5 Great Comedy Albums of the 1960s

In 1960, Bob Newhart released his first album. The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart topped the Billboard album chart and won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 1961. It was a huge success, and in retrospect (to me, anyway), opened the floodgates for comedy albums as a viable moneymaker. Plenty of comedians had released albums in the 1950s, but Bob Newhart was the first one to really make a huge splash in the record-buying world.

With a few exceptions, comedy albums weren’t huge sellers during the 1960s, yet a whole bunch of ‘em were recorded and released. This is a list of five that you might want to pick up and give a listen to if you ever stumble across them at a record store or your local charity shop.

A couple of caveats: (1) I am purposely leaving certain comedians off the list. Bill Cosby and Bob Newhart were huge sellers during the decade, and their stuff is fairly easy to obtain and well worth hearing. Others like George Carlin and Richard Pryor released albums during the 1960s, and while they have some good moments, those guys didn’t really hit their stride until the 1970s. (2) Comedy, like music — perhaps even more so — is super subjective. If you don’t find these folks to be very funny, please keep in mind that my intentions were sincere… and I really hope you’ll laugh at some of them.

1. Standup Comic or Nightclub Years, Woody Allen (1972 / 1979)

In the 1960s, during his transformation from television comedy writer to filmmaker, Woody Allen made a handful of comedy albums. The material is brilliant, ranging from the silly to the sublime, making it very accessible to a wide audience. His original albums are a bit difficult to find, whereas Standup Comic and Nightclub Years are compilations that are easier to obtain and provide a generous sampling of Woody Allen as a performer. The Stand-Up Years is a recent two-CD set that compiles most (if not all) of his comedy albums. “The Moose” is a perfect example of Allen’s comedy genius.

2. The Very Funny Side of Pete Barbutti, Pete Barbutti (1966)

Pete Barbutti was a jazz musician who was also a comedian, or maybe a comedian who was also a jazz musician. Mixing comedy and music had been done before (with stellar results) by Victor Borge, but Barbutti approaches it with a bit more irreverence. Granted, it’s a nightclub kind of vibe; the album kicks off with “Where Are You From, Sir?” which is Barbutti literally asking audience members where they’re from, but his interaction with the audience is funny. Bits like “Kordeen School” show off his ability to mix a funny story with his musical talent, and it works.

Overall, it’s a fun and funny album. If you don’t want to wade through the record bins trying to find it, Amazon has it available as a download. Check out this Tonight Show appearance — one of the many times he appeared during the Carson era.

3. An Evening with Me, Don Knotts (1961)

Don Knotts is best known for his movie and television roles as a nervous character in one way or another. What isn’t as well-known is his comedy album. An Evening with Me hit the racks in 1961, a year after The Andy Griffith Show premiered. As you can guess, the album is a collection of one-man skits featuring Knotts doing what he does best in various situations.

I’ll admit it sounds like it could get old really fast, which could be why he made only one album, but it’s a great collection. Honestly, I can’t remember where I found my copy, but I’m glad I bought it. Here’s a television appearance where Knotts performs a bit from the album called “The Weatherman.” If you think this is funny (and I really hope you do), you’ll want to seek out the entire album.

4. Golden Hits of the Smothers Brothers Volume 2, The Smothers Brothers (1966)

The Smothers Brothers were a pretty hot property throughout the 1960s. They toured regularly and made countless television appearances, culminating with their renowned, controversial, and ultimately cancelled Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. They also released some great albums. The earlier ones did well on the charts, but by the time they released Golden Hits Volume 2 (there was no Volume 1), their chart action had cooled off.

That’s a shame, because this is a funny album — maybe their best. The routines are all ones they had performed on previous albums, but these were all new performances. The situations are the same, but the differences are enough to make it worth having even if you own all of their other LPs. Classic bits like “Cabbage” and “Pretoria” are done to perfection. Any of their comedy albums are great starting points, but if you’ve never heard them before, Golden Hits Volume 2 is the best introduction to this fantastic duo.

Nothing from this album appears on YouTube, so here is “The Saga of John Henry” from their (Think Ethnic!) album. This one isn’t on Golden Hits…, but honestly, I don’t think they could have improved on this performance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgfxgKRc4jo

5. Here Come the Judge, Pigmeat Markham (1968)

Pigmeat Markham was an African-American vaudeville comedian. He worked the chitlin’ circuit for decades and was fairly successful. He released a bunch of albums on Chess Records in the 1960s consisting of recently recorded material. All of his LPs are wonderful documents of his sometimes silly, sometimes risqué, and often funny performances. He was close to 60 years old when he began recording, and his years of experience shows. He was a sharp performer.

Here Come the Judge was a single and an album. The single has a couple of brief routines, along with Markham (for all intents and purposes) rapping over a really amazing, funky beat. This description doesn’t do the single justice (no pun intended). It’s terrific.

The catchphrase “here come the judge” was a line he used for years in his act as part of an ongoing courtroom routine, playing a judge who had his own sense of justice. The routine, including the catchphrase, was used by Sammy Davis, Jr. on an episode of Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In. This led to Markham eventually appearing on the show himself and finally getting some exposure to a wider (and whiter) audience.

The album includes the single along with routines taken from his earlier albums. Bits like “My Wife, I Ain’t Seen Her” and “The Trial” are classic African-American vaudeville, and this album is a great introduction to Pigmeat Markham’s brilliance. But, if you end up not liking the comedy, you’ll at least have the single to enjoy.

Bonus track #1: “Wild Thing,” Senator Bobby (1967)

Senator Bobby was actually Bill Minkin of the Hardly-Worthit Players. The single was his impersonation of Senator Robert Kennedy trying to record “Wild Thing” to attract the younger vote. It also showed that doing a Kennedy impersonation still had a place in comedy. The single is a fun listen, especially the comments from the recording booth to help Senator Bobby improve his performance.

The Hardly Worthit Players released two albums. Most of the humor is political (meaning very dated), but have some fun moments. At the very least, “Wild Thing” is worth a listen.

Bonus track #2: “The Mouse,” Soupy Sales (1965)

Soupy Sales was the hippest kids-show host of all time. His material was corny enough for kids to enjoy, but there were plenty of jokes that went over the kids’ heads that adults loved. He released “The Mouse” as a single in the mid-’60s as his attempt to create a dance craze. It’s a novelty number, but it’s also a catchy song. Soupy Sales Sez Do the Mouse! And Other Teen Hits is an entire album of this sort of thing with mixed results (although there are other fun songs on there). “The Mouse” remains the best of the lot.

Here is a clip of Soupy lip-synching “The Mouse” on his television show. It’s fun and very odd. I could watch it every day.

What are your favorite comedy albums of the ’60s? Let us know in the comments!

George Brandon

George Brandon is the office manager of a large bookstore in Tennessee. In his spare time, he lives, breathes, reads about, writes about, and listens to rock, pop, and soul music from the 1950s through the 1970s. He has more records and CDs than he probably needs, but he’s always looking for more musical treasures.