Button-Down Bob Newhart Turns 91

“The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart” is one of the most fascinating and unlikely success stories in show business history. The album became the first stand-up comedy recording to reach #1 on the Billboard 200 chart. It sold over a million copies. And, most incredibly, the album is a recording of Bob Newhart’s very first nightclub gig.

In 1959, Bob Newhart was an obscure wannabe comedian from Chicago. The ex-accountant had a few routines that he would recite on local radio. Chicago disc jockey Dan Sorkin heard that Warner Bros., a fledgling record label, was looking to get into the stand-up comedy album game. So Sorkin had Newhart make a tape recording of his three best bits (“Abe Lincoln vs. Madison Avenue,” “The Driving Instructor,” and “The Submarine Commander”) and then passed it on to Warners. Amazingly the company said they would take a chance on this unknown local comic. Warners prepared to send a crew to record Newhart at his next stand-up gig.

The only problem was that Bob Newhart had no gigs. In fact, he had never before performed stand-up in a nightclub. Plus no clubs in Chicago would book him for the album taping. So, Warner Bros. had to search out of state to find a venue that would use him. They eventually found a club in Texas. They sent Newhart to Houston and arranged a two-week gig at a nightclub called The Tidelands. Bob Newhart would be the opening act.

During his brief run at The Tidelands, in February 1960, Newhart honed his three comedy bits–and also created several more routines. Warners recorded his material over two shows and then left Texas with the masters. Several months later, in May 1960, “The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart” was released. “I thought it might sell maybe 5,000 albums,” recalