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S/Z

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They play the song “All This Love” by DeBarge at my grocery store a lot. I always thought it was sung by a woman until I googled it. Similarly, I heard the song “Hold On” by the Alabama Shakes on the radio a bunch recently, and I thought it was sung by a man (I thought it was Jack White) until I googled it.

So, what are the best songs where you can’t tell if it’s a man or a woman singing it?

Reader Interactions

123Comments

  1. 1.

    Yutsano

    Until I saw a pcture of her, every time I heard “Fast Car” I thought it was a man singing. And tracy Chapman is just enough of an ambiguous name.

  3. 3.

    Xantar

    When I was young I always thought “Walk Like a Man” by the Four Seasons was sung by women.

  4. 4.

    geg6

    @Yutsano:

    Ha! Great minds! I was gonna say the same thing.

    On a more political note, I watched Tweety for the first time in forever tonight. Wow, he was on a roll about how nuts the GOPers are. And can I just say, as much as I detested his father, that’s how much I heart Ron Reagan.

  11. 11.

    Bill Murray

    Small Town Boy by The Bronski Beat

    also I can barely tell the difference between Andy Bell of Erasure and Alison Moyet of Yaz and Vince Clarke being the main instrumentalist in both bands doesn’t help

  13. 13.

    adavis

    “If You Let Me Make Love to You” by Ronnie Dyson. Ronnie/Veronica, hey, it made sense to me.

  14. 14.

    adavis

    “If You Let Me Make Love to You” by Ronnie Dyson. Ronnie/Veronica, hey, it made sense to me.

  16. 16.

    Bill Murray

    Small Town Boy by The Bronski Beat

    also I can barely tell the difference between Andy Bell of Erasure and Alison Moyet of Yaz and Vince Clarke being the main instrumentalist in both bands doesn’t help. So I guess i’m with Michael G @#6

  21. 21.

    Another Bob

    I heard “I Can’t Tell You Why” by the Eagles on the radio for literally decades without realizing who it was. I’d always assumed it was some female vocalist like Nicolette Larson, but never thought the song was interesting enough to bother to find out.

  24. 24.

    Yutsano

    @DougJ: Typos and all. But my Crackberry keyboard is the suxxorz.

    I thought I had another one, but I’m in the middle of a ten hour day. I’m about dead.

  25. 25.

    Xecky Gilchrist

    I don’t know any ambiguous-gendered-singer songs, but a friend of mine once showed me that if you take the LP version of Springsteen’s “I’m on Fire” and play it at 45 RPM, he sounds like Dolly Parton.

  26. 26.

    karen marie

    @raven: Hey! Me too! First time I heard Jimmy Scott in a music store in Boston probably a billion years ago, I made them take the CD out of the player to verify it was what was on display because I just didn’t believe that this obvious woman singer was a man. I went on to buy all his CDs and had the glorious opportunity to see and hear him play in a club in Cambridge. I even got his autograph.

    Good lord, he makes me swoon still.

  27. 27.

    cathyx

    My daughter thought that Give me one reason by Tracy Chapman was a man. Then I told her to picture a black woman singing, and then she said oh, I see.

  33. 33.

    raven

    @karen marie: Cool, I saw Mose Allison in a joint there in 1972.

    @karen marie: Cool, I saw Mose Allison in a joint there in 1972.

    Browse : 0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z | ALL

    Everybody’s Crying Mercy lyrics
    Mose Allison

    Correct Everybody’s Crying Mercy Lyrics Correct these lyrics
    Print Everybody’s Crying Mercy Lyrics Print these lyrics
    Comment LyricsComment lyrics

    Rate this song:
    1 2 3 4 5
    No votes yet, be the first!

    Add to my playlist
    Artist: Mose Allison lyrics
    Title: Everybody’s Crying Mercy

    Send “Everybody’s Crying Mercy” to your Cell

    Watch “Everybody’s Crying Mercy” video
    Everybody’s Crying Mercy :

    I can’t believe the things I’m seeing
    I wonder ’bout some things I’ve heard
    Everybody’s Crying Mercy
    When they don’t know the meaning of the word
    A bad enough situation
    It’s sure enough getting worse
    Everybody’s Crying Justice
    Just as long as it’s business first
    Toe to toe
    Touch and go
    Give a cheer
    Get your souvenir
    People running ’round in circles
    Don’t know what they’re headed for
    Everybody’s Crying Peace on Earth
    Just as soon as we win this war
    Straight ahead
    Knock ’em dead
    Pack your kit
    Choose your hypocrite
    Well you don’t have to go to off-Broadway
    To see something plain absurd
    Everybody’s Crying Mercy

    When they don’t know the meaning of the word
    Nobody knows the meaning of the word

  35. 35.

