My answer for this is the same as Day 3. Very first one in any format was the Sibling Revelry on cassette. First vinyl was Purple Onion. Not only my first albums but also my favorites 🥰 And I share how I got each one of those in that post.
And since I showed the front covers of those albums also on Day 3, and I didn’t want to use the same picture again, I decided to share the back covers this time 😅
I have a non-musical one, and a couple musical ones.
The non-musical one is probably is not a surprise. “Mom Always Likes You Best” (and it’s variants) 🤣.
I am the oldest of 4. So of course I can really relate to the type of sibling bickering that is in the routine. But what I didn’t think would happen, or was possible, was that it would become even funnier.
After I became a mom of 2.
My daughters are a few years apart, but once the youngest started talking, they started fighting. And they would argue over who got away with more. And so on.
One time they started up, and I stood there listening to them, and started to laugh. And my oldest asked me “Mom, what are you laughing about?” And then quickly caught on “Are you thinking of the Smothers Brothers?”
While still laughing, I nodded yes. And then she started laughing. And my youngest laughed too, though I don’t think she understood exactly why.
Below is from the same-titled album, along with “You Can Call Me Stupid”, which is what I liked to call “Mom Always Liked You Best, part 2”.
Back in 1993 when they rebroadcast the Comedy Hour on E!, with Tom and Dick setting up the episode and afterwards talking about memories they had. Below, they share the time when their mom appeared on the show, and slapped Dickie.
“Michael, Row the Boat Ashore” from Golden Hits of the Smothers Brothers, Vol. 2 is a great one. Also the reference to Ralph was great, especially for me since that’s where my fanhood started.
(Background – Ralph was a character from their sitcom they did right before starting the Comedy Hour. He was Tom’s angel supervisor who would call Tom on various different items to give out assignments.)
From the same album, “I Talk to the Trees” is also fantastic.
Added bonus…
Lincoln Logs, circa mid-20th century. I had them when growing up as well. Our dog chewed up one of the logs. And the thought of termites being put in them… 😅. And here’s a cool little video about them. And, yes, they are still around!
Some of the 1949 St. Louis Cardinals baseball trading cards.
I know this is more niche than my Charlie Chaplin one. And even more niche than the Doctor Who challenge. For example, some of you might be thinking to yourself: “Who the heck are the Smothers Brothers?”
In a nutshell: Tom and Dick Smothers are real life brothers and from 1959 to 2010 they performed as a musical comedy team, with Tom on acoustic guitar and Dick playing double bass. Both of them singing (or attempting to sing) folk songs and breaking into sibling rivalry, occasionally arguing over who mom liked best. They made several comedy albums a few tv series, including the iconic 1960s “Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” which got them in hot water over their position on the Vietnam War and shortly later, censorship.
I created this 30 Day Challenge as my way to celebrate the 60th anniversary of their first album, “The Smothers Brothers at the Purple Onion” (released in May of 1961), and also because I am a huge fan and wanted to share it with others and maybe introduce them to you if you have no idea who they are.
To say that they have impacted my life is very much an understatement. Things I have gotten interested in stemmed from being a fan of theirs ranging from history, music, to political involvement, and classic comedy, and probably a few other things that I cannot think of right now. My life would be vastly different if it hadn’t been by chance of… well I don’t want to get ahead of myself 😉
So here it is:
How did you become a fan?
Did you ever see them in concert?
Favorite album
Favorite routine
First album you got
Have you lucky been lucky enough to meet them?
Thoughts of the Purple Onion album
Thoughts on The Two Sides of the Smothers Brothers album
…Think Ethnic!
…Curb Your Tongue, Knave!
…It Must Have Been Something I Said!
…Tour de Farce: American History and Other Unrelated Subjects
…Aesop’s Fables: The Smothers Brothers Way
…Mom Always Liked You Best!
…The Smothers Brothers Play It Straight
…Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (the album)
…Golden Hits of the Smothers Brothers, Vol. 2
Favorite song they sang straight
Favorite interview
Thoughts on the “Smothered” documentary
Thoughts on the book “Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” by David Bianculli?
Should season one of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour ever be released?
Favorite episode of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (original 60s, 70s, or 80s?)
Favorite Comedy Hour guest?
Favorite Comedy Hour musical guest?
Favorite regular?
Inspired by the Yo-Yo Man to learn (or re-learn) yo-yo tricks?
Favorite piece(s) of memorabilia
Favorite performance (Comedy Hour, late night TV, concert, etc)
Routine or album you would recommend to recruit a new fan?
If a movie/mini-series was made about them, who would you pick to play Tom and Dick?
If you are looking at this and saying “Hey, you have 31 days! I thought this was a 30 day challenge?” Well, it’s in spirit with how they number things, like their album “Golden Hits of the Smothers Brothers, Vol. 2”. There was no volume 1. And the release of their 60s Comedy Hour being released on DVD a few years ago. First was Season 3 (September 2008), then season 2 (October 2009)… season 1 has not been released yet (I am holding out hope!)
And I’ll end my 30 Day Challenge intro with their performance from 1966 on the Ed Sullivan Show. I love it because it’s an excellent short example of how they sang and played, and go into a little of their Mom Always Liked You Best routine:
