The First Family (album)

The First Family is a comedy album recorded on October 22, 1962, as a good-natured parody of President John F. Kennedy, both as Commander-in-Chief and as a member of a large, well-known political family. Issued by Cadence Records, it was honored as the "largest and fastest selling record in the history of the record industry" selling at more than a million copies per week for the first six and one-half weeks in distribution, by January it had sold more than 7 million copies. By time of the release of The First Family - Volume Two, the sequel, it had sold 7.5 million copies — unprecedented for any album at the time, let alone a comedy album.

Cast

The First Family starred stand-up comedian and impersonator Vaughn Meader as Kennedy and Naomi Brossart as the First Lady. Meader's skill at impersonating Kennedy was honed on the stand-up circuit—with his New England accent naturally close to Kennedy's familiar (and often parodied) Harvard accent, he needed to adjust his voice only slightly to sound almost exactly like the President. Brossart was a theatre actress and model making her recording début.

The album also featured the writing and voice talent of Earle Doud, Bob Booker, Jim Lehner, Bradley Bolke, Chuck McCann, Bob McFadden, and Norma MacMillan. It was recorded in front of a live studio audience.

Meader later revealed, "A lot of people don't know this, but we recorded The First Family on the night of...
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