# What I didn't know about the singers of these songs. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 21, 2011, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-didnt-know-about-the-singers-of-these-songs/568506 "2011-01-21T22:45:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-didnt-know-about-the-singers-of-these-songs/568506/41 "2011-01-22T19:28:52Z")
> [@multimediac17](#): > > I love this little bit of trivia: when Madonna released her very first single ‘Everybody’, there was no picture on the sleeve and (for a while) no music video, and apparently it was widely assumed she was black. The first Madonna song that I heard was “Holiday” and I thought that she was black. Same with the first time that I heard [Lisa Stansfield](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDtSyWQsPsU). ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-didnt-know-about-the-singers-of-these-songs/568506/42 "2011-01-22T19:35:05Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > [Not a woman.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=El6iQ2_dvlc) Having watched the video, I remain unconvinced. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-didnt-know-about-the-singers-of-these-songs/568506/43 "2011-01-22T19:40:01Z")
[Black (and Canadian)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeJ9Nvzp8VY) [Not Black](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cTI0gEZ_gg) ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-didnt-know-about-the-singers-of-these-songs/568506/44 "2011-01-22T19:49:33Z")
For more current music, I didn’t know the rapper here is [Asian.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4s6H4ku6ZY&ob=av3el) And I still cannot believe she’s not from [Lawn Guyland.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iP6XpLQM2Cs&ob=av3el) ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-didnt-know-about-the-singers-of-these-songs/568506/45 "2011-01-22T19:56:57Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I knew he was Parsi, but as a general classification, he’s Indian. Much the same way that Sioux are Americans. That’s not a very fitting analogy, as it suggests the Parsi were among the earliest people in India. If you’re just talking about nationality then Mercury was a British citizen for most of his life. He also wasn’t born in India (although his parents were), only lived in India for about 10 years as a schoolboy, and AFAIK always referred to himself as Persian rather than Indian, so simply calling him Indian seems misleading. I wouldn’t totally exclude him from the general category of Indians, but like a lot of people Mercury didn’t fit neatly into just one group and he apparently did not consider himself to be Indian above all else. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-didnt-know-about-the-singers-of-these-songs/568506/46 "2011-01-22T20:08:14Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > That’s not a very fitting analogy, as it suggests the Parsi were among the earliest people in India. If you’re just talking about nationality then Mercury was a British citizen for most of his life. He also wasn’t born in India (although his parents were), only lived in India for about 10 years as a schoolboy, and AFAIK always referred to himself as Persian rather than Indian, so simply calling him Indian seems misleading. I wouldn’t totally exclude him from the general category of Indians, but like a lot of people Mercury didn’t fit neatly into just one group and he apparently did not consider himself to be Indian above all else. I wonder if many Indians felt he was trying to “pass”, though. Especially by calling himself Persian. And I never got the Madonna = black thing. I love Madonna, but she always sounded like a white girl to me. _Especially_ in “Holiday.” For bizarro twist, I always thought a man did the vocals for [this popular 80s song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z55cQEe38TM). Can you guess what man I’m talking about? ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-didnt-know-about-the-singers-of-these-songs/568506/47 "2011-01-22T20:17:44Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > For bizarro twist, I always thought a man did the vocals for [this popular 80s song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z55cQEe38TM). Can you guess what man I’m talking about? El Debarge? ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-didnt-know-about-the-singers-of-these-songs/568506/48 "2011-01-22T20:20:13Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > El Debarge? No, but I can see why you think that. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-didnt-know-about-the-singers-of-these-songs/568506/49 "2011-01-22T20:24:19Z")
Oh, and speaking of the Debarge’s, I swear I thought it was El who sang the vocals for [“A Dream”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFceQFDswRY). But it was his sister, Bunny. Those Debarge’s and their high voices! ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-didnt-know-about-the-singers-of-these-songs/568506/50 "2011-01-22T20:43:40Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > I wonder if many Indians felt he was trying to “pass”, though. Especially by calling himself Persian. I’ve heard that some British Indians do feel Mercury was trying to pass/outright lying, but it seems likely to me that he sincerely did not think of himself as an Indian. Pure speculation here, but knowing how kids can be it would not surprise me if his classmates in India made it clear to him that a Parsi boy from Zanzibar was not “really Indian”. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-didnt-know-about-the-singers-of-these-songs/568506/51 "2011-01-22T20:50:54Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > For bizarro twist, I always thought a man did the vocals for [this popular 80s song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z55cQEe38TM). Can you guess what man I’m talking about? For some reason, I knew that was a girl group. I think maybe I saw videos waaaay back. 🙂 ---
