jim henson

Once upon a time, the stand-up comedy team of
Cheech and Chong emerged as products of the drug-
and counter-culture of the 1960's, and rose to great popularity in the 1970's.

Such was their acclaim (and such were the times) that they could even receive favorable press in a mainstream publication (like this one ▶)
geared for teenage girls, and share print space with
make-up tips and photos of Rod Stewart, Ryan O'Neal and Ali MacGraw.

The fact-filled article below ▼ appeared in the
March, 1973 issue of TEEN magazine.


(click on image to ENLARGE in a new window)

Just for fun, a couple of video links...

- First, from a 1978 live stand-up appearance, performing one of their set pieces - - one that would soon show up in the first of Cheech and Chong's profitable string of movies.
Click on links to view:
'The Lowrider', Part 1
'The Lowrider', Part 2

- Followed by the early, slightly 'unfortunate' film trailer for 'Up In Smoke'.

Below, ▼ an excerpt from the very memorable animated short of 'Basketball Jones' (also seen briefly in the 1979 film 'Being There').

Memorable, and positively steeped in the early-seventies era from which it came, well before the concept of 'PC'...



- To view a larger version of this same video with a slightly clearer image, click here.

Cheech and Chong's 'Basketball Jones' had appeared as a track on their 3rd LP, the 1973
Grammy-winning 'Los Cochinos'.

On the album, the song segues out from an interview with 'Tyrone Shoelaces' (Cheech) on
'The White World of Sports'

The backing band on the track included George Harrison on guitar, along with Carole King, Billy Preston, Tom Scott, Darlene Love and Michelle Phillips.

Some folks may not remember the 1973 soul hit that it parodies;
'Love Jones' by Brighter Side of Darkness. (A song that needed spoofing)

Producer Lou Adler was behind the creation of the animated short for 'Basketball Jones', and released it to a few theaters in late 1973 to make it eligible for Oscar consideration.

See also:
Cheech and Chong.Com