# 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:** 14\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2019, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funniest-musicians/827146/101 "2019-01-15T23:06:33Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > No mention of Kinky Friedman yet? The man’s songs and detective books are a laugh out loud treasure. Yes! Why the hell not? ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2019, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funniest-musicians/827146/102 "2019-01-15T23:08:25Z")
> [@ReptoidBusiness](#): > > Ace Frehley from Kiss. It’s a really specific type of humor, but if you watch any old interviews with him, his laugh alone is hysterical - Joker-level insane. The fact that Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley seem like they can’t stand him makes it even better. The Halloween Tom Snyder interview get me every time. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2019, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funniest-musicians/827146/103 "2019-01-15T23:09:27Z")
Oh, forgot to mention Bill Engvall and Bo Burnham. ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funniest-musicians/827146/104 "2019-01-16T00:27:48Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Bill Bailey. Absolutely. I’d like to add [Hugh Laurie](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBwbJWF8_-Q). ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funniest-musicians/827146/105 "2019-01-16T00:40:51Z")
[ul] [/ul] > [@dwyr](#): > > Absolutely. > > I’d like to add [Hugh Laurie](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBwbJWF8_-Q). Vocals sounds like a mix of Al Stewart and Donovan (but with modern phony singing) ---
**Author:** ![Sasquatch\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8491ac/32.png) [@Sasquatch\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sasquatch_1)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funniest-musicians/827146/106 "2019-01-16T01:33:48Z")
No Tim Minchin? His website [https://www.timminchin.com/](https://www.timminchin.com/) says he is a musician, but I can’t say I think his voice is good. Pretty high on the funny scale though. Cardinal Pell: [Come Home (Cardinal Pell) - Tim Minchin - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtHOmforqxk) ---
**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 16, 2019, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funniest-musicians/827146/107 "2019-01-16T15:06:15Z")
Gerald Alessandrini of Forbidden Broadway wrote and started in an off-Broadway parody show [Forbidden Broadway](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbidden_Broadway) that is a laugh out loud riot. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funniest-musicians/827146/108 "2019-01-17T19:47:42Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > … > I didn’t know that Jim Morrison was funny, but I did know that all four Beatles, and especially Lennon, were (from their interviews, writings, etc.). Morrison funny? I’d like a cite. In every interview I’ve seen of him he comes across as an asshole. ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funniest-musicians/827146/109 "2019-01-17T21:45:17Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > Morrison funny? I’d like a cite. In every interview I’ve seen of him he comes across as an asshole. In one with Ben Fong-Torres, he jokingly challenges him to an arm-wrestling match, but for me, he was most funniest talking with the crowd in concert. They are a few hours, so it would be hard, since it was unpredictable, but here’s something I thought was not only funny, but a nice, quick social experimentation on conformity [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/imSc29PCPzw/maxresdefault.jpg "Jim Morrison - Astrology in Boston (10 April 1970)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imSc29PCPzw) ---
**Author:** ![Steven\_Maven](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steven_maven/32/3272_2.png) [@Steven\_Maven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steven_Maven)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2019, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funniest-musicians/827146/110 "2019-01-18T17:20:32Z")
Martin Mull! Before he became an actor, he had a nightclub act. I saw him several times, and he was hysterical. ---
**Author:** ![Steven\_Maven](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steven_maven/32/3272_2.png) [@Steven\_Maven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steven_Maven)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2019, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funniest-musicians/827146/111 "2019-01-18T17:32:53Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > He’s quite funny on the 1964 Town Hall Concert official bootleg. > People were shouting out requests. One shouted “Mary had a Little Lamb.” > Dylan: Is that a protest song? > > Plus quite a few of his songs were funny, like Talkin’ John Birch Society Blues, I Shall be Free (original and # 10) and Talkin’ World War III Blues. > > By 1966, not so funny. Once Dylan became famous he almost never