''Let's Get Small'' (1977) is an album by American comedian

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominate ...

. It includes "Excuse Me", a comedy bit whose title went on to become a national

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

. The album went

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and peaked at No. 10 on the ''Billboard'' Pop Albums Chart. It was recorded at The Boarding House in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. This album won the

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in 1978 for

Best Comedy Album The Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement in comedy." The award was awarded yearly from 1959 to 1993 and then from 2004 to presen ...

. Some of Martin's bits were dependent on visual demonstration, such as when he dances as a Vegas pop singer on the track "Las Vegas" (presumably recognizing this in the context of recording the album, Martin's shoes are audible and quite loud as he performs the dance on this track) and also during the "Let's Get Small" track where he discusses getting small while driving — here he mimed driving a car while being so short as to barely reach the bottom of the steering wheel. Martin had debuted this particular bit in a February 26, 1977 appearance on the show ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

''. The album cover shows Martin wearing balloon animals, bunny ears, Groucho Marx glasses, and a fake arrow through his head; these were all staples of his live act. He made balloon animals on some of his ''Saturday Night Live'' appearances as well as his guest appearance on ''

The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and featuring the Muppets. The series originated as two pilot episodes produced by Henson for ABC in 1974 and 1975. While neither episode was moved forward as a s ...

'', while the fake arrow through the head was spoofed by

Dinah Shore Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, and television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during ...

for a guest appearance by Martin on her talk show.

Track listing

#"Ramblin' Man/Theme from Ramblin' Man" – 2:14 #"Vegas" – 5:45 #"Let's Get Small" – 13:34 #"Smoking" – 2:10 #"One Way to Leave Your Lover" – 1:33 #"Mad at My Mother" – 1:22 #"Excuse Me" – 2:32 #"Grandmother's Song" – 3:33 #"Funny Comedy Gags" – 3:05 #"Closing" – 2:02 "Grandmother's Song" was released as a 7" vinyl

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

. A very short excerpt of "Let's Get Small" is the single's B-side.

Excerpts

At the end of the sing-along portion of "Grandmother's Song", Martin says to the audience, "You guys are gonna be on a record" (Letting the audience know that this is going to be a part of his comedy album), to which the audience responds positively. Seconds later Martin says, "Maybe someday; not mine, of course".

Production

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– photography

References

{{Authority control 1977 debut albums Steve Martin albums Warner Records albums Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album 1970s comedy albums 1977 live albums Comedy albums by American artists Stand-up comedy albums