Peyton Manning can carry a team, not a tune

He can act. He can bring in sponsors by the boatload. And now he has thrown more touchdown passes than any other player in NFL history.

Is there anything Peyton Manning can’t do?

Matter of fact there is. Turns out, the Denver Broncos superstar is the kind of crooner who makes you want to cover your ears.

This is from an article I wrote in 2003 on Manning and brothers Eli and Cooper:

Peyton and country-music singer Kenny Chesney have been close friends for years, and Chesney has taken Manning on tour with him, letting him play backup guitar in about 20 concerts. Manning’s not much of a guitar player, so his is unplugged when he’s on stage. Peyton wears his cowboy hat low and stays in the background, so he goes all but unrecognized until Chesney introduces the band late in the show.

“When we sing together, I’m pretty good about staying just far enough away from the microphone so my voice doesn’t come through,” Peyton said. “Every now and then, he’ll hang me out. He’ll bend down and leave me alone at the mike.”

Peyton has done some studio work and says his voice isn’t half bad, “thanks to the power of editing.”

Not so fast, says Eli, adding that his brother can carry a team a lot better than he can carry a tune.

“[Peyton’s] voice is brutal,” he said. “I think mine sounds better. I’ve heard his recorded voice before and I think he could use some singing lessons.”

Older brother Cooper’s assessment?

“I don’t think any of the Mannings have much to brag about in the way of voice,” he said. “The effort is phenomenal, but the sound is nothing to write home about.”

When it comes to teasing, the Manning boys spare no one. Chesney is 5-6, so he’s almost a foot shorter than Peyton. Eli said the crooner should bring a milk crate on stage. They remind Cooper of a well known duo.

“It’s like Tattoo and Mr. Rourke,” he said. “A lot of times I thought they could go as that at Halloween.”