# Music artists where you had their country of origin wrong **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 30, 2020, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-artists-where-you-had-their-country-of-origin-wrong/847231 "2020-01-30T17:34:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![its\_the\_daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bb73d2/32.png) [@its\_the\_daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/its_the_daddy)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-artists-where-you-had-their-country-of-origin-wrong/847231/41 "2020-01-31T09:05:53Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I’m pretty sure I only learned about 10 years ago that Al Stewart was Scottish. “Although born in Glasgow, Al Stewart grew up in the town of Wimborne, Dorset, England” (WIKI) There he and Tony Blackburn (famed British soft-rock radio DJ since forever) formed a folk group called “Tony Blackburn and the Swinging Bells” They were never heard of again. More amusingly, Tommy Banner, the longest serving member of The Wurzels (a Scrumpy and Western band from Somerset, England) is still very identifiable as Scottish. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-artists-where-you-had-their-country-of-origin-wrong/847231/42 "2020-01-31T10:11:08Z")
> [@Sefton](#): > > After hearing [Long Cool Woman](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qKOv3VBJcc), I thought The Hollies were American. Nope, British. But that’s not The Hollies. It’s CCR. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-artists-where-you-had-their-country-of-origin-wrong/847231/43 "2020-01-31T11:11:40Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > I initially thought Green Day was British. Billy Joe Armstrong often **does** sing with an accent. Now he sings with a completely different voice and accent. Whenever I hear their latest stuff I forget it’s Green Day. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-artists-where-you-had-their-country-of-origin-wrong/847231/44 "2020-01-31T11:18:28Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > They all came to the US around age 18. The Russian knew no English when she got here. The Irish woman just needed to change her accent to American since Ireland is English speaking . We also had a local NHL Russian player who had no accent don’t know when he moved here. > > On the other hand I knew a nice guy from China and I could only understand about 10% of what he said He and another Chinese woman were told to get better at English or lose their jobs. They took English classes which helped a bit. That’s interesting but my experience is more like the other poster. I worked at a place in the late '90s that mostly employed international students (so around that age as well), many of whom stayed in the US permanently. The most popular were Ireland and Eastern Europe. I knew, befriended and dated co-workers from those areas plus England, Latvia, and Lithuanian. I had a long relationship with a Belarussian lady and stayed in touch with a few Irish and several Lithuanians. Of the handful I know who stayed around they all have accents and the Irish actually have the most noticeable accents still, though they are probably look the “most American,” as the Eastern Europeans all have striking features unlike any Americans I’ve ever known. ---
**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:** [January 31, 2020, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-artists-where-you-had-their-country-of-origin-wrong/847231/45 "2020-01-31T11:37:15Z")
I guess these 4 people worked very hard to not have an accent. They are women so maybe it’s easier for women to learn a new language. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-artists-where-you-had-their-country-of-origin-wrong/847231/46 "2020-01-31T11:47:17Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > How did you feel when you found out Malcolm and Angus Young, and Bon Scott were also born in Scotland? :eek: ---
**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:** [January 31, 2020, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-artists-where-you-had-their-country-of-origin-wrong/847231/47 "2020-01-31T11:55:16Z")
Was surprised to learn Sheena Easton is Scottish. I don’t think I have heard her speak , just heard her singing. People think Mel Gibson is Aussie but he was born in NY and moved down under at age 12. He is a citizen of US and Ireland. He has permanent resident status in Australia. noticed his father is alive at 101 . ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-artists-where-you-had-their-country-of-origin-wrong/847231/48 "2020-01-31T12:22:19Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > It never occurred to me that Elvis Costello was English until maybe about 10 years ago. As an American, but one who is somewhat familiar with British pop culture, geography, and history, I’ve actually never listened to ANY vocalist/songwriter whose lyrics were MORE British than EC. He RELENTLESSLY name-drops British locations, British slang terms, British linguistic idioms and even arcane British history. Yet I can also completely understand how if an American had no context for any of this, it would all totally go over their heads. ---
**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:** [January 31, 2020, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-artists-where-you-had-their-country-of-origin-wrong/847231/49 "2020-01-31T12:26:33Z")
heard a guy on the radio this week who sounds almost exactly like Elvis Costello. He’s American. When I remember his name I will post it. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-artists-where-you-had-their-country-of-origin-wrong/847231/50 "2020-01-31T12:27:49Z")
[Eric Bogle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Bogle) writes and sings mainly about Australia, but was born in Scotland and moved Down Under when he was 25. ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-artists-where-you-had-their-country-of-origin-wrong/847231/51 "2020-01-31T12:35:31Z")
I thought Steeler’s Wheel was an Aussie band, but nope. Scottish. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-artists-where-you-had-their-country-of-origin-wrong/847231/52 "2020-01-31T12:43:37Z")
> [@pool](#): > > I didn’t really realize Dire Straits were British for quite a while Knopfler doesn’t seem to have much of an accent when singing. I came in here to post this one but see you’ve beaten me to it. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-artists-where-you-had-their-country-of-origin-wrong/847231/53 "2020-01-31T15:40:25Z")
I guess musical theater counts… but John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness from Dr. Who / Torchwood) is actually British. And in a weird, non-musical juxtaposition, Burn Gorman (Owen on Torchwood) is actually American. Both were born in the opposite country from where they were raised, and moved there at about 7 or 8 years old. ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-artists-where-you-had-their-country-of-origin-wrong/847231/54 "2020-01-31T16:14:05Z")
The question is “what counts as a foreign artist”? Lots of non-American acts live a good chunk of their lives in the U.S. A lot of that is inevitable: you’re going to have a do a lot of promotion/touring/business deals in the U.S. anyway, why not live there? Plus there’s the unrivaled creative communities of NYC and LA, and there is often significant lifestyle and tax advantages if you’re earning a lot of money. ---
**Author:** ![road\_lobo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d78d45/32.png) [@road\_lobo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/road_lobo)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2020, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-artists-where-you-had-their-country-of-origin-wrong/847231/55 "2020-02-01T04:23:42Z")
I was surprised Dead Can Dance are from Australia. I guess I thought they were British or European. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2020, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-artists-where-you-had-their-country-of-origin-wrong/847231/56 "2020-02-01T04:29:53Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > The question is “what counts as a foreign artist”? Lots of non-American acts live a good chunk of their lives in the U.S. A lot of that is inevitable: you’re going to have a do a lot of promotion/touring/business deals in the U.S. anyway, why not live there? Plus there’s the unrivaled creative communities of NYC and LA, and there is often significant lifestyle and tax advantages if you’re earning a lot of money. No. This is not a thread about foreign US musicians. It’s slightly more global than that. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2020, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-artists-where-you-had-their-country-of-origin-wrong/847231/57 "2020-02-01T05:10:12Z")
For the longest time I thought Enya was Welsh. I was somewhat surprised when I found out she’s actually Irish. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2020, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-artists-where-you-had-their-country-of-origin-wrong/847231/58 "2020-02-01T05:52:22Z")
> [@road\_lobo](#): > > I was surprised Dead Can Dance are from Australia. I guess I thought they were British or European. I felt the same way about Nick Cave at first. ---
**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 1, 2020, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-artists-where-you-had-their-country-of-origin-wrong/847231/59 "2020-02-01T13:19:06Z")
since most Canadians have American accents when you hear them talk you can’t tell they are Canadian except for a few words such as “about” . Also it seems every person I’ve heard of named Gord is Canadian. 🙂 I was surprised Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy was Irish. (born in England, grew up in Ireland) ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2020, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-artists-where-you-had-their-country-of-origin-wrong/847231/60 "2020-02-01T14:29:47Z")
This is off-track, but Gordon isn’t hugely more common in Canada than in the U.S. The most obviously Canadian name is Lorne. Graham (or Graeme) is also more clearly Canadian. This website gives some more examples: > **[Gord, Sheila, Graham and Beverley? The Most Distinctively Canadian Names Are...](http://www.the10and3.com/gord-sheila-graham-and-beverley-the-most-distinctively-canadian-names-are-not-what-youd-expect/)** > > Gord, Sheila, Graham and Beverley. Are these really the most Canadian names, or are they just silly stereotypes? We dig into Canada's name data to find out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-artists-where-you-had-their-country-of-origin-wrong/847231.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-artists-where-you-had-their-country-of-origin-wrong/847231.md?page=4)