# Why do English people sing like Americans? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 8, 2002, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-english-people-sing-like-americans/135804 "2002-11-08T00:28:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2002, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-english-people-sing-like-americans/135804/21 "2002-11-08T05:43:13Z")
**samarm** : Obladi obladah?? (or however you spell it). That would be my WAG anyway ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2002, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-english-people-sing-like-americans/135804/22 "2002-11-08T05:49:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Aspidistra \* > **The short vowels simply can’t be sung on long notes, so _some_ sort of substitution is essential.** Yes, you’re right. In fact my singing teacher used to hate the tendency in a lot of popular music to voice consonants as though they were vowels - n’s and m’s especially. There’s definitely a different discipline at work between different styles of singing. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2002, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-english-people-sing-like-americans/135804/23 "2002-11-08T05:56:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Aspidistra \* > **The short vowels simply can’t be sung on long notes, so _some_ sort of substitution is essential.** Yes, you’re right. In fact my singing teacher used to hate the tendency in a lot of popular music to voice consonants as though they were vowels - n’s and m’s especially. There’s definitely a different discipline at work between different styles of singing. ---
**Author:** ![Lure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@Lure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lure)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2002, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-english-people-sing-like-americans/135804/24 "2002-11-08T09:26:46Z")
Well.that explains Gomer Pyle 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2002, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-english-people-sing-like-americans/135804/25 "2002-11-08T10:47:32Z")
Though I’m sure this is a beauty-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder situation, IMO the English accent just sounds silly when sung, while the American one sounds cool. Think of Marc Bolan “let’s dahnce, take a chahnce”. Sounds crap. The (southern) English accent is harsh and staccato due to our glottal stops and dropping of trailing Rs. Irish singers don’t have to moderate their accent, because it also avoids the above problems. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2002, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-english-people-sing-like-americans/135804/26 "2002-11-08T11:30:25Z")
It’s a red herring. The Brits are trying to sound American, but the Americans are trying to sound Canadian. When you realize that all Western culture comes from Canada, this makes more sense. ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2002, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-english-people-sing-like-americans/135804/27 "2002-11-08T11:33:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Larry Mudd \* > **(Often, people who have a severe stuttering problem can sing with no difficulty… I seem to recall reading that this is because a different part of the brain is being used, although this is only a dim memory and should not be taken as gospel.)** The runner-up in last year’s Pop Idol contest here in the UK was a lad called Gareth Gates, and he displayed exactly this phenomenon. When speaking normally, and especially in front of the cameras and under pressure, he had a v pronounced stutter, but as soon as he began to sing the stutter disappeared completely. There was one rather touching moment on stage when he tried to dedicate a song to his mother but was unable to get the words out, so he immediately dropped into an improvised ballad and the dedication came out fine. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2002, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-english-people-sing-like-americans/135804/28 "2002-11-08T11:47:47Z")
Gareth Gates was caught recently miming at a concert the other week. He was singing the songs live but he was miming to the banter between the songs. He also holds up cards for the audience. Bless ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2002, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-english-people-sing-like-americans/135804/29 "2002-11-08T12:08:02Z")
I can understand British singers sounding American because a lot of their music(in earlier rock n roll) was just American blues and R&B with some fey windowdressing. What I really don’t get is American singers sounding English like The White Stripes or Green Day. WTF? I grew up listening to the Clash, too, but being an American Southerner, I know I’d sound like a damn fool aping Joe Strummer or Paul Weller. ---
**Author:** ![hapaXL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/94ad74/32.png) [@hapaXL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hapaXL)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2002, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-english-people-sing-like-americans/135804/30 "2002-11-08T22:26:36Z")
No mention of the fact that those British acts were trying to imitate Black Americans? The early Beatles and Stones trying their best Chuck Berry imitations? Joe Cocker getting signed to a contract because he sounded exactly like Ray Charles? White Americans used to sing very distinctly: think Bing Crosby and the like. Then rock and roll made everyone sing in a style that was previously reserved for Black folks. The question might be: when did white folks, American and British, forget that they appropriated this singing style? ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2002, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-english-people-sing-like-americans/135804/31 "2002-11-08T23:14:57Z")
