Bill Cosby with the Bunions Bradford Band: Hikky Burr Parts 1 and 2 (Uni 55184)

We go back to about 1972 for this one in which Cosby was in the middle of his first short-lived TV sitcom. This is the theme song to that show and Cosby gets help from none other than Quincy Jones, who was writing a lot of TV show themes around this time ("Sanford and Son"). Prior to this, Cosby, better known for his comedy albums, had actually scored a Top 10 hit in 1968 with "Little Old Man." This was one of his many attempts at trying to actually sing and well, let's leave it at that. Quincy Jones can't be faulted. He lays out a funky lowdown groove and the band gives it all they got. But then you get Cosby's vocals...or whatever you call them. He slurs and growls out a bunch of unintelligible gibberish. It sounds like he's talking about some soul food recipe, but you can't tell. You could probably guess that he was drunk during the recording session of this. It sure sounds like he was. Ahh, well, 14 years later, he'd hit sitcom immortality with "The Cosby Show," and this thing would no doubt be a distant memory. Now, don't get me wrong. I actually like this record, but in a perverse kind of way, if you know what I mean.