Genre: comedy
Rating: *** (3 stars)
Title: The Best of Chickenman
Company: ATCO
Catalog: 33-207
Year: 1967
Country/State: Chicago, Illinois
Grade (cover/record): VG/VG
Comments: mono pressing
Available: 1
GEMM catalog ID: 4253
Price: $20.00
Cost: $1.00
I guess this is kind of a sad commentary on my personal character, but Chickenman episodes are among my first memories of commercial radio ...
In 1966 Dick Orkin was working as the public affairs director for Chicago radio station WCFL. Program director Ken Draper asked Orkin to develop a couple of superhero spoofs for the station. The resulting skits were featured on Jim Runyon's morning radio show. Runyon served as the announcer, traffic reporter and various other characters, while traffic reporter Jane Roberts played the masked mother, Ms. Helfinger and Orkin played Chickenman and the police commissioner. Basically a spoof of the Batman series, the spots became exceptionally popular, with WCFL eventually syndicating the series to over 1,500 stations.
"The Best of Chickenman" was originally released on the small Chicago xxx label in 1966. So what do you get here? Nine tracks that follow the birth of Chicago's favorite crime fighting hero ... Sure it's exceptionally juvenile and the sound effects are frequently hysterically inept. That said, there's a certain innocent charm to the material and Okin, Roberts and Runyon are frequently hysterical. ("The Flying Saucer").
"The Best of Chickenman" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) The Bird Is Born - 6:22
2.) Leave the Driving To Us - 5:00
3.) A Romantic Flight - 3:35
4.) Getting Organized - 5:14
5.) Just Testing - 1:30
(side 2)
1.) The Flying Saucer - 4:04
2.) Hanging Around the Office - 4:57
3.) So This Is Crazy - 6:24
4.) A Very Nice Partner - 2:11
The following year ATCO purchased national distribution rights and reissued the album.
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