Redd Foxx - Laff of the Party Volume 1 (1956)

The very first Redd Foxx party record. Originally released on Dootone Records in 1956.

John Elroy Sanford was born into poverty in St. Louis on December 9, 1922. With a ruddy complexion, Redd fast became a nickname. He derived Foxx from admirable Major League Baseball player, Jimmie Foxx. He left St. Louis for Chicago when he was 13, and supported himself by playing the washboard in a band. When the band broke up three years later, he hopped a train to New York City. It was there that he met Malcolm Little, a man who would later be known as Malcolm X. In The Autobiography of Malcolm X, he is referred to as “Chicago Red, the funniest dishwasher on this earth.”

Foxx began performing as a comedian/actor in black theaters and nightclubs, often referred to as the “Chitlin Circuit.” From 1951-1955 he teamed with comic Slappy White, a lifelong friend who would also act alongside him on Sanford and Son and The Redd Foxx Comedy Hour. While he was performing in Los Angeles, he was offered a deal with the Dooto record label. Foxx received $25 for his first recording. In the years to follow he would produce over 50 comedic albums. During the 1960s, as cultural barriers began to wear down, Foxx’s audience grew steadily. In 1972, after his film debut in Ossie Davis’ Cotton Comes to Harlem, Norman Lear signed Foxx as junk dealer Fred Sanford in a new NBC sitcom. https://www.reddfoxx.com

Presented for historical reference. More about Dootone here: http://www.bsnpubs.com/la/dootone/doo...

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