What, no Grinder? (Hockey player Darren McCarty's band. Which nobody should own.)

Also, (apropos of nothing) this song by legendary comedienne and Laugh-In star Moms Mabley is a treat. It always makes me feel incredibly positive for some reason.

you should write the MeFi Book of Twentieth Century Music with scody and y2karl, giovanni, seriously.

Aside from the 'Stand By Me' cover, that Cassius Clay album also features some nice proto-rapping (speaking of rapping athletes, Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson and Roy Jones, Jr. have all dropped some incompetent rhymes--there are probably other athlete/rappers I'm forgetting, but maybe it's just as well).

And former basketball player Wayman Tisdale is now a smooth-jazz musician. And then there's the 'Super Bowl Shuffle.'

Thanks matteo. Although me and karl would probably argue furiously about what belongs there ;>. I figure a Sox fan (who I believe deserve the same rights as normal humans, really) will like the Conigliaro track, even if musically, it's pretty bad.

box, Bernie Williams of the team from hell-I mean the Yankees, is a jazz player now, too. I recall that a punk band did a song about Cleveland Indians rookie star/burnout Joe Charboneau, but I've never been able to find it.

Shaq was a lousy rapper though. He did have good taste in that his favorite outfit was Fu-Schnickens.

(just for the record, I'm a Mets fan. This year I'd like to see the White Sox take it, though, since they're an old-school team)

Euro-Mechas, does this happen in Europe, too? Any soccer/rugby/cricket players take a whack at being rock stars?

I'm not here to cause no trouble. I'm just here to do the Super Bowl Shuffle!

Pelé put out at least one album, the soundtrack to a 1977 documentary about him. I've never heard it, though.

This year I'd like to see the White Sox take it,

And we White Sox fans appreciate your support, jon.

Euro-Mechas, does this happen in Europe, too? Any soccer/rugby/cricket players take a whack at being rock stars?

There's a great tradition of football records in the UK. Everytime England enters the World or Euro cups they release a single - some are successful, others not so much. They used to take the form of the whole team standing round a microphone and honking something stiring and patriotic. These eventually fell out of favour and were seen as a little bit naff.

The last decent effort to feature a member of the national team was World In Motion by New Order featuring a bizarre rap by John Barnes. See the lyrics here. I could post this if anyone's interested.

There have been rare occasions when footballers have tried to make it in the charts independant of their sporting endeavours. Glenn & Chris had a hit with Diamond Lights. Glenn Hoddle went on to be the England manager until he claimed that disabled people were paying for their sins in a previous life.

Paul 'Gazza' Gascoine, a man who patently couldn't sing, released a version of "Fog on the Tyne" with Lindisfarne. He was insanely famous and loved at the time and was just trying to cash in.

I'm struggling to think of any others at the moment...