Spoken Word: Difference between revisions
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* Rex Harrison in ''[[My Fair Lady]]'' and ''[[Doctor Dolittle]]''. He dubbed the technique "Sing-Speak". |
* Rex Harrison in ''[[My Fair Lady]]'' and ''[[Doctor Dolittle]]''. He dubbed the technique "Sing-Speak". |
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* Gregorian chant (in some cases) |
* Gregorian chant (in some cases) {{context}}<!-- Please name one. Or more. Note: Plainsong has a melodic line, and thus is not spoken word. --> |
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* Lorne Greene in ''[[Bonanza]]'' performs the theme's lyrics this way. |
* Lorne Greene in ''[[Bonanza]]'' performs the theme's lyrics this way. He did the same on his much more famous recording, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCyuq-ofnPc "Ringo"]. |
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* John DiMaggio, voicing Gorilla Grodd in the ''[[Batman: The Brave And The Bold]]'' episode "Mayhem of the Music Meister!", uses this technique. |
* John DiMaggio, voicing Gorilla Grodd in the ''[[Batman: The Brave And The Bold]]'' episode "Mayhem of the Music Meister!", uses this technique. |
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* Just about everyone in the film version of ''[[Man of La Mancha]]'', which is fortunate since none of the stars were even tolerable singers. |
* Just about everyone in the film version of ''[[Man of La Mancha]]'', which is fortunate since none of the stars were even tolerable singers. |
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* [[Johnny Cash]] |
* [[Johnny Cash]] |
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* Robert Preston as Professor Harold Hill in ''[[The Music Man]]''. |
* Robert Preston as Professor Harold Hill in ''[[The Music Man]]''. |
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* [[C.W. McCall]]'s recordings from the 1970s -- starting with his big hit "Convoy" and including just about everything else he ever did -- is basically him reciting a lyrical, rhyming story with the occasional interjection by background singers; they weren't so much ''songs'' as a kind of [[Country Music|country-western]] proto-[[Rap]]. |
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* C.W. McCall |
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* Used on ''[[The Muppet Show]]'' by |
* Used on ''[[The Muppet Show]]'' by most guest stars who couldn't actually sing. (Some tried anyway.) |
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* The musical ''[[Camelot (theatre)|Camelot]]'' does this quite a bit. |
* The musical ''[[Camelot (theatre)|Camelot]]'' does this quite a bit. |
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* "All I Wanna Do Is Play Cards" by Corb Lund. |
* "All I Wanna Do Is Play Cards" by [[Corb Lund]]. |
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* [[Gil Scott-Heron]] is famous for his Spoken Word performances, most notably [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGaoXAwl9kw|"The Revolution Will Not Be Televised"]. |
* [[Gil Scott-Heron]] is famous for his Spoken Word performances, most notably [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGaoXAwl9kw|"The Revolution Will Not Be Televised"]. |
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* Later recordings by [[William Shatner]] have him doing the lyrics in Spoken Word while the backup singers... well, sing. |
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{{reflist}} |
{{reflist}} |
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[[Category:Music Tropes]] |
[[Category:Music Tropes]] |
Latest revision as of 20:09, 25 July 2018
Speech used as song. During the 1960s and 1970s in particular, this technique was often used in film musicals to allow popular actors to star in them despite a total or near-total lack of singing ability. It is also used in theatre when production schedules simply do not allow time for proper rehearsal of choral numbers. It is also a style of performance grown out of Jazz and Soul which eventually influenced the evolution of Rap.
Examples of Spoken Word include:
- Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady and Doctor Dolittle. He dubbed the technique "Sing-Speak".
- Gregorian chant (in some cases) [context?]
- Lorne Greene in Bonanza performs the theme's lyrics this way. He did the same on his much more famous recording, "Ringo".
- John DiMaggio, voicing Gorilla Grodd in the Batman: The Brave And The Bold episode "Mayhem of the Music Meister!", uses this technique.
- Just about everyone in the film version of Man of La Mancha, which is fortunate since none of the stars were even tolerable singers.
- Johnny Cash
- Robert Preston as Professor Harold Hill in The Music Man.
- C.W. McCall's recordings from the 1970s -- starting with his big hit "Convoy" and including just about everything else he ever did -- is basically him reciting a lyrical, rhyming story with the occasional interjection by background singers; they weren't so much songs as a kind of country-western proto-Rap.
- Used on The Muppet Show by most guest stars who couldn't actually sing. (Some tried anyway.)
- The musical Camelot does this quite a bit.
- "All I Wanna Do Is Play Cards" by Corb Lund.
- Gil Scott-Heron is famous for his Spoken Word performances, most notably "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised".
- Later recordings by William Shatner have him doing the lyrics in Spoken Word while the backup singers... well, sing.