The Strange Satirical Mind of Stan Freberg
This versatile performer pioneered innovative humor in the ’50s and ‘60s
In the ’50s and early ’60s, music may have dominated records, but another popular category was novelty records. Often these records were spoofs or parodies that elicited smiles and even belly laughs. And no one did novelty records better than a guy named Stan Freberg.
Freberg was an industrious creator who innovated in advertising, political satire and quirky humor.
From an early age, California native Stan Freberg was enchanted with sound and radio. His first gigs were doing impersonations on a local radio show and voicing cartoon characters for Warner Bros. in the early 1940s. He often worked beside the legendary voice actor Mel Blanc at Warner Bros. While Freberg did voices for animated television shows and films for his entire career, his claim to fame was in two areas: humorous recordings and advertising.
Breaking through with humor
Before rock ’n’ roll really got rolling on AM radio, Freberg pioneered parodies during the early 1950s.
His popular 1951 recording, John and Marsha, poked fun at soap operas. On the Capitol Records release, Freberg voices both characters, repeating each other’s names while a…