    JK

    @Elizabelle:
    Beat me to it. Didn’t realize until seeing them play the Ricksaw Shop in SF. I was quite surprised. The GF and I kept looking at each other in for the first 20 minutes of the show trying to make sure we were seeing things correctly.

  37. 37.

    Sal

    Roxy Roller by Nick Gilder/Sweeney Todd. Still don’t believe it’s a man singing that song.

  39. 39.

    Mr Stagger Lee

    I just can’t stop loving you,by Michael Jackson,with Sideah Garrett, trying figure out who the hell is singing.

  44. 44.

    raven

    @karen marie: Cool, I saw Mose Allison in a joint there in 1972.

    Everybody’s Crying Mercy lyrics
    Mose Allison

    I can’t believe the things I’m seeing
    I wonder ’bout some things I’ve heard
    Everybody’s Crying Mercy
    When they don’t know the meaning of the word
    A bad enough situation
    It’s sure enough getting worse
    Everybody’s Crying Justice
    Just as long as it’s business first
    Toe to toe
    Touch and go
    Give a cheer
    Get your souvenir
    People running ’round in circles
    Don’t know what they’re headed for
    Everybody’s Crying Peace on Earth
    Just as soon as we win this war
    Straight ahead
    Knock ’em dead
    Pack your kit
    Choose your hypocrite
    Well you don’t have to go to off-Broadway
    To see something plain absurd
    Everybody’s Crying Mercy

    When they don’t know the meaning of the word
    Nobody knows the meaning of the word

  45. 45.

    BGinCHI

    Antony Hegarty (Antony and the Johnsons) is probably the top of the pile on this one. What an amazing voice, but almost impossible to tell that it’s a man’s voice.

    Check them out.

    Alabama Shakes are great too. If you like the bluesy rock/pop stuff they’re for you.

    Prince could also do the falsetto something fierce back in the day. You know, before we stopped partying like it was 1999.

  46. 46.

    Old Dan and Little Ann

    I was a kid in the early 80’s but whenever I heard Rush (the band not the drug addled blob) on the radio I thought it was a woman singing.

  47. 47.

    Turgidson

    Tune-Yards sprung to mind for me.

    Other than that, I can’t think of a good example – but there are a few stretches of Led Zeppelin songs where if I didn’t know who they were, I would have had a hard time identifying Robert Plant’s voice as that of a guy. Parts of The Song Remains the Same for example.

  49. 49.

    Mr Stagger Lee

    I must admit, when Culture Club first came out, I thought Boy George was not bad looking and his singing was a bit tad low, but I didn’t and admitted(in an Army Barracks) that I thought Boy George was cute. Took me a long time to live that down.
    I am glad I didn’t tell them of Jaye Davidson of The Crying Game.(That revealing scene tripped me out! My ex never made lived that down.

  53. 53.

    Steeplejack

    @karen marie:

    For a long time I sort of half thought when when he died Jimmy Scott would be revealed as a woman who “passed” as a man for some obscure but exotic reason.

    Then I read that he has Kallmann’s syndrome. “The condition stunted his growth at four feet eleven inches until, at age 37, he grew another eight inches to the height of five feet seven inches. The condition prevented him from reaching puberty, leaving him with a high, undeveloped voice, hence his nickname ‘Little’ Jimmy Scott.”

  56. 56.

    Comrade Mary

    She Said by Plan B.

    I heard the song on Definitely Not the Opera, wondered by they interrupted that awesome girl soul singer with some merely OK rapping — and then I found the video.

  57. 57.

    Mr Stagger Lee

    @raven: Well it wasn’t because I was Gay, I thought he was a she when I made those remarks,what can I say, I wasn’t paying attention.

  59. 59.

