"Oscar's Blues" is a dazzling display of his tap dancing backed by Breau, while "Joey's Solo" finds the dancer accompanied only by the cadence of the audience's clapping. He says three guys at the previous nights show were obviously law enforcement. Bruce refers to the fact that the previous Sunday hed only sold 500 tickets for a show at the Curran Theater in San Francisco, leaving 1100 empty seats. Bruce suggested Mrs. Kennedy wasnt trying to get help for the president in the photo, but instead was running to save her own life. Bruce is fed up with people saying hes too concerned about integration, in the Shakespearean vein of you protest too much. He says non-Southerners are bigoted regarding people who talk Southern, like Lyndon Johnson. Bruce does his bit The Clap, gets indignant about the hypocrisy regarding the disease. Bruce believes he was framed. The recording starts with the show in progress. The recording continues with the beginning of the second set. The recording ends abruptly, then continues (it may be the same performance, or yet another performance). He does his bit on Barry Goldwater and his Jewish roots. Discusses differences between Christians and Jews. Bruce reads from a letter dated May 21, 1965, by attorney Allen Schwartz, who represented Bruces co-defendants Howard and Ella Solomon in the 1964 New York obscenity trial. 50 years ago, Lenny Bruce was found dead on his bathroom floor, up in the Hollywood Hills. Bruce reads from transcripts of the preliminary hearing and the trial. The clientele was mixed, but author David Rosen called the Village Purple Onion a "mob-run gay hangout." . Bruce discusses the Maryland Hotel cleaning service, the Captain Howdy Show, and singer Gary Crosby. He again talks to the cops. "The Surrey With the Fringe on Top" has a bluesy flavor, along with Francks' improvised dialogue and a brief scatted detour into "On the Trail" (from Grof's Grand Canyon Suite). Joey Hollingsworth, Tap Dancing & Vocals) 1:43. "A Gentile Sings the Blues" is a gag that runs a bit too long at 21 minutes, though the instrumental interlude gives the listener a better chance to hear Breau and Henstridge in something other than a background role. Bruce talks about undetected perverts, generational differences in sexual practice, and does his bit Chick Singer With a Gimmick. The recording ends in the midst of the bit George Shearing. He reads a newspaper review of his opening night show at the club. Lenny had proven his point words are only offensive because society allows that particular word to be offensive. He comments on audience members walking out. The recording ends in the midst of his bit White Collar Drunk. He refers to the fact that the previous Sunday hed only sold 500 tickets for a show at the Curran Theater in San Francisco, leaving 1100 empty seats. 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The place is unknown, but is possibly the Off Broadway club in San Francisco. Bruce does some bits about air travel. The fifth clip is his bit The Clap and was recorded during Bruces engagement at the Chicago club The Gate of Horn in November-December 1962. Tending bar at the Mudd Club never promised visibility. He couldnt say any offensive word without getting heat from the authorities. In March 1964, Steve Allen invited Lenny Bruce to make his 3rd appearance on his show. Bendich is impressed by the thoroughness of Bruces research. Free-form bits recorded by Bruce in the days before his death on August 3, 1966. Fundamentally, everything we have created, came from nothing thus, meaning that nothing has a meaning. Things that will shock you. Steve Allen. Thats the place where Lenny Bruce was arrested for obscenities a long time ago. Words may stay the same, context is always going through evolution. The singer tells a joke between songs, and for an instant it is 1961. The performance ended in Bruce's arrest for obscenity. It's also a real treat to hear Lenny laughing and doing what he does best. The trio's approach to standards is a bit unusual. He talks about when Norman words took over for Anglo-Saxon ones, providing euphemisms (such as mutton for the meat of sheep). The skit can also be seen in the movie Lenny, performed by Dustin Hoffman who portrays Bruce. Lenny Bruce - How To Relax Your Colored Friends At Parties (1961) Reelblack One 1.17M subscribers Subscribe 1.5K Share 165K views 4 years ago Classic comedy bit from controversial satirist. This file ends before the end of the set, which was halted by the police, who then arrested Bruce and some audience members (including comic George Carlin, who refused to show police his ID). The ninth and tenth clips are variations on Airplane Glue, with the kid who sniffs glue appearing on Paul Coates tabloid TV show. (1) Final 16 minutes of the show on the night of December 4-5, 1962, known as The Bust Show (midnight performance). Two years later, on February 3rd 1961, New York city was midway through its worst blizzard in its history, successfully halting the city to a stand still the city wouldnt be hit by such a blizzard until 2011. He does a bit on mothers of different ethnicities. Bruce does a bit about how his generation of men is terrified of being considered a faggot. He relates his surprise, when at Phil Spectors jamboree rock concert, at seeing 10-year-old kids out without their parents. He says he has sold his house, and his money is gone. The third clip is his bit on a Jewish mother in Miami whos the only one who doesnt know her son is gay. He does his bit on the Miami Kidnapping, then Airplane Glue, talks about marijuana, then does Christ & Moses, Small-Town Audiences, then Schmuck. Bruce says "It's the first time they've made a bust right in an audience" and imagines he's "Superjew" who can fly out the back way. Scary goyish.. Bruce mentions his bit Religions Inc. from four years earlier. Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site. He does his bit about wanting to give the audience members lie detector tests about infidelity and homosexuality and refers to Tab Hunter's arrest for allegedly beating his dog. Allmusic critic Ken Dryden notes that while "fans of Lenny Breau are likely to be interested in all of his previously unreleased recordings, . However, in 1961 Lenny Bruces career began to unravel, when he was arrested in San Francisco for violating state obscenity laws. Drummer Buddy Rich, and singer Eileen Barton are in the audience. The new trial pitted Bruces use of dirty language and suggestive material against his right to free speech. The show is known as The Berkeley Concert. He talks about the abundance of police cars in front of the Gate of Horn at the previous nights performance. A preface to the performance on the tape is the repetition of the recorded voice one gets when calling a phone number to get the time of day. Lenny Bruce walks on stage. Via a dramatization of how his father used to hit him, he says he became acutely attuned to his fathers moods, and this in turn made him very sensitive to the moods of audience members (I know when youre bugged, I know when Im boring, I know when Im offensive). His sister and brother-in-law, Virginia "Ginnie" and Irving "Bud" Steinhoff would frequently work weekends at the club until 1960 when they took over management. More detailed information on the Lenny Bruce collection audio files can be found here: Lenny Bruce Institutional Repository site. He explained that Bruce is not a comedian who just told dirty and foul jokes, but instead; He deals with [the] subject matter which many people consider off limits. The last section is a series of commercials, and possibly outtakes from commercials, for the Los Angeles mens clothing store Zeidler and Zeidler. He praises Hugh Hefner, who is making it so that the nude female body is no longer filthy. Upon returning to stand-up comedy, things got worse for Lenny Bruce over the next two years. In the third section, he plays the roles of the host of a radio talk show called Nightline, and of some callers. He was renowned for his open, free-style and critical form of comedy which integrated satire, politics, religion, sex, and vulgarity. The set is in progress. Guitarist Lenny Breau, vocalist/comedian Don Francks, and bassist Eon Henstridge were a brand new trio (later calling themselves Three) when they were recorded in 1961 at the Purple Onion, a Toronto nightclub. and People Dont Talk That Way to Judges. He talks about critics and is asked about the recent Congressional hearings about rigged quiz shows. The performance ended in Bruce's arrest for obscenity. Some of the recordings are of a personal nature, such as the phone letters and private conversations between Bruce and his friends and family. Bruce was watched closely in New York as well. Talks about the Catholic Church, Howard Johnsons, Vietnam, protesters, the law, James Joyces Ulysses, bit How the Law Started/Craphouse. On that day, Lenny Bruce was making his debut appearance at Carnegie Hall, a sold out performance. He remarks that people are now walking out of the show. He talks about race relations and does Dick Gregory, Ive Never Been Inside a Negros House and Goldwater Talks to Negroes. He does No Guy Ever Cheated on His Wife/Guys Detach. He lists his favorite painters, says he writes columns for Rogue magazine and The Realist, and lists magazines he reads and books hes read recently. He refers to his bust at the Gate of Horn (during the early hours of December 5). But you already knew that, didnt you? Bruce is known to have had engagements at The Den in April and during the fall of 1959. When he first appeared on the show in 1959, Allen described him as the most shocking comedian of our time, a young man who is skyrocketing to fame. Their interaction in Nat Adderley's soulful "Work Song" is amazing, with Breau providing a bit of percussion on his instrument as well. North Beach is alive at night, and the Smothers Brothers have settled in for a month at the Purple Onion. Lenny Bruce, head-and-shoulders portrait. He gave zero fucks. He then refers to Shelley Berman, Alan King, George Gobel, Pinky Lee, Bert Parks and Alexander King. (2) The recording abruptly switches to a different performance, in progress, (probably 1964, location unknown) with references to Lyndon Johnson and Barry Goldwater. What is possibly a different set has Bruce doing bit with Santa Claus as the subject of Edward R. Murrows show Person to Person. A third section begins. 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