Episode Air Date: January 4, 2021
Artist: Uncredited
Recording Title: The Laughing Record
Yup there it is. You know that feeling you get whether you’re in church, or a meeting, or somewhere where you really shouldn’t be laughing? Where you just can’t…quite…stop?
The Okeh Laughing Record was recorded in Germany and released in 1923, and was an immediate seller, hitting the Billboard charts and reached number eight. It wasn’t listed as a foreign language record because, well, everyone understands laughter. And, it’s particularly unique in that the eh, performers, were not credited, making it the first and only anonymous record to ever chart.
Image: “Chatterbox”, used through Creative Commons license, Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0.