| Richard Pryor | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Live album by | ||||
| Released | November 1968 | |||
| Recorded | September 1968 | |||
| Venue | Troubadour | |||
| Genre | Comedy | |||
| Length | 33:28 | |||
| Label | Dove/Reprise | |||
| Producer | Robert Marchese | |||
| Richard Pryor chronology | ||||
| ||||
Richard Pryor is the debut album of comedian Richard Pryor. [1] [2] It was recorded live in 1968 at the Troubadour in West Hollywood, California. [1] Gary Burden, an American artist, designed the album cover which was nominated for Best Album Cover at the 12th Annual Grammy Awards. [3] [4]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Super Nigger" | 3:16 |
| 2. | "Girls" | 3:25 |
| 3. | "Farting" | 2:02 |
| 4. | "Prison Play" | 9:12 |
| 5. | "T.V. Panel Show" | 7:09 |
| 6. | "Smells" | 2:43 |
| 7. | "Army Life" | 4:48 |
| 8. | "Frankenstein" | 0:56 |
Gary Burden, who designed the album cover, said Pryor wanted to do something "kind of rootsy" for the cover. [3] Burden thought "roots" for Pryor would be some kind of tribal or African thing, so he got authentic African artifacts and weapons that fit the idea of a "tribal bushman". [3] Pryor said he knew of a cave right near his home in Beverly Hills that would be an ideal location for the shoot. Burden found charred sticks from a previous fire, and Pryor donned the necklace, belt and the authentic brass nose ring, and posed with the bow and arrow for the cover. [3] After seeing the photos, and how primitive Pryor looked in them, Burden thought they had the look of National Geographic . [3] [5] Burden then enlisted his friend Rick Griffin to do artwork that resembled their magazine border, which made the cover look "totally real, like a cover of National Geographic". [3] Burden said that as a result of that cover, he received two letters: "One was a letter from the National Geographic Society’s attorneys offering to sue me for defaming their publication. The second letter was a Grammy nomination for the best album cover". [3] The album was later re-issued with a modified cover, the yellow border was intact, but the inner border of oak and olive leaves was replaced with the Statue of Liberty in what appears to be a lined ruler. [6] [lower-alpha 1]
In Scott Saul's book, Becoming Richard Pryor, Saul opined that in 1968 when Pryor was performing at the Troubadour; "he invented a style that was as far-out as Frank Zappa and as defiant as H. Rap Brown, and was catalyzed by the fusion of the two movements. On the one hand, the freewheeling ethic of the counterculture shaded Richard’s act with irony, making his more political moves seem provisional and subject to revision. On the other, the militancy of the Black Power movement sharpened his zaniness, giving it a point: his improvisations could cut you open with their poignancy or shock you with their bitterness". [7]
Herbert Butros Khaury, also known as Herbert Buckingham Khaury and known professionally as Tiny Tim, was an American singer, ukulele player, and musical archivist. He is best remembered for his cover hits "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" and "Livin' in the Sunlight, Lovin' in the Moonlight", which he sang in a falsetto voice.
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style and is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential stand-up comedians of all time. Pryor won a Primetime Emmy Award and five Grammy Awards. He received the first Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 1998. He won the Writers Guild of America Award in 1974. He was listed at number one on Comedy Central's list of all-time greatest stand-up comedians. In 2017, Rolling Stone ranked him first on its list of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time.
Look Sharp! is the debut album by Joe Jackson, released in 1979. The album features one of Jackson's most well-known songs, "Is She Really Going Out with Him?", as well as the title track "Look Sharp", "Sunday Papers", "One More Time" and "Fools in Love".
Jason Thomas Mraz is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his debut studio album, Waiting for My Rocket to Come (2002), which spawned the single "The Remedy ", that reached the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. His next two studio albums, Mr. A-Z (2005), and We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. (2008), peaked in the top five on the Billboard 200; with the latter album spawning the Grammy Award winning singles "Make It Mine", and "Lucky" with Colbie Caillat.
Rickie Lee Jones is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and author. Over the course of a career that spans five decades, she has recorded in various musical styles including rock, R&B, pop, soul, and jazz. A two-time Grammy Award winner, Jones was listed at No. 30 on VH1's 100 Greatest Women in Rock & Roll in 1999.
Jackson Browne is the debut album of American singer Jackson Browne, released in 1972. It peaked on the Billboard 200 chart at number 53. Two singles were released with "Doctor, My Eyes", which peaked at number 8 on the Pop Singles chart, and "Rock Me on the Water", which reached number 48.
