From an early age, I loved to laugh. I could find a ton of things to laugh at like TV, friends, school, church, and even the grocery store. To me, laughing was the closest thing to sheer happiness I could imagine. Everyday I would come across something that was entertaining enough to bring me to a chuckle, but it was all things in and around my own little world. Drummond had some good laughing potential, but it wasn't until I discovered stand up comedy that my world opened up and laughter became something beyond me. There were people that got paid to think up jokes and funny stories for the sole purpose of making everyone laugh. Being friends with a lot of people in town, I had been inside a bunch of people's houses. In all of the houses I'd been to, no one had ever told me that there were records and tapes of stand up comedians. That was until I went over to James Hicks's house one afternoon. We had both been just hanging around town and bumped into each other. He invited me to his house for something to drink and maybe check out some of his records. In my house, we had lots of records and I was always looking for some new music. I happily agreed and we left for his house. I went into his bedroom while he got us a couple of glasses of ice water. I had already started looking through some of the records he had. James handed me the water and said, "I've got something really cool. Have you ever heard Bill Cosby?" I said, "The Fat Albert guy? I didn't know he made music." James laughed and told me I was a ding dong and, of course, it wasn't music, it was a comedy record. Comedy record? I was intrigued. "Put it on!", I told him. He lifted the plastic cover to the player, slid the black circle out of its sleeve, and started me on a journey of comedic discovery. It was Bill's album Wonderfulness and had a picture of him in a home made go kart on it. I laughed hard at what Bill was saying. I was amazed that there were funny things outside my realm of influence. Sure, seeing some guy at the park get hit in the grapes with a baseball was pretty funny, but what I was hearing were well thought out stories that were highly entertaining. After I downed my water and listened to the first side of the record, I headed home since it was getting late and I was hungry. I didn't forget that record though.
Within a few months, I had researched people who did stand up similar to Cosby. Since my only resource was the Enid library, my selections were pretty limited. I did find some great albums by Mort Sahl, Bob Newhart, and Lenny Bruce. I later found out that Lenny Bruce was supposed to have been taken out of circulation at the library since someone had complained about its content. I was lucky enough to have gotten to listen to it first though. Comedy was one of my newest favorite things and I couldn't get enough.
My brother, Jeff, is almost seven years older than I am and he had more access to things than I did. One thing that I found out that he possessed was a cassette tape by Richard Pryor. It was my habit to go into Jeff's room when he wasn't home and find new records and tapes. That's how I discovered The Clash, Quiet Riot, and Def Leppard. One of the greatest finds, however, was that Richard Pryor tape. It was his Here and Now album. I went into my room, popped the tape in, and pushed play. It started with a man's introduction: Ladies and gentlemen...Richard Pryor. The crowd went nuts and I got excited. He spoke a little bit and then said the word "M-----f-----" and I dove for the stereo to turn it off. I wasn't sure if I should listen to this thing or not. Decisions, decisions. I grabbed my boombox, stuck the tape in my pocket, and headed for the park. I wasn't about to listen to this in the house, but the park seemed okay. I played the entire tape when I got to the park. I didn't understand some things at the time, but what I did understand, I laughed at. I laughed very hard. It did have a lot of cussing in it, but that wasn't what I was laughing at. I had heard those words hundreds of times. What I was enjoying was how well Richard told a story. His vocal inflections, imitations, and characters were like no other stories I'd ever heard before, and I really haven't since then. I would eventually know that album word for word I listened to it so much. Kinda sad, but that's me in a nutshell. Bill Cosby was like a gateway comedian for me. His great humor lead me into a never ending supply of funny people. I have since become an avid stand up comedy follower. Even though everyday life hands you some great and funny stories, hearing comedian's stories that have nothing to do with everyday life is always refreshing to me. Thanks to James for showing me Bill Cosby and thanks to my brother Jeff for never locking his door.
See some of the other things I'm up to at www.JonathanElmore.weebly.com
Within a few months, I had researched people who did stand up similar to Cosby. Since my only resource was the Enid library, my selections were pretty limited. I did find some great albums by Mort Sahl, Bob Newhart, and Lenny Bruce. I later found out that Lenny Bruce was supposed to have been taken out of circulation at the library since someone had complained about its content. I was lucky enough to have gotten to listen to it first though. Comedy was one of my newest favorite things and I couldn't get enough.
My brother, Jeff, is almost seven years older than I am and he had more access to things than I did. One thing that I found out that he possessed was a cassette tape by Richard Pryor. It was my habit to go into Jeff's room when he wasn't home and find new records and tapes. That's how I discovered The Clash, Quiet Riot, and Def Leppard. One of the greatest finds, however, was that Richard Pryor tape. It was his Here and Now album. I went into my room, popped the tape in, and pushed play. It started with a man's introduction: Ladies and gentlemen...Richard Pryor. The crowd went nuts and I got excited. He spoke a little bit and then said the word "M-----f-----" and I dove for the stereo to turn it off. I wasn't sure if I should listen to this thing or not. Decisions, decisions. I grabbed my boombox, stuck the tape in my pocket, and headed for the park. I wasn't about to listen to this in the house, but the park seemed okay. I played the entire tape when I got to the park. I didn't understand some things at the time, but what I did understand, I laughed at. I laughed very hard. It did have a lot of cussing in it, but that wasn't what I was laughing at. I had heard those words hundreds of times. What I was enjoying was how well Richard told a story. His vocal inflections, imitations, and characters were like no other stories I'd ever heard before, and I really haven't since then. I would eventually know that album word for word I listened to it so much. Kinda sad, but that's me in a nutshell. Bill Cosby was like a gateway comedian for me. His great humor lead me into a never ending supply of funny people. I have since become an avid stand up comedy follower. Even though everyday life hands you some great and funny stories, hearing comedian's stories that have nothing to do with everyday life is always refreshing to me. Thanks to James for showing me Bill Cosby and thanks to my brother Jeff for never locking his door.
See some of the other things I'm up to at www.JonathanElmore.weebly.com
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