# Which performer's physical appearance didn't match your mental image the most? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 18, 2012, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-performers-physical-appearance-didnt-match-your-mental-image-the-most/619193 "2012-04-18T18:41:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-performers-physical-appearance-didnt-match-your-mental-image-the-most/619193/141 "2015-11-16T06:52:33Z")
When I first heard _Sleeping Satellite_ by Tasmin Archer I was picturing a kind of Kim Wilde type of young pasty white girl. Was not expecting Tasmin Archer. Now I see that Kim Wilde has actually done a version of the song, it was definitely the original that I was listening to. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-performers-physical-appearance-didnt-match-your-mental-image-the-most/619193/142 "2015-11-16T09:53:06Z")
I was quite (pleasantly) surprised to find out that _these_ guys are punk band [Bad Brains](http://www.roir-usa.com/artists/images/badbrains.jpg) - thanks to DAve Grohl’s documentary series, I might add. Also, Arthur Lee I only found out about last year, after years of listening to Love covers and oblique references in Lloyd Cole songs. Why I didn’t find out about Love at the same time as all the other great 60s bands, IDK. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-performers-physical-appearance-didnt-match-your-mental-image-the-most/619193/143 "2015-11-16T18:44:51Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > Click on the link, listen to the song, read the lyrics (shown in the video). Without googling it, I defy you to tell me whether the lead singer is male or female. I’ll give you a hint: the singer’s name is Pat Upton. Yeah, I definitely would have thought female had you not said it was unexpected. I mean, now that I know, I can sorta tell by the timbre of the higher notes–clearly belting notes that a woman with that light a voice would not usually have to belt–but the female impression at the beginning was so strong I’d not have noticed. I have no idea why people would have thought he was black, though. He doesn’t even sound like he’s trying to sound black. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-performers-physical-appearance-didnt-match-your-mental-image-the-most/619193/144 "2015-11-16T20:12:05Z")
Not exactly the same thing, but I had a performer’s gender wrong \*after \*I’d seen them.I often fall asleep with the tv on and then wake up to Carson Daily’s show. I have seen the most interesting musical acts, including [this song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYr96YYEaZY) being performed by Borns. I thought it was a chick that is particularly mannish and I was kind of bummed that it isn’t a guy :smack: He looked a bit more ambiguous in the performance I saw than in the link, but you get the idea. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2015, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-performers-physical-appearance-didnt-match-your-mental-image-the-most/619193/145 "2015-11-17T03:27:37Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Yeah, I definitely would have thought female had you not said it was unexpected. I mean, now that I know, I can sorta tell by the timbre of the higher notes–clearly belting notes that a woman with that light a voice would not usually have to belt–but the female impression at the beginning was so strong I’d not have noticed. > > I have no idea why people would have thought he was black, though. He doesn’t even sound like he’s trying to sound black. That song sounds like a schmaltzy soul number of the day. It’s a ringer for a Stevie Wonder song. It didn’t get that way by being a caucasian sounding vocal. You can’t lump it in with any white rock of 1969, to me, esp the lyrics. Also you would have to listen to Apples Peaches Pumpkin pie, or a lot others to get the same feel, not any white records from 1969. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2015, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-performers-physical-appearance-didnt-match-your-mental-image-the-most/619193/146 "2015-11-17T03:43:32Z")
Amy Winehouse wasn’t the race, age or had the fashion sense I pictured. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2015, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-performers-physical-appearance-didnt-match-your-mental-image-the-most/619193/147 "2015-11-17T04:05:50Z")
After hearing their song (for the first time ever, despite living in their hometown) on _American Dad_, I wouldn’t have expected Wax Fang to look like they [do](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oDTZdXl8dA). ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Mama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5ac83/32.png) [@Atomic\_Mama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Mama)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-performers-physical-appearance-didnt-match-your-mental-image-the-most/619193/148 "2015-11-20T15:28:07Z")
I totally agree with bup upstream. CharLEY Patton was a “creole” – as was the great Little Walter. So sayeth Atomic Mama. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-performers-physical-appearance-didnt-match-your-mental-image-the-most/619193/149 "2015-11-21T01:28:33Z")
Being a middle-aged man who grew up in the Seventies, I’ve probably heard “In The Summertime” by Mungo Jerry a thousand times over the years. Never really made an impression other than “Oh, that song with the slightly rapey lyrics (‘If her daddy’s rich, take her out for a meal. If her daddy’s poor, just do what you feel’)”. But I certainly never expected the lead singer to look like [this.](http://www.celebrityabout.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/0f67womenonthemond.png) Muttonchops. Never a good idea. I also didn’t realize until seeing the video that the “blowing-across-the-mouth-of-a-jug” sound in the song was created by, well, blowing across the mouth of a jug. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-performers-physical-appearance-didnt-match-your-mental-image-the-most/619193/150 "2015-11-21T02:28:41Z")
