''Fighting Clowns'' is a 1980 album by

the Firesign Theatre The Firesign Theatre (also known as the Firesigns) was an American surreal comedy troupe who first appeared on November 17, 1966, in a live performance on the Los Angeles radio program ''Radio Free Oz'' on station KPFK FM. They continued ap ...

. It is unique among Firesign Theatre albums because it is primarily made up of

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...

s rather than the group's usual audio theater or sketch comedy pieces. Many of the songs on this album were recorded live in front of an audience while some of the songs and much of the linking material was recorded in the studio. Cover artwork was done by

Phil Hartman Philip Edward Hartman (; September 24, 1948 – May 28, 1998) was a Canadian-American actor, comedian, screenwriter and graphic designer. Hartman was born in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, and his family moved to the United States w ...

Track listing

Side one

# "The Bozos Song" # "The Four Gobs" # "The 8 Shoes" # "In The Hot Tub" # "Hey, Reagan"

Side two

# "In The War Zone" # "Oh, Afghanistan" # "In The Alley" # "Violent Juvenile Freaks" # "In The Hot Tub Again" # "This Bus Won't Go To War"

Bonus tracks

# "

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...

Performers

Phil Austin Philip Baine Austin (April 6, 1941 – June 18, 2015) was an American comedian and writer, best known as a member of the Firesign Theatre. Early life and education Austin was born in Denver, Colorado and later grew up in Fresno, California, att ...

— Vocals and Rhythm Guitar *

Peter Bergman Peter Michael Bergman (born June 11, 1953) is an American actor best known for his portrayals on soap operas, such as Cliff Warner on ''All My Children'' (1979–89) on ABC as well as Jack Abbott on ''The Young and the Restless'' (1989–prese ...

— Vocals *

David Ossman David Ossman (born December 6, 1936 in Santa Monica) is an American writer and comedian, best known as a member of the Firesign Theatre and screenwriter of such films as '' Zachariah''. Early life Ossman attended Pomona College, where he starr ...

— Vocals *

Philip Proctor Philip Proctor (born 1940) is an American actor, comedian and a member of the Firesign Theatre. He has performed voice-over work for video games, films and television series. Career Of the four members of Firesign Theatre, Proctor has had ...

— Vocals *Richard Parker — Keyboards *

Jeff Baxter Jeffrey Allen "Skunk" Baxter (born December 13, 1948) is an American guitarist, known for his stints in the rock bands Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers during the 1970s and Spirit in the 1980s. More recently, he has worked as a defense cons ...

— Lead Guitar *Tim Emmons — Bass *Ed Roscetti — Drums *John Mitchell — Tenor & Baritone Sax *Dick Spencer — Alto Sax & Clarinet *Richard Cooper — Trumpet *

Album Cover Illustration

Release history

There have been numerous issues and re-issues of this album (and excerpts from this album) in a variety of formats including a one-sided

picture disc Picture discs are gramophone (phonograph) records that show images on their playing surface, rather than being of plain black or colored vinyl. Collectors traditionally reserve the term picture disc for records with graphics that extend at lea ...

. *LP -

Rhino A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

RNLP-018 - 1980 *Cassette — Rhino RNC-018 - 1980 *Picture Disc — Rhino RNPD-904 - 1980 *CD

Mobile Fidelity Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MFSL or MoFi) is a record label specializing in the production of audiophile issues. The company produces reissued vinyl LP records, compact discs, and Super Audio CDs and other formats. History Recording engineer Br ...

MFCD-748 - 1993 *CD Firesign Theatre Records (distributed through Whirlwind Media) - 2001 *CD Firesign Theatre Records
Lodestone Catalog
2006

Citations

# Smith, Ronald L. ''The Goldmine Comedy Record Price Guide''. Iola: Krause, 1996. # Carruthers, Sean. "Fighting Clowns > Overview." ''Allmusic''. March 4, 200

– 10:3hq7g4gttvoz. # Firesign Theatre. ''Fighting Clowns''. Mobile Fidelity, 1993. #

External links

The Firesign Theatre's Official WebsiteFIREZINE: Linques! (A Firesign Theatre FAQ)
{{Authority control 1980 albums The Firesign Theatre albums Rhino Records albums 1980s comedy albums