I had problems figuring out Limahl when he was in Kajagoogoo…I could have SWORN “Too Shy” was sung by a woman.
Tom Brosseau on the Grand Forks album.
In the late Seventies, I was one of many people who heard Bonnie Tyler’s “It’s a Heartache” and thought it was sung by Rod Stewart.
I always thought the chick from Air Supply sounded hot. That ended up kinda awkward.
A couple of years back, I saw The Delays opening for Franz Ferdinand. I didn’t really pay that much attention as they came out on stage, beyond a fairly cursory “Ok, four overly-skinny guys, thrift-store clothes, funny hair cuts, check.” Then they started playing, and I had to look for the woman I’d obviously missed joining them on stage. Nope, no woman, just a guy whose voice I can best describe as sounding like early Sarah McLachlan on certain songs.
Fleetwood Mac’s “Go Your Own Way”. The first couple of years I heard it I swore the lead vocalist was a woman. Only after I really focused on the vocal did I realize it was Lindsay Buckingham.
Doh! you beat me to it. Altho I can’t recall how much was the voice, how much was the appearance, and how much was the lyrics.
The Nylons:
Lion Sleeps Tonight. The soprano aahhs (about 40 seconds in) are a guy- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m75i68Ob8ko
And Take Me to Your Heart. 40 seconds in the high notes by the guy.
The first Jane’s Addiction song I heard was their cover of “Sympathy for the Devil,” in the movie Alien Nation in 1990 or so. I said, “Wow, this cover is awful,” and my friend said, “You’re not gonna believe this, but that’s a dude singing!”
He was right. I didn’t believe him. Not until I heard Nothing’s Shocking, anyway, which became my favorite album for a few years.
For a very long time, I thought that I’m The Only One by Melissa Etheridge was actually Journey.
And if you were explaining this to someone who didn’t know Fleetwood Mac, you’d have to add “…and Lindsay is a guy.”
Well…until this thread, I didn’t realize that Neverending Story and Too Shy weren’t sung by a woman. Well, women, as I also didn’t realize they were the same singer.
And in an ironic example of the circle of life, Rod Stewart has recorded a cover album which includes his version of “It’s A Heartache”.
Yes, mobo, Neil Sedaka not only had recorded his own version of “Love Will Keep Us Together” on his album **Sedaka’s Back **, he also co-wrote it. The Captain and Tennille can be heard paying tribute to Sedaka near the end of their own version. (“Sedaka is back”)
Yes, but Stevie was a girl
If Wayne Newton is first, then second has to be Frankie Valli.
Holy crap! Are you guys kidding me? I know Wayne is known for singing that song but are you telling me that the version they play in Ferris Buellers Day Off is him singing? Oy vey.
I have a friend who *still * claims that it’s Christine McVie singing the original recording. He’ll make you listen to Songbird (also from Rumours, I think) and then Go Your Own Way and defy you to prove that it’s not the same person singing.
Boy, was she ever!
Ditto!
VCNJ~
Ditto for me, Tengu.
I used to think *More Today Than Yesterday * by Spiral Starecase was a woman singing.
That dude from Coheed and Cambria sounds like a little girl, but looks like an ape from Planet of the Apes. Talk about your cognitive dissonance!