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Joe The Plumber Sings? Get The Plunger!

Posted Thu Oct 30, 2008 12:22pm PDT by Billy Altman in Stop The Presses!

Watching the media feeding frenzy these past few weeks over Samuel J. Wurzelbacher --aka Joe the Plumber--it seems fitting (and I don't mean pipe-fitting) to note that 2008 marks the 40th anniversary of pop artist Andy Warhol's oh-so prophetic quote that "In the future, everyone will be [world] famous for 15 minutes." And from the news breaking this week about the "branding" of Joe the Plumber, that 15 minutes may soon well stretch to at least somewhere between 40 and 48 minutes, which is the average length of a CD these days.

Say hello to Joe the Plumber, country singer.

While he's spent the last six years making a living carrying a wrench, apparently Wurzelbacher is now thinking of maybe giving it a go carrying a tune, according to a management team that has just entered into an agreement with Wurzelbacher in the hopes of turning him into a Nashville star. While readily admitting that he isn't a "real" musician--Joe humbly notes that he just "knocks around on guitar"--Pathfinder Management president Jim Della Croce claims that Wurzelbacher can indeed sing, and that he's "A complicated guy with a very dynamic personality."

Whether Joe the Plumber can actually make his (lug) nut as a country crooner, of course, remains to be seen and heard--although given the track record of non-musicians suddenly getting in front of a microphone, that might prove fairly painful. After all, from William Hung to William Shatner, pop music history has at times, er, overflowed with the often ear-splitting, and just as often (unintentionally) hilarious results of such endeavors.

These "singers" come in all shapes and sizes, from folks with some talent in other areas, such as actors Bruce Willis

 

and Eddie Murphy, 

 

 


or athletes like Shaquille O'Neal

 

and Terry Bradshaw,



to those with substantial lack of talent in other areas, like Paris Hilton.

 

 

Perhaps the greatest "bad" singer of all time, though, was Mrs. (Elva) Miller, whose astonishingly earnest tone deaf rendition of Petula Clark's "Downtown" in 1966 made the Midwestern matron an overnight sensation at age 59. Mrs. Miller's Greatest Hits featured her cheerily mangling everything from the Beatles' "A Hard Days Night" to Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made for Walkin.'"



That album actually made it all the way to the Top Twenty, and over four decades later it remains the "high" water mark in horrible vocalizing. And maybe he doesn't know much about singing, but Joe the Plumber should at least know a little bit about water seeking its own level.
931 Comments

81. mona -
i like joe!!! he has common sense which is more than nobama has. so what if he wants to be a singer now more power to him. i just don't know how anyone could vote for someone that devalues human life at any stage.

82. Sarah -
Hey Tempy. "Fame hungry redneck". If I said something along those lines about a "brotha" or sista" then that would be racist right? Good luck on the Obama '08 trip your on. You better hope all the brotha's and sista's come out to vote this time.

83. davidd -
the worst thing ive heard during all this is the stupid REDNECKS who say Obama is going to take our right to guns away. Go shoot a deer somewhere and then kill yourself while your at it, you morons.

no ones taken your [profane] guns. and if thats the sole reason to vote for McCain then youve already proven yourself a REDNECK elite FCUK.

84. Yahoo! Music User -
Finally, conservatives are being honest! I applaud the few of you that said Joe the Plumber is everything Republicans stand for. Because for those of you that aren't aware, he lied when he said he was a licensed plumber, and he has lied to the IRS because he hasn't paid taxes for quite some time. Im glad you right wings can finally admit what you're modeled after.

