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Laugh Tracks Legends of Comedy with Randy and SteveAuthor: Randy Hodgins and Steve McLellan
Randy Hodgins and Steve McLellans lifelong love of comedy was kindled when they met more than 40 years ago in graduate school in Seattle. While managing family and professional work responsibilities, they hosted a one hour comedy radio program on Saturday mornings for 10 years on a small radio station in Olympia, WA and also co-authored two books on northwest popular culture Seattle on Film (1995) and Wet and Wired (2000). Stuck at home during the early days of the pandemic with hundreds of comedy albums, cassettes and CDs gathering dust on their shelves, they launched Laugh Tracks Legends of Comedy in May 2020, a weekly mini-program featuring a different comedy icon, with biographical bits and a nice slice of the comedy that made them famous. From standup stars, to stellar sketch teams, to novelty music maestros -- they are all part of our Legends. Language: en Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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PDQ Bach
Episode 286
Tuesday, 2 December, 2025
We've decided to "class up" the joint today with some fine classical music. Well, not exactly -- our laughs this time out come from accomplished composer, conductor, and musician Peter Schickele -- better known to comedy fans as PDQ Bach. Peter was a musical prodigy who attended both Swarthmore College and Julliard and who started his career as a songwriter and film composer. Just for fun, Peter started a series of humorous concerts, taking on the persona of PDQ Bach -- the youngest and oddest son of the famed composer. PDQ shows and albums drew inspiration from Spike Jones, using oddball instruments and sound effects to punctuate well known classical numbers. Later in life, Peter started a well-regarded public radio program (The Schickele Mix), but he also kept releasing PDQ material -- winning four consecutive Grammy awards in the 1990s. As always, find extended clips below and thanks for sharing our shows! Want more PDQ Bach? Who doesn't like the"bunny hop" song? Well, maybe PDQ after his effort to supply a little percussion to the song. https://youtu.be/KzPtPoTgvNM?si=OM41uX5ZiW3nE0ST PDQ Bach was known for playing shall we say "unusual instruments" and he was a favorite of the Smothers Brothers. Put the two together and you have this clip from the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. https://youtu.be/cZu3iaEPMA4? Peter Schickele noted that his PDQ incarnation was heavily influened by musical comedy madman Spike Jones and the pedigree shows in this clip -- a version of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony -- narrated as if it were a sporting event. https://youtu.be/WR4CdKSeD-E?si=DwYiFs0mkHE7qHok
