Stan Freberg Presents The United States Of America,
The Early Years, The Middle Years

Humor Books

Comedy Audio Concerts

Amazon.com
When Stan Freberg released The United States of America in 1961, it was one of the first comedy concept albums ... and perhaps the funniest musical comedy never performed onstage. With a cast that included Jesse White and June Foray (as well as a dead-on Orson Welles impression by voice-over master Paul Frees), Freberg presented a madcap version of history that began with Christopher Columbus's insistence that "It's a Round, Round World."
For decades, fans were frustrated by the lack of sequels that would carry the story beyond the Revolutionary War. (After attempts to turn the material into a real Broadway musical were ruined by heavy-handed producer David Merrick, Freberg went on to a lucrative career in advertising.) Finally, in 1996, Freberg went into the studio with the surviving members of his original cast--as well as stars David Ogden Stiers, Sherman Hemsley, Tyne Daly, Lorenzo Music, and John Goodman--with a new batch of songs and skits that covered the period from the founding of the United States government in 1789 to the end of World War I.

Volume 2 is not quite as strong as volume 1, but that's like saying that Babe Ruth didn't hit as many home runs as Hank Aaron. There's still plenty of great material in "The Middle Years," like Francis Scott Key's first draft of his most famous composition: "Rumplemeyer's horseshoes are the best you can use, what so proudly he's nailed onto all kinds of horses." Or Ulysses S. Grant demanding a drink so he can keep on...

The two-CD set includes the original liner notes from the 1961 release; a 1989 CD reissue of the first volume; and the notes by Freberg, Dr. Demento, and Ray Bradbury for the sequel. It also contains a complete lyric sheet. Although some of the jokes on the first CD may be too arcane for younger listeners, The United States of America can still be called, without overstatement, a work of genius.

Track Listings
Disc: 1
1. Overture
2. Columbus Discovers America / It's A Round, Round World
3. Pilgrim's Progress / Take An Indian To Lunch
4. Thanksgiving Story (Under The Double Turkey), The
5. Sale Of Manhattan, The / Top Hat, White Feather, And Tails
6. Boston Tea Party, The
7. Declaration Of Independence / Man Can't Be Too Careful What He Signs These Days, A
8. Midnight Ride Of Paul Revere, The
9. Betsy Ross And The Flag / Everybody Wants To Be An Art Director
10. Discovery Of Electricity, The
11. Washington Crosses The Delaware (Command Decision)
12. Yankee Doodle Go Home (Spirit Of '76)
13. Battle Of Yorktown, The
14. Finale / So Long, Friend...

Disc: 2
1. Intro & Overture
2. Madison, Jefferson, Franklin & Osbourne: The First Advertising Agency (Part 1)
3. Madison, Jefferson, Franklin & Osbourne
4. Madison, Jefferson, Franklin & Osbourne (Part 2)
5. America! America!
6. Madison, Jefferson, Franklin & Osbourne (Part 3)
7. Rumplemeyer's Horseshoes: The Francis Scott Key Story
8. Rumplemeyer's Horseshoes
9. Stephen Foster, Beloved Songwriter
10. Samuel F.B. Morse Sends The First Telegram
11. Abe Lincoln In Analysis
12. Show Folk
13. Abe Lincoln At Home In The White House
14. Barbara Frietchie, Martyr Of The Year
15. Shoot If You Must
16. Lincoln At Shiloh, With General Grant
17. As Long As You're Up / Sober Life's A Hard Life, A
18. Appomattox Courthouse Bar & Grill, The
19. There'll Never Be Another War
20. Custer's Last Stand
21. Alexander Graham Bell And The First Phone Call
22. Thomas Edison Invents The Lightbulb! The Phonograph! (Part 1)
23. Perseverance
24. Thomas Edison Invents The Lightbulb! The Phonograph! (Part 2)
25. Planned Obsolescence
26. Wright Brothers At Kitty Hawk, The
27. Henry Ford Invents Detroit
28. Perseverance (Reprise)
29. Sinking Of The Lusitania, The
30. Two Tin Pan Alley Songwriters
31. U-Boat / Guns Of August, The
32. Hello, Peace, Hello
33. There'll Never Be Another War (Reprise)
34. Finale / America! America! (Reprise)

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