Mistaken Identity (Dude Sounds Like A Lady / She's A Self-Made Man)

HecticArt said:
I love Alf! She’s got an amazingly powerful voice.
I’ve been trying to get the band to play Situation for years. I should find other people to play with that want to do cool tunes.
Click to expand...
When I first heard "Situation" nearly three decades ago on the old Planet 96.3 in Detroit, I, too, thought that Alf was a gay dude, lisp and all. Nope! Straight female with crooked teeth.
 
It's always sounded like a guy to me. Although listening to him now, it would not surprise me if I had mistaken him for a guy.
 
I wonder if, as a pre-teen, my first exposure to Yes left me thinking the singer was female? I don't remember any specifics. But it seems plausible a little while later I had a "wait, that's a guy?" moment.

 
sadchild said:
I wonder if, as a pre-teen, my first exposure to Yes left me thinking the singer was female? I don't remember any specifics. But it seems plausible a little while later I had a "wait, that's a guy?" moment.

Click to expand...

I saw Anderson solo at Tupelo Music hall in Derry a few years ago, and was amazed by how wonderfully high his voice still is. He did a soaring rendition of Simon & Garfunkel's America.
 
I already posted Yaz "Don't Go", but here is Alison Moyet solo making me think it might be a guy singing. From this week's VJ.

 
Tevin Campbell was only 13 in 1990 when he had his first hit, Tomorrow (A Better You, Better Me), with Quincy Jones and a children's choir.
He sounds like a girl – or like Michael Jackson. Maybe both.

 
I remember my first time hearing 'Blister in the Sun' (sung by Gordon Gano of the Violent Femmes) and thinking it was a female.



I'm a little surprised this one wasn't previously mentioned.
 
Last edited:
Three times in a row when this song has started I've wondered if it's a guy or a gal.

Oh BTW Skid Row has a new song with a new singer (and it's a dude)

 
kingchuck69 said:
When I first heard "Situation" nearly three decades ago on the old Planet 96.3 in Detroit, I, too, thought that Alf was a gay dude, lisp and all. Nope! Straight female with crooked teeth.
Click to expand...
Off-topic. But related.

I'm addicted to this guy's channel lately. He has vintage synths from the 70s and 80s and recreates old pop tunes. I love it. I've watched at least 40 of these.



 
He had the name of a woman and the husky voice of a woman – but be ye not fooled. British-born Laurie London was on;ly 13 when he recorded He's Got The Whole World In His Hands. The song reached #12 in the UK in late 1957 and spent four weeks at number one on the Billboard Top 100 in April-May 1958.

 
First time I heard it, I didn't think the singer was a female - I thought it was Stephen Pearcy. I remember thinking "Ratt JUST released an album, now they have another one?"

I bought the promo CD for this single for a dollar or two at a used CD shop back in the day (the rest of the album sucked). I was surprised how intricate the art was on the disc itself. I don't know what the method/technology is called, but if you rub your finger across the disc, the white areas are raised/above the clear areas. It looked great in the sunlight!

slau-uan.jpg
 
Not sure I would have guessed Steven Pearcy although if I listened hard enough, maybe.

I had this album on cassette when it came out. There were really only two listenable songs, that one and Fly to the Angels. The rest was filler. This was about the time I was listening to harder rock (Guns and Roses, Megadeth, Metallica) and about a year before Grunge came along.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom