ITP Records is proud to release, exclusively, for the first time ever, the complete recording collection of one of the funniest comedy teams of the 70's, HUDSON AND LANDRY.

For those of you who know spoken word comedy, Bob Hudson also known as ‘The Emperor" and Ron Landry are one of the most under-rated comedy teams of their time.

Although nationally known for their grammy nominated vignette "Ajax Liquor Store" (1971) and for having written and recorded four gold albums: "Hanging In There" (1971), "Losing Their Heads" (1972), "Right Off" (1973), and "The Weird Kingdom" (1974), this comedy team deserves far greater recognition and attention then they ever received.

This three volume collection includes the UNEDITED versions of "Ajax Liquor Store", "Bruiser La Rue", "Ajax Mortuary", "Friar Schuck", "Kearsarge", "Fredrickism", "The Soul Bowl", "Sir Basil", "Murph Almighty", "Frontier Christmas" and so many others including those vignettes that have been lost over the years or were only released as singles on 45's!.

Originally on the Los Angeles based Dore Records label, ‘Hudson and Landry' recorded a total of 52 comedy vignettes. 39 of these vignettes were released on 12" vinyl and five of them, "The Gas Man", "The SOB"(Shortage of Booze), "The Chocolate Freak", "Fate Of The Mightiest Nation", and "Harlow's Kids" were only released as singles and are very rare and hard to find. Plus, eight of their routines, "Joe Needles", "The Boxer", "Ecology", "Honorable Discharge", "The Gambler", "College Chums", "The Poodle" and "Flying" have never before been released until now!!!!

In his liner notes from the "Hanging In There" LP, disc jockey Bill Ballance wrote that a wise old philosopher once said that "Jealousy is the friendship that one disc jockey has for another" and that after having worked side by side with Hudson and Landry that he jealously admitted that they are the funniest team since Sacco and Vanzetti. Ballance goes on to say that many of the vignettes of Hudson and Landry were recorded live at the Pomona National Country Club and that the audiences screamed with laughter the instance they bursted on stage flailing like two moths caught in a beam of light. However, he also added that the laughter subsided somewhat when they put their pants on, but it was a great session anyway!!

Here are a few facts you may want to know about Hudson and Landry: Ron Landry was born in Monroe, Louisiana but was raised in Washington DC. Ron worked at several radio stations in Virginia before becoming the morning host on WDRC in Hartford and then WBZ in Boston. A Former U.S. Army disc jockey, Landry was a master of character voices and was once quoted as saying "A man is only as old as a woman he feels"

Bob Hudson also got his start in radio during his Army days in Alaska. He hit the Los Angeles radio market in the mid-fifties and was consistently voted one of the Top 10 DJ's in Southern California between 1957 and 1988 when he retired. Hudson worked at a variety of L.A stations (KFWB, KBLA, KEZY, and KGBS) as well as in Seattle on KKMI in 1984, but came to prominence when he replaced Bob Eubanks as morning man on KRLA in 1963.
In 1966, Billboard ranked Hudson #1 in his morning drive time slot. Bob once said that one of his missions in life was to take over San Francisco, cover it with water and make it the world's largest ice skating rink!!

It all started in the early 70's when Hudson met Ron Landry while both were at KGBS radio in Los Angeles and the two became a potent morning combo in arguably the nations most important media market. It was their on air chemistry that lead to the recording of several successful comedy albums on Dore Records. Their first release was "Ajax Liquor Store", an instant smash which was nominated for a Grammy Award along side of Lilly Tomlin's "One Ringy Dingy". During their career they guest starred on such Television shows as the Smothers Brothers Specials, The Flip Wilson Show, The Steve Allen Show, and Virginia Graham to name a few!

After their break-up, Hudson continued on radio until his retirement in 1988. Sadly, he died on September 20th, 1997 at the age of 66. Landry moved into television where he was very successful on the writing teams of the TV shows "Flo", "Benson", "The Redd Foxx Show" and "Gimme A Break". He released his last comedy album with comedian Tom Beiner in 1989. Ron eventually retired from radio, traveled extensively and continued writing from his home in California until his death on September 16th, 2002 at the age of 67.

These two guys, as you will either discover or re-discover were extremely creative writers, true masters of voice, and had the "absolute ability to at one moment melt your heart with a tender vignette and the next moment have you laughing out loud with their joyful metallic harshness."
After spending numerous hours re-mastering and restoring the original 30 year old masters, we are finally ready and proud to release this wonderful collection of comedy!!!
Special Thanks to Lew Bedell, founder of Dore Records as he is the sole reason why the Hudson and Landry Recordings sessions ever became a reality.

He was not only a personal friend but a true pioneer in the music industry as having been one of the most successful and eclectic independent labels in Los Angeles during the late 50's and 60's!. To his credit, he was responsible for such great releases as Jan and Dean's "Baby Talk", Dean Hawley's "Look For A Star" The Teddy Bears, "To Know Him is To Love Him"(written and produced by the trio's leader Phil Spector) Gogi Grants "The Wayward Wind", Billy Joe and The Checkmates "Percolator", The Superbs "Baby Baby All The Time", The Entertainers IV's "Temptation Walk" as well as other comedy albums by the legendary Jim Backus and Victor Buono! He was also responsible for discovering R&B legends "The Whispers" for whom he created their name.