Jeff Foxworthy
(born September 6, 1958) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. As the best-selling comedy recording artist of all time, he is a member of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, a comedy troupe which also comprises Larry the Cable Guy, Bill Engvall, and Ron White. Known for his "you might be a redneck if…
" one-liners, Foxworthy has released six major-label comedy albums. His first two albums were each certified 3× Multi-Platinum by the RIAA. Foxworthy has also written several books based on his redneck jokes, as well as an autobiography entitled No Shirt, No Shoes… No Problem!
.
Foxworthy has also made several ventures into television, first in the mid-1990s as the star of a sitcom called The Jeff Foxworthy Show
. He has also appeared alongside Engvall and Larry the Cable Guy in several Blue Collar television specials, most notably Blue Collar TV
. Since 2007, he has been the host of the quiz show Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
on FOX. Foxworthy also hosts a nationally syndicated radio show called The Foxworthy Countdown
.
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Biography
Foxworthy was born in
Atlanta,
Georgia, the first child of James Abstance, a computer executive, and Carole Linda (Camp) Foxworthy
. His grandfather, James Marvin Camp, was a
Hapeville, Georgia,
fireman for more than 30 years.
Foxworthy graduated from Hapeville High School. He attended
Georgia Tech in Atlanta, but did not graduate. He worked for five years in
mainframe computer maintenance at
IBM (where his father also worked). At the urging of co-workers, he entered and won the Great Southeastern Laugh-off at Atlanta's Punchline comedy club in 1984.
[2]
Personal life
Foxworthy has been married to Pamela Gregg since 1985 and has two daughters, Jordan (born in 1992) and Julianne (born in 1994).
A noted hunting enthusiast, Foxworthy has appeared as host and featured guest on several programs on the
Outdoor Channel. Foxworthy has also supported missionary work in Africa, specifically
Kenya. He has close connections with the and has put on a benefit event for them entitled "A Night For Africa" two years in a row. He has been to Kenya to provide aid on a firsthand basis.
As a supporter of the
Duke University Children's Hospital and Health Center, Foxworthy is the honorary chairman of its golf tournament. Each year he and his wife host a reception during the tournament weekend, and he serves as headliner and host for an evening of entertainment. He is also a born again, regularly practicing Christian.
Career
Comedy albums
Foxworthy captured the award for "Best Stand-Up Comic" at the 1990 American Comedy Awards
[3].
In 1993, he released
You Might Be a Redneck If...
which started the "You Might Be a Redneck"
fad, topped the comedy album charts, and sold more than three million copies.
His July 1995 release, "Games Rednecks Play," received a 1996 Grammy nomination for Best Spoken Comedy Album
[4].
Foxworthy's
Totally Committed
was released in May 1999. In conjunction with the CD was a one-hour HBO stand-up special by the same name. The CD not only reached gold status but also received a 1999 Grammy Award nomination
[5].
In 2001, he received a nomination for Best Spoken Comedy Album at the 43rd Annual Grammys .
Foxworthy hosted the Country Weekly's TNN Music City News Country Awards for 1998, 1999, and 2000
[6].
Foxworthy is also the best-selling comedy recording artist of all time with over 15,000,000 records sold.
Television
In 1995, he starred in
The Jeff Foxworthy Show
, a
sitcom created out of his stand-up comedy persona. It aired on
ABC, but was canceled after one season.
NBC subsequently picked up the show, but it was again canceled after one season. Foxworthy later remarked that the network did not understand how to properly market his humor; thinking his routine was "too Southern" for a national network ("Has anyone heard me talk?", he commented in one of his stand-up routines), they based the first season of his sitcom in
Bloomington,
Indiana. The show was later aired on
Nick at Nite and
CMT in 2005 and 2006.
Foxworthy is currently the game show host of
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
which airs on
FOX on Fridays. He will also be hosting the syndicated version of the game show due to start in September 2009
[7].
Blue collar comedy
In the early 2000s, Foxworthy had a career resurgence as a result of the
Blue Collar Comedy Tour, in which he and three other comedians (
Larry the Cable Guy,
Ron White, and
Bill Engvall), specializing in common-man comedy, toured the country and performed for record crowds. The tour lasted three full years, constantly being extended after an initial run of 20 shows.
