Bizarre Albums

On this new podcast, Tony Thaxton tells the story behind the strange albums that you can't believe actually exist.

For the debut episode, hear the story of the World Wrestling Federation's The Wrestling Album(1985).

The story of The Simpsons Sing The Blues album(1990).

The story of actor Bruce Willis' The Return of Bruno album(1987).

In 1968, a band composed entirely of cartoon characters from Riverdale released their self titled debut album...The Archies. This is their story.

In 1989, bassist Dee Dee Ramone left The Ramones and made a rap album under the name, Dee Dee King. This is the story of that album, Standing In The Spotlight.

NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal released a platinum selling hip-hop album in 1993. This is the true story of how it came to be.

Laverne and Shirley was a wildly popular American sitcom in the 70's and 80's. Michael McKean and David Lander played the roles of Laverne and Shirley's upstairs neighbors, Lenny and Squiggy. Occasionally they appeared in episodes playing music as Lenny and The Squigtones. In 1979, Lenny and The Squigtones released an album on Casablanca Records.

In 1976, after winning his second consecutive Super Bowl, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw released an album of country and western covers.

Alvin and The Chipmunks had all but faded away in the 1970's. Their unexpected return was due in part to a bored radio DJ making a joke. This is the story of Chipmunk Punk, from 1980.

In 1998, after nearly fifty years of producing records, Sir George Martin decided to make one final album. A record for himself, as he put it. He asked some of his friends and heroes to come and perform Beatles songs for it. Recording artists such as Phil Collins and Bobby McFerrin took part...but so did comedians and actors such as Robin Williams, Jim Carrey, Goldie Hawn, and Sean Connery. This is the story of Sir George Martin's final album.

Academy Award winning actor Joe Pesci seemed to always have a connection to music, whether that was playing guitar in bands or helping with the formation of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. In 1998, Pesci released an album of his own, as his character from the hit comedy, My Cousin Vinny....Vincent LaGuardia Gambini Sings Just For You.

In 1966, rock bands started to get much more ambitious in the recording studio. On television, Batman had premiered in January and was a huge success. So, Jan and Dean made a rock and comedy concept album about Batman...well, at least that was the plan.

Star Trek started gaining a cult following after it's television debut in September of 1966. A few months later, Dot Records approached the producers about making some sort of Star Trek album. The result: Leonard Nimoy Presents Mr. Spock's Music From Outer Space, from 1967.

Get in the Halloween spirit with a free bonus episode from the Patreon feed. Sign up for weekly bonus episodes of the spinoff show, Bizarre Singles, at patreon.com/bizarrealbums !

Happy Halloween! Within a few weeks of it's tv debut in 1964, The Munsters became one of the top ten shows on television. The show premiered in September and before the end of the year, there was already tons of merchandise, including this album.

It's Halloween! Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street was a hit in 1984. But it was after A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors that it totally crossed into the mainstream. Freddy Krueger merchandise was everywhere. Including this album from 1987 by a group of studio musicians calling themselves The Elm Street Group. Special thanks to Will Hodge for the contact and Eban Schletter for the spooky music.

On the heels of the success of Sam Raimi's 2002 Spider-Man movie, Marvel announced a Spider-Man musical. Bono and The Edge from U2 were tapped to do the music. It seemed like everything was falling into place...then...budget problems, delays, firings, injuries, and even a death eventually lead to the most expensive show in Broadway history. This is the story of Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark, and it's accompanying album.

Record producer Domenico "Meco" Monardo saw Star Wars on it's opening day in May of 1977. He ended up seeing it 11 times in the theaters. He loved John Williams' score and dreamed up a disco version that he thought could be a hit...and he was right. This is the story of Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk by Meco, from 1977.

After his band Them broke up, Van Morrison was courted by Bang Records and Bert Berns to record some solo material. After a promising start, it quickly went downhill, eventually resulting in Morrison recording over thirty nonsense songs that he made up on the spot just to get out of his record deal. The tapes had come to be known under many names, "The Contractual Obligation Session" being one of them. In 2017, the session was officially released on The Authorized Bang Collection. This is the story of how it all came to be.

Dinosaurs was a sitcom that was born from an idea that Jim Henson had shortly before his passing in 1990. Eventually his son Brian took over the Jim Henson Company and was able to make the show for ABC in 1991. The show was a hit, so of course, that lead to an album in 1992. This is the story of Dinosaurs - Big Songs.

Comic books. Movies. TV series. Animated spin-offs. Tales From The Crypt did it all. Including a Christmas album in 1994.

Long Island’s Twisted Sister were 1980’s MTV/heavy metal darlings. After reuniting in the early 2000's, they announced they would make one last album....a Christmas album. This is the story of A Twisted Christmas by Twisted Sister, from 2006.

Following the surprise success of his Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk album, Meco Monardo set his sights on making a Star Wars Christmas Album….only two years after the debacle of the Star Wars Holiday Special. This is the story of Christmas in the Stars: Star Wars Christmas Album, from 1980.

The Three Stooges started out as a vaudeville act back in the 1920's. They starred in 190 short films and in 1959, they branched out into making records. Originally released as The Three Stooges Sing Six Happy Yuletide Songs, the album has been reissued several times, and also with the name, Christmas Time with The Three Stooges. This is their story.

After opening his own salad bar and gym in Beverly Hills, Richard Simmons started getting national attention when his energetic demeanor was attracting celebrities to work out with him. Once the 80's hit, Richard Simmons was on tv, selling books, and of course, making an album. This is the story of Richard Simmons' Reach, from 1982.