I’m with the posters who say it’s simply a case of British musicians imitating the vocalizations of their Rock ‘n’ Roll predecessors. The Beatles, the Stones and Clapton were all imitating American Blues, R&B and R&R singers, and later acts have just carried on the tradition of “singing American.” And the phenomenon is a two-way street. There are American punk bands like **Green Day** and **Rancid** which seem to be doing their best to imitate Joe Strummer’s cockney vocalizations. Plus, as already mentioned, there are plenty of bands which manage to sing Rock with their English accents intact, from **The Smiths** to **Oasis** to **Coldplay**. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2002, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-english-people-sing-like-americans/135804/32 "2002-11-08T23:34:43Z")
**hapaXL** wrote: > [@](#): > > White Americans used to sing very distinctly: think Bing Crosby and the like. Maybe up North. But in the South, there was always a cross-pollinization of white and black styles. Think Jimmie Rodgers. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2002, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-english-people-sing-like-americans/135804/33 "2002-11-08T23:36:23Z")
“cross-pollination,” I meant ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2002, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-english-people-sing-like-americans/135804/34 "2002-11-08T23:51:10Z")
> [@](#): > > There are American punk bands like Green Day and Rancid which seem to be doing their best to imitate Joe Strummer’s cockney vocalizations. Rancid and Green Day are punks from California and they sing like California punks. That accent is not even remotely British. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Zagna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@El\_Zagna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Zagna)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2002, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-english-people-sing-like-americans/135804/35 "2002-11-09T02:43:38Z")
There has got to be more to it that just trying to sound American. Try speaking with an English accent (if you are American) or a French or Boston accent. It sounds rediculous, and even if you have worked on it a long time it is obvious to native speakers. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2002, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-english-people-sing-like-americans/135804/36 "2002-11-09T03:32:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by hapaXL \* > **No mention of the fact that those British acts were trying to imitate Black Americans? The early Beatles and Stones trying their best Chuck Berry imitations? Joe Cocker getting signed to a contract because he sounded exactly like Ray Charles?** I think the Beatles were trying to sound like Elvis Presley at least as much as Chuck Berry. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2002, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-english-people-sing-like-americans/135804/37 "2002-11-09T03:48:01Z")
When I drink, (or, rarely, when I am nervous,) I develop an unshakable east London accent. God alone knows why this is so. Regarding the blues hijack-- have you ever heard traditional Somali folk music? Apart from the language, and the slightly different sound of the stringed instruments involved, it sounds pretty much _exactly_ like delta blues (Or rather delta blues sounds like Somali folk music.) ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2002, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-english-people-sing-like-americans/135804/38 "2002-11-09T04:02:00Z")
When the Beatles first landed in New York, in 1964, the men from the press asked: “Why do you talk like Englishmen but sing like Americans?” They answered: “It sells better.” Billy Bragg sounds _very_ English when he sings. Peter Gabriel, in the early Genesis days (“Supper’s Ready”), also sounded far more English than American. Starting with _The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway_, and continuing in his solo career, he got that neutral, “Mid-Atlantic” accent, which sounds equally normal in both England and America. Joe Cocker and Roger Daltrey put on a distinctly American accent, but a lot of the other examples here I would call “Mid-Atlantic.” McCartney, Lennon, and Harrison all pioneered it. Phil Collins mastered it. It’s also used in broadcasting. The Beatles only sang one song in actual Scouse, and that was the little ditty “Maggie Mae” (not to be confused with Rod Stewart’s hit), on the _Let It Be_ album. I could scarcely understand a word of it. ---
**Author:** ![hazel-rah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hazel-rah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hazel-rah)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2002, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-english-people-sing-like-americans/135804/39 "2002-11-09T05:08:07Z")
Would anyone claiming that British singer X sounds like an American or American singer Y sounds like an Briton care to back up their claims with some evidence? Examples? I don’t just mean naming songs, either. I’m wondering which set of phonetic features you’re referring to and which dialect they are supposed to sound like. -fh ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2002, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-english-people-sing-like-americans/135804/40 "2002-11-09T13:37:34Z")
**hazel-rah:** Do it yourself. Most people don’t listen to music counting vowel sound occurrences, etc. Nor do you have to do that to be able to discern that a singer sounds American or British. Besides being pedantic geekery, it just plain takes the fun out of listening. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-english-people-sing-like-americans/135804.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-english-people-sing-like-americans/135804.md?page=3)