Which performer's physical appearance didn't match your mental image the most?

Cafe Society
1

Several of the “blue-eyed soul” artists come to mind. Dusty Springfield, Eric Burdon and probably Rick Astley. Wiki’s complete list is here although it’s easy to nitpick some of them. The Osmonds? Really? I know it’s wiki and anyone can edit it but that’s got to be some kind of joke.

I was shocked when I saw Red Bone singing Come and Get Your Love for the first time. I’d had no idea that they were a Native American band.

Rare Earth surprised me with "Get Ready. Not just because they’re white but the lead singer is the drummer and looks just about the opposite as I had imagined.

I was a little surprised to find that Johnny Nash of “I Can See Clearly Now the Rain is Gone” was African American. Is there a non-racist term/phrase for the opposite of “blue-eyed soul”?

2

I was pretty surprised the first time I saw a UB40 video.

3

The great Ada Jones, the first female recording star: My Pony Boy (Ada Jones, 1909) - YouTube

Looked like this: Invalid Browser | SuperStock

No wonder she was a big hit on records!

4

I thought Norah Jones was a middle-aged Black American woman. Boy was i wrong.

I thought Adele was a middle-aged Black American woman. Strike two.

5

From the 70’s: I am still convinced that Nick Gilder is a girl - Hot Child in the City.

6

I amazed to see that Marcia Ball is white.

7

I think Elliott Yamin sounds black. He’s not. Not even close.

8

Dobie Gray is black?!!?

9

Hey, there’s Wayne Newton singing Danke Schoen a few years ago!
I wonder who sang the original version?
You know, the one from Ferris Buellers Day Off.
The one with the girl singing.
…

WTF??

10

Everyone’s always pretty surprised when they first see a picture of Kevin Clash, the puppeteer behind Elmo.

–Cliffy

11

I always imagined Sheryl Crow as shorter and much cuter until I saw what she looked like.

12

I would say that John Popper of Blues Traveler was least like what I was expecting, because I don’t expect people who are built like me to be famous musicians. Of course, he’s not built like me any more, but still.

I would say the same thing of the lead singer for The Fabulous Thunderbirds, but I came to know their music through MTV back in the 80s, so there was never any time to form an idea of what he might look like before I saw him.

13

I talked to her standing right next to me at a bar in Maui. She was gorgeous and couldn’t have been more than 5’3.

14

Another vote for Dusty Springfield. I was so sure she was a fat black American. El wrongo!

15

I pictured the lead singer of Silversun Pickups as a tall, unconventionally pretty woman.

Turns out he’s not.

16

I thought Adele was going to be too-skinny heroin-chic New Yorker. Reality lies somewhere in the middle of our two guesses :slight_smile:

I though Eric Burdon (the Animals) was going to be a thin-white-duke-style like Bowie or Robert Plant. I didn’t expect an overfed, long-haired, leaping gnome.

17

Jim Croce.

18

Billy West. Somehow I had this image in my mind of a whip-thin, wiry redhead. Partly because he says that Fry’s voice (Futurama) is a younger version of him, but not entirely - I’ve been a Billy West fan since I was a kid and he was doing Ren & Stimpy. I was really startled the first time I saw him on a DVD extra.

19

The hub saw Joe Perry and Steven Tyler in a hotel lobby once years ago and expected them to be taller than the 5’ and some change they appeared to be. He’s 6’2".

20

Johnny Rivers. Who knew? For some reason, I always pictured him more like this.