Golden Throats: The Great Celebrity Sing Off

Various Artists - Miscellaneous - Comedy, Golden Throats (Rhino Series)

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 1, 1992)
• Original Release Date: May 18, 1988
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rhino / Wea
• ASIN: B0000032C1
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #38,005 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #6 in	Music > Miscellaneous > Compilations > Comedy
  #92 in	Music > Miscellaneous > Compilations > Decades > 1960-1969
  #100 in	Music > Pop > By Decade > 1960s

Track Listings

1. Proud Mary - Leonard Nimoy

2. It Ain't Me Babe - Sebastian Cabot

3. Blowin' in the Wind - Eddie Albert

4. Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds - William Shatner

5. Whiter Shade of Pale - Noel Harrison

6. I Can See for Miles - Frankie Randall

7. Try a Little Tenderness - Jack Webb

8. Twist and Shout - Mae West

9. House of the Rising Sun - Andy Griffith

10. Mr. Tambourine Man - William Shatner

11. You Are the Sunshine of My Life - Jim Nabors

12. Like a Rolling Stone - Sebastian Cabot

13. White Room - Joel Grey

14. If I Had a Hammer - Leonard Nimoy

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sing your fool head off!, March 26, 2004

By	Johnny Heering "trivia buff" (Bethel, CT United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This album has become surprisingly influential. It was the first album to feature celebrities singing badly. I remember the first time I heard it; I laughed my head off. It spawned three sequels and several imitations. Hey, it even helped revive William Shatner's career! Of course, Shatner's unforgetable renditions of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and "Mr. Tambourine Man" are the highlights here, but there's much more. Shatner's first mate, Leonard Nimoy, who was the most prolific actor/vocalist (five albums!), has two amazing contributions here. Everybody's favorite butler, Sebastian Cabot, has two songs from his spoken word album where he overacts Bob Dylan lyrics. Speaking of overacting Bob Dylan songs, you should here what Eddie "Green Acres" Albert does to "Blowin' in the Wind". Jack Webb recites "Try a Little Tenderness" in his best Joe Friday monotone. I could go on and on, but I will get to the point and say that "this album is hilarious". I highly recommend this album to anyone who likes funny music.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly not bad!, December 31, 2002

By A Customer

I got this album primarily because, being a fan of old TV in general and the Original Star Trek in particular, I really wanted to have those tracks that Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner sing (mind you, I'm using the term "sing" loosely here). I had always heard how cheesy/bad Shatner's and Nimoy's tracks were, and I thought it'd be good for a laugh.

And of course, it is most certainly good for a laugh, particularly Eddie Albert's "Blowin' in the Wind" and Jim Nabors's "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" (Nabors's operatic voice was definitely wrong for an easy listening pop song.)

However, to my suprise, as another reviewer of this album has noted, most of the tracks are surprisingly listenable and good. Nimoy may not have the best voice in the world but he at least sings on key (more than can be said for most "modern rock" vocalists today, who whine and scream into a microphone and call it singing). Shatner of course is such a ham that it's enough to make you die laughing; but hey, he puts his heart and soul into it and you have to give him credit for that.

Sebastian Cabot's spoken-word renditions of old Dylan favorites are...well, odd and certainly are not my favorite tracks on the album (kind of bizarre to have Mr. French doing Dylan and there's not much oomph there).

Noel Harrison's "Whiter Shade of Pale" may actually be better than Procul Harum's; and Joel Grey's "White Room" may be better than Cream's version. On the original versions of both of these tracks, I was never able to understand what in the world the original artists were singing about, but with both Harrison and Grey I actually was able to make out what was being said (rock singers tend to mumble a lot and sing only for themselves, but Harrison and Grey both enunciate nicely so you can understand them).

Probably could've done without Mae West's "Twist and Shout," but hey, by the time she did this she was pushing eighty years old, got to at least give her credit for effort. And Andy Griffith's "House of the Rising Sun," while not nearly as good as the Animals' version, is an interesting interpretation.

So the upshot is - it will not only make you laugh, it may make you revisit your opinion of the "definitive versions" of old rock favorites! Buy it.

24 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely hilarious!, October 2, 2000

By	Candace Scott (Lake Arrowhead, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This is one of the most enjoyable CD's I have ever owned and it's given me endless hours of enjoyment and hilarity. I actually listened (and laughed uproariously) to Bill Shatner warbling his torturously inept versions of Mr. Tambourine Man and Lucy in the Sky over 100 times the first week I bought this album. Have you ever imagined what John Lennon would have thought of Shatner's sickeningly bad cover version of one of his greatest songs? Give me a break! Even more hilarious are several other lesser-known songs on this gem of an album. How about Sebastian Cabot (Mr. French on that silly old 60's lame dog show, "Family Affair") seriously attempting to sing Dylan's classic It Ain't Me Babe. This is guaranteed to split your sides open with laugh. Cabot performs this as if he is Olivier at the Old Vic and takes himself w-a-y too seriously. Another classic of the absurd is Leonard Nimoy (possessing the worst voice known to mortal man) belting out Proud Mary. God, is this abysmal.

I will never watch a re-run of Green Acres again without cringing at the sight of Eddie Albert, who mutilates Blowin' in the Wind. No one can listen to this tragic version and not roll on the floor with laughter. Albert screams out the final verse in ear-splitting fashion, you can almost see him strutting around the recording studio, circa 1968, firmly believing he had just recorded a classic record. Poor Stevie Wonder must not be collecting many royalties form Jim Nabor's atrocious version of You are the Sunshine of My Life. If that record sold more than two copies I'd be surprised.

This is truly an hilarious album perfect for parties, playing for your friends or just listening to by yourself. Rarely have I ever laughed as hard and you will too.