Lord Buckley
Encyclopedia
Lord Richard Buckley was an American stage performer, recording artist, monologist
, and hip poet/comic. Buckley's unique stage persona never found more than a cult audience during his life, but anticipated aspects of the Beat Generation
sensibility, and influenced figures as various as Bob Dylan
, Ken Kesey
, George Harrison
, Tom Waits
and Dizzy Gillespie
.
's dance marathon
s 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
.
In the 1950s Buckley hit his stride with a combination of his exaggeratedly aristocratic bearing (including waxed mustache, tuxedo and pith helmet) and carefully enunciated rhythmic hipster slang. Occasionally performing to music, he punctuated his monologues with scat singing
and sound effects. His most significant tracks are retelling 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
("The Bad-Rapping of the Marquis de Sade, the King of Bad Cats"). He retold several classic documents such as the Gettysburg Address
and a version of Edgar Allan Poe
's "The Raven
." In "Mark Antony
's Funeral Oration", he recast Shakespeare's "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears" as "Hipsters, flipsters and finger-poppin' daddies: knock me your lobes."
In 1959 Buckley voiced the beatnik
character Go Man Van Gogh in "Wildman of Wildsville", an episode of the Bob Clampett
animated series Beany and Cecil
. The character reappeared in several episodes made after Buckley's death, when he was voiced by Scatman Crothers
.
Buckley adopted his "hipsemantic" from his peers Cab Calloway
, Louis Armstrong
, Redd Foxx
, Pearl Mae Bailey, Count Basie
, and Frank Sinatra
, as well as Hipsters
and the British
aristocracy
.
Buckley enjoyed smoking marijuana
. He wrote reports of his first experiences with LSD
, under the supervision of Dr. Oscar Janiger, and of his trip in a United States Air Force
jet. Ed Sullivan
reflected "...he was impractical as many of his profession are, but the vivid Buckley will long be remembered by all of us."
Lord Buckley made an amusing appearance on Groucho Marx
's popular TV programme You Bet Your Life
where he recited a few lines of his monologues.
in New York managed by Harold L. Humes
, but his cabaret card
was seized, purportedly because of a 1941 arrest for marijuana possession. The card was necessary to appear in nightclubs and were often withheld for political reasons, and as a way to solicit payoffs. He attempted to get the card reinstated and more than three dozen major figures in the entertainment and arts world were present for a hearing on the matter.
Buckley died November 12, 1960 at New York City's Columbus Hospital as the result of a stroke. His final New York appearance at the Jazz Gallery in St. Mark's Place
had been halted by the police because of "falsified information" on his cabaret card application.
A hearing held two days afterward developed into a confrontation between Police Commissioner Stephen Kennedy and Buckley's friends and supporters, including Quincy Jones
, George Plimpton
and Norman Mailer
. The scandal of Buckley's death, attributed at least partly to his loss of the card, led to the removal of Kennedy in 1960 and the abolition of the cabaret card system by 1967, some 7 years later.
Lord Buckley's funeral was on November 16, 1960 at the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel
on 88th Street in New York City. Lord Buckley was cremated at the Ferndale Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York.
" is a sentence Bob Dylan
claims to have taken from Lord Buckley
Composer David Amram
composed a concerto
for alto saxophone
and orchestra titled Ode to Lord Buckley, and dedicated to Buckley's memory.
Monologist
-Monologist:A monologist is a solo artist who recites or gives dramatic readings from a monologue, soliloquy, poetry or work of literature for the entertainment of an audience...
, and hip poet/comic. Buckley's unique stage persona never found more than a cult audience during his life, but anticipated aspects of the Beat Generation
Beat generation
The Beat Generation refers to a group of American post-WWII writers who came to prominence in the 1950s, as well as the cultural phenomena that they both documented and inspired...
sensibility, and influenced figures as various as Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, Ken Kesey
Ken Kesey
Kenneth Elton "Ken" Kesey was an American author, best known for his novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest , and as a counter-cultural figure who considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s. "I was too young to be a beatnik, and too old to be a...
, George Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
, Tom Waits
Tom Waits
Thomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
and Dizzy Gillespie
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
.
Life
Born to English immigrants in Tuolumne, California, Buckley's earliest years are unclear, although he's referred to as an "ex-lumberjack". By the mid-1930s he was performing as emcee in Chicago at Leo SeltzerLeo Seltzer
Leo A. Seltzer is generally credited as the creator of the sport of roller derby, and was the founder and head of the original Roller Derby league from 1935 until his son Jerry Seltzer took over the business in 1958....
