# Funniest Musicians? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 3, 2019, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funniest-musicians/827146 "2019-01-03T13:55:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funniest-musicians/827146/1 "2019-01-03T13:55:25Z")
John Lennon Jim Morrison ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funniest-musicians/827146/2 "2019-01-03T14:05:33Z")
Roy Clark. He had such talent that he could play difficult pieces with ease all the while adding comedic touches and making funny faces. Of course he was the grinnin’ part of pickin’ and grinnin’. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funniest-musicians/827146/3 "2019-01-03T14:09:30Z")
How are you defining “funny”? Funny in interviews? Funny lyrics? Laughing-out-loud funny, or smirk funny? I think **“Weird Al” Yankovic** is funny. And **Frank Zappa**. But in very different ways. My vote for the funniest, though, is **Jon Lajoie**. ---
**Author:** ![txjim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f07891/32.png) [@txjim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/txjim)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funniest-musicians/827146/4 "2019-01-03T14:12:46Z")
[Let’s not forget Victor Borge](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKeqaDSjy98) ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funniest-musicians/827146/5 "2019-01-03T14:16:09Z")
Mason Williams ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funniest-musicians/827146/6 "2019-01-03T14:24:37Z")
Banjo-playing Steve Martin has to be at the top of the list. And the Blues Brothers and their band. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funniest-musicians/827146/7 "2019-01-03T14:38:25Z")
Peter Schickele/ P. D. Q. Bach – I suspect a lot of his musical jokes went un-noticed by the general public, so he played P.D.Q. Bach pretty broadly, so people would get the joke. He was a graduate of Julliard. He also wrote non-comic stuff. He did the score for the movie _Silent Running_. He also wrote over 100 pieces of various types of music. There’s also **Spike Jones** , and a few other older musical comedians whose names escape me right now. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funniest-musicians/827146/8 "2019-01-03T14:45:16Z")
Aha! Here’s one! **Anna Russell** and her deadpan dissections of opera – [Anna Russell - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Russell) > [@](#): > > Russell became known for her deadpan humour, including her disbelieving emphasis of the absurd in well accepted stories and her mockery of pretension. For example, in her humorous analysis of Wagner’s Ring cycle, she began by noting that the first scene takes place in the River Rhine: “In it!!” After pointing out that a character in the Ring Cycle is the first woman that Siegfried has ever met who is not his aunt, she pauses and declares, “I’m not making this up, you know!” This phrase also became the title of her autobiography, published in 1985. At the end of her monologue she sings the Rhinemaidens’ leitmotif and declares, “You’re exactly where you started, 20 hours ago!” ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funniest-musicians/827146/9 "2019-01-03T14:50:17Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > There’s also **Spike Jones** , and a few other older musical comedians whose names escape me right now. He stole his act from the Hoosier Hotshots. And, in turn, got it stolen by Weird Al. Homer and Jethro were the country version. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funniest-musicians/827146/10 "2019-01-03T15:08:58Z")
Bette Midler. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funniest-musicians/827146/11 "2019-01-03T15:20:10Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > He stole his act from the Hoosier Hotshots. And, in turn, got it stolen by Weird Al. > > Homer and Jethro were the country version. You might want to give more context, or link to a site about the Hotshots (like this obvious one – [Hoosier Hot Shots - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoosier_Hot_Shots) ) I don’t know anything about the Hotshots, but saying that Weird Al stole Spike Jones act suggests to me that you’re not familiar with either Jones or Yankovic, or maybe both. Although both did their own original comic songs, Jones’ schtick was really weird renditions of pop tunes (“Cocktails for Two”), while Weird Al did parodies of current pop songs using the original music (or sometimes hijacking the melodies of pop songs to parody cultural movements). The acts aren’t the same at all. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funniest-musicians/827146/12 "2019-01-03T15:20:47Z")
Loudon Wainwright III is very funny in concert and has some great funny songs withe depth to them. The Bonzo Dog Band is the gold standard of funny music in the rock era. Basically, they’re the Monty Python of music. Or, rather, Monty Python is the Bonzo Dog Band of sketch comedy – the Pythons were heavily influenced by them. Some examples: [The Intro and the Outro](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMqdwtd8TrQ) [Look Out, There’s a Monster Coming](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HeEFxgktVg&list=RDcMqdwtd8TrQ&index=5) (cameo by Terry Jones) [Death Cab for Cutie](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKXsrWrmbAg&index=8&list=RDcMqdwtd8TrQ) (introduced by Michael Palin). They also performed this on the Beatles _Magical Mystery Tour_. [Doctor Jazz](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QU0lOIaBOY&list=RDcMqdwtd8TrQ&index=3) There’s also Martin Mull, who put out several very funny albums in the early 70s, with songs like [“Licks Off of Records.”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ifg5V9n66NM) Not quite as well known is Blotto, with “[I Wanna Be a Lifeguard,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBRJ6jQfap0)” “[We are the Nowtones](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnwZGGV0rX8&t=52s),” and “[Metal Head](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyJSetm6U0k).” ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funniest-musicians/827146/13 "2019-01-03T15:21:45Z")
I am quite familiar with them all, thank you. A distinction between a weird rendition and a parody seems like a fine one, even without considering that both did both. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funniest-musicians/827146/14 "2019-01-03T15:23:47Z")
They were mostly a local act from Boston’s North Shore, but The Fools will always have a place in my heart with “Life Sucks, Then You Die”, “Psycho Chicken”, and “Big Big Big”. Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper’s “Elvis Is Everywhere” deserves a mention, too. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funniest-musicians/827146/15 "2019-01-03T15:26:08Z")
No mention of Kinky Friedman yet? The man’s songs and detective books are a laugh out loud treasure. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funniest-musicians/827146/16 "2019-01-03T15:27:01Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > I am quite familiar with them all, thank you. A distinction between a weird rendition and a parody seems like a fine one, even without considering that both did both. Not at all. Weird al didn’t do weird renditions, AFAIK – he changed the words to make his points, but retained the melody and rhyme scheme (and, if he did a video, the basic structure). Spike Jones’ weird renditions kept the words, but went ape with the music. That you think these are identical, or even close, baffles me. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funniest-musicians/827146/17 "2019-01-03T15:27:48Z")
Shel Silverstein is best known as a writer, but he recorded some of his stuff, too. I trust you all know his style. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funniest-musicians/827146/18 "2019-01-03T15:28:59Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > That you think these are identical, or even close, baffles me. Perhaps you need to listen to more of both. A good idea in any case. ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funniest-musicians/827146/19 "2019-01-03T15:40:49Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > How are you defining “funny”? Funny in interviews? Funny lyrics? Laughing-out-loud funny, or smirk funny? > > I think **“Weird Al” Yankovic** is funny. And **Frank Zappa**. But in very different ways. > > My vote for the funniest, though, is **Jon Lajoie**. Define it any way you want, variety is good. I really love funny in an interview setting. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2019, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funniest-musicians/827146/20 "2019-01-03T15:52:55Z")
Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funniest-musicians/827146.md?page=2)