Song:The Immigrants
Album:The Classic National Lampoon Box Set
Of course most fans are familiar with National Lampoon through movies like National Lampoon's Vacation. But National Lampoon started out as a magazine and then it branched out into other things like The National Lampoon Radio Hour. Though it was short lived, many who appeared on the Radio Hour went on to bigger and better things. The National Lampoon magazine started in 1970. It was an offshoot of Harvard Lampoon. So satire was their game. I guess it could be described as a more adult version of Mad Magazine. The guys behind the magazine wanted to get into other things. The first thing they did was produce the stage show Lemmings in 1973. This ran for 350 performances at The Village Gate in New York City. No doubt it was expensive to produce. So National Lampoon writer Michael O'Donoghue decided to try radio. Some who appeared in Lemmings also appeared on the National Lampoon Radio Hour including John Belushi. The radio show ran for about a year. The problem was they gave the show away to radio stations. So to make some money, some of the sketches were issued on LPs. The Immigrants is a 1975 skit that lampoons hillbillies. It first appeared on the radio show and then it appeared on the 1975 album Gold Turkey. So there was a Greatest Hits released but it's out of print except on this box set which includes three latter day National Lampoon albums that aren't as good as the radio show. Many of those who appeared on Radio Hour including O'Donoghue, Belushi, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray and Gilda Radner went on to Saturday Night Live. Others like Harold Ramis, Richard Belzer, Brian Doyle-Murray, Joe Flaherty and Christopher Guest went on to other things. The National Lampoon magazine closed in 1978 and was then revived in the 80s. The National Lampoon name lives on in movies like National Lampoon's Vacation. But the National Lampoon Radio Hour is a significant part of that legacy. Here's a video for Immigrants by National Lampoon.
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