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Steve Carell Joins Jimmy Fallon’s Barbershop Quartet To Perform “Sexual Healing”

Ah, the barbershop quartet (in this case, quintet). Is there a whiter means of musical expression? One look at Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon’s group The Ragtime Gals, and the answer becomes clear — no, there most certainly is not. With their tutti-frutti suits, shiny shoes, boater hats, and squeaky clean faces, it’s unlikely one will find a less funky means of harmonizing than these a cappella dandies.

Yet like any true artists, they don’t let their limitations stop them from trying to find any funk that the late Marvin Gaye may have missed in his 1982, Grammy-winning exploration of the therapeutic value of lovemaking, “Sexual Healing”. Mining lyrics like “I’m hot just like an oven, I need some lovin” for all the awkwardness they offer the rhythm-impaired, the quartet appeared on The Tonight Show this week with special guest Steve Carell. Carell’s five o’clock shadow may be the only anachronism in the Gals’ turn-of-the-last-century world, but his brand of humor fits right in. You can experience the full performance below.

Of course other white dudes have tried to cover “Sexual Healing”, including Owen Wilson in I-Spy, who required a Cyrano de Bergerac-like assist from Eddie Murphy when he tried using the song to seduce fellow spy Famke Janssen…

Then there was Michael Bolton himself, who took his career to the next level (presumably after conquering Sisqo’s “Thong Song”)…

I’m hoping that Fallon’s Ragtime Gals next tackle Public Enemies “Fight the Power”, or, if we’re lucky, Usher’s tender “I Don’t Mind”. Lyrics like “Shawty, I don’t mind If you dance on a pole, that don’t make you a ho” can only be made better with four-part harmony… How about you guys — got any suggestions for Fallon’s group? Let us know below.

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Comments

  1. Acrisius says:

    Ragtime Gals could pull off Madonna’s “Like A Virgin”, or better yet, George Michael’s “I Want Your Sex”.

  2. xero says:

    *COUGH* Bioshock Infinite *Cough