Back in 1964, Peter Sellers (aka Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther films) made a cameo appearance on “The Music of Lennon and McCartney,” a television program produced at the height of Beatlemania. The schtick? To read the lyrics of A Hard Day’s Night in a way that comically recalls Laurence Olivier’s 1955 performance of the opening soliloquy from Richard III. It starts famously “Now is the winter of our discontent …” (See full text here.)
As @AKTIONSART reminds us, this may well be an early precursor to Christopher Walken reading lines from Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face,” another worthwhile satirical bit found in our glorious archive…
Great
I believe it was Steve Allen that first started reading rock song lyrics in this style back in the 1950′s.
Allen’s reading of the lyrics to The Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction” is a classic. Â But I think this piece by Sellers is the best.