Sweet Love, Bitter starring Dick Gregory (1967)

Dick Gregory addresses UCLA Student Body (1968)

The Dick Gregory March (August 29, 1968)

Vietnam Day Berkeley featuring Dick Gregory, Phil Ochs, Paul Krassner and the Committee (1965)

Goodnight America with guest Dick Gregory (1975)

Soul Train with guest Dick Gregory (1980)

The Merv Griffin Show with guests Kitty Carlisle and Dick Gregory (1965)

The Merv Griffin Show with guests Les Paul, Dick Gregory and Jonathan Miller (1966)

Dick Gregory - Milwaukee Open Housing Rally Footage (1967)

Dick Gregory - News Clip (1967)

Dick Gregory on CBC - Clip (1962)

Dick Gregory Speaks to KVOS-TV (1966)

It's Tough To Be White... The Wit of John Barbour (1965)

The first time I saw this LP, it was in the hands of a stranger who had just purchased it at a garage sale. I saw the title and was shocked - couldn't believe such an album existed and I was jealous I hadn't found it first. 

A couple years later I found my own copy and it became immediately obvious that it was a satirical comedy album, the title in vain. Part of me was relieved and another part of me was disappointed.

World Pacific Records did not specialize in comedy. Alternately known as World Pacific and Pacific Jazz, the label cranked out great jazz LPs by the likes of The Jazz Crusaders, Les McCann, Gerry Mulligan and many more. They pressed under the World guise The Endless Summer soundtrack, plenty of Ravi Shankar stuff and a couple comedy albums.

Like their West Coast jazz rival Fantasy Records, they had a penchant for pressing things on lovely translucent red vinyl. Whereas Fantasy Records released comedy by hipster hero Lenny Bruce, World Pacific pressed five comedy albums by hipster hero, and Bruce's occasional rival, Lord Buckley.

Fantasy put out a rare non-Lenny Bruce comedy album, Orson Bean at the Hungry I.  Likewise, one of World Pacific's only non-Lord Buckley comedy albums is today's showcase - It's Tough To Be White... The Wit of John Barbour.

Listen to the whole album - It's Tough to Be White...The Wit of John Barbour

Dick Gregory wrote the liner notes for his album... here they are:

Dear John:

I like you. I think you're one of the brightest, sharpest young comics around. I would like to say your album is dynamite, but I wouldn't want folks in Alabama to pick it up just to throw into churches!

You think you got it tough! You were born in Canada. I'm from Chicago. If things get too tough for you, you can always go farther north. Me - I can't go in either direction.

Your stuff touches the nerve ends, but it is funny. It could be a smash best seller, which makes me happy, 'cause if folks are inside laughing their heads off, they can't be outside blowing ours off!

Best of luck!

Dick Gregory

Rap About It with guest Dick Gregory (1975)

Dick Gregory: State of the Black Union (2008)

In the stand-up comedy world, a comedian works hard to make their carefully scripted material seem spontaneous. Make no mistake about it, Dick Gregory sat down and wrote all of this material - and then rewrote it - until it was perfectly crafted. It may seem off-the-cuff, but the legendary Dick Gregory is doing much of his stand-up act in this appearance at The State of the Black Union that happened the other day. And he destroyed.

Soul Train with guest Dick Gregory

Dick Gregory PSA (1968)

Unfortunately this has been removed from YouTube for the time being. The man who uploaded it often has footage appear, disapear and then re-appear at a later date. I don't know why. Hopefully that later date will be soon.

Perhaps the greatest political comedian of all time is Dick Gregory. In the same league as Mort Sahl, George Carlin, Dick Davy, Bill Hicks, Lenny Bruce and a handful of others, Gregory's comedy was devoted to a greater cause than simply making people laugh. His comedy LPs are among the most meticulously ever crafted. His material was brilliant and enlightening. Recently, he did some lush theatre gigs with Mort Sahl, a dream bill if there ever was one. Here he is in a PSA that obviously never did one bit of good.