    Kris Collins

    @raven it:

    I was just typing Black is the Color of My True Love’s Hair by Nina Simone, the first time I heard it I didn’t know quite what to make of the amazing sound I heard, and I’m a singer myself.

  60. 60.

    Kris Collins

    @raven it:

    I was just typing Black is the Color of My True Love’s Hair by Nina Simone, the first time I heard it I didn’t know quite what to make of the amazing sound I heard, and I’m a singer myself.

  61. 61.

    Kris Collins

    @raven it:

    I was just typing Black is the Color of My True Love’s Hair by Nina Simone, the first time I heard it I didn’t know quite what to make of the amazing sound I heard, and I’m a singer myself.

  64. 64.

    Kris Collins

    @raven it:

    I was just typing Black is the Color of My True Love’s Hair by Nina Simone, the first time I heard it I didn’t know quite what to make of the amazing sound I heard, and I’m a singer myself.

  65. 65.

    D0n Camillo

    “Jackie Blue” by Ozark Mountain Daredevils. It totally changed my view of the song when I realized it was a guy singing.

  67. 67.

    Kris Collins

    @raven it:

    I was just typing Black is the Color of My True Love’s Hair by Nina Simone, the first time I heard it I didn’t know quite what to make of the amazing sound I heard, and I’m a singer myself.

  69. 69.

    Kris Collins

    @raven it:

    I was just typing Black is the Color of My True Love’s Hair by Nina Simone, the first time I heard it I didn’t know quite what to make of the amazing sound I heard, and I’m a singer myself.

  72. 72.

    DFH no.6

    I’ll pile on with another vote for contemporary indie band Silversun Pickups.

    Their first “hit” song (as much as any indie song is a “hit” anymore) was “Lazy Eye” (a really excellent modern pop song) and when I first heard it I was sure the lead vocals were sung by a woman.

    I was really surprised when I saw them for the first time at Coachella in 2007, and found out that the lead singer (and guitarist) is Brian Aubert. Not a woman.

    Frequent left blogosphere commenter joe from lowell (can’t say I remember him around here at all, not sure why) once opined on a long ago thread about music in one of Yglesias’ early blogs that the Silversun Pickups are the best 90s band started after the 90s.

    Seemed about right to me (maybe along with The Shins and a few others like that). I’ve caught a couple more of Silversun Pickups’ shows since ’07 and they’ve always been excellent (best was a set with Serj Tankian — who looks just like Borat — a couple years ago at the barn-like Marquee Theater in Phoenix).

  74. 74.

    phantomist

    Not exactly the same, but.. I always thought Elton John & Kiki Dee ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’ was Captain & Tennille.

  75. 75.

    BB

    Nice Barthes reference. I always thought that the song “Lola” should be covered by a singer that is ambiguous gender-wise, and thus the subtext would be how if everybody is genderqueer then stuff gets confusing pretty fast. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

  76. 76.

    Suffern Ace

    @Mr Stagger Lee: Well I never found him cute per se, but listening to “do u really want to hurt me?” on the radio, which was their first hit, I couldn’t tell. Nor church of the poison mind. I thought it was a woman singing.

  77. 77.

    Kris Collins

    @raven it:

    I was just typing Black is the Color of My True Love’s Hair by Nina Simone, the first time I heard it I didn’t know quite what to make of the amazing sound I heard, and I’m a singer myself. 1 (DNK)

  78. 78.

    Steeplejack

    @nastybrutishntall:

    Man, that takes me back to a very specific time. I was traveling a lot for work and heard that song all the time one week when I was running all over New York City.

  79. 79.

    Kris Collins

    @raven it:

    I was just typing Black is the Color of My True Love’s Hair by Nina Simone, the first time I heard it I didn’t know quite what to make of the amazing sound I heard, and I’m a singer myself. 1 (DNK)

  80. 80.

    Djur

    “Maybe”, Ink Spots
    “Gates Of Steel”, Devo

    I probably would have thought that some of the vocals in Bootsy’s Rubber Band songs like “Physical Love” were sung by a woman if I hadn’t seen them first as videos. And by that time I was familiar with that style of soul falsetto.

  82. 82.

    Kris Collins

    Sorry about the five million repetitive comments, my Android browser kept telling me I wasn’t connecting to the server and I didn’t realize my comment had posted every time until I went to the Dolphin browser.

