“The Crying Game” fooled me. No, not THAT part. The opening monologue, heard over a dark screen, of this Englishman talking. Turns out he’s a black Englishman.
In the part of South Carolina I lived in for awhile, it’s not uncommon to hear black redneck farmers sounding exactly like white redneck farmers, right down to them bitchin’ about rap music.
Of course the Average White Band certainly isn’t.
I was sure that the second part in Sting’s Desert Rose was an Aretha Franklin sort of woman…
I dunno… I was knocked over when I saw it was a young male of Middle Eastern descent ( I forget which country know)…
I thought Pink was black, something I am embarassed about only because it sounds so stupid when I say it. “And I thought red was blue too…”
It blew my mind when I found out that Velvet Underground recorded Velvet Underground and Nico in 1967. I’d always assumed that they were a late '70s kind of band. It just made respect them more - “you mean they made this while the rest of the world was listening to Sgt Peppers and the Beach Boys and the Rolling Stones?!?”
I honestly thought that “Holding Back the Years” was performed by Carly Simon until I saw the video by Simply Red, fronted by a guy. Had me fooled up until then.
Most people are surprised to learn that Andrew Strong, who sung in The Commitments was only 16 years old (!) at the time of recording.
Also, the fact that the actors/band members are Irish.
Anyone who listens to BBC Radio 1, can you back me up on this? Tim Westwood, who does the Radio 1 Rap Show on Friday and Saturday nights (catch phrase: “Go hard, or go home!!” cue loud explosions). He’s one of the top names in hiphop in Europe, and huge on the rap scene in the UK; he’s got major street cred in the hiphop world, snagging interviews with the top names in European and American urban music. But you would never guess, in a million years, that he’s white just by hearing his voice. He’s by far the most black sounding (whatever that means) white celebrity I’ve run across – and he does put on an amazing show whenever he DJs.
I didn’t know he was white til I saw his photo on Radio One’s website (!).
“Don’t fake the funk or your nose’ll grow.”
-William “Bootsy” Collins
Here in L.A., there is a DJ (last time I remember him he was on an R & B station) known as Theo–he had a wonderful, smooth baritone voice. Thought he was an older, large black man until I read an article about him in the L.A. Times, and realized he was a little 20-something Asian man. That threw me way off.
someone said that timbaland wasn’t TALENTED enough to write “another one bites the dust?” you must be thinking of someone else, because timbaland is the most innovative producer in music right now. this guy is amazing.
I’ll show my age.
Dusty Springfield. Born Mary O’Brien in London, England. The “White Lady of Soul”.
The first time I saw/heard her was on TV in the 60s. The camera turned to this white British girl. She opened her mouth and sang with a voice as soulful as anyone. I was astounded.
Did you know that Tim Westwood’s dad is a former Bishop of Peterborough?
Tom Jones got me like this when I heard a “revival” album he did in '95. “Who the hell is this incredible singer?” How I felt like a putz when I found out.
He what?!? :eek:
<runs off to check this>
Before Eminem got famous, I heard him being interviewed on Howard Stern, and I thought he was black as the ace of spades. I also remember hearing Joan Armatrading and thinking it was a white guy.
As will I -
I posted this in another thread a few weeks back, but the first time I heard A Whiter Shade of Pale by Procul Harum on the radio (in 1967), I thought the singer was Marvin Gaye!!
I thought jazz pianist Keith Jarrett was black for a long time. Apparently, this is a common mistake, I heard him say in a interview on Fresh Air that once backstage at a concert a black musician said to him that Jarrett just had to be black.
Jarrett’s reply: “I’m workin’ on it, man.”
I’m a bit surprised nobody’s mentioned Wild Cherry. I think they certainly top the “They’re not black?” list.
Well, if you want to go waaaay back, part of the appeal of the Righteous Brothers was that nobody was quite sure if they were black or white (they’re very white, of course).