Viv Richards releases 'Smokin Joe' song
Sydney (AFP) - Cricket great Viv Richards has released a single with the drummer of Australian band INXS Jon Farriss, with "Smokin' Joe" featuring his deep tones that have been likened to Barry White.
Farriss met the West Indian, considered one of the greatest batsmen of all time, at a party in 2012 and said he instantly recognised his love of music.
"Viv was such a charismatic and affable guy," he said in a statement Thursday.
"We hit it off straight away and it wasn't hard to recognise his love of music.
"Given these parallels and my desire to hear him on a track, I approached him to see if he was interested in doing something musically and thankfully he said yes."
The tune was "a fun soul-infused song" which British television personality and cricket fan Piers Morgan tweeted reminded him of Grammy-winning American singer White.
"Cricket legend @vivrichards56 teams up with INXS rocker @JohnFarriss for this brilliant new song," Morgan said on Twitter.
Farriss' band INXS, one of the world's biggest acts throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, announced their retirement in 2012.
