11 Secret Pop Records of TV and Movie Stars
It’s true that many actors and actresses are multi-talented stars who can move seamlessly between drama, comedy, and musicals without a blink of an eye, but often the move to pop star isn’t quite so easy, especially when the star in question can’t really sing. Some of the records that were released due to a star’s popularly were obviously meant to cash in on the success of TV shows or take advantage of the burgeoning teen market, some are pure eccentric oddities and some are legitimate lost gems. Barring the cast of Star Trek (William Shatner being probably the most famous example of the so-bad-it’s-good celebrity music outing), here’s some of the most interesting lost celebrity albums, both good and bad, from the 1950s to the 1980s.
1) Calypso – Is Like So, Robert Mitchum (1957)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8poH4WgZvI
We can only assume that the King of Cool, Robert Mitchum, had had one too many when he hatched a plan to record his tribute to the Afro-Caribbean music on the album, Calypso – Is Like So. To be fair, although bizarre to hear Mitchum singing in a faux Trinidadian accent, it’s quite fun to hear him grooving out on tracks like “Matilda, Matilda” and the quirky and amazingly titled “Mama Looks Boo Boo.”
2) Tony Perkins, Tony Perkins (1957)
Before he scared us all forever as the creepy Norman Bates in Hitchcock’s Psycho, Anthony Perkins was teen heartthrob Tony Perkins crooning Johnny Mathis-style on songs like “April Love” and the hit single “Moonlight Swim,” later recorded by Elvis for his film Blue Hawaii. Perkins was actually a rather nice singer and released three albums before his iconic role in Psycho ruined his reputation as a romantic teen idol forever, sadly.
3) Lyrics For Lovers, Dirk Bogarde (1960)
One of the most popular British stars of the 1950s, Decca records was obviously keen enough to cash in on the appeal of matinee idol Dirk Bogarde that they agreed to make a record with the actor where he doesn’t sing a note. That’s right — his sole album, Lyrics For Lovers, just features Bogarde awkwardly, yet somehow still suavely, reciting lyrics over some lush instrumentals courtesy of the Eric Rogers Orchestra. It’s a true oddity but somehow a quietly soothing listen.
4) Rawhide’s Clint Eastwood Sings Cowboy Favorites, Clint Eastwood (1963)
At the beginning of his career, a record producer once told Eastwood he’d never make it as a singer, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t give it a damn good try. His first attempt came after he rose to fame appearing on the Western TV show Rawhide and naturally made his recording debut singing some country tunes on his album Rawhide’s Clint Eastwood Sings Cowboy Favorites (snappy title). Given his now-famous raspy voice, it’s a surprise to hear his soft croon on these early tracks but it’s perhaps for the best that he later concentrated on instrumental work writing the soundtracks for many of his more recent films as a director.
5) Welcome To The Ponderosa, Lorne Greene (1964)
The Western TV saga of the Cartwright clan, otherwise known as Bonanza, was so huge in its day that four of its stars released records. There was the show’s heartthrob Michael Landon (Little Joe) crooning “Linda Is Lonesome,” Pernell Roberts (Adam Cartwright) kept with a more Western theme with the folky “Come All Ye Fair and Tender Ladies,” and Dan Blocker, who played the popular Hoss Cartwright, gave us an album of cute country yarns, Tales For Young’uns. But surprisingly it was the patriarch of the family, Pa Cartwright, who outdid them all scoring a #1 hit with the rousing spoken word ballad, “Ringo.”
6) Joy In The Morning, Richard Chamberlain (1965)
Back in the early ’60s, Richard Chamberlain was the original McDreamy, starring as the titular handsome young intern in the TV series Dr. Kildare. His good looks led to him becoming a major teen idol at the time (receiving more fan mail than Clark Gable in his prime, it’s said) and also, briefly, a pop star, with a string of hit singles, starting, not surprisingly, with “Theme From Dr. Kildare (Three Stars Will Shine Tonight),” all as smooth as his quiffed hair and ultra-bright smile. He also was the first to record the Burt Bacharach tune “Close to You”, which later became one of the signature songs for the Carpenters.
7) Miranda, Adam West (1966)
In the mid ’60s, America was in the midst of a Bat-craze thanks to the campy hit TV show Batman, starring Adam West as the Dark Knight himself. All manner of merchandise was produced to cash in on the show’s enormous success, but the weirdest and most amusing tie-in had to be West’s 1966 single, “Miranda,” Bruce Wayne’s attempt to woo his ladylove by promising to do anything for her — bar removing his mask — only to be constantly interrupted by Robin (“Holy Sherlock Holmes, Boy Wonder, you’re becoming a real stick in the mud!”) trying to get him to fight a giant octopus and “Mr AC/DC, the Electric Brain!” Definitely a lost classic!
8) Way Out West, Mae West (1966)
Blonde bombshell Mae West proved that age ain’t nothing but a number when it comes to rock ‘n’ roll, making her rock debut at grand-old age of 72 with the album Way Out West. It featured her seductively covering the likes of Bob Dylan and the Beatles in her husky tones and backed by a Merseyside-style teenage rock band. The album was actually a surprise success at the time and led to a similarly groovy Christmas album and another rock record, Great Balls Of Fire, the highlight of which has to be her version of the Doors’ “Light My Fire,” which she creakily rasps her way through.
9) Star Of The Flying Nun, Sally Field (1967)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoNhZZboh6g
Before she became an Oscar-winning movie star, Sally Field was a cute-as-a-button TV star, first in the teen show Gidget but more famously as the gravity-defying Sister Bertrille in The Flying Nun. The show often featured Field singing with the kids she worked with at the convent so, naturally, a similarly perky album of kids’ songs followed, but Field’s singing career sadly never took off the way the little nun and her huge headpiece did.
10) Happens, David Hemmings (1967)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79-eb-Vo1XE
British actor David Hemmings had impressively been a boy soprano with the English National Opera, but by the late ’60s, he was more famous as an actor in films like Camelot, Barbarella, and most notably, the cult classic Blowup. He decided to return to music in 1967 but as a folk-rock singer, and somehow not only managed to get Byrds’ producer Jim Dickson to produce, but Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman to back him on the album. The first single, “Back Street Mirror,” was written by another Byrd, Gene Clark, making this a rather interesting listen for any Byrds fan.
11) Miss Barbara Eden, Barbara Eden (1967)
The most amusing thing about the I Dream Of Jeannie star’s 1967 album Miss Barbara Eden is that it features the singing actress in full pink chiffon Jeannie get-up on the cover. Disappointingly though, despite Eden’s nice-enough voice, the music on the record is a fairly standard pop album featuring covers of hits of the day from Fats Domino to the Everly Brothers and nowhere to be found is the theme to I Dream Of Jeannie with newly added lyrics. A massive missed opportunity, I’d say.
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