-10T05:22:12Z")
> [@hullabelew](#): > > Crap. Someone beat me to it about the band. They were called Clover then. And Huey Lewis didn’t participate in those sessions. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2020, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-singer-who-sounds-like-elvis-costello/847283/40 "2020-02-10T06:49:29Z")
> [@Hatchie](#): > > The late [Pat Dinizio (of the Smithereens)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fA2mdIeCc3w) had that quality. I agree. I’ve always thought the vocals on many Smithereens songs sounded a lot like Elvis Costello. Just not as angry. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-singer-who-sounds-like-elvis-costello/847283.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-singer-who-sounds-like-elvis-costello/847283.md?page=3)