Original Cast - National Lampoon Lemmings (1973)

Starting on January 25, 1973, and running for 350 performances, National Lampoon magazine sponsored a comedy revue at the off-Broadway Village Gate nightclub in Greenwich Village. National Lampoon Lemmings featured sketch comedy in its first act, but its second act was given over to an elaborate satire of Woodstock that allowed for parodies of popular music figures of the day.
Future Saturday Night Live cast members John Belushi and Chevy Chase were featured, Belushi originating the Joe Cocker impersonation he would perform on television ("Lonely at the Bottom"), Chase turning in a wicked takeoff on John Denver ("Colorado"). But the biggest musical talent was Christopher Guest, who would go on to greater fame in This Is Spinal Tap. Guest co-wrote and sang cutting portraits of Bob Dylan ("Positively Wall Street") and James Taylor ("Highway Toes"). At a time when singer/songwriter music was all the rage, the sensitive types came in for special attention (there is also a song by "Freud, Marx, Engels, and Jung"), but the closing song was a general-purpose send-up of heavy metal by a fictional group called Megadeath. (Of course, later on there actually was a heavy metal band called Megadeth.) "Pizza Man," a girl group number, was amusing but seemed out of place, while the black music song "Papa Was a Running-Dog Lackey of the Bourgeoisie" targeted Motown and Curtis Mayfield.
Some of the comedy is dated, and the satire depends on familiarity with the Woodstock movie and biographical details of the artists' lives. Some of the material is also visual, and a video would better represent the show than this audio recording. But for rock & roll fans with a black sense of humor, it doesn't get much better than this, especially since a group of future comedy stars are glimpsed at the start of their careers.

Track listing

Side One
01. Stage Announcements  (Performed by John Belushi)  - 1:50
02. Lemmings Lament  (Lead vocal by Paul Jacobs as David Crosby); instruments and backup vocals
       by the cast; written by Paul Jacobs and Sean Kelly  - 3:09
03. Stage Announcements (Performed by John Belushi)  - 2:07
04. Positively Wall Street  (Lead vocal by Christopher Guest (as Bob Dylan); instruments and backup
       vocals by the cast; written by Paul Jacobs, Christopher Guest, and Sean Kelly  - 2:42
05. Weather Person  (Performed by Garry Goodrow  - 1:55
06. Pizza Man  (Lead vocal by Alice Playten (as Goldie Oldie); instruments and back-up vocals by the
       cast; written by Christopher Guest, Sean Kelly, and Tony Hendra  - 3:46
07. Stage Announcements  (Performed by John Belushi  - 0:58
08. Colorado (Lead vocal by Chevy Chase; instruments and backup vocals by the cast; written by
       Christopher Guest, Sean Kelly, and Tony Hendra  - 4:12
09. Richie Havens  (Performed by Christopher Guest as Richie Havens)  - 0:21
10. Crowd Rain Chant  (Performed by John Belushi)  - 1:00

Side Two
01. Stage Announcements  (Performed by John Belushi)  - 0:29
02. Papa Was a Running Dog Lackey of the Bourgeoisie  (Lead vocal by Paul Jacobs); instruments
       and backup vocals by the cast; written by Paul Jacobs and Tony Hendra  - 2:37
03. All-Star Dead Band  (Performed by John Belushi)  - 1:09
04. Stage Announcements  (Performed by John Belushi)  - 0:31
05. Highway Toes  (Lead vocal by Christopher Guest as James Taylor); instruments and backup
       vocals by the cast; written by Christopher Guest and Sean Kelly  - 2:41
06. Hell's Angel  (Performed by Chevy Chase)  - 2:19
07. Stage Announcements  (Performed by John Belushi)  - 0:19
08. Farmer Yassir  (Performed by Garry Goodrow)  - 2:16
09. Lonely at the Bottom  (Lead vocal by John Belushi as Joe Cocker); instruments and backupvocals
       by the cast; written by Paul Jacobs and John Belushi  - 5:47
10. Megagroupie  (Performed by Alice Playten)  - 1:20
11. Megadeath  (Lead vocal by John Belushi); instruments and backup vocals by the cast; written by
       Paul Jacobs and Sean Kelly  - 3:50

Notes
Genre:  Comedy, Parody, Rock, folk rock
Length:  45:18
Label:  Blue Thumb Records, MCA Records, Decca Broadway
Producer:  Tony Hendra

© 1973