OK, Christmas is over and we only have 360 or so days to get all the silver icicles out of the carpet. What we all need is a good laugh. Here's some funny stuff you might get with refund money from that ugly sweater:
Georgia-born Jeff Foxworthy recently collected a gold record for his album, "You Might Be a Redneck If . . ." (Warner). Foxworthy, a Georgia Tech graduate and former IBM computer engineer, was inspired to write his best-selling book, "You Might Be a Redneck If . . ." (Longstreet Press, 1989), when he played a Detroit comedy club that "was next to a bowling alley with valet parking."While his album contains a healthy dose of his most famous routine ("If you ever mowed your lawn and found a car, you might be a redneck"), it also has some funny bits about "Words in the South," and a section exploring male-female relationships, which had both of us laughing. Check out his latest book (co-written with Vic Henley), "Games Rednecks Play" (Longstreet Press).
Regrettably, Jeff's fellow Georgian Lewis Grizzard died last March, but Nashville-based songwriter Dick Feller (he co-wrote Jerry's Reed's "Eastbound and Down" among other hits) collaborated with Grizzard on songs based on Grizzard's columns. The result is "A Bulldog's Prayer: The Songs of Lewis Grizzard" (Southern Tracks).
Maybe you didn't know this, but the "Bubba" in many of Grizzard's columns is real. He's James Terryl "Bubba" Bechtol, president and CEO of "Bubbas of America" (50,000 members and counting - the club also welcomes "Bub-bettes").
Although Bechtol was national president of the Jaycees in 1980, his debut album, "Bill Ain't No Bubba" (Southern Tracks), is definitely not politically correct. It is funny ("I don't eat cured ham. I'm afraid it might have a relapse on my plate."). He's writing "The Bubba's Cookbook," which features recipes like "Bubba's Cajun Fried Turkey" (ingredients include a wire coat hanger and an ice chest).
For comedy routines mixed with funny songs, try our favorite reason for visiting Austin, Texas: The Geezinslaw Brothers. Their latest album, "I Wish I Had a Job to Shove" (SOR), was taped live at Bass Auditorium, although their usual hangout is Austin's Broken Spoke. Sammy Allred (the talkative one) and Dewayne Smith (no, they're not related) mix songs like "Self-Made Man" ("When I told her I was a self-made man/She told me I musta quit too soon.") with Sam's comedy bits.
If you like parody, Cledus T. Judd's album, "No Relation" (he isn't), fills the bill. It's got "Indian In-Laws," "Please Take the Girl" and a twisted rap version of John Anderson's "Swingin'." For all-original strangeness, try Big Ed Johnson's "A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Waist." He's recommended by no less than Ray Stevens, who loved Ed's stuff so much he put it on his Clyde Records label. The album features songs like "Cat Ranch" (don't ask), "Touring Graceland" and "Fur Ball."
The great Minnie Pearl always says, "Laughter is God's hand on the shoulder of a troubled world." Do yourself a favor - get a funny record or book and greet 1995 with a good laugh.
- QUIBBLES 'N' BITS
God Made Woman on a Good Day Dept.: Tracy Lawrence, who met wife Frances in an autograph line in 1993, just found out that there will soon be a new star in the family: a baby Lawrence. Tracy, whose current album, "I See It Now," has already produced a No. 1 single with the title cut, just recorded a live concert album at the Desert Inn in Las Vegas.
Here in the Underwear World Dept.: Alan Jackson, who just sold his song catalog (that's everything he's written and will write for a certain period of time) to Warner/Chapel for $13 million, is reportedly very close to signing a multimillion dollar deal to endorse Fruit of the Loom underwear. And yes, we asked, and the answer is briefs. No word if Alan will model the products in ads, though.