Lord Richard Buckley (born Richard Myrle Buckley; April 5, 1906 – November 12, 1960) was an American stand-up comedian and recording artist, who in the 1940s and 1950s created a character that was, according to ''The New York Times'', "an unlikely persona ... part English royalty, part Dizzy Gillespie." Michael Packenham, writing in ''The Baltimore Sun'', described him as "a magnificent stand-up comedian ... Buckley's work, his very presence, projected the sense that life's most immortal truths lie in the inextricable weaving together of love and irony—affection for all humanity married to laughter." Buckley's unique stage persona anticipated aspects of the

Beat Generation The Beat Generation was a literary subculture movement started by a group of authors whose work explored and influenced American culture and politics in the post-war era. The bulk of their work was published and popularized by Silent Generat ...

sensibility, and influenced contemporary figures as various as Dizzy Gillespie, Lenny Bruce, Wavy Gravy, Del Close, and, even after Buckley's death,

Ken Kesey Ken Elton Kesey (September 17, 1935 – November 10, 2001) was an American novelist, essayist and countercultural figure. He considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s. Kesey was born ...

, George Harrison, Tom Waits,

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by nonconformity, free-form improvisation, sound experiments, musical virtuosity and satire of A ...

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and comed ...

, and

Jimmy Buffett James William Buffett (born December 25, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, and businessman. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffe ...

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

, in his book ''Chronicles'', said "Buckley was the hipster bebop preacher who defied all labels."

Early life

Buckley's father, William Buckley, was from Manchester, England. He stowed away on a ship that eventually arrived in San Francisco.Trager, Oliver. ''Dig Infinity! The Life and Art of Lord Buckley'' Welcome Rain Publishers. 2001. p. 10 In California, William met Annie Bone. They married, and their son, Richard, was born in Tuolumne, in a mountainous region where lumbering was a major industry. As children, Buckley and his sister, Nell, would often perform on the streets of Tuolumne, singing for change from passersby. When he was a bit older, Buckley got a job in the local lumber camps as a "tree topper", which was considered an especially dangerous position. It involved climbing up to the very top of a tall tree, cutting off the tip and then securing ropes that would guide the rest of the tree as it was felled.

Career

By the mid-1930s, he was performing as emcee in Chicago at Leo Seltzer's dance marathons at the Chicago Coliseum, and worked his own club, ''Chez Buckley'', on Western Avenue through the early 1940s. During World War II, Buckley performed extensively for armed services on USO tours, where he formed a lasting friendship with

Ed Sullivan Edward Vincent Sullivan (September 28, 1901 – October 13, 1974) was an American television personality, impresario, sports and entertainment reporter, and syndicated columnist for the ''New York Daily News'' and the Chicago Tribune New York ...

. In the 1950s, Buckley hit his stride with a combination of exaggeratedly aristocratic bearing and carefully enunciated rhythmic hipster slang. He was known for wearing a waxed mustache along with

white tie White tie, also called full evening dress or a dress suit, is the most formal in traditional evening western dress codes. For men, it consists of a black tail coat (alternatively referred to as a dress coat, usually by tailors) worn over a whi ...

and tails. He sometimes wore a

pith helmet The pith helmet, also known as the safari helmet, salacot, sola topee, sun helmet, topee, and topi) is a lightweight cloth-covered helmet made of sholapith. The pith helmet originates from the Spanish military adaptation of the native '' salak ...

. Occasionally performing to music, he punctuated his monologues with

scat singing In vocal jazz, scat singing is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. In scat singing, the singer improvises melodies and rhythms using the voice as an instrument rather than a speaking medium. ...

and sound effects. His most significant tracks are retellings of historical or legendary events, like "My Own Railroad" and "The Nazz". The latter, first recorded in 1952, describes Jesus' working profession as "carpenter kitty." Other historical figures include Gandhi ("The Hip Gahn") and the

Marquis de Sade Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade (; 2 June 1740 – 2 December 1814), was a French nobleman, revolutionary politician, philosopher and writer famous for his literary depictions of a libertine sexuality as well as numerous accusat ...

("The Bad-Rapping of the Marquis de Sade, the King of Bad Cats"). He retold several classic documents such as the

Gettysburg Address The Gettysburg Address is a speech that U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivered during the American Civil War at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery, now known as Gettysburg National Cemetery, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on the ...

and a version of

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

's "

The Raven "The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. First published in January 1845, the poem is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a distraught lover who is paid a myste ...