Evolution/Revolution: The Early Years (1966–1974) is a two-CD compilation of live stand-up comedy recordings by comedian and actor Richard Pryor, that predates his 1974 mainstream breakthrough album That Nigger's Crazy.
The Anthology (1968–1992) is a two-CD compilation distilling the best tracks from American comedian Richard Pryor's seven albums he recorded and/or released on Warner Bros. Records or its subsidiary Reprise, and is essentially the digest version of his 2000 nine-CD box set ...And It's Deep Too! The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings (1968–1992). Pryor and his wife/manager Jennifer Lee Pryor assisted in and authorized the compilation, which was produced by the same team responsible for the ...And It's Deep Too box set, Reggie Collins and Steve Pokorny.
That Nigger's Crazy is the third album by American comedian Richard Pryor. It was recorded live at Don Cornelius' Soul Train nightclub in early 1974. The album's title was derived from a remark made by Pryor himself in Wattstax.
...Is It Something I Said? is the fourth album by Richard Pryor and the first he released on a new contract with Warner Bros. Records, a label he remained with for the rest of his recording career.
Patrick Moody Williams was an American composer, arranger, and conductor who worked in many genres of music, and in film and television.
Bicentennial Nigger is the sixth album by the American comedian Richard Pryor. David Banks produced the album, while Warner Bros. Records released the album in September 1976. It is often considered one of his most influential recordings. The CD version of the album was released on 20 June 1989. It won the 1977 Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album.
"Both Sides, Now" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. First recorded by Judy Collins, it appeared on the US singles chart during the fall of 1968. The next year it was included on Mitchell's album Clouds, and became one of her best-known songs. It has since been recorded by dozens of artists, including Dion in 1968, Herbie Hancock in 2007, and Mitchell herself who re-recorded the song with an orchestral arrangement on her 2000 album Both Sides Now.
How Great Thou Art is the ninth studio album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released by RCA Victor in February 1967. How Great Thou Art is a gospel album with slow numbers on one side, and fast-paced numbers on the flipside. The album earned Presley a Grammy Award for Best Sacred Performance, while it became a Billboard top 20 pop hit and it appeared on the Top Country Albums chart on the top 10.
"The Look of Love" is a popular song composed by Burt Bacharach and Hal David and originally popularized by English pop singer Dusty Springfield. The song is notable for its sensuality and its relaxed bossa nova rhythm. The song was featured in the 1967 spoof James Bond film Casino Royale. In 2008, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. It also received a Best Song nomination at the 1968 Academy Awards.
"Don’t Make Promises" was the first track on Tim Hardin's debut album Tim Hardin 1, released in 1966. The song, along with "Reason to Believe," was one of the two major songwriting hits from the album, with more than a dozen cover versions having been recorded following its release. British radio presenter and writer Charlie Gillett noted the song's ability to achieve "the elusive balance between personal miseries and universal sufferings," while author Mark Brend praised the song's "fragile pop sensibilities" and how it contrasted with the "swaggering" R&B of album track "Ain't Gonna Do Without."
A comedy album is an audio recording of comedic material from a comedian or group of comedians, usually performed either live or in a studio. Comedy albums may feature skits, humorous songs, and/or live recording of stand-up comedy performances, but the most common type of comedy albums are stand up, and are often made in conjunction with a DVD with recorded video of a particular comedy show.
Gary Burden was an American artist specializing in the field of album covers. He is considered one of the pioneers of the concept of album cover art.
Jenice Heo is an American artist and art director. In 2010, she won the 52nd Grammy Award for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package for the Neil Young Archives Volume 1. She was nominated in the same category in 2015 for the vinyl box set of Neil Young's A Letter Home.
Craig Braun is an American actor and former graphic designer. Famous for his album covers with Andy Warhol and Tom Wilkes, he and Wilkes won a Grammy in 1974 for Tommy, an award Braun had been nominated for twice previously. His first nomination was with Warhol for the Sticky Fingers design that included Braun's contributions to the Rolling Stones' tongue and lips logo. He also designed the logo for the Carpenters. Braun is said to have transformed the medium of album covers from two-dimensional works to creative, interactive experiences during the golden age of vinyl.
Best Album Cover, Richard Pryor (Album)
Kreps, Daniel (November 28, 2015). "Classic Richard Pryor LPs Released Digitally for First Time". Rolling Stone.
