BabyGirl
04-10-2005, 02:08 PM
No Joke! America Loves Cable Guy's New Album
NASHVILLE (Billboard) - Larry the Cable Guy has lived up to his catchphrase, "Git-r-done," with his new Jack Records/Warner Bros. set, "The Right to Bare Arms."
This week the set bowed at No. 7 on the Billboard 200, making it the highest-debuting comedy album ever and the only one to debut in the top 10. The title is also the first comedy record to hit the summit of the Top Country Albums chart.
In addition, with a start of 92,000 units, it sets a record for first-week sales for a comedy album, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
"The Right to Bare Arms" was recorded live in Houston, and is the fourth release on Jack Records, which bowed last fall. Jack is a joint venture between Warner Bros. and J.P. Williams, Larry's manager.
In addition to participating in the "Blue Collar Comedy" projects, Larry (whose real name is Dan Lawrence Whitney) has released two solo albums -- 2001's "Lord, I Apologize" (Hip-O) and 2004's "A Very Larry Christmas" (Jack). The two have scanned 704,000 and 151,000 copies, respectively.
Tim Peterson, country music buyer for Trans World Entertainment, attributes the comic's success to the fact that he is "so accessible. The humor is just so real, and he's down to earth. We've done well consistently with his records."
Larry says the credit goes to the fans and good timing. "We've just kind of hit it at a time when the country needed our sense of humor," he says of his "Blue Collar" buddies. "When we're onstage, we just portray ourselves as regular guys. That's what we are."
Larry will be the voice of Mater the tow truck, one of the animated characters in the next Disney/Pixar film, "Cars." He also plans to start filming the feature "Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector" in August.
Many observers believe that comedy in general is enjoying a resurgence. Larry agrees. "They always used to say standup got better (according to) how the times were. When times are rough, standup picks up," he says. "If times were pretty good, then standup kind of took a back seat, because the world didn't need to laugh as much."
NASHVILLE (Billboard) - Larry the Cable Guy has lived up to his catchphrase, "Git-r-done," with his new Jack Records/Warner Bros. set, "The Right to Bare Arms."
This week the set bowed at No. 7 on the Billboard 200, making it the highest-debuting comedy album ever and the only one to debut in the top 10. The title is also the first comedy record to hit the summit of the Top Country Albums chart.
In addition, with a start of 92,000 units, it sets a record for first-week sales for a comedy album, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
"The Right to Bare Arms" was recorded live in Houston, and is the fourth release on Jack Records, which bowed last fall. Jack is a joint venture between Warner Bros. and J.P. Williams, Larry's manager.
In addition to participating in the "Blue Collar Comedy" projects, Larry (whose real name is Dan Lawrence Whitney) has released two solo albums -- 2001's "Lord, I Apologize" (Hip-O) and 2004's "A Very Larry Christmas" (Jack). The two have scanned 704,000 and 151,000 copies, respectively.
Tim Peterson, country music buyer for Trans World Entertainment, attributes the comic's success to the fact that he is "so accessible. The humor is just so real, and he's down to earth. We've done well consistently with his records."
Larry says the credit goes to the fans and good timing. "We've just kind of hit it at a time when the country needed our sense of humor," he says of his "Blue Collar" buddies. "When we're onstage, we just portray ourselves as regular guys. That's what we are."
Larry will be the voice of Mater the tow truck, one of the animated characters in the next Disney/Pixar film, "Cars." He also plans to start filming the feature "Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector" in August.
Many observers believe that comedy in general is enjoying a resurgence. Larry agrees. "They always used to say standup got better (according to) how the times were. When times are rough, standup picks up," he says. "If times were pretty good, then standup kind of took a back seat, because the world didn't need to laugh as much."