Sorry for the poor title.
I’m looking for some examples of songs performed by persons not ordinarily associated with the music industry. Can be any charts (UK, US, other)
As a starter:
McCarthur Park - Richard Harris
Common People (cover) by William Shatner (with Ben Folds and Joe Jackson)
The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia-Vicki Lawrence
Well, one infamous example is the Golden Throats series by Rhino records. There are some musicians on it, but then also plenty of songs by non-musicians like Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Mae West, Senator Sam Ervin Jr., etc. I have the first album. Shatner singing “Mr. Tambourine Man” is pure comedy gold.
Bruce Willis - Under the Boardwalk. I went to a music quiz night where we were disallowed this in a question where you had to name 5 versions of that song. Apparently, that version was just a figment of my imagination.
Ah the Bruce Willis one. Good call. And that quiz was obviously fixed. Was it for cash?
Senator Everett Dirksen (R-Il) had a top 40 hit in 1968 for “Gallant Men,” (and won a Grammy) though it was spoken word, not singing (and that was probably a good thing).
Robert Mitchum and “Thunder Road”
Walter Brennan and “Old Rivers”
and Lorne Greene did a proto-rap on “Ringo”
I think you’ll find a goldmine in those records by pastors and military guys that seemed to be everywhere in the 1950s-1960s. There was also a spate of faith-based records performed by people who were disabled by accident or birth, usually garishly displayed on the cover (like a guy with metal hooks for arms). I’ll see if I can find some of the covers and artists later.
Eddie Murphy with “Party All the Time”
Everybody now: “My girl wants to party all the time! party all the time! party all the tiiiiiiiiimmmme!”
Patrick Swayze did “She’s Like the Wind”
and one more from the Super Sounds of the 80’s Soundtrack would feature Don Johnson’s “Heartbeat”.
Ugh.
When I think of Tracey Ullman, I think, “she’s that British comedian/actress who hosted the show that The Simpsons originated on,” but she’s had some success as a pop singer (very minor in the U.S., a bit more in Britain).
David Carridine’s song from Nashville, “I’m Easy,” got pretty high on the charts.
Lee Marvin doing Wandering Star. He’s show-biz but hardly the king of pop (or any other kind of music).
Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler and “The Ballad of the Green Berets.”
Chuck Norris
The whole “David Hasselhoff in Germany” thing. Link not for the faint of heart.
Only half qualifies, but there was the cover of “Cruisin’” by Huey Lewis and Gwyneth Paltrow
And would The Blues Brothers count, since they were comedians and not actually singers?
Actually, it was Keith Carradine, David’s brother; however, it still appears to qualify under the OP.
Adam Sandler with his various versions of “The Hanukkah Song” as well as “Lunch Lady Land”.
Lenord Nimoy had an album back in the 60’s called, “The Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy” with the following atrocious song: “The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins”
The old variety shows of the 60s and 70s often had singers doing acting roles (which pretty much still happens on SNL), and non-singers doing songs. These I remember just off the top of my head:
Eddie Albert singing “Guantanamera.”
Barbara Bain singing (well, talking) “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?”
Raymond Burr singing (well, again, mostly talking) “Windmills of Your Mind”
Telly Savalas singing (see previous) “If”
And I have on tape a video of Walter Brennan and Jimmy Durante doing a version of the Beatles’ “Ob-La-Di.”