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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy

Games Rednecks Play

Jeff Foxworthy

Warner Bros. Records · Album · 1995 · 50 min

The 1995 triple-platinum comedy album about marriage, parenting, and Southern life.

Jeff Foxworthy steps slightly away from the catchphrases to stretch his legs as a storyteller. He built his career on one-liners, but here he leans into longer premises, taking his polite, drawling delivery and applying it to the mismatch of Victoria’s Secret lingerie in a long-term marriage, the logistics of a redneck space program, and the deep fatigue of parenthood. He still delivers the expected “you might be” punchlines, but they operate more like an encore to an act that is steadily becoming about suburban life.

Recorded in 1995 at Thalia Mara Hall in Jackson, Mississippi, Games Rednecks Play caught Foxworthy right as he was making the jump to a network sitcom. The crossover appeal was immediate. The audio release reached number eight on the Billboard 200 and went triple platinum, turning a former IBM engineer into one of the highest-selling comedy acts in recording history. A Grammy nomination for Best Spoken Comedy Album followed, fueled by heavy rotation of tracks like “Clampetts Go to Maui” and “Out of the Gene Pool”.

The set list

5 bits

  1. 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta

    Foxworthy jokes about how his fellow Atlanta residents would inevitably screw up hosting the Olympic Games.

  2. Clampetts Go to Maui

    Recounting how his Southern relatives awkwardly stood out while taking a vacation to Hawaii.

  3. I Love Being a Parent

    Discussing the absurdities of parenting, including finding three boxes of raisins in a cassette player, and wishing talk show guests would stop blaming their parents and admit they are just a shithead.

  4. More You Might Be a Redneck If...

    A string of Foxworthy's signature comparison jokes performed during the encore.

  5. Party All Night

    A musical collaboration featuring the band Little Texas and Scott Rouse based on a routine from Foxworthy's previous album.

How it plays

Tone
Gentle, affectionate, down-home, and family-oriented with mild profanity.
On stage
Gentle down-home Southern comic who keeps four-letter words to a minimum while poking fun at his own background with genuine affection.
Pace
Delivered with Southern twang and precise comedic timing.
About
Southern culture, Redneck stereotypes, Parenthood and family life, Youthful recklessness, Alcohol and driving, 1996 Atlanta Olympics

What the critics said

Praised as a refreshing, gentle alternative to aggressive comedy norms with strong timing, proving Foxworthy was more than a one-gag comic, though some critics questioned the musical track and noted it offered variations on his established formula.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: en.wikipedia.org, catalog.nols.org, music.apple.com, musicbrainz.org, allmusic.com, pluggedin.com, dailyvault.com, latimes.com.

Backstory

Coincided with the launch of The Jeff Foxworthy Show on network television and touched upon Atlanta preparing to host the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Details

Released
Taped
Thalia Mara Hall, Jackson
Runtime
50 min
Where
Warner Bros. Records (album)
Honors
Nominated for Grammy Award for Best Spoken Comedy Album (1996)RIAA certified 3× PlatinumPeaked at #8 on Billboard 200 and 1 more
Topics
Before
You Might Be a Redneck If... (1993)
After
Totally Committed (1998)

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