''A Wild and Crazy Guy'' is an album by American comedian

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominate ...

released in 1978. It reached number two on ''Billboard'''s Pop Albums Chart. The album was eventually certified

double platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

. It contains the hit novelty single "

King Tut Tutankhamun (, egy, twt-ꜥnḫ-jmn), Egyptological pronunciation Tutankhamen () (), sometimes referred to as King Tut, was an Egyptian pharaoh who was the last of his royal family to rule during the end of the Eighteenth Dynasty (ruled ...

", backed up by the

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is an American country rock band formed in 1966. The group has existed in various forms since its founding in Long Beach, California. Between 1976 and 1981, the band performed and recorded as the Dirt Band. Constant ...

performing under the name, the Toot Uncommons. Martin also performed "King Tut" on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

''. It also has Martin revealing his 'real' name, which he admits is the sound of him flipping his lips. The album was released just as his fame grew and the format reflects this. The first half of the album was performed in front of a small audience at The Boarding House in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, where his previous album had been recorded. The second half of the album was performed at the

Red Rocks Amphitheatre Red Rocks Amphitheatre (also colloquially as simply Red Rocks) is an open-air amphitheatre built into a rock structure in the western United States, near Morrison, Colorado, west of Denver. There is a large, tilted, disc-shaped rock behind ...

. The switchover between venues is handled in a segue in the opening minute of the track "A Wild and Crazy Guy" which opened Side Two of the original vinyl long-player – Steve reads a bogus financial disclosure report to the audience at The Boarding House nightclub, and when he gets to calculating concert revenues he reveals his desire to make over $2 million on a single show; the audience reaction quickly changes from the enclosed intimacy of The Boarding House to the far more raucous, open amphitheatre of Red Rocks near Denver. Martin reprises his role as Georg, one of the

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

Festrunk Brothers (a role he had popularized with Dan Aykroyd on ''

'') on two tracks – the second half of "A Wild and Crazy Guy" and "You Naive Americans". The album won the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

in 1979 for

Best Comedy Album The Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement in comedy." The award was awarded yearly from 1959 to 1993 and then from 2004 to presen ...

. In 2015, the album was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

and selected for preservation in the

National Recording Registry The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservati ...

.Library of Congress (25 March 2015)
National Recording Registry To "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive": Joan Baez, Sly Stone, Steve Martin Recordings Named American Treasures
Accessed 9 October 2020.

Track listing

#"I'm Feelin' It" – 5:32 #"Philosophy/Religion/College/Language" – 10:18 #"Creativity in Action/

I'm in the Mood for Love "I'm in the Mood for Love" is a popular song published in 1935. The music was written by Jimmy McHugh, with the lyrics by Dorothy Fields. The song was introduced by Frances Langford in the movie ''Every Night at Eight'' released that year. It ...

" – 2:25 #"A Wild and Crazy Guy" – 7:00 #"A Charitable Kind of Guy" – 1:38 #"An Exposé" – 2:54 #"Cat Handcuffs" – 1:41 #"You Naïve Americans" – 2:00 #"My Real Name" – 3:06 #"

" – 3:40

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wild and Crazy Guy, A 1978 albums Steve Martin albums Warner Records albums 1978 live albums Warner Records live albums Albums recorded at Red Rocks Amphitheatre Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album 1970s comedy albums Live comedy albums United States National Recording Registry recordings Comedy albums by American artists Stand-up comedy albums United States National Recording Registry albums