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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy

You Might Be a Redneck If...

Jeff Foxworthy

Warner Bros. Records · Album · 1993 · 49 min

The 1993 audio release that launched a massive country comedy franchise.

The “You Might Be a Redneck If…” bit began as a comeback to a heckler in a Michigan club. By the time this 1993 audio release hit record stores, the premise had evolved into a tightly structured comedy machine. Jeff Foxworthy codified rural Southern behavior into a simple formula that audiences could instantly recognize. He points out the absurdities of working-class country living, using his own Georgia upbringing to turn stereotypes into an inside joke.\n\nReleased on Warner Bros. Records, the album captures the exact moment a touring comedian crossed over into mainstream fame. Beyond the famous one-liners about the Salvation Army declining your mattress, Foxworthy spends considerable time on family dynamics. The tracks “Life As A Father” and “Single Life Is Just Too Hard” showcase his standard observational chops, while “Words In The South” zeroes in on the mechanics of regional dialects.\n\nThe recording was a massive commercial success. It peaked at number three on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and eventually sold over three million copies. The album made Foxworthy a household name, leading to an ABC sitcom and laying the groundwork for the Blue Collar Comedy tours that would define his later career.

The set list

4 bits

  1. You Might Be a Redneck test

    Spitting rapid-fire one-liners defining redneck behavior, such as going to a family reunion to meet women.

  2. Life as a father

    Observational stories about infants, including how babies seem nauseated by the smell of a clean shirt.

  3. Single life is just too hard

    Detailed, self-deprecating breakdown of the state of a single man's apartment.

  4. Growing up with limited television channels

    Recalling when TV only had three channels, meaning your entire night was shot if the President was on.

How it plays

Tone
Good-natured, clean, self-deprecating, and observational.
On stage
Good-natured Southern storyteller with a drawl that lurches into a charming, befuddled yelp.
Pace
Well-paced, acute storytelling with classic, old-fashioned joke construction.
About
Redneck culture and stereotypes, Southern dialect and terminology, Fatherhood and parenting, Single life and bachelor living, Marriage

What the critics said

Critically praised as a strong major-label debut that avoids meanness and proves Foxworthy is more than a one-joke redneck act, highlighted by acute storytelling about marriage, fatherhood, and domestic life.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: en.wikipedia.org, ew.com, beta.dailyvault.com, allmusic.com, imdb.com, allmovie.com.

Backstory

Chose to embrace and revel in Southern stereotypes using good-natured humor rather than shunning them, defining a 'redneck' as having 'a glorious absence of sophistication.'

Details

Released
Taped
1992, Majestic Theatre, Dallas
Runtime
49 min
Where
Warner Bros. Records (album)
Honors
Peaked at #38 on the Billboard 200Peaked at #3 on Billboard Top Country AlbumsPeaked at #1 on Billboard Heatseekers Albums and 1 more
Topics
After
Games Rednecks Play (1995)

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