spoke on stage. Before he was famous, while playing the Greenwich Village coffee houses, he was known for his on-stage banter as much as his music. I used to own the legendary bootleg The Great White Wonder. One track is a shaggy dog story about working in a coffee house where he was paid with chess pieces. It killed! Over the years he has written other funny songs, but I’m too lazy to remember them. Maybe I’ll get back to them later. ---
**Author:** ![DrForrester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8edcca/32.png) [@DrForrester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrForrester)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2019, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funniest-musicians/827146/112 "2019-01-18T22:57:16Z")
Barnes & Barnes > **[Barnes & Barnes - Topic](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC983IxhJP82tfffcuWK48_w)** > > Share your videos with friends, family, and the world Wild Man Fischer > **[Wild Man Fischer - Topic](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4F_LDfswnhN2Wb2D3g9rXg)** > > Share your videos with friends, family, and the world Styx [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qB-nGVqNciE/hqdefault.jpg "STYX - Don't Sit Down On the Plexiglass Toilet") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qB-nGVqNciE) Tom Lehrer > **[Tom Lehrer - Topic](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQMo1CbI1PHFWnZl-76NbJw)** > > Share your videos with friends, family, and the world Robyn Hitchcock Jill Sobule Deni Bonet [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/-j6cNzHH_-Q/maxresdefault.jpg "I Want To Get Arrested") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j6cNzHH_-Q) ---
**Author:** ![Steven\_Maven](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steven_maven/32/3272_2.png) [@Steven\_Maven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steven_Maven)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2019, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funniest-musicians/827146/113 "2019-01-22T01:25:22Z")
> [@Steven\_Maven](#): > > > [@Voyager](#): > > > > He’s quite funny on the 1964 Town Hall Concert official bootleg. > > People were shouting out requests. One shouted “Mary had a Little Lamb.” > > Dylan: Is that a protest song? > > > > Plus quite a few of his songs were funny, like Talkin’ John Birch Society Blues, I Shall be Free (original and # 10) and Talkin’ World War III Blues. > > > > By 1966, not so funny… > > Once Dylan became famous he almost never spoke on stage. Before he was famous, while playing the Greenwich Village coffee houses, he was known for his on-stage banter as much as his music. I used to own the legendary bootleg The Great White Wonder. One track is a shaggy dog story about working in a coffee house where he was paid with chess pieces. It killed! > > Over the years he has written other funny songs, but I’m too lazy to remember them. Maybe I’ll get back to them later. Voyager mentioned Talking WW3 and both versions of I Shall Be Free. To me, there are 3 other Dylan songs that are actually funny. •Talking New York Blues (Bob Dylan - 1962) •Motor Psycho Nightmare (Another Side - 1964) •Bob Dylan’s 115th Dream (Bringing It All Back Home - 1965) Voyager also mentioned Talking John Birch. That song was recorded during the Freewheelin’ sessions, but not released until the first Official Bootleg in 1991. (I’m just sayin’.) However, there are quite a few Dylan songs with a humorous attitude (to various degrees). After a little research, I have come up with a list of 20 such songs. You might exclude some of mine or include others. That’s OK; humor is very subjective. (Please forgive any abbreviations, etc.) Subterranean Homesick Blues – Bringing It All Back Home – 1965 Maggie’s Farm – Bringing It All Back Home – 1965 Outlaw Blues – Bringing It All Back Home – 1965 Highway 61 Revisited – Highway 61 Revisited – 1965 Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 – Blonde on Blonde – 1966 Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat – Blonde on Blonde – 1966 The Ballad of Frankie Lee & Judas Priest – John Wesley Harding – 1967 I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight – John Wesley Harding – 1967 Peggy Day – Nashville Skyline – 1969 Country Pie – Nashville Skyline – 1969 If Dogs Run Free – New Morning – 1970 Lily, Rosemary, & the Jack of Hearts – Blood on the Tracks – 1975 Man Gave Names to All the Animals – Slow Train Comin’ – 1979 \>\>\>(I consider this a children’s song.) Everything Is Broken – Oh Mercy – 1989 Highlands – Time Out of Mind – 1997 \>\>\>(16½ minute shaggy-dog story) Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum – Love & Theft – 2001 The Levee’s Gonna Break – Modern Times – 2006 My Wife’s Home Town – Together Through Life – 2009 It’s All Good – Together Through Life – 2009 That’s all for now. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2019, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funniest-musicians/827146/114 "2019-01-23T06:36:20Z")
Not quite Dylanesque, but Mike Reno, circa 1980. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/funniest-musicians/827146.md?page=5)