Continuing in my efforts to be less Grinchy and more Holly Jolly this month, I wanted to talk to you briefly about Thurl Ravenscroft.
“What or who is Thurl Ravenscroft?” I can hear you saying, “He’s from Lord of the Rings, right? No wait, Game of Thrones! Is it Game of Thrones?”
Nope!
“Is it some sort of Nordic death metal band?”
Negative. Although…
The Thurl Ravenscroft I’m referring to was a singer and a voice actor who might best be known(or maybe not) for singing the classic “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch” from the 1966 TV special How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
After a recent viewing, I was shocked to learn that Thurl wasn’t credited in the animated special.
Did they expect us to believe that the narrator, Boris Karloff, provided the vocals?
Dr. Seuss himself felt terrible about the situation and later tried to remedy it with a letter-writing campaign to various influencers of the day, giving credit to Thurl.
I imagine it went something like this:
While doing my brief bit of research I’ve found that people have been asking Google this question: “Did James Earl Jones sing the Grinch?”
That’s a pretty good guess, I guess.
If only there was some way this confusion could have been avoided from the start.
One last thing before I set off on the sea of swirly-twirly gum drops...
In the spirit of the season, I want to share with you a special little animated gif that I created.
Please feel free to share!
Especially if you have ever been wrongly labeled a Grinch.
M. R. KESSELL 