Don't Smoke Dope, Fry Your Hair!

Don't Smoke Dope, Fry Your Hair!
Live album by
Franklyn Ajaye
Released1976
VenueRoxy Theatre
GenreComedy
LabelLittle David
Franklyn Ajaye chronology
I'm a Comedian, Seriously
(1974) 		Don't Smoke Dope, Fry Your Hair!
(1976) 		Plaid Pants and Psychopaths
(1986)

Don't Smoke Dope, Fry Your Hair! is an album by the American comedian Franklyn Ajaye, released in 1976.[1][2] He supported it with North American tours with Kenny Rankin and then Vicki Sue Robinson.[3][4] The album is included in the book Horrifically Bad Album Covers.[5]

Production

Ajaye honed his material at the Comedy Store; he admired the looseness of Richard Pryor and George Carlin.[6][7] The album was recorded at the Roxy Theatre, with Carlin in the audience.[8][9] It came with a warning that advised disc jockeys to listen to the album before playing it on the air, as some audiences may find it offensive.[6] The title track is a riff about James Brown.[10] "Disneyland High" imagines Mickey Mouse making park announcements in African-American Vernacular English.[11] "Be Black Brother, Be Black" is in part a bit on Matthew Henson becoming the first person to set foot on the North Pole.[12] "The Walrus of Love" pokes fun at Barry White.[13] Ajaye had wanted to call the album Manic Depressive on the Rise, before his manager interceded.[7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The New Rolling Stone Record Guide[14]

The San Francisco Chronicle noted that "unlike the street jive of Richard Pryor, Ajaye is tuned in to a more bourgeois image, drawing his humor from ... middle-class sources".[4] The Ann Arbor News called Ajaye's routines "bright, cutting, and right on the money."[15] The Green Bay Press-Gazette said that Ajaye "makes observations that cut to the quick of the truth."[16] The Commercial Appeal considered the album to be better than Pryor's Bicentennial Nigger.[17]

The Daily Illini stated that "several spontaneous one-liners provide relief from otherwise dull routines."[18] The Star Tribune labeled Ajaye "the funniest unknown in the business today".[19] The Belleville Times News listed the album as the best comedy release of 1976.[20] The New Rolling Stone Record Guide panned the "stale material".[14]

Track listing

Side one

  1. "Puberty"
  2. "College"
  3. "Be Black Brother, Be Black"
  4. "Cruising to an F"
  5. "Oriental Smarts"
  6. "Cartoons"

Side two

  1. "Don't Smoke Dope, Fry Your Hair!"
  2. "The Walrus of Love"
  3. "Babies with Big Heads"
  4. "Me and Trey"
  5. "Disneyland High"

References

  1. ^ "Dave Donnelly's Hawaii". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. May 11, 1976. p. B2.
  2. ^ Eder, Shirley (May 18, 1976). "Shirlebrities". The Salt Lake Tribune. p. A7.
  3. ^ Cech, Tom (February 12, 1977). "Talent in Action". Billboard. Vol. 89, no. 6. p. 41.
  4. ^ a b Selvin, Joel (September 18, 1976). "Music for the Feet, and Not for the Ears". San Francisco Chronicle. p. 37.
  5. ^ Dolan, Jon (September 2006). "Sleeves of Destruction". Spin. Vol. 22, no. 9. pp. 8, 46.
  6. ^ a b O'Haire, Patricia (September 7, 1976). "Funny man hard at work". Daily News. Vol. 58, no. 63. New York. p. 47.
  7. ^ a b Campbell, Mary (September 29, 1976). "Franklyn Ajaye 'comes back' as comedian". The Staunton Leader. AP. p. C7.
  8. ^ Beck, Marilyn (May 8, 1976). "On the Move". Houston Chronicle. p. 5.33.
  9. ^ Sullivan, James (2010). Seven Dirty Words: The Life and Crimes of George Carlin. Grand Central Publishing. p. 172.
  10. ^ Murray, Charles Shaar (July 2, 1977). "Now let's see. Where did this all begin?". NME. p. 32.
  11. ^ Becker, Bart (September 29, 1976). "Funny, Ha Ha". Lincoln Journal Star. p. 21.
  12. ^ "Comment on Current Scene". Rushville Daily Republican. UPI. November 10, 1976. p. 3.
  13. ^ Carter, Ulish (October 16, 1976). "Young at Heart". New Pittsburgh Courier. p. 24.
  14. ^ a b The New Rolling Stone Record Guide. Random House. 1983. p. 6.
  15. ^ "Ajaye". The Ann Arbor News. September 26, 1976. p. 33.
  16. ^ Gerds, Warren (October 10, 1976). "Records in Review". Close Up. Green Bay Press-Gazette. p. 14.
  17. ^ Dawson, Walter (October 24, 1976). "Record Reviews". Fanfare. The Commercial Appeal. p. 6.
  18. ^ Martin, Doug (November 11, 1976). "Don't Smoke Dope, Fry Your Hair". The Daily Illini. p. 27.
  19. ^ Anthony, Michael (January 11, 1977). "Comedy albums feature Kovacs, others". Star Tribune. p. 5B.
  20. ^ Buccino, Anthony (January 27, 1977). "Critic picks best of 1976". The Belleville Times News. p. 4.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.