25 celebrities you didn’t know had music careers

Joe Pesci

Here’s another actor you may not think of when you think “singer/actor” but Joe Pesci has been passionate about music for years.

In the 1960s, Joe was just a barber with his sights on the big times. Before becoming an actor, however, he was playing guitar in a number of bands. One of those bands was Joey Dee and the Starliters. One fun fact about that band is that, after Pesci left the role of guitarist, it was once filled with a little-known guitar player named Jimi Hendrix. Not bad company to be in!

Joe did eventually release his own studio album under the moniker “Little Joe” in 1968. The album was titled Little Joe Sure Can Sing! which was composed of cover songs of popular pop tracks, such as The Beatles song, “Got to Get You into My Life” and several songs by the Bee Gees.

Little Joe wasn’t Joe Pesci’s only foray into the music world. In 1998, he released an album in character called Vincent LaGuardia Gambini Sings Just for You. The album was released six years after My Cousin Vinny. It featured songs with titles like “Yo Cousin Vinny”, “Wise Guy”, and “Take Your Love And Shove It”. As expected, it did not receive positive reviews, and many said it was just filled with bad jokes.

When you get an album that’s filled with My Cousin Vinny references and mob jokes, it must get old after a while. Even though he drew on his background in lounge singing for a couple of jazz numbers, the album fell flat.

Joe announced that he would be retiring from acting in 1999, but has since appeared in a few roles.