Comedians Who Wanted to Rock, and Got Their Big Chance

Dave Chappelle once said every comedian wants to be a musician and all musicians think they’re funny.

Whether you know it or not, the worlds of comedy and music have a lot in common. Both professions require rigorous practice, an understanding of your influences, and the ability to control an often rambunctious audience are just a few of the similarities between belting out one-liners and belting out the lines of a song. So it’s not surprising that many of the talented faces who’ve made us laugh on stage and screen could also carry a tune. But more than that, there is a history of comedians wanting to be rock or pop singers, and dying for the chance to get out there and give it a shot. And plenty of comedians, once they had enough fame to convince someone to let them, have cut records. We’re not talking musical comedy or parody, we’re talking taking a shot at the music charts. Whether they had what it takes to make it as a musical artist is up to you to decide. Here are 10 comedians who wanted to rock, and gave it their best shot.

1. Eddie Murphy, “Party All the Time” “Red Light”

If you were Eddie Murphy in the 80’s, you could do no fucking wrong. Holy shit. Murphy might be caught in kiddie-comedy Purgatory right now, but his body of work is absolutely gigantic. Whether it was acting, performing stand-up, or singing, Eddie Murphy was the king of entertainment. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Back in the day, Eddie did his little song and dance bit and got a hit record out of it. You’ve all probably heard “Party All The Time” before, so you’ll know that the chorus will be in your head for a week now because I brought it up. Eddie didn’t stop there. Hell no. He released an album last year. Here’s a track from his new reggae album that he collaborated with Snoop on. Yeah. That Snoop. I don’t know either, it’s okay.