." In "

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the ...

's Funeral Oration", he recast

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears" as "Hipsters, flipsters and finger-poppin' daddies: knock me your lobes." Reportedly, some of his comedic material was written for him by Hollywood "

beatnik Beatniks were members of a social movement in the 1950s that subscribed to an anti-materialistic lifestyle. History In 1948, Jack Kerouac introduced the phrase "Beat Generation", generalizing from his social circle to characterize the undergr ...

" Mel Welles. Lord Buckley appeared on Groucho Marx's popular TV program ''

You Bet Your Life ''You Bet Your Life'' is an American comedy Game show, quiz series that has aired on both radio and television. The original and best-known version was hosted by Groucho Marx of the Marx Brothers, with announcer and assistant George Fenneman. Th ...

'' in 1956. In 1959, he voiced the beatnik character Go Man Van Gogh in "Wildman of Wildsville", an episode of the

Bob Clampett Robert Emerson Clampett Sr. (May 8, 1913 – May 2, 1984) was an American animator, director, producer and puppeteer. He was best known for his work on the ''Looney Tunes'' animated series from Warner Bros. as well as the television shows '' T ...

animated series ''

Beany and Cecil ''Beany and Cecil'' is a 1962 animated television series created by Bob Clampett for the American Broadcasting Company. The cartoon was based on the television puppet show '' Time for Beany'', which Clampett produced for Paramount Pictures compa ...

''. (The character reappeared in several episodes made after Buckley's death, when he was voiced by Scatman Crothers.) Buckley adopted his "hipsemantic" delivery from his peers

Cab Calloway Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, conductor and dancer. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocali ...

, Louis Armstrong, Redd Foxx,

Pearl Mae Bailey Pearl Mae Bailey (March 29, 1918 – August 17, 1990) was an American actress, singer and author. After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in ''St. Louis Woman'' in 1946. She received a Special Tony Award for the title role i ...

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and th ...

, and Frank Sinatra, as well as Hipsters and the British aristocracy. Buckley enjoyed smoking

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in variou ...

. He wrote reports of his first experiences with LSD, under the supervision of

Dr. Oscar Janiger Oscar Janiger (February 8, 1918 – August 14, 2001) was an experimental psychiatrist and a University of California Irvine psychiatrist and psychotherapist, best known for his LSD research, which lasted from 1954 to 1962. Early life Janiger w ...

, and of his trip in a

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army S ...

jet.

Personal life

Lord Buckley claimed to have been married many times. He had a son, Fred Buckley. His final marriage was to dancer Elizabeth Hanson, with whom he had daughter Laurie and son Richard.

Death

In the autumn of 1960, Buckley's manager Harold L. Humes organized a series of club dates in New York City as well as for him to make another appearance on ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...

'' (that was broadcast from the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York). However, on October 19, 1960, while Buckley was making a public appearance at the Jazz Gallery in St. Mark's Place in Manhattan, the

New York Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

(NYPD) stopped him over allegations he had "falsified information" on his application to get a

New York City cabaret card The New York City Cabaret Identification Card was a permit required of all workers, including performers, in nightclubs in New York City from Prohibition to 1967. Its administration was fraught with politics, and some artists' cards were revoked o ...

; specifically he had omitted to record a 1941 arrest for marijuana possession. Cabaret cards had been a legal requirement since

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

for anyone, including performers, who wished to work in New York's nightclubs or the entertainment industry. Because working without a license could mean arrest, revoking cards could permanently end careers – a threat that had been used in the past for political purposes or to solicit payoffs from performers. At a hearing two days later to have his card reinstated, Buckley was supported by more than three dozen major figures in the entertainment and arts world. However, it developed into a confrontation between NYPD Commissioner

Stephen P. Kennedy Stephen Patrick Kennedy (October 27, 1906 – October 17, 1978) was an American law enforcement officer who served as New York City Police Commissioner from 1955 to 1961. Early life Kennedy was born on October 27, 1906 in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. P ...

and Buckley's friends and supporters, including

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

, George Plimpton and

Norman Mailer Nachem Malech Mailer (January 31, 1923 – November 10, 2007), known by his pen name Norman Kingsley Mailer, was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, playwright, activist, filmmaker and actor. In a career spanning over six decades, Mailer ...

