

Bizarre Albums
Tony Thaxton
Tony Thaxton explores the weirder side of music, celebrating and telling the story behind those strange albums that make you wonder how and why they exist. Doing deep dives on albums released by pro athletes, actors, fictional characters, and more. Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/bizarrealbums/support
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jul 14, 2020 • 15min
NASCAR Goes Country
In the early 1970’s, NASCAR racing had seen a big surge in popularity. Jim Donoho, the son of Nashville racing promoter Bill Donoho wanted to get some of the most popular NASCAR drivers to make a country music album. This is the story of NASCAR Goes Country, from 1975.

Jun 30, 2020 • 19min
Crispin Hellion Glover - The Big Problem ≠ The Solution. The Solution = Let It Be
Just 3 years after graduating high school, Crispin Glover was cast in one of the biggest movies of all time, Back To The Future in 1985. He followed that with the critically successful River’s Edge. Then, he took a few years off of acting and pursued other creative projects. Writing and illustrating books...and making an album. This is the story of Crispin Hellion Glover’s The Big Problem ≠ The Solution. The Solution = Let It Be from 1989.
Special thanks to Matt Gourley and "Weird Al" Yankovic.

Jun 23, 2020 • 18min
William Shatner - The Transformed Man
The story of the infamous album by Star Trek's William Shatner, The Transformed Man from 1968.

Jun 16, 2020 • 19min
Hogan's Heroes Sing The Best of World War II
Hogan’s Heroes was not exactly your typical sitcom. Debuting on CBS in 1965, it was set in a German POW camp during World War II. And it was a hit. So, in 1966, the supporting cast made an album of popular World War II songs. This is the story of Hogan's Heroes Sing The Best of World War II, from 1966.

Jun 9, 2020 • 15min
Eddie Murphy - How Could It Be
He dominated standup comedy. He was a cast member of Saturday Night Live when he was 19. He was a movie star. In Eddie Murphy's own words, his ego said "I can do anything!", so he recorded an album. This is the story of Eddie Murphy's How Could It Be from 1985.

May 12, 2020 • 21min
Hamm's '65 - Bursting with Freshness (LIVE!)
In March of 1965, The Theodore Hamm Brewing Company held it’s Centennial Celebration party in Minneapolis, Attendees that night would receive a copy of the souvenir album, Hamm’s 65- Bursting with Freshness.
This episode was recorded live on February 18, 2020 at Able Seedhouse & Brewery in Minneapolis, MN.

Apr 28, 2020 • 18min
Morton Downey Jr. Sings
Morton Downey Jr. was a pioneer of what would come to be called “trash tv”. After his controversial talk show became a massive success, he tried to return to his roots by releasing an album. This is the story of Morton Downey Jr. Sings, from 1989.

Apr 16, 2020 • 18min
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Part Two)
The thrilling conclusion to Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, from 1978.

Apr 14, 2020 • 21min
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Part One)
Robert Stigwood was on fire. He was the manager of the Bee Gees. He produced the films Grease and Saturday Night Fever. Those soundtracks combined sold over 70 million copies for his label, RSO Records. For his next project, Stigwood produced a jukebox musical film made up entirely of Beatles songs. The cast included some of the biggest stars of the seventies…The Bee Gees, Peter Frampton, and even Steve Martin. How could it possibly fail? This is the story of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, from 1978.

Mar 31, 2020 • 23min
Piledriver : The Wrestling Album II
Professional wrestling exploded in the 1980’s. Particularly the World Wrestling Federation. With one album already behind them, Vince McMahon decided it was time for his company to record a follow up. This is the story of Piledriver: The Wrestling Album II from 1987.