85. icat one -
you all know he is not a plumer he is just a mcpalin stooge

86. Yahoo! Music User -
I say good for you Joe. After the election he may or may not be forgotten. But he had his 15 minutes of lime light. How many of you Joe bashers have a nationwide platform. Who knows, he may even make some money from this bull [profane] election. I say go for it Joe

87. Error -
What a total joke! This guy's opinions are uneducated, lack facts, and should not be given any form of merit. I cannot believe that McCain would take this so far as to actually let him speak at his rallies. I have lost all respect I once had for McCain and now I have lost respect for those (like A Tippin) who are trying to get this doof a recording contract. It doesn't say much for the GOP or Country music that they believe that any dumbazz off the street can come in do what they do. The entire GOP has become as much a joke as Joe the Doof. I am ashamed of my former party and Obama has now earned my vote.

88. Yahoo! Music User -
SAY IT AINT SO JOE!

89. __A_YAHOO_USER__ -
ya know i was raised with death row and snoop & pac and i used to love gangsta rap....but i have to admit over the years and now hiiting 30 i have to admit....i really dont like gangsta rap any more....i think most hip hop is just a little bit to much thinking and less good times like it should...that bieng said sure shaq is kinda akward cause he is a basketball palayer and his voice is kinda .... but i like the message he was portraying in the song and i actually liked it....good for u shaq i remember when i first seen that back in the days.

90. Yahoo! Music User -
holly k, the Obama campaign would not have put up a Joe the Plumber because it's a transparent completely disingenuous ploy to further a completely misleading premise: that Obama will raise taxes on the middle class. Joe is an unlicensed plumber and avowed Republican who would, for the love of Pete, save money under Obama's plan. In other words, he was a plant. He planted himself. Obama answered him honestly. He took the time to explain his plan and did it truthfully and respectfully if you actually looked at the tape. He didn't put forth the slew of misleading 10-word statements the McCain campaign likes to throw out just to see if they'll stick.

91. Joseph -
Wow!!! Wow America really has lost it's sense of value. Remember it was your idiotic socialist Obama buddy that approached Joe. But that’s right... facts and sensibility is a thing of the past with the Obamamites.

92. teka1 -
You haven't even heard the guy sing and most of you are already bashing him. I guess no talents like Paris Hilton are more your ilk.
I hardly think "Joe" is an idiot as most of you imply. At least when he shoots his mouth off there's a decent reason. You all seem to be full of hate.

93. Yahoo! Music User -
spewing shyt...you must be listening to rap

94. ThereseD -
Who gives a crap about tax-evading Joe the Unlicensed Plumber? He'll be completely erased from the American public's collective consciousness 15 minutes after McSame loses the election.

95. g48076 -
We shouldn't be talking about Joe the Plumber... I agree. We should be talking about under qualified Obama and his past associations and Biden and his brother and son who are under Federal inditement. (Yes you can look that up, Federal inditement.) Oh but we aren't suppose to question the anointed ones. Obama is the least qualified person to ever run for the office of President and that includes Bush.

96. Ben -
Hey. Shut up. He is an average American. He happened to ask a damn good question that made Obama look bad. He got on television and did well considering the fact that he isn't a stupid talking head that reads political magazines all day. Leave him alone. If he wants to try and sing, let him sing. I'd like to see you idiots sing. Oh wait, no I wouldn't.

97. LaLa -
You can't "buy" the election just because you run alot of ads. That is why people donate, to help him get his name out and to win. How do we know where McCain's internet contributions are coming from? Trust me, if McCain wins he will probably make Joe the plunger Speaker of the House or Attorney General, or head of his kitchen cabinet.

98. Yahoo! Music User -
People may come into California and New York - but most of them move.

99. Tony -
Joe the plummer reprsents working america, not the democrat get everything for free america, or the i work in a factory and push a button all day i get paid double cause my union makes the company pay thats why they are shipping jobs over seas america, or i am poor and its everyone elses fault but my own america. Obama is going to give all of our money to black people, hes racist.

100. Yahoo! Music User -
I can't believe how mean some of you people can be! "Joe the Plumber" just asked Obama a hypothetical question, to which, Obama gave a Communist "Spread the wealth around" answer. If you want to be a communist, go to CHINA! And leave this poor guy alone!
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