. Three weeks later, on November 12, 1960, Buckley died from a stroke at New York City's Columbus Hospital. His funeral was at the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel at 81st Street and Madison Avenue in New York City on November 16, 1960. Buckley was cremated at the Ferndale Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York. The scandal of Buckley's death, partially attributed to the seizure of his cabaret card, helped lead to the removal of authority over cabaret cards from the police to the Licensing Department.

Legacy

reflected, "he was impractical as many of his profession are, but the vivid Buckley will long be remembered by all of us." "The jingle-jangle morning" in " Mr. Tambourine Man" is a phrase

said he took from Lord Buckley. from the line, "Jingle jangle bells all over", in "Scrooge." Early in his career Dylan performed " Black Cross", one of Lord Buckley's signature pieces, originally written in 1948 by

Joseph S. Newman Joseph Simon Newman (December 6, 1891 – November 10, 1960) was an American entrepreneur and writer. He was a founder of the Newman-Stern Company, and gained renown as a writer of both light and serious verse. Biography Joseph Newman was born ...

. Dylan's version is one of the tracks on the 1969 bootleg recording '' Great White Wonder''. Composer David Amram composed a concerto for alto saxophone and orchestra titled ''Ode to Lord Buckley'', and dedicated it to Buckley's memory. Arlo Guthrie has cited Lord Buckley and

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and media personality. He made significant contributions to American and African-American culture, and is well known in the United States for his eccentri ...

as the primary inspirations behind his magnum opus, " Alice's Restaurant". George Harrison's solo song " Crackerbox Palace" was inspired by Buckley's former home in Los Angeles. The song mentions Buckley in the line "know well the Lord is well and inside of you", as well as Buckley's manager George Grief.

performed a version of Buckley's "

God's Own Drunk "God's Own Drunk" is a monologue by Lord Buckley that musicians have since adapted into different types of songs; most notably, Jimmy Buffett, who first recorded his rendition for '' Living and Dying in ¾ Time'' and has since released a single ...

" on his 1974 album '' Living and Dying in 3/4 Time'' and it became a signature piece for him until the release of ''

Margaritaville "Margaritaville" is a 1977 song by American popular music singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett from the album '' Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes''. This song was written about a drink Buffett discovered at Lung's Cocina del Sur restauran ...

'' in 1977. On his 1978 live album '' You Had to Be There'', Buffett states that the song is performed "with much respect to Lord Richard Buckley." Buffett has performed his version less frequently since being sued for copyright infringement by Buckley's son in 1983. This lawsuit prompted the writing of "The Lawyer and the Asshole". In his acceptance speech at the Second Annual Comedy Hall Of Fame Awards, comedian George Carlin mentioned a long list of his comedy influences, and ended with "the great, great, great Lord Buckley". This can be heard in the televised show. In November 2015, City Lights released a new edition of ''Hiparama of the Classics''. First published in 1960, this new expanded edition contains, in addition to Buckley's hip-semantic raps, a new foreword by Al Young and photographs by music photographers Jim Marshall, Jerry Stoll, amongst others. A feature-length documentary, ''Too Hip for the Room: The Righteous Reign of Lord Buckley'' was released in 2016.

Memorial

On December 5, 1960, largely on the initiative of WEVD's Mort Fega, a jazz memorial tribute to the late Buckley—as well as a benefit fundraiser for his widow and children—was held at the same venue in which he had last performed, the Jazz Gallery in New York.Sullivan, Ed (December 9, 1960)
"Little Old New York"
''New York Daily News''. p. C14. Retrieved July 29, 2022. Participants included, among others,

Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Jazz: A Col ...

, Dizzy Gillespie,

Dizzy Reece Alphonso Son "Dizzy" Reece (born 5 January 1931) is a Jamaican-born hard bop jazz trumpeter. Reece is among a group of jazz musicians born in Jamaica which includes Bertie King, Joe Harriott, Roland Alphonso, Wilton Gaynair, Sonny Bradshaw, s ...

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", ...

, Ed Blackwell,

Nick Stabulas Nicholas Stabulas (December 18, 1929 – February 6, 1973) was an American jazz drummer. Career After working in commercial music, Stabulas was a member of Phil Woods group from 1954 to 1957. He did extensive work as a sideman in the 1950 ...

and

Babs Gonzales Babs Gonzales (October 27, 1919 – January 23, 1980), born Lee Brown, was an American bebop vocalist, poet, and self-published author. His books portrayed the jazz world that many black musicians struggled in, portraying disk jockeys, club owner ...

, as well as comedians

Orson Bean Orson Bean (born Dallas Frederick Burrows; July 22, 1928 – February 7, 2020) was an American film, television, and stage actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He was a game show and talk show host and a "mainstay of Los Angeles’ small ...

and Larry Storch.McHarry, Charles (November 24, 1960)
"On the Town"
''New York Daily News''. p. C14. "Thelonious Monk will introduce a new composition, 'Lord Buckley Blast,' at jazz memorial services for Buckley Dec. 5 at the Jazz Gallery." Retrieved July 29, 2022. For the occasion, at least two original compositions were unveiled, with Gonzales debuting "Old McDonald Did the Twist" and Monk performing "The Lord Buckley Blast."

Samples in music

Buckley's work has been sampled by Jaylib and

Madvillain Madvillain was an American hip hop duo consisting of two MCs and producers, MF Doom and Madlib. Their only album, '' Madvillainy'', earned critical acclaim and cult popularity, widely regarded as one of the greatest rap albums of all time and ...

. * A quote from 'The Gasser', saying "They didn't know where they was going but they knew where they was, wasn't it", was sampled in "

Everyday Robots ''Everyday Robots'' is the debut solo studio album by British musician Damon Albarn, best known as the frontman of Blur and Gorillaz. Described by Albarn as his "most personal record", the album was co-produced by Richard Russell and released ...

" by British singer and Blur frontman Damon Albarn, the lead single from his debut solo album of the same name. *

Coldcut Coldcut are an English electronic music duo composed of Matt Black and Jonathan More. Credited as pioneers for pop sampling in the 1980s, Coldcut are also considered the first stars of UK electronic dance music due to their innovative style, ...

's "70 Minutes of Madness" mix contains a sample of Buckley's monologue on religion. * Buckley's "hipsters, flipsters and finger poppin' daddies" line was sampled by The Waterboys in their song "Where The Action Is."

Discography

Lord Buckley recorded over 15 long playing albums in a studio setting. His original vinyl releases, as compiled by Walt Stempek and Oliver Trager, include: * ''Hipsters, Flipsters and Finger Poppin' Daddies Knock Me Your Lobes'', RCA Victor, catalog #'s LPM-3246 (10" 33 rpm LP) and EPB-3246 (7" 45 rpm two EP record set), 1955 * ''Euphoria'', Vaya Records, catalog # VLP 101/2, 1955 * ''Euphoria Volume II'', Vaya Records, catalog # LVP-107/108, 1956 * ''Way Out Humor'', World Pacific, catalog # WP-1279, 1959 * ''Buckley's Best'', Liberty, catalog # LBS 83191E, 1960 * ''Parabolic Revelations Of The Late Lord Buckley'',

Pye Records Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brothe ...

/Nonesuch, catalog # PPL 208, 1963 * ''The Best of Lord Buckley'', Crestview Records, catalog # CRV-801 (mono), 1963 * ''Lord Buckley In Concert'', World Pacific, catalog # WP-1815, 1964 * ''Blowing His Mind (and yours too)'', World Pacific, catalog # WP-1849, 1966 * ''The Best of Lord Buckley'',

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between th ...

, catalog # EKS-74047, 1969 * ''The Bad Rapping of the Marquis De Sade'', World Pacific, catalog # WPS-21889, 1969 * ''a most immaculately hip aristocrat'', Straight Records / Reprise, catalog # STS-1054 / RS-6389, 1970

References

External links

* – official site, includes his biographical material, discography, transcriptions, and an extensive archive of writings *
Wig Bubbles
– site containing some accurate transcribings of Lord Buckley's hipsemanticisms

audio recording of Buckley's comic recapitulation of the ''Life of Christ'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Buckley, Lord 1906 births 1960 deaths American satirists American stand-up comedians People from Tuolumne County, California Entertainers from California American people of English descent Male actors from California 20th-century American male actors Journalists from California Comedians from California 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American journalists American male journalists