In 2004, he launched a new television show called
Blue Collar TV
on
The WB Television Network,
Comedy Central, and Comedy Network (2007). He serves as
executive producer, and stars alongside Blue Collar Comedy Tour-mates Larry the Cable Guy and Bill Engvall. (
Ron White turned the show down but made occasional guest appearances). The show was relatively successful compared to the anemic performance of the
WB's other sitcoms. On Larry the Cable Guy's website, he posted that the show was canceled on October 17, 2005 by
WB. Reruns of
Blue Collar TV
continued until the network merged with
UPN to form
The CW.
Jeff has resurrected the
Blue Collar TV
format (albeit with only himself participating along with some of the Blue Collar TV co-hosts) called
Foxworthy's Big Night Out
. which aired on
Country Music Television (CMT).
Foxworthy's Big Night Out
began airing in summer 2006 and was cancelled after one season.
Blue Collar Comedy Radio airs on
Sirius Satellite Radio channel 103 and is associated with Raw Dog Comedy on Sirius 104.
Books
Foxworthy has authored several books, including
You Might Be a Redneck If...
(1989), as well as his autobiography,
No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problem!
(1996). Artist
Layron DeJarnette provided illustrations for the Redneck Dictionary books. R. David Boyd has been the exclusive illustrator for most of Foxworthy's books and album covers.
He also has released a
cookbook entitled
The Redneck Grill
, co-authored with
Newnan, Georgia artist
R. David Boyd, and "
Redneck Extreme Mobile Home Makeover
" (2005), a book with some of his redneck jokes.
His "
redneck humor" books are:
- "Jeff Foxworthy's Redneck Dictionary: Words You Thought You Knew the Meaning Of
" (2005);
- "Jeff Foxworthy's Redneck Dictionary II: More Words You Thought You Knew the Meaning Of
" (2006);
- "Jeff Foxworthy's Redneck Dictionary III: Learning to Talk More Gooder Fastly
" (30 Oct 7); and
- "Rednecks In College
".
In February 2008, Jeff released his first children's book entitled "
Dirt On My Shirt
".
In May 2008, Jeff released a book entitled "
How to Really Stink at Golf
", with co-author Brian Hartt and illustrations by Layron DeJarnette.
In May 2009, Jeff released a book entitled "
How to Really Stink at Work, A Guide to Making Yourself Fire-Proof While Having the Most Fun Possible
". This book was co-authored with Brian Hartt.
Criticism
Being born into the well-to-do family of an IBM computer executive, there are those who believe Foxworthy's comedy act to be inauthentic, as he was never actually a part of the "redneck culture" or lifestyle. However, others believe that his work serves as a social commentary, confirming the reality of poverty within caucasian populations of the United States, especially among rural-dwelling populations in its Southeastern region.
Recent work
Since April 1999, Foxworthy also hosts
The Foxworthy Countdown
, a nationally
syndicated weekly
radio show which features the Top 30 country hits of the week as reported by
Mediabase. He received a CMA nomination in 2001 for Broadcast Personality of the Year
[8].
In the 2006 movie
The Fox and the Hound 2
, Foxworthy voiced the character Lyle.
On
Comedy Central, there was a
Comedy Central Roast of Jeff Foxworthy, with the three others from the Blue Collar group, along with several surprise guests. Foxworthy appeared at another roast in
2009 when he roasted his Blue Collar Comedy friend
Larry the Cable Guy.
Discography
Studio albums
| Year
| Album details
| Peak chart positions
| Certifications
(sales threshold)
|
| US Country
| US
| US Heat
| US Comedy
| CAN Country
|
| 1993
| You Might Be a Redneck If...
