Rick Moranis, Singing 'Cowboy'

Published December 3, 2005 at 11:00 PM CST

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Once a DJ at a country music station, Rick Moranis rediscovered country and bluegrass through his kids, who are fans of groups like the Yonder Mountain Stringband. With such tunes filling his house, he soon found himself writing a few of his own.

The sound is pure country, but this singer is no cowboy.

A new CD features the voice of comic actor Rick Moranis, a performer already known for a variety of roles: a beer guzzling McKenzie brother on SCTV, the Dark Helmet in Mel Brooks' movie, Spaceballs, the nerdy neighbor turned demon-worshipper in Ghostbusters, and the father in Honey I Shrunk the Kids.

Moranis can carry a tune, though. As Seymour Krelborn in the film version of the musical, Little Shop of Horrors, he sang about growing man-eating plants and even crooned a love song.

But most of the singing he's done since then has been in the shower. So, what is he doing making a country music album called The Agoraphobic Cowboy? Moranis explained that and more in a recent conversation with NPR's Liane Hansen.