**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 22, 2011, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-didnt-know-about-the-singers-of-these-songs/568506/52 "2011-01-22T20:55:15Z")
It was quite some time before I learned that the background singer in [this song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdkGSH-N-L0) was not female. I’m still in shock about Klymaxx. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-didnt-know-about-the-singers-of-these-songs/568506/53 "2011-01-22T20:58:56Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > I’ve heard that some British Indians do feel Mercury was trying to pass/outright lying, but it seems likely to me that he sincerely did not think of himself as an Indian. > > Pure speculation here, but knowing how kids can be it would not surprise me if his classmates in India made it clear to him that a Parsi boy from Zanzibar was not “really Indian”. I don’t have any investment in the argument; calling him Indian was just convenient (and probably a bit lazy) on my part. ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-didnt-know-about-the-singers-of-these-songs/568506/54 "2011-01-22T21:20:33Z")
> [@multimediac17](#): > > I love this little bit of trivia: when Madonna released her very first single ‘Everybody’, there was no picture on the sleeve and (for a while) no music video, and apparently it was widely assumed she was black. > [@mcgato](#): > > The first Madonna song that I heard was “Holiday” and I thought that she was black. That’s…kinda weird, because to me there is no way that Madonna sounds black. She sounded like a typical 80s white suburban teeny-bopper. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-didnt-know-about-the-singers-of-these-songs/568506/55 "2011-01-22T21:31:42Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Having watched the video, I remain unconvinced. No shit. [Not Black.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjwLrfvmc9Y) [Still Not Black.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0SeJdaVGA0) [The White Otis Redding.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xZcAxFgcU8) Eddie played guitar and wrote songs for all the heavyweights out of Muscle Shoals but never enjoyed the success he deserved. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-didnt-know-about-the-singers-of-these-songs/568506/56 "2011-01-22T21:31:46Z")
When I was a kid, they played [“The One That You Love”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rpAknig1WQ) by Air Supply on the radio a lot. I thought the singer was a woman and in my head she looked vaguely like Anne Murray. Listen, but close your eyes and picture Anne Murray. Does it not sort of fit? I also thought the theme song to [_The NeverEnding Story_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXJQOnT0xAM) movie was a sung by a woman with a nice, rich, robust voice. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-didnt-know-about-the-singers-of-these-songs/568506/57 "2011-01-22T21:44:30Z")
[Not a man](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVQnFzZUITM) - [the singer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alison_Moyet) ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-didnt-know-about-the-singers-of-these-songs/568506/58 "2011-01-22T21:46:44Z")
> [@Eats\_Crayons](#): > > I also thought the theme song to [_The NeverEnding Story_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXJQOnT0xAM) movie was a sung by a woman with a nice, rich, robust voice. … It _wasn’t_? Wow.:eek: (That is an awful album cover, though. His face is way to small to have hair that big.) ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-didnt-know-about-the-singers-of-these-songs/568506/59 "2011-01-22T22:08:16Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > [Not a man](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVQnFzZUITM) - [the singer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alison_Moyet) Yea, that one threw me for a loop when I first found out. LOVE the band. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-didnt-know-about-the-singers-of-these-songs/568506/60 "2011-01-22T23:11:55Z")
> [@Eats\_Crayons](#): > > I also thought the theme song to [_The NeverEnding Story_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXJQOnT0xAM) movie was a sung by a woman with a nice, rich, robust voice. > [@Tengu](#): > > … It _wasn’t_? > > Wow.:eek:. This was exactly my reaction just now as well! :o I always knew the truth about this one, but when I’ve heard [John Waite’s “Missing You”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9e157Ner90&ob=av2el) on the radio I inevitably think that he sounds a lot girlier than [Tina Turner](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qutvO52Too) did covering the same song. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-didnt-know-about-the-singers-of-these-songs/568506.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-i-didnt-know-about-the-singers-of-these-songs/568506.md?page=4)