's dance marathon
Dance marathon
A dance marathon is an event in which people stay on their feet for a given length of time. It started as a popular fad in the 1920s and 1930s, when organized dance endurance contests attracted people to compete to achieve fame or win monetary prizes...
s at the Chicago Coliseum
Chicago Coliseum
The Chicago Coliseum was the name of a succession of three large indoor arenas in Chicago, Illinois from the 1860s to 1982 that each served as a sports venue, convention center, and exhibition hall over the course of their respective histories. The first Coliseum briefly made an appearance in the...
, 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
Ed Sullivan
Edward Vincent "Ed" Sullivan was an American entertainment writer and television host, best known as the presenter of the TV variety show The Ed Sullivan Show. The show was broadcast from 1948 to 1971 , which made it one of the longest-running variety shows in U.S...
.
In the 1950s Buckley hit his stride with a combination of his exaggeratedly aristocratic bearing (including waxed mustache, tuxedo and pith helmet) and carefully enunciated rhythmic hipster slang. Occasionally performing to music, he punctuated his monologues with scat singing
Scat singing
In vocal jazz, scat singing is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. Scat singing gives singers the ability to sing improvised melodies and rhythms, to create the equivalent of an instrumental solo using their voice.- Structure and syllable choice...
and sound effects. His most significant tracks are retelling 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
Marquis de Sade
Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade was a French aristocrat, revolutionary politician, philosopher, and writer famous for his libertine sexuality and lifestyle...
("The Bad-Rapping of the Marquis de Sade, the King of Bad Cats"). He retold several classic documents such as the Gettysburg Address
Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address is a speech by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and is one of the most well-known speeches in United States history. It was delivered by Lincoln during the American Civil War, on the afternoon of Thursday, November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery...
and a version of Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
's "The Raven
The Raven
"The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in January 1845. It is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a talking raven's mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man's slow descent into madness...
." In "Mark Antony
Mark Antony
Marcus Antonius , known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general. As a military commander and administrator, he was an important supporter and loyal friend of his mother's cousin Julius Caesar...
's Funeral Oration", he recast Shakespeare's "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears" as "Hipsters, flipsters and finger-poppin' daddies: knock me your lobes."
In 1959 Buckley voiced the beatnik
Beatnik
Beatnik was a media stereotype of the 1950s and early 1960s that displayed the more superficial aspects of the Beat Generation literary movement of the 1950s and violent film images, along with a cartoonish depiction of the real-life people and the spiritual quest in Jack Kerouac's autobiographical...
character Go Man Van Gogh in "Wildman of Wildsville", an episode of the Bob Clampett
Bob Clampett
Robert Emerson "Bob" Clampett was an American animator, producer, director, and puppeteer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes animated series from Warner Bros., and the television shows Time for Beany and Beany and Cecil...
animated series Beany and Cecil
Beany and Cecil
Beany and Cecil was an animated cartoon series created by Bob Clampett, who had previously worked for Warner Bros.. As a puppet show entitled Time for Beany, it originally aired in 1949, with the animated series first appearing in Matty's Funday Funnies in 1959, later renamed Matty's Funnies with...
. The character reappeared in several episodes made after Buckley's death, when he was voiced by Scatman Crothers
Scatman Crothers
Benjamin Sherman "Scatman" Crothers was an American actor, singer, dancer and musician known for his work as Louie the Garbage Man on the TV show Chico and the Man, and as Dick Hallorann in The Shining in 1980...
.
Buckley adopted his "hipsemantic" from his peers Cab Calloway
Cab Calloway
Cabell "Cab" Calloway III was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was strongly associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York City where he was a regular performer....
, Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
, Redd Foxx
Redd Foxx
John Elroy Sanford , better known by his stage name Redd Foxx, was an American comedian and actor, best known for his starring role on the sitcom Sanford and Son.-Early life:...
, Pearl Mae Bailey, Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
, and Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, as well as Hipsters
Hipster (1940s subculture)
Hipster, as used in the 1940s, referred to aficionados of jazz, in particular bebop, which became popular in the early 1940s. The hipster adopted the lifestyle of the jazz musician, including some or all of the following: dress, slang, use of cannabis and other drugs, relaxed attitude, sarcastic...
and the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
aristocracy
Aristocracy
Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
.
Buckley enjoyed smoking marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
. He wrote reports of his first experiences with LSD
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...
, under the supervision of Dr. Oscar Janiger, and of his trip in a United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
jet. Ed Sullivan
Ed Sullivan
Edward Vincent "Ed" Sullivan was an American entertainment writer and television host, best known as the presenter of the TV variety show The Ed Sullivan Show. The show was broadcast from 1948 to 1971 , which made it one of the longest-running variety shows in U.S...
reflected "...he was impractical as many of his profession are, but the vivid Buckley will long be remembered by all of us."
Lord Buckley made an amusing appearance on Groucho Marx
Groucho Marx
Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx was an American comedian and film star famed as a master of wit. His rapid-fire delivery of innuendo-laden patter earned him many admirers. He made 13 feature films with his siblings the Marx Brothers, of whom he was the third-born...
