# Spoken hits that aren't Rap. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 31, 2015, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoken-hits-that-arent-rap/711403 "2015-01-31T04:33:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/58956e/32.png) [@Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emtar_KronJonDerSohn)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoken-hits-that-arent-rap/711403/41 "2015-01-31T20:17:58Z")
Liar by Rollins Band ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoken-hits-that-arent-rap/711403/42 "2015-01-31T20:27:34Z")
C. W. Mcall’s immortal [“Convoy”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=le2bPRGvKXE) (although the chorus is sung). ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoken-hits-that-arent-rap/711403/43 "2015-01-31T20:36:46Z")
Oh! Oh! …and Trio’s [“Da Da Da”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNYcviXK4rg) Warning: Don’t click on the link if you don’t want it stuck in your head the rest of the day. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoken-hits-that-arent-rap/711403/44 "2015-01-31T20:39:29Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > [Oh we got trouble…](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qam1fbQmA_s) And to think: more than a decade and a half later, the most popular movie at the box office for months featured orchestral backing as Margot Kidder wondered, hey, _can you read my mind? Do you know what it is you do to me?_ ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoken-hits-that-arent-rap/711403/45 "2015-01-31T21:06:23Z")
[When You’re Hot You’re Hot](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rdF7o08KXw) …and a zillion “songs” by Ray Stevens. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoken-hits-that-arent-rap/711403/46 "2015-01-31T21:32:18Z")
Franklyn McCormack - [Why Do I Love You?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM1p8VIrNp0) ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoken-hits-that-arent-rap/711403/47 "2015-01-31T21:37:55Z")
I always found it pretty nifty, if a bit weird, that Heart and Soul, T’Pau’s one and only hit, has one of the women talking in a relaxed, somewhat deep cadence, like an instructional video or airport announcement, for the majority of the song. With the right music, I think it actually could’ve been a decent rap number. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoken-hits-that-arent-rap/711403/48 "2015-01-31T21:49:56Z")
**Primus** - [Jerry Was A Race Car Driver](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XVtfWxNMss) ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoken-hits-that-arent-rap/711403/49 "2015-01-31T22:04:02Z")
Talking Heads - [Once in a Lifetime](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98AJUj-qxHI) ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoken-hits-that-arent-rap/711403/50 "2015-01-31T22:24:04Z")
When I was a kid in the early '50s, one of my favorite 78rpm records was “[Old Man Atom](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BU3Njv640Nw)” (also known as “Talking Atomic Blues.”) There are a few parts that are sung, but most of it is spoken, and it is still entertaining today. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoken-hits-that-arent-rap/711403/51 "2015-01-31T22:51:44Z")
Here is the greatest song of all time: \* The Teen Commandments\* contains wisdom like, "At the first moment, turn away from unclean thinking," and, "If you want to race, go to Indianapolis." It might just straighten our country out if this was played over the PA system every day in every school. I didn’t realize until I looked it up just now that it was Paul Anka and Johnny Nash. All these years, I thought it was some nobodies from the _Lawrence Welk_ show or something. Entirely spoken, and about as far from rap as it’s possible to get. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoken-hits-that-arent-rap/711403/52 "2015-01-31T23:00:10Z")
Also not a hit: Charles Mingus’ [“The Chill of Death”.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODxG9jUqH0o) ---
**Author:** ![Leonard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a6a055/32.png) [@Leonard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leonard)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoken-hits-that-arent-rap/711403/53 "2015-01-31T23:40:02Z")
Suicidal Tendencies [Institutionalized](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoF_a0-7xVQ) Also was just remade by Body Count who modernized it pretty [well](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9jXnZS3ouU). ---
**Author:** ![mascaroni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@mascaroni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mascaroni)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoken-hits-that-arent-rap/711403/54 "2015-01-31T23:48:45Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > Here is the greatest song of all time: > > \* The Teen Commandments\* contains wisdom like, "At the first moment, turn away from unclean thinking," and, "If you want to race, go to Indianapolis." > > It might just straighten our country out if this was played over the PA system every day in every school. > > I didn’t realize until I looked it up just now that it was Paul Anka and Johnny Nash. All these years, I thought it was some nobodies from the _Lawrence Welk_ show or something. > > Entirely spoken, and about as far from rap as it’s possible to get. Well done Sir, that was stunningly awful 😃 Brought to mind Prince Buster’s [Ten Commandments](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=df5eGlr3WsM)… ---
**Author:** ![donkeyoatey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@donkeyoatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/donkeyoatey)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoken-hits-that-arent-rap/711403/55 "2015-02-01T00:21:27Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds by William Shatner > > was both entertaining and horrifying. So what exactly is your criteria for using the shift key? ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoken-hits-that-arent-rap/711403/56 "2015-02-01T00:53:11Z")
> [@Leonard](#): > > Suicidal Tendencies [Institutionalized](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoF_a0-7xVQ) > Also was just remade by Body Count who modernized it pretty [well](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9jXnZS3ouU). \ Body Count is still together?!? I was listening to those guys in high school, and – well, I haven’t been in high school in a really long time. \ ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoken-hits-that-arent-rap/711403/57 "2015-02-01T01:02:03Z")
> [@donkeyoatey](#): > > So what exactly is your criteria for using the shift key? Nouns, obviously. I detect a Teutonic influence. ---
**Author:** ![Leonard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a6a055/32.png) [@Leonard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leonard)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoken-hits-that-arent-rap/711403/58 "2015-02-01T01:16:37Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > \ Body Count is still together?!? I was listening to those guys in high school, and – well, I haven’t been in high school in a really long time. \ That was my thought as well. I heard a couple of their new songs on the metal station on the satellite radio the past few months and was really surprised. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoken-hits-that-arent-rap/711403/59 "2015-02-01T01:34:02Z")
Vaughn Meader’s **The First Family** , sold 7.5 million copies and was the fastest-selling LP in history. The assasination of JFK brought an immediate end to its popularity, indeed, to Meader’s career. ---
**Author:** ![mascaroni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@mascaroni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mascaroni)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoken-hits-that-arent-rap/711403/60 "2015-02-01T01:34:03Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > Nouns, obviously. I detect a Teutonic influence. I’m not asking for an inquisition, but I’m leaning more to Iberia. We’ll have to see what Don Quicks Hot has to say… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoken-hits-that-arent-rap/711403.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spoken-hits-that-arent-rap/711403.md?page=4)