Does Charlie Day Actually Sing In It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia?
The gang in "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" isn't particularly skilled or ambitious, save when it comes to matters of scheming, handling their sedatives, or beating Boggs. Much of the show's humor is mined from their collective incompetence (to which they are totally oblivious), so when a character exhibits an actual talent, it's all the more surprising.
Enter Charlie Kelly (Charlie Day) and his knack for piano, a skill that first comes to light in Season 3. "Keyboards just make sense to me, man," he says to Mac in Episode 9. "I get 'em, ya know?" Over the course of the long-running series, Charlie repeatedly shows off his musical proclivities, whether it's in his original musical, "The Nightman Cometh," or the charming theme song that he writes for Paddy's. Some fans might be interested to learn that not only is Day really playing piano on "Always Sunny," but that impressive set of pipes is his, as well.
In 2009, Day and the rest of the cast took their talents on the road to tour one of the best "Always Sunny" episodes, "The Nightman Cometh," live. "I got to play rock star for a few days," Day told Vice. "When you hear people singing the songs you wrote, as silly as they may be, that's an experience I thought I'd never get to have. It was just a rush. I can see why people want to become rock stars."
Charlie Day comes from a musical family
Charlie Kelly's musicality comes through in Charlie Day's performance, at least according to his friend and "Always Sunny" guest star, Guillermo del Toro. "The way you play Charlie is, I insist, very much like a musical instrument," del Toro told Day in a conversation for Interview Magazine. "In your case, it would be a trumpet." Day quipped back, "A trumpet somebody dropped a few times."
Charlie is certainly brassy and full of frenetic energy, but Day's musical background didn't begin with a trumpet. "I've always considered myself a musical person," the actor told SPIN. "I grew up the son of two music teachers and I grew up in a house full of musical instruments." At the age of three, Day picked up a violin, and other instruments — including the piano, trombone, guitar, and harmonica — soon followed. "My sister has her doctorate in choral conducting, so everyone in my family is very familiar with music and plays a little music," Day elaborated.
For Day, "Always Sunny" is an outlet to write and perform songs, which had been a lifelong hobby of the actor's. Charlie's songs are pretty good, too, especially those that tap into a Randy Newman, Leon Russell sensibility. He could probably leave his janitorial duties behind for a music career were it not for all that toxic paint.