# You mean they're not black? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 16, 2002, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-mean-theyre-not-black/137040 "2002-11-16T17:17:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-mean-theyre-not-black/137040/41 "2002-11-18T16:55:02Z")
I was in my pre-teen/early teen years when the Righteous Brothers were on the charts. I thought they were black. Ditto Gene Pitney, from the same era, till I saw his picture. But the Young Rascals sounded white to me from the get-go, even though they were covering all those great Wilson Pickett songs. ---
**Author:** ![wikkidpis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f05b48/32.png) [@wikkidpis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wikkidpis)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-mean-theyre-not-black/137040/42 "2002-11-18T16:59:01Z")
Half of Booker T. & the MGs were white, including Steve Cropper, arguably the greatest soul guitarist. They were the Stax records house band in the 60’s and besides their own records (Green Onions, Hip Hug Her, Time is Tight, etc) they played behind Sam & Dave, Otis Redding, Rufus Thomas and many others. Also- the Muscle Shoals Rythym Section. All white guys. They played on many funky soul records, including Aretha Franklin’s calssic Atlantic albums, Wilson Pickett and the Staples Singers. Also- Dr. John’s voice sounds way black. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7feea3/32.png) [@PatrickM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickM)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-mean-theyre-not-black/137040/43 "2002-11-18T17:03:06Z")
I heard an audiotape of Jackie Robinson (for you kids, he was the first black Major League Baseball player) and his voice (as opposed to the merits of what he was saying) sounded very nasally, almost like a stereotypical uptight white guy in an old comedy sketch, not at all like I expected. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-mean-theyre-not-black/137040/44 "2002-11-18T17:22:54Z")
> [@](#): > > But my son Zotarb was flabbergasted when he found out Another One Bites the Dust was Queen. Your son isn’t the only one. When Another One Bits the Dust was originally released, it got a lot of airplay on black stations in the U.S. from broadcasters who really did think Queen was a black group. That information is from a Queen biography I read in high school. I can’t remember the exact name of the book. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-mean-theyre-not-black/137040/45 "2002-11-18T17:40:35Z")
Listening to Michael Jackson, you’d think he was black. I was surprised to learn that Tommy Bolin was an American Indian, although I’m not sure just what I’d expected an Indian guitarist should sound like. Lieu Reed and Frank Zappa can, at times, throw me for an ethnic loop as well. ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-mean-theyre-not-black/137040/46 "2002-11-18T20:09:53Z")
**Lieu Reed** , huh? 😃 [you guys are cracking me up with the Tony Gwynn speak!] ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-mean-theyre-not-black/137040/47 "2002-11-18T20:24:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Miller \* > \*\*For some reason, I had it in my head for years that Bjork was Japanese. \*\* I get this – she has that same kind of hollow-mouthed, consonant-eliding voice that’s common in a japanese accent. Of course, her name is Bjork. –Cliffy P.S. I second Dusty Springfield. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-mean-theyre-not-black/137040/48 "2002-11-18T22:57:57Z")
KC of “the Sunshine Band” fame. (I have to admit; “Another one Bites the Dust” doesn’t sound black at all to me!) ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-mean-theyre-not-black/137040/49 "2002-11-18T23:30:53Z")
Me neither. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-mean-theyre-not-black/137040.md?page=2)