There was a comment on the YouTube page that I meant to add to this post but apparently never got around to.
Kirsch was a grad student when he co-produced the re-edited speeches that made up the first side of the album. It appears that he did not have a serious appetite for cocaine because he left the worlds of the recording industry and National Lampoon to finish his degree and go into academia.
He was last seen on the faculty of the Harvard Medical School.
Thursday, March 17, 2016
A friend I grew up with was a big fan of comedy albums. One of his favorites was National Lampoon's Missing White House Tapes.
The Missing White House Tapes was a sketch comedy voice recording which was a satiric commentary on the Watergate scandal. It was a spin-off from National Lampoon magazine. The recording was produced by Irving Kirsch and Vic Dinnerstein. It was released as a single on Blue Thumb Records in 1973. In 1974 it was expanded into an album, which was subsequently nominated for a Grammy Award as Best Comedy Recording of the year.
The single consisted of a doctored speech, in which Richard Nixon confesses culpability in the Watergate break-in. Side One of the album contains additional doctored recordings of Nixon's speeches and press conferences. Side Two contains sketches performed by John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Rhonda Coullet, and Tony Scheuten.
I hadn't thought about, let alone heard the record for years, but recently something (I don't remember what) reminded me of it. A quick Google search later...
I made some notes for a post I might actually write up one of these days but, in the meantime, for those interested in the period it's a fascinating relic (not to mention a reminder that the National Lampoon brand used to be associated with humor).
No comments:
Post a Comment