![]() But the album’s performance was meh, and Eddie was surprised. Eddie was one of the biggest stars in America, and major talent was involved in the project – in addition to James himself, Stevie Wonder produced a couple of tracks. The full studio album, How Could It Be, theoretically should have been massive. ![]() (That’s part of the issue with Eddie as a recording artist: he has no signature sound.) “Party All the Time” hit #2 on the Hot 100 chart and stayed there for weeks, blocked by Lionel Richie’s “Say You, Say Me.” But it felt more like a Rick James song than an Eddie Murphy song. Rick was still nursing resentment towards his one-time rival, and let that hate serve as fuel to deliver Eddie more heat than he’d had himself in two years. Rick James was on the downside of his career when he found out – probably from friend Charlie Murphy – that Eddie had a couple of incomplete sessions with Prince before the Purple One eventually bailed on the project. Columbia Records, the label home for his comedy albums, became his home as a vocalist, and his singing career started in earnest with the one Eddie Murphy song everyone knows, the actually jamming “Party All the Time.” He’d already put a piano and a studio in the crib, and he had access to pretty much any collaborator he wanted. Once he hit superstardom and his brand identity as a comedic actor was solid, Eddie felt free to experiment with a legit album. Once she convinced my best friend and me it was a real song, we immediately grabbed the album, called a select few people, played it, and hung up (because we were 13, and *69 callback wasn’t a thing for another two years or so). I discovered the better-known of the two, “Boogie in Your Butt,” my freshman year of high school when my best friend’s mother was walking around the house singing the song one Friday night. His effortless, spot-on impressions made it easy for him to weave music into his comedy, going all the way back to Saturday Night Live.Įddie added two parody songs on his 1982 self-titled comedy album. Actually, there were guys in the group who sang much better than me I just wanted to be out front.” I was the band’s manager, leader and lead singer. I would do tunes by the Commodores, some by Earth, Wind & Fire, and then I’d do impressions of Al Green, or Elvis Presley. ”I organized my own bands when I was in high school on Long Island,” he told the New York Times while he was working on his first album. As rumors swirl of Eddie possibly returning to stand up with a $70 million Netflix partnership, there’s the likelihood that some music will be involved, so let’s prepare by reviewing the comedian’s efforts to be taken seriously as a recording artist.Įven before making it in comedy, Eddie wanted to be a singer. He stepped away from standup, even stopped doing movies at a point, but was still in his studio at the crib. Eddie as a recording artist never quite took – probably in part because his sh*t was a little unconventional, but we’ll get into that – yet music is the one aspect of entertainment he never gave up on. From the beginning, his goal was to eventually have a full-scale entertainment show, reminiscent of the vaudeville days when everyone sang, danced, told jokes, and the whole nine. Think about it there’ve been through lines of music throughout his entire comedic and acting career, from SNL on. This isn’t like Lil Duval hitting a lick with “My Best Life” by accident. But what many don’t realize is that making music is more than just a hobby the comic has dabbled in from time to time. He only had one real hit, and his last two releases flew largely under the radar. Eddie’s music career is a footnote for fans at best.
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