Artists Who Play Up Their Accents

"A question by a faraway stranger: is a new jersey accent something to be vaguely ashamed in the US?"
---I am from New Jersey, and there is a very stereotypical, media-driven manner of speaking that most people consider to be a "New Jersey accent." It is very much a "Sopranos" style way of speaking. However, most people I know do not speak like this. There is a very broad range of accents in this very small state, ranging from the Northeastern New Jersey type that is pretty much closer to Manhattan-speak, to the southern Jersey kind that emulates how people from the Baltimore/Maryland area speak -- with a distinct southern lilt. Then there is the Central/Western Jersey accent that is very close to the "fully" accent of those from the Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania accent -- i.e. "Lit's gaoh wautch the Iggles in Fully." These are just three ways of speaking her in the Garden State. But the stereotype is very much a media creation -- the speech of "Dese" and "Dem" and "Dose."

As for Springsteen, he and others from the shore areas are prone to really pronounce the er, ar, ur, and ir endings of words very tightly -- listen to another Jersey native, Danny Devito, speak like this. This style of speaking has very little similarity to the way a Tony Soprano would say the word "mother" -- "mutha." Listen to James Gandolfini (who is from Westwood in Bergen County) play Tony Soprano, and you'll see the actor playing a role that isn;t really based on much of what I have ever heard in this state.

I have no idea why Springsteen uses that fake accent; he does not really speak like that.

 

Not in singing, but in speech: John Lennon and Paul McCartney apparently played up their Scouse accents in the early sixties. Neither of them had truly thick accents like Ringo and George. Also, I'm not sure exactly what Mick Jagger's natural accent is—I've heard it might be Received Pronunciation (BBC voice)—but he certainly played up the cockney/lower class accent, first in speech, later (occassionally) in song.

 

Peter Gabriel, especially in early Genesis.

In "The Musical Box", I first thought he said "Time left to live out my e-life."

Actually, he doesn't play up his accent. He just sings naturally.

 

Ian Hunter exaggerates his accent a lot.

 

with Sting, it seems the "jamaican accent" is kind of an affectation that "seems" jamaican and fits the style and sound of their music. but to me, he doesn't actually sound anything like jamaican people sound when speaking english.

with Gabriel, i think he had many accents and affectations and voices he sang with throughout his career. he did this even in his spoken word intros in the early days. i feel like in his solo career, he has for the most part sung more in his "unaffected" voice.

 

Thank you very much my friend for this interesting explanation. Being italian, I looooove dearly that 'sopranos' jersey accent. It's so 'goodfellas' to my ears and I find it funnily charming. Springsteen in the mid seventies appeared to me like some guy from Taxi Driver or Mean Streets, it was the 'italo-american mafia' craze of the times, post-Godfather (I used to think that Billy Joel was a 'compare', a gumbah, too). In the cover of Darkness he looks like Pacino in Cruising. Obviously there are a lot of clichès involved, I live in northern Italy and almost nobody here talks like Vito Corleone or ***** Bonpensiero, you gotta go to Sicily or Naples. I am lightly sorry that Bruce has changed his accent. It's so esotically irresistible to a faraway stranger's ear. Bacio le mani.

 

Agreed......and don't forget to throw in the cowboy costume for the boys.

 

You'd never believe that Bryan Ferry was a working-class bloke from Washington Tyne and Wear, would you? Well, he is - but he's aimed himself so far up the social ladder that you'd be forgiven for thinking he was some near cousin of Prince Charles. Apparently, when he gets angry (and when the cameras are off), he relapses into native 'toon'.

 

And here he is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FS0YrTHaEI

 

Mick Jagger's "American" accent.

 

Bowie takes on a lot of different "characters" in his work...always the actor...but you don't get much more of an "in-yer-fayce" accent than that Cockney voice he uses on "Scary Monsters".

...or maybe Keith Moon as he fiddles a-bite, fiddles a-bite!

 

When singing or speaking ? , he's
not doing it in this interview

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjhO3VGfpFk

 

What about those suburban white, wannabe rappers with their fake inner-city/urban accents?

 

A long time ago I read that Sir Mick has always used at least two accents in performance and interviews, and that his actual natural speaking voice is seldom heard by us chickens.

I don't know if it is, or ever was true. Just saying "I read it somewhere."


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This goes back a bit, but famous classical conductor Leopold Stokowski did a voice in interviews that seemed To be fair, I heard a rehearsal recording recently and he sounds very definitely like a Londoner and quite an amusing one as well. The orchestra obviously loves him. He also asks for input/suggestions from any and all musicians, a very nice sign. But, in interviews, he definitely played up his non-English accent.

 

Sir Michael

 

I've been told by someone who grew up in the same part of London as Billy Bragg that Bragg's accent is so falsely thick and over-emphasized that it's cartoonish.

 

Certainly sounds believable. I wonder if one could hear his real voice on bootlegs of session tapes, or if he even put on an affected accent in that situation.

On the footage from Goddard's "One Plus One" of them recording "Sympathy," Mick calls at one point for "more Keef on the cans," and he sounds rather like Pete Townshend.

 

Mike Peters,the Alarm's singer/founder sometimes had a heavy english accent, which is quite noticeable in the lyrics of Strength, the title track of thier 2nd LP. Especially on the line "cause I'm a man of emotion,who can't hide the tears." Mike is from Wales originally. Captain Sensible of The Damned also comes to mind,especially his pronunciation of WOT (what) on his 1982 solo hit.

 

Apparently Aunt Mimi used to get on John's case quite a bit for his affecting a coarser, working class accent in his attempts to gain himself a bit of street cred, and deflect attention away from his middle class upbringing.

But who can blame him - "Middle Class Hero" just doesn't quite have the same ring to it, does it?

 

Kate Nash and Lily Allen.

 

I am a non-english speaking old fart and I have some curio: what about Bob Dylan? Do you american people hear some accent in his mighty Bobness?

 

His early folkie singing in particular affected a twang that one wouldn't expect from someone from Minnesota. His heavy Woody Guthrie influence was a factor.

 

But of course. Clumsy moi.


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Damon Albarn of Blur