- Released: 1993
- Label: Warner Bros. Records
| 3
| 38
| 1
| —
| —
|
- US: 3× Multi-Platinum
- CAN: Platinum
|
| 1995
| Games Rednecks Play
- Released: July 18, 1995
- Label: Warner Bros. Records
| 2
| 8
| —
| —
| 6
|
- US: 3× Multi-Platinum
- CAN: Platinum
|
| 1996
| Crank It Up: The Music Album
- Released: August 27, 1996
- Label: Warner Bros. Records
| 3
| 21
| —
| —
| —
|
|
| 1998
| Totally Committed
- Released: May 19, 1998
- Label: Warner Bros. Records
| 8
| 50
| —
| —
| 21
|
|
| 2000
| Big Funny
- Released: April 25, 2000
- Label: DreamWorks Records
| 15
| 143
| —
| —
| 30
|
|
| 2004
| Have Your Loved Ones Spayed or Neutered
- Released: July 6, 2004
- Label: Warner Bros. Records
| 7
| 47
| —
| 5
|
|
|
"—" denotes the album failed to chart or not released
* denotes unknown peak positions
|
Compilation albums
| Year
| Album details
| Peak chart positions
| Certifications
(sales threshold)
|
| US Country
| US
| US Comedy
|
| 1994
| Redneck Test: Vol. 11
- Released: August 26, 1994
- Label: Laughing Hyena
| —
| —
| —
|
|
| 1995
| King of the Rednecks
- Released: March 30, 1995
- Label: Laughing Hyena
| —
| —
| —
|
|
You Might Be a Redneck, Vol. 10
- Released: March 30, 1995
- Label: Laughing Hyena
| —
| —
| —
|
|
Redneck Test: Vol. 43
- Released: March 30, 1995
- Label: Laughing Hyena
| 19
| 155
| —
|
|
Jeff Foxworthy: Sold Out Volume 80
- Released: March 30, 1995
- Label: Laughing Hyena
| 35
| —
| —
|
|
Jeff Foxworthy: The Original Volume 79
- Released: March 30, 1995
- Label: Laughing Hyena
| 27
| 184
| —
|
|
| 1996
| Live, Vol. 9
- Released: May 27, 1996
- Label: Laughing Hyena
| 53
| —
| —
|
|
| 1999
| Greatest Bits
- Released: October 12, 1999
- Label: Warner Bros. Records
| 17
| 189
| 7
|
|
| 2003
| Best of Jeff Foxworthy: Double Wide, Single Minded
- Released: September 2, 2003
- Label: Rhino Entertainment
| 10
| 76
| 1
|
|
"—" denotes the album failed to chart or not released
* denotes unknown peak positions
|
Box sets
| Year
| Album details
|
| 1996
| The Ultimate Jeff Foxworthy Gift Collection
- Released: November 5, 1996
- Label: Warner Bros. Records
|
Singles
Foxworthy has also released several singles which have consisted of his comedy sketches set to music, often with a chorus sung by another country music act or studio musician. Most of these are from his 1996 compilation
Crank It Up: The Music Album
, although several of his comedy albums have included one musical track as well. Several of these songs have charted on the
Billboard
Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now
Hot Country Songs) and
Hot 100 charts.
| Year
| Single
| Peak chart positions
| Album
|
| US Country
| US
| CAN Country
|
| 1994
| "Redneck Stomp"
| 67
| 75
| —
| Crank It Up: The Music Album
|
| 1995
| "Party All Night" (with Little Texas and Scott Rouse)
| 53
| 101
| —
|
| 1996
| "Redneck 12 Days of Christmas"[A
| 18
| —
| —
|
| "Redneck Games" (with Alan Jackson)
| 42
| 66
| 79
|
| 1997
| "'Twas the Night After Christmas"
| 67
| —
| —
|
| 1998
| "Totally Committed" (with Tim Rushlow)
| 70
| —
| —
| Totally Committed
|
| 2000
| "Blue Collar Dollar" (with Bill Engvall and Marty Stuart)
| 63
| —
| —
| Big Funny
|
;Notes
- A ^
"Redneck 12 Days of Christmas" also peaked at #18 in 1996, #39 in 1997 and 1998, #37 in 1999, and #35 in 2000.
See also
- List of stand-up comedians
- List of game show hosts
References
- Jeff Foxworthy Biography (1958-)
- Redneck Repartee
- http://www.ocregister.com/
- http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/Music/9601/grammy_noms/grammy_list.html Foxworthy nominated for Grammy
- http://www.utopiaartists.com/bio_jeff_foxworthy.htm Foxworthy gets second Grammy nom
- http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_action=doc&p_docid=110CAD8D8320A8C0&p_docnum=1 Foxwor
- Foxworthy Signs on for Syndie '5th Grader'
- http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/233011