They were frequent collaborators, so it’s not out of left field. Similarly, Mott the Hoople’s “All the Young Dudes” gets confused for Bowie. Because he wrote it. The band almost took “Suffragette City” instead. Hey man!
Ha! I’d never considered that. But now that you mention it, the guitar in the Red Rider song sounds an awful lot like “Comfortably Numb”.
Now you’ve ruined Lunatic Fringe for me - thanks a lot!
I used to think that Kanye West and Cornell West were the same person - speciically, that he was an acclaimed academic and social academic who had launched a highly successful second career as a hip-hop artist.
Imagine my disappointment.
The first time I heard Adele singing Rumour Has It, I thought it was K.T. Tunstall.
And I used to asssume that the Brooks of Brooks & Dunn was Garth Brooks. I can’t imagine who I supposed Dunn was.
And when I was a teenager, I saw the album art for Ziggy Stardust. There were these pink critters on it, so I thought the album was called Iggy Pop Stardust and the Pink Floyd Spiders From Mars.
That’s right; I entered adulthood believing Iggy Pop and Pink Floyd were one person, and that one person was David Bowie.
As they say, music makes strange bedfellows.
“Anyone who reads Shakespeare is Shakespeare.”
-- Jorge Luis Borges, "Pierre Menard, Author of *El Quijote*"
Here’s a weird one that I just found out about watching a Time/Life 1950’s Golden Age of Pop infomercial. When I was little I thought that the guy from Green Acres was an old country singer from back in the black and white days. That’s why he sang the theme song.
Turns out Eddie Albert doesn’t sing, Eddy Arnold was a singer and Arnold was a pig.
I see what you did there.
And Edward Arnold was an actor in a lot of Frank Capra movies.
American. From Long Island. Massapequa, to be specific.
They were known then as the Tomcats. They came back from the UK as the Stray Cats. I’m not sure what the reasons were for the name change.
They had regular gigs at a couple of Massapequa bars. They were getting a rep – the place started to fill up as they got known in New York City.
They they decided to try their luck in England, and it worked out pretty well for them.
I know Queen did some music for films, such are Flash Gordon and The Highlander. I realised later their guitarist Brian May did quite a few soundtracks, including the first Mad Max.
Actually, no. It turned out it’s different Brian May. The Australian composer.
This isn’t music related, but I must point out that the George Miller who directed the Mad Max films is a different person than the George Miller who directed The Man from Snowy River, The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter, and Zeus and Roxanne. It’s very easy to get the two confused.
I was familiar with Chris Rock. Seen him in some comedy stuff. Then I started hearing about a performer “Kid Rock” who I assumed was the same person as Chris Rock. It helped that I don’t listen to any radio stations that would play a Kid Rock song, and I don’t follow “Celebrity News” or whatever, so I had no idea they were different people. I just assumed Chris Rock was expanding his entertainment repertoire or something and was now doing some singing. This misconception was held for years.
Reviving this thread with a new one…
For the past 40 years, until 2 days ago, I thought Rescue Me was Aretha Franklin. Nope, according the DJ it was Fontella Bass, who I had previously never heard of. I even had to search Wiki to make sure Aretha hadn’t done a cover, that’s how sure I was.
Thanks for reviving my thread! I think that yours is a common misconception. BUT! HOWEVER!!! Aretha DID sing a song called “Deliver Me” for a Pizza Hut commercial. “Deliver Me” is the same tune as “Rescue Me.”
That’s Mick Jagger singing, “Brown Eyed Girl,” right?
When Huey Lewis hit the charts with, “Do You Believe In Love,” I was overjoyed a new ELO album was out. I was mistaken.
Pete Townshend did a really good acoustic version of, “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” on The Secret Policeman’s Other Ball with John Williams, who I didn’t know played classical guitar when not composing space opera music. 
Missed edit window; it was, The Secret Policeman’s Ball."
When The Eagles’ Take It Easy was a hit back in 1972 (I was nine years old), my older brother bought the 45. Jackson Browne was credited right there on the label as a writer along with Glenn Frey. From that moment on, and for decades, I assumed Browne was part of the band.
Only the advent of Wikipedia set me straight.
He also has an uncredited cameo in* Feed The Tree.*