Lights, Camera… Hit Record!

Lights, Camera… Hit Record!

There are plenty of actors who have had a go at singing.

Some were surprisingly good.

Some were… well, let's just say their record collection probably doesn't need a dedicated shelf.

But every now and then, an actor picks up a microphone and produces a genuinely memorable hit. In fact, a few managed to climb so high on the charts that you could almost forget they were famous for something else entirely.

So, in no particular order, here are six of the most famous actors who also found themselves in the pop charts.

And yes, there are some names here that may cause you to say:

“Hang on… HE sang that?”

1. Richard Harris — “MacArthur Park”

Before he became famous to a younger generation as Albus Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films, Richard Harris was already an enormously respected actor.

And then, in 1968, he decided to record a song about… a cake.

More accurately, the song was “MacArthur Park”, written by Jimmy Webb, and Harris's recording became a substantial international hit.

In Britain it reached No. 4, while in the United States it climbed all the way to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

If you've never heard it, prepare yourself for one of the more unusual combinations in pop history: serious actor, dramatic vocal, enormous orchestration and lyrics involving a cake being left out in the rain.

It's either inspired songwriting or an elaborate explanation of why you should never let your baking unattended.

Probably both.

What makes Harris's recording particularly interesting is that he wasn't simply cashing in on his acting career. He took the music seriously and recorded an album with producer Jimmy Webb.

So, while the cake may have melted, the career certainly didn't.

2. David Soul — “Don't Give Up on Us”

If ever there was a television role that could sell a record, it was Hutch from Starsky & Hutch.

David Soul was already a musician before television fame arrived, but his role as Kenneth “Hutch” Hutchinson turned him into a household name.

Then came “Don't Give Up on Us.”

Released in 1976, the soft-rock ballad became a genuine phenomenon.

It reached No. 1 in both the UK and the United States, with the Billboard Hot 100 placing it at the top in April 1977.

And here's something I particularly like about this story: Soul had actually wanted to be known for his music long before he became famous as an actor.

So perhaps the joke was on us.

We thought we were watching Hutch who happened to sing.

He apparently thought we were listening to a singer who happened to be acting.

Either way, he had the last laugh.

3. Eddie Murphy — “Party All the Time”

Now here's one that still raises eyebrows.

Eddie Murphy was already one of the biggest comedy stars in the world when he released “Party All the Time” in 1985.

And he wasn't doing a comedy record.

There was no punchline.

No silly character voice.

No stand-up routine hidden between verses.

It was a completely straight-faced pop-funk record produced and co-written by Rick James.

And, rather remarkably, it worked.

“Party All the Time” reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, spending three weeks in the runner-up position.

The most amusing part is that because Murphy was one of the funniest people on the planet, listeners were almost waiting for the joke.

But there wasn't one.

He was actually trying to be a pop star.

And, for a few weeks in 1985, he succeeded rather spectacularly.

Personally, I think the song deserves more respect than it sometimes gets. Is it a great work of musical art? Probably not.

Is it an absolutely glorious piece of 1980s excess?

Oh, absolutely.

4. Don Johnson — “Heartbeat”

There was a point in the 1980s when it appeared that Don Johnson could do absolutely anything.

He was Sonny Crockett in Miami Vice.

He had the designer stubble.

He had the pastel suits.

He had the Ferrari.

And, naturally, he needed a hit record.

Enter “Heartbeat.”

Released in 1986, the song reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it Johnson's biggest US single.

There's something wonderfully 1980s about the whole thing.

Synths? Check.

Big romantic chorus? Check.

MTV-friendly leading man? Absolutely.

And if you're wondering whether Don Johnson was simply another actor having a brief musical adventure, there's a little more to the story. He had musical connections going back years and had even worked with members of the Allman Brothers.

Still, I suspect a few record buyers were thinking:

“Isn't that the bloke from Miami Vice?”

Yes.

And apparently, the bloke from Miami Vice had a rather respectable voice.

5. Bruce Willis — “Respect Yourself”

Then there was Bruce Willis.

Before he became permanently associated with John McClane and Die Hard, Willis was already a successful television actor thanks to Moonlighting.

In 1987, he released his debut album, The Return of Bruno, a deliberately tongue-in-cheek Motown/R&B project that accompanied an HBO mockumentary.

The album featured some serious musical talent, and Willis's version of “Respect Yourself”, originally recorded by The Staple Singers, became a genuine hit.

In the United States it reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100; in Britain it peaked at No. 7.

And I have to admit, I rather admire the sheer confidence involved.

You've conquered Hollywood.

You've got the acting career.

Now you decide to make a Motown record.

Why not?

Willis eventually released more music, but “Respect Yourself” remains the one that proved this wasn't merely a celebrity vanity project.

Although I suspect some people bought the record primarily because they wanted to see what Die Hard's John McClane sounded like with a microphone.

6. Patrick Swayze — “She's Like the Wind”

And finally, we arrive at the man who probably has the strongest claim of all to being both a movie star and a convincing pop singer.

Patrick Swayze didn't just perform “She's Like the Wind”.

He co-wrote it.

The song had originally been considered for another film before finding its perfect home on the soundtrack to Dirty Dancing.

And once Dirty Dancing became a phenomenon, the song went along for the ride.

It reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the US Adult Contemporary chart.

There's a lovely irony here.

Swayze was already an accomplished dancer and actor, but his singing voice wasn't necessarily what audiences had gone to see.

Then suddenly there's Johnny Castle on screen, and he's singing a romantic ballad that millions of people bought.

And yes, he could sing.

Quite well, actually.

It's also one of those songs where the connection between the performer and the film is so strong that it's difficult to hear the opening notes without immediately seeing Dirty Dancing in your head.

Some records become hits.

Some records become movie memories.

“She's Like the Wind” managed to become both.

So What Have We Learned?

Apparently, being a successful actor doesn't necessarily mean you should leave the singing to somebody else.

Although, to be fair, it helps.

What fascinates me about these stories is that the musical careers weren't all the same.

David Soul had wanted to be a musician before television fame.

Eddie Murphy approached pop music almost as a completely separate career.

Patrick Swayze genuinely wrote and performed music.

Bruce Willis explored R&B and Motown.

Don Johnson's musical ambitions arrived alongside his extraordinary 1980s television fame.

And Richard Harris somehow managed to turn a rather strange song about a park, a cake and lost love into a major international hit.

Six actors.

Six very different stories.

And six reminders that sometimes the people we think we know for one thing have another talent hiding just around the corner.

The Actor You Remember… and the Song You Forgot

This is exactly the sort of musical rabbit hole I love exploring on In My Life Radio.

Because music history is full of surprises.

You hear a familiar voice and suddenly realise:

“Hang on… wasn't that the actor from…?”

And before you know it, you've spent half an hour investigating an album you didn't even know existed.

That's one of the great pleasures of looking back through the music of our lives.

The songs aren't always the ones we expected to remember.

Sometimes they're the ones that make us laugh.

Sometimes they're the guilty pleasures.

And occasionally they're actually rather good.

So the next time one of these records comes on the radio, don't immediately reach for the dial.

Give the actor a chance.

After all, they've already memorised the script.

Perhaps they deserve a verse.

In My Life Radio — every song has a story. Every life has a soundtrack.

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