A question for our knowledgeable pop music folks: what songs feature voice overs by famous people? Here are two examples:
Are there other examples of this?
First that comes to mind, besides the ones you mentioned, is “She Blinded Me With Science,” by Thomas Dolby (1982). Spoken words (“Science!” and “Good heavens, Miss Sakamoto, you’re beautiful!” among others) are by Magnus Pyke, a British scientist and TV host.
That’s great! Exactly what I was hoping for. (I love that song, but hadn’t known about the Magnus Pyke contribution.)
Chumbawamba’s hit “Tubthumping” features, in its opening, a sample of a monologue by English actor Pete Postlethwaite, from the movie Brassed Off:
The iconic bit is tough, but Stephen Hawking sampled on Pink Floyd’s Keep Talking on the Division Bell Album.
I probably shouldn’t have limited the thread with “iconic” as it is a more restrictive word than I intended. Anything by Pink Floyd will definitely count!
Pete Townshend’s “Give Blood” is from his 1985 concept album, White City: A Novel, which also had an associated long-form music video/movie produced for it.
“Give Blood” features a spoken-word passage in the middle (at around 2:37 in the video below), which I think is from the film. It’s spoken by Scottish actor Ewan Stewart, who isn’t probably hugely famous, though he did play the first officer in the film Titanic.
Thought of another one: Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds.
This is a double LP (not sure how it would be arranged for a CD) that tells the story of The War of the Worlds in music. Most importantly, Richard Burton does the spoken word parts—he narrates the story, but this is no audiobook. He even supplies the spoken word voiceover in the middle of songs.
Here’s a example of Burton’s participation. He supplies a spoken intro, and comes back a few times during the song:
Oh, I should add that War of the Worlds isn’t that well-known any more. It did make a splash in Britain when it came out, less so in North America, perhaps because its songs tended to be long, and it was meant to be listened to all in one sitting, about 90 minutes or so. But it deserves remembering. The Wikipedia page on it is quite good, and explains a lot:
I almost feel like going out to the garage and getting my copy, but then I realized that I’d also have to dig out my turntable, my amp, and so on. Meh, I’ll make do with YouTubes for now.
Don Pardo’s intro to Zappa’s Illinois Enema Bandit
Iconic? Certainly one of the most ambitious prog rock albums: Rick Wakeman’s Journey to the Center of the Earth, with David Hemings narrating
The outro to “Nights in White Satin” certainly warrants a mention.
I thought about mentioning that, but you beat me to it. Wasn’t that Justin Hayward? Gosh, imagine what it would have been like if James Earl Jones had done it!
Aside to @CairoCarol —this is a great topic. You’ve got me running through all kinds of music now, and it’s late, and I’m almost grabbing my flute (thank you, @Smapti, because I can actually get that flute solo in “Nights” and can play along), but maybe I should think about …
Naw. This is more fun!
ETA: Good call on Rick Wakeman’s Journey to the Centre of the Earth, @Slithy_Tove !
I’m sure enjoying it! I wasn’t sure it would get any traction, but am delighted that it is.
Sir Ian McKellen did a terrific spoken word poem toward the end of Scissor Sisters Invisible Light. They were able to get him to do it because he was a fan of the band and attended lots of their shows. He recorded the reading in his dressing room before appearing in Waiting for Godot.
So am I. And I must thank you for getting me reacquainted with Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds. I’m listening to it through YouTubes right now, after not hearing it for decades.
Almost tempted to get in touch with a musician friend to see if he’s got a source for piano and vocal sheet music of the album. There would be an orchestral score, but that would be too much. I can figure out what I need to from a piano-and-vocal arrangement.
Thanks again, Carol!
Vincent Price: into to “The Black Widow”
Don Pardo also did a voiceover for the bridge on “Weird Al” Yankovic’s “I Lost on Jeopardy.”
“That’s right Al, you lost!..”
I don’t know how iconic the song is, but Lou Reed’s grimy epic “Street Hassle” features a spoken word segment by Bruce Springsteen of all people. The Boss comes in at 9:04:
Th whole song is worth listening to.
Ian McShane on Grace Jones’s Slave To The Rhythm.