I first heard of Truman Capote around 1972 when the movie based on his book “In Cold Blood” seemed to be on television every three months. Guy writes a book about a brutal murder, name is Capote so his father is Italian (actually step father who was Cuban. But Phil Rizzuto thought Lou Piniella was Italian until Frank Messer said he was Spanish). Got to be some New York/Boston/Philadelphia dem-and-dose guy. Saw Capote on a talk show…never expected that at all!. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-performers-physical-appearance-didnt-match-your-mental-image-the-most/619193/151 "2015-11-21T04:10:31Z")
> [@Dr.Girlfriend](#): > > I’ve heard _Budapest_ on the radio a thousand times already but never knew what George Ezra looked like until I saw this post and googled him. Holy smokes, not what I expected at all! > And on edit, yes, I realized what I did there… Which brings to mind Marc Broussard, singer of [“Home”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuWPseegaKw) ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-performers-physical-appearance-didnt-match-your-mental-image-the-most/619193/152 "2019-07-17T17:46:14Z")
I’m reanimating my zombie from 2015 because today I learned that the Climax Blues Band is a white British band and not a black southern one. [The Climax Blues Band - Couldn’t Get It Right.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwnC_8_ZeYE) ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-performers-physical-appearance-didnt-match-your-mental-image-the-most/619193/153 "2019-07-17T20:52:45Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > I’m reanimating my zombie from 2015 because today I learned that the Climax Blues Band is a white British band and not a black southern one. Along similar lines, just checking - [The Average White Band](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfAJLGFWxYo) - you know they were Scottish, right? Or does the name (partly) give it away? 😉 j ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2019, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-performers-physical-appearance-didnt-match-your-mental-image-the-most/619193/154 "2019-07-17T21:10:26Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > Along similar lines, just checking - [The Average White Band](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfAJLGFWxYo) - you know they were Scottish, right? Or does the name (partly) give it away? 😉 > > j I knew they were white. Never would have guessed Scottish. ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2019, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-performers-physical-appearance-didnt-match-your-mental-image-the-most/619193/155 "2019-07-18T03:55:54Z")
> [@journeyman\_southpaw](#): > > [Christopher Cross](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQRpMMC2Fmg). He looks more like a country music good-ol’-boy than a smooth yacht rocker. LOL, I came here to post about him! When _Sailing_ went to #1 in the U.S. and people, especially women were picturing this a dreamy hunk.Instead, when he first appeared on TV, everyone was talking about how much of a disappoint he was. Eric Clapton. I absolutely admire the man’s work (see my posts in the “Was Cream underrated?” thread), but he’s such a no-chin dork! Luv ya Eric, but please always keep the beard! ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2019, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-performers-physical-appearance-didnt-match-your-mental-image-the-most/619193/156 "2019-07-18T04:12:38Z")
Two Tons O’ Fun / The Weather Girls. Okay their original name says it all, but they sang backup on a lot of disco hits and were always lip-synced by women much, much thinner they were in the music videos. Paula Abdul. As my friend described her when the music video of “Straight Up” came out, “Good thing she’s such a good dancer!” Ellen Foley. Like everyone else, I thought that Karla DeVito was really that incredible voice on _Paradise By the Dashbord Light_. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2019, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-performers-physical-appearance-didnt-match-your-mental-image-the-most/619193/157 "2019-07-18T16:53:41Z")
Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy should look like John Popper of Blues Traveler. And vice versa. They must have stepped into The Fly teleporters and got scrambled. ---
**Author:** ![CateAyo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@CateAyo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CateAyo)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2019, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-performers-physical-appearance-didnt-match-your-mental-image-the-most/619193/158 "2019-07-18T18:01:42Z")
> [@Atomic\_Mama](#): > > I totally agree with bup upstream. CharLEY Patton was a “creole” – as was the great Little Walter. > > So sayeth Atomic Mama. Part Choctaw, as well ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2019, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-performers-physical-appearance-didnt-match-your-mental-image-the-most/619193/159 "2019-07-18T18:45:09Z")
> [@lingyi](#): > > Ellen Foley. Like everyone else, I thought that Karla DeVito was really that incredible voice on _Paradise By the Dashbord Light_. I’ve been watching Night Court during lunch and Foley was just a mere slip of a girl even then, a decade after Meat Loaf. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2019, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-performers-physical-appearance-didnt-match-your-mental-image-the-most/619193/160 "2019-07-18T19:32:50Z")
I’ve liked Louie Armstrong since the 1960’s, have seen bazillions of pictures and videos of him, and yet somehow had the impression he was a tall, beefy guy. About a month ago I was gobsmacked to find out he’d been a short man. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-performers-physical-appearance-didnt-match-your-mental-image-the-most/619193.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-performers-physical-appearance-didnt-match-your-mental-image-the-most/619193.md?page=9)