Exploring Kurt Russell’s bizarre smooth rock album
Ever since he was 12 years old and he kicked Elvis in the shin in It Happened at the World’s Fair, Kurt Russel has always had a strange tie with the king of rock and roll. He portrayed him in some films and even gave an uncredited voice cameo in Forrest Gump, where he portrayed Elvis. However, one more instance in his life where he could be linked to the King is with his love of smooth rock, which led to the release of a self-titled album in 1970.
“If you haven’t given Kurt Russell Sings a listen, then you haven’t experienced music,” he said jokingly in an interview on The Late Late Show with James Corden. “My Dad was sitting in a bar, or he ran into a producer… he produced Bobby Sherman’s albums, amongst other things,” he explained, “They got to talking, I think they had a few and the next thing I knew somehow I’d been roped into doing an album.”
Granted, this might not come as a shock to a lot of people, given Russell has sung in a few of the different films he’s done; however, the fact his music career started and stopped with a strange cover album in the ‘70s is certainly something of note. The whole thing plays like a bit of a cash grab, given the release coincides with Russell getting bigger following his appearances in Disney films, and the tracklist consists of popular covers from the time.
One of the most notable tracks was Kurt Russell’s cover of the hit song, ‘Sugar, Sugar’. His cover was a faithful adaptation as the actor (singer — maybe) left the track pretty much unchanged, apart from the fact that he was singing on it rather than The Archies. This was one of the record’s biggest songs, and Russell even went on TV to perform it.
Other songs on the 30-minute covers album include ‘Hey Baby I Love You’ ‘I Believe In Love’ and ‘My Baby Loves Lovin’. Whether or not Russell ever thought he had prospects as a singer remains unknown, but it’s clear now, with the power of hindsight, that he makes for a much better actor.
It’s worth saying that this isn’t the same actor-turned-singer-style album that we tend to find. Often, these albums come about because an actor wants to sing and they have enough money and a big platform to profit from doing so. Kurt Russell was doing well as an actor then, but he wasn’t the name he would eventually go on to be. The point is that, yes, while the producer of this record might have seen a quick buck in profiting off a rising Disney star, Russell doesn’t sound all too bad on the album.
It’s a cover record with no individuality brought to the songs being covered. Still, Russell can carry a tune better than most and generally, despite the fact it exists being bizarre, the actual album is pretty listenable. He is undoubtedly a better actor, but if you ever want to see a different side to Russell, you have it here.
