If you haven’t enjoyed comedy via vinyl, you’re missing out! Some of our favorite, raunchiest, comedies from the vaults of Cloud 8.
(Top Left) Lenny Bruce’s American is a must have for Bill Hicks fans. Lenny, who was put on trial in 1964 for his obscene methods of social critique and satire, was forced into bankruptcy, and died from morphine overdose in 1966. Known for his performances to be at their best when he was at his worst, by the time he passed, he had been blacklisted by nearly every nightclub in the United States. On December 23, 2003, 37 years after his death, New York Governor George Pataki, granted Lenny Bruce a posthumous pardon for his obscenity conviction.
(Bottom Left) The third album released by Richard Pryor, “That Nigger’s Crazy” was recorded live at Don Cornelius’ Soul Train nightclub in 1974. It won him a Grammy for Best Comedy Album and maintained a spot at #1 on Billboard music charts for four weeks.
(Top Right) Brother Dave Gardner, Kick Thy Own Self, released in 1960 on RCA, after being discovered by Chet Atkins. Gardner was known for his “beatnik” style comedy and one-liner zings… “folks used to pray to God for rain, and now they call Washington,”, “Say, a Democrat is somebody who expects somethin’ fer nothin’, and a Republican is somebody who expects nothin’ fer somethin’, an’ a Independent is a cat that greases his own car,” and “If I were bound by either party, well then, I might ferget America,”
(Bottom Right) A spin off from National Lampoon Magazine, “That’s Not Funny That’s Sick!” was released in 1977 on vinyl and is a collection of sketches from National Lampoon Radio Hour running Nov. 17, 1973 to Dec. 28, 1974. Performers include Richard Belzer, Christopher Guest, Bill Murray, Mel Brooks, and Paul Shaffer.