's popular TV programme You Bet Your Life
You Bet Your Life
You Bet Your Life is an American quiz show that 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. The show debuted on ABC Radio in October 1947, then moved to CBS Radio in September...
where he recited a few lines of his monologues.
Death
On October 19, 1960, he was scheduled to play club dates and another appearance on The Ed Sullivan ShowThe Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
in New York managed by Harold L. Humes
Harold L. Humes
Harold Louis Humes, Jr. was known as HL Humes in his books, and usually as "Doc" Humes in life. He was the originator of The Paris Review literary magazine, author of two novels in the late 1950s, and a gregarious fixture of the cultural scene in Paris, London, and New York in the 1950s and early...
, but his cabaret card
New York City Cabaret Card
From Prohibition until 1967, a permit called the New York City Cabaret Identification Card was required of all workers, including performers, in New York City nightclubs. Their administration was fraught with politics, and some artists' cards were revoked on specious grounds. For many performers,...
was seized, purportedly because of a 1941 arrest for marijuana possession. The card was necessary to appear in nightclubs and were often withheld for political reasons, and as a way to solicit payoffs. He attempted to get the card reinstated and more than three dozen major figures in the entertainment and arts world were present for a hearing on the matter.
Buckley died November 12, 1960 at New York City's Columbus Hospital as the result of a stroke. His final New York appearance at the Jazz Gallery in St. Mark's Place
St. Mark's Place (Manhattan)
Saint Mark's Place is a street in the East Village neighborhood of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is named after St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery on 10th Street at Second Avenue. St. Mark's Place, which is a section of 8th Street, runs from Third Avenue to Avenue A...
had been halted by the police because of "falsified information" on his cabaret card application.
A hearing held two days afterward developed into a confrontation between Police Commissioner Stephen Kennedy and Buckley's friends and supporters, including Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
, George Plimpton
George Plimpton
George Ames Plimpton was an American journalist, writer, editor, and actor. He is widely known for his sports writing and for helping to found The Paris Review.-Early life:...
and Norman Mailer
Norman Mailer
Norman Kingsley Mailer was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, poet, playwright, screenwriter, and film director.Along with Truman Capote, Joan Didion, Hunter S...
. The scandal of Buckley's death, attributed at least partly to his loss of the card, led to the removal of Kennedy in 1960 and the abolition of the cabaret card system by 1967, some 7 years later.
Lord Buckley's funeral was on November 16, 1960 at the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel
Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel
The Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel is a funeral home currently on Madison Avenue at 81st Street in Manhattan. Founded in 1898 as Frank E. Campbell Burial and Cremation Company, the company is now owned by Service Corporation International....
on 88th Street in New York City. Lord Buckley was cremated at the Ferndale Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York.
Recording artist
Lord Buckley recorded over 15 long playing albums in a studio setting. His original vinyl releases, as complied 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 RecordsPye RecordsPye Records was a British record label. In its first incarnation, perhaps Pye's best known artists were Lonnie Donegan , Petula Clark , The Searchers , The Kinks , Sandie Shaw and Brotherhood of Man...
/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 RecordsElektra RecordsElektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
, catalog # EKS-74047, 1969 - The Bad Rapping of the Marquis De Sade, World Pacific, catalog # WPS-21889, 1969
- a most immaculately hip aristocrat, Straight RecordsStraight RecordsStraight Records was a record label formed in 1969 to distribute productions and discoveries of Frank Zappa and his business partner/manager Herb Cohen. Straight was formed at the same time as a companion label, Bizarre Records. Straight and Bizarre were manufactured and distributed in the U.S. by...
/ Reprise, catalog # STS-1054 / RS-6389, 1970
Tributes
"The jingle-jangle morning" in "Mr. Tambourine ManMr. Tambourine Man
"Mr. Tambourine Man" is a song written and performed by Bob Dylan, which was released on his 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home. The Byrds also recorded a version of the song that was released as their first single on Columbia Records, reaching number 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 chart and...
" is a sentence Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
claims to have taken from Lord Buckley
Composer David Amram
David Amram
David Amram is an American composer, musician, conductor, and writer. As a classical composer and performer, his integration of jazz , ethnic and folk music has led him to work with the likes of Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Willie Nelson, Langston...
composed a concerto
Concerto
A concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...
for alto saxophone
Alto saxophone
The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
and orchestra titled Ode to Lord Buckley, and dedicated to Buckley's memory.
External links
- LordBuckley.com includes biographical material, discography and an extensive archive of writings by and about Buckley.
- Wig Bubbles Wig Bubbles has some accurate transcribings of Lord Buckley's hipsemanticisms.