  86. 86.

    burnspbesq

    the first time I heard k.d. lang (“Trail of Broken Hearts”), I was unclear as to her gender. And the cover photo on that album didn’t help much.

    Also, for those of us who were around in the early 60s, “Hurt” by Timi Yuro.

  87. 87.

    angelfoot

    Anything by Death Vessel. Who you should really check out if you haven’t and like folk-rock.

  90. 90.

    burnspbesq

    If the first thing you ever heard was his harmony vocal on “Green Rolling Hills” from “Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town,” you might have guessed that Ricky Skaggs was actually a Ricki.

    Conversely, if all you had ever heard of Trisha Yearwood was her duets with Don Henley, you might think she was a he.

  93. 93.

    gogol's wife

    @Boudica:

    I had a whole mental image of the blonde, busty woman who was singing that song. Through my whole childhood. And when I finally saw him, he kind of fit the bill (he used to have a blond pompadour).

  97. 97.

    Ben

    “Smooth Operator” by Sade. She sounds like a dude to me in the opening spoken intro to the album version of that song.

  98. 98.

    Steeplejack

    @gogol’s wife:

    I watched Anchors Aweigh earlier today. Good songs and choreography, but the view on dating and relations between the sexes gave me a headache.

    Skipped The Three Musketeers, because I saw it a month or two ago and it is just a schizophrenic mix of knockabout humor and cold violence. Very weird.

    And of course they have built up to the big titles. An American in Paris is on now, and Singin’ in the Rain is on at midnight (EDT).

  100. 100.

    mainmati

    Just about anything by the Icelandic band Sygur Ros. For several years, I thought the lead singer was a woman. They are really great so long as you are cool with Icelandic lyrics.

  106. 106.

    ? Martin

    And in this vein, I think the Karen O cover of Immigrant Song is exceptional and that she covers the proper range of the song better than Robert Plant, without singing the song out of the original range.

    It’s really an inspired cover, and made for an even more inspired trailer.

  112. 112.

    Pete

    Unless I missed it, no one said “I Can See Clearly Now” by Johnny Nash. For a long time thought it was a woman.

  113. 113.

    markus o'farkus

    One of the best shows I ever saw was when I saw Come at TT the Bears. Probably about 1990. Amazing show, but I have to admit, I spent about half the show trying to figure out if Thalia Zedek was a man or a woman. Not that she was bad looking at the time, just ambiguous. The voice was not a deciding factor.

    Usually when I introduce someone to the band, I leave them on for a few songs before casually mentioning that the singer is a woman. Usually people are surprised.

    For reference:
    Come – Submerge

  114. 114.

    notoriousJRT

    @Boudica:
    This immediately came to my mind. I was six when this song was popular. I was positive my dad was pulling my leg when he told me the singer was a MAN named Wayne Newton.

  115. 115.

    OmerosPeanut

    I want to say “Rebel Rebel” by David Bowie, but that’s more as a joke on the song’s lyrics than because I couldn’t tell. The only example I can think of would be the first time I heard “I Don’t Feel Like Dancin'” by the Scissor Sisters. I thought it was sung by two black women. Whoops.

  116. 116.

    Rico Unsuave

    I always thought Brother Louie was sung by a woman.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exl0oSfTSoY

    She was black as the night
    Louie was whiter than white
    Danger, danger when you taste brown sugar
    Louie fell in love overnight

    Nothing bad, it was good
    Louie had the best girl he could
    When he took her home
    To meet his mama and papa
    Louie knew just where he stood

    Louie Louie Louie, Louie
    Louie Louie Lou-I
    Louie Louie Louie
    Louie Louie you’re gonna cry
    ….

  120. 120.

    cminus

    The first time I heard Hanson’s “Mmmbop”, I thought “the song is kind of dumb, but that woman has a lovely singing voice.”

  121. 121.

    Jacquie

    I’m actually horribly embarrassed that I didn’t know the theme song from “Community” is sung by a guy. I just found out on the season 3 DVD commentary.

  122. 122.

    kmeyerthelurker

    “Jackie Blue” by Ozark Mtn Daredevils. Thought it was a woman for years.
    Also, Jimmy Sommerville really threw me for a loop way back when.

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