''Radio Dinner'' is the debut album by the creators of the American satirical magazine '' National Lampoon''. It was released on

Blue Thumb Records Blue Thumb Records was an American record label founded in 1968 by Bob Krasnow and former A&M Records executives Tommy LiPuma and Don Graham. Blue Thumb's last record was released in 1978. In 1995, the label was revived and remained active u ...

in 1972 after

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

had declined to issue the record. The humor on the album is steeped in the

pop culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art pop_art.html" ;"title="f. pop art">f. pop artor mass art, some ...

and politics of the era. It includes "

Deteriorata "Deteriorata" is a comedy record released as a single in 1972. It is a parody of Les Crane's 1971 spoken-word recording of "Desiderata", the early 20th-century poem by Max Ehrmann. ("Desiderata" is Latin for "desired things"; "deteriorata" is ...

", a parody of Les Crane's hit rendition of the poem "

Desiderata "Desiderata"(Latin: 'things desired') is a 1927 prose poem by the American writer Max Ehrmann. The text was widely distributed in poster form in the 1960s and 1970s. History Max Ehrmann of Terre Haute, Indiana, started writing the work in 1921, ...

", and commentary on the 1972 presidential race. Among several pieces satirizing the former

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

, "Magical Misery Tour" is a parody of

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

primal therapy Primal therapy is a Psychological trauma, trauma-based psychotherapy created by Arthur Janov during the 1960s, who argued that neurosis is caused by the Psychological repression, repressed Psychological pain, pain of childhood trauma. Janov argued ...

-inspired songwriting and his 1970 ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' interview, later published in book form as ''

Lennon Remembers ''Lennon Remembers'' is a 1971 book by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's co-founder and editor Jann Wenner. It consists of a lengthy interview that Wenner carried out with the former Beatle John Lennon in December 1970 and which was originally serial ...

''.

Sketches and songs

''Radio Dinner'' parodies the pop culture and political landscape of the early 1970s. The record's principal creators were '' National Lampoon'' editors

Tony Hendra Anthony Christopher Hendra (10 July 1941 – 4 March 2021) was an English satirist and writer who worked mostly in the United States. He was probably best known for being the head writer and co-producer in 1984 of the first six shows of the long ...

and

Michael O'Donoghue Michael O'Donoghue (January 5, 1940 – November 8, 1994) was an American writer, actor, editor and comedian. He was known for his dark and destructive style of comedy and humor, and was a major contributor to ''National Lampoon'' maga ...

. Other writers for the magazine also contributed, and much of the material was derived from

Christopher Guest Christopher Haden-Guest, 5th Baron Haden-Guest (born 5 February 1948), known professionally as Christopher Guest, is a British-American actor, comedian, screenwriter and director. Guest has written, directed, and starred in his series of comedy ...

's improvisatory style. The record includes several references to and sketches about the solo careers of former Beatles

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...

and

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

. It also satirizes

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

, played by Guest on "Those Fabulous Sixties", and

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (, ; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing mo ...

, on "Pull the Tregros". "Teenyrap", the title of several pieces of dialog spread throughout the album, features two teenagers discussing Harrison's 1971

Concert for Bangladesh The Concert for Bangladesh (or Bangla Desh, as the country's name was originally spelt)Harry, p. 135. was a pair of benefit concerts organised by former Beatles guitarist George Harrison and the Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar. The shows we ...

aid project. The record ends with "Concert in Bangla Desh", where two Bangladeshi stand-up comedians (played by Guest and Hendra) perform to starving refugees, in an attempt to collect a bowlful of rice so that Harrison can stage a

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...

. The comedians' jokes are punctuated by the sound of

tabla A ''tabla'' is a pair of hand drums from the Indian subcontinent. Since the 18th century, it has been the principal percussion instrument in Hindustani classical music, where it may be played solo, as an accompaniment with other instruments a ...

rolls. "Magical Misery Tour (Bootleg Record)" is a parody of Lennon's

-inspired songwriting style. The song's lyrics include the repeated cry of "Genius is pain!" and were taken directly from Lennon's 1970 ''

'' interview, later published in book form as ''

''. Hendra plays Lennon, while

Melissa Manchester Melissa Manchester (born February 15, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Since the 1970s, her songs have been played by adult contemporary radio stations. She has also appeared on television, in films, and on stage. Early li ...

makes a brief speaking appearance as

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono (, usually spelled in katakana as ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up in Tokyo and moved to New York ...

. The album's liner notes states that the song is "From the album ''Yoko Is a Concept by Which We Measure Our Pain'', recorded live at ''Rolling Stone''. All Profits to go to the Toronto Peace Festival." The album sends up McCartney's newfound politicization on his and

Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces both lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-drag ratio, which compares the bene ...

' 1972 single "

Give Ireland Back to the Irish "Give Ireland Back to the Irish" is the debut single by the British–American rock band Wings that was released in February 1972. It was written by Paul McCartney and his wife Linda in response to the events of Bloody Sunday, on 30 January th ...

". Several times an Irish tenor begins to sing the song in a pub but is soon gunned down. There are also "clues" alluding to the "

Paul is Dead "Paul is dead" is an urban legend and conspiracy theory alleging that English musician Paul McCartney of the Beatles died in 1966 and was secretly replaced by a look-alike. The rumour began circulating in 1966, gaining broad popularity in Se ...

" urban legend. These include four backmasked segments spread throughout the album. The LP's gatefold sleeve has the words "''Clue Number Five:'' II Tim 4:6", as well as a picture frame that reads "CLUE NUMBER SIX" along the top, followed by "R.I.P.", and finally a partially covered "P. Mc." The National Lampoon team parodies Les Crane's musical rendition of the poem "

" in "

", and game shows in "Catch It and You Keep It". "Profiles in Chrome" includes Windy Craig as

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

, whose landslide win in the 1972 presidential election is also predicted.

Release and reception

''Radio Dinner'' was originally set to be released on

, but the company balked at "David and Julie", a track focussing on the sex life of

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

and Julie Eisenhower—the son-in-law and daughter, respectively, of Richard Nixon. Hendra and O'Donoghue refused to cut the piece and took the album to Blue Thumb instead, but were met with the same objection. Lampoon relented and the album was released without "David and Julie". According to Hendra in his 1987 book '' Going Too Far'', Lennon was shocked by the depiction of him in "Magical Misery Tour" and walked out when a radio DJ played the track when Lennon and Ono were guests on his show. In a 1973 review for ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...

'',

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

wrote of ''Radio Dinner'': "Except for one stupid bit about a car that runs for president, this is funny throughout, and often savage. As usual, the Lampoon crew raises bad taste to the level of masochism—what's remarkable is that they do even better on record what they have demonstrated they can do in print."

Dave Marsh Dave Marsh (born ) is an American music critic and radio talk show host. He was an early editor of '' Creem'' magazine, has written for various publications such as ''Newsday'', ''The Village Voice'', and ''Rolling Stone'', and has published num ...

of ''Rolling Stone'' said that, like the magazine itself, National Lampoon's recording career began "brilliantly", and he described the parodies of Lennon, Dylan and Baez as "sheer genius". The album became out of print in 1977 and, as of 2016, had yet to be reissued. In his overview of National Lampoon's recording output, for ''

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to Nort ...

'', Ramsay Ess describes "Magical Misery Tour" as arguably the album's "most famous track".

Track listing

Side one # "

" – 4:25 # "Phono Phunnies/Teenyrap/It's Obvious" – 2:37 # "Catch It and You Keep It/Pigeons/Teenyrap/Quinas 'n' 'Rasmus/All Kidding Aside (PSA)/Phono Phunnies/Teenyrap" – 10:05 # "Magical Misery Tour (Bootleg Record)" – 4:08 Side two (titled "Side Thirteen") # "Those Fabulous Sixties" – 1:45 # "Profiles in Chrome" – 8:16 # "Teenyrap/Phono Phunnies/Pigeons/Support Your Locol Polece (PSA)" – 2:25 # "Pull the Tregros/Teenyrap/Ng Asi/Phono Phunnies" – 6:25 # "Concert in Bangla Desh" – 3:26

Personnel

Adapted from the 1972 LP credits. Performers *

, Diane Reed, Jack Marks,

, Alex Bennett, Windy Craig, Loren Order,

Jackson Beck Jackson Beck (July 23, 1912 – July 28, 2004) was an American actor best known as the announcer on radio's '' The Adventures of Superman'' and the voice of Bluto in the Famous era Popeye theatrical shorts. Early years Beck was born on July 23, ...

, Jessica Hendra, Jill Andre, Naomi R. Page – vocals, dialogue *

Norman Rose Norman Rose (June 23, 1917 – November 12, 2004) was an American actor, film narrator and radio announcer whose velvety baritone was often called "the Voice of God" by colleagues. He was best known as the narrator's voice in the fictitious coffee ...

– narration Musicians * Christopher Guest – guitar, musical arrangements * Frani Bell – guitar * Melissa Manchester – piano, keyboards * John "Cooker" LoPresti, Dean Munson – bass * Jim Payne – drums

References

External links

Mark's Very Large National Lampoon Site
{{Authority control 1972 albums Radio Dinner Blue Thumb Records albums 1970s comedy albums Black comedy music Albums produced by Bob Tischler