jim henson

Finally, I've found a copy of this LP!

I remember a time when there was much less interest in Bill Cosby's non-stand-up recordings, and so once upon a time you could find this and other of his musical ventures piling up in bargain bins.

Then I guess I blinked at some point and they became collector's items as people caught on to them.

This is a fun & funky album, in which Cosby tweaks the sound of
Barry White and
James Brown.

It was one of several projects over many years in which Cosby has collaborated with producer-arranger-musician
Stu Gardner.

It's been reported that his vocal patter on this LP was improvised during recording, which makes perfect sense.

Several of the tracks have aged well, the few that don't have gained some 'contextual' interest over the years.

- Follow link to personnel credits for the 'Disco Bill' album in a new window.

1977 was part of a busy period for Bill Cosby.

He co-starred that year in 'A Piece of the Action', his 3rd film teamed with Sidney Poitier, after having made 'Mother, Jugs & Speed' with Raquel Welch and Harvey Keitel the year before, the same year his TV variety show 'Cos' failed to take off.

In 1977 he was still involved in the production of Saturday Morning TV's 'Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids'.
It was that same year that Cosby received his doctorate in Education from the University of Massachusetts for writing his thesis on the use of the animated series as a teaching tool.

Also in '77, following the release of 'Disco Bill', Cosby put out his first stand-up comedy LP in four years (his 18th), 'My Father Confused Me... What Must I Do? What Must I Do?'.

His 1980's 'renaissance' was still several years away...

From Bill Cosby's LP
'Disco Bill'
(Capitol Records, 1977),
Listen to:

A Simple Love Affair
What Ya Think 'Bout Lickin' My Chicken
Rudy
Boogie On Your Face
Happy Birthday Momma
That's How I Met Your Mother
One, Two, Three
Section #9
A Nasty Birthday
What's In a Slang

(click for audio)

- - OR download all 10 tracks in one 31.1 Mb zipfile.

See also:
- Album entry at All Music.Com

- An article at Funky 16 Corners focusing on some of Bill Cosby's other musical endeavors.

- Some background on Stu Gardner at In Dangerous Rhythm, with a couple of tracks from the 1967 Stu Gardner Revue LP, 'To Soul With Love'.

_ You can hear "Sister Matilda', a cut from Stu Gardner's 1974 LP, 'Sanctified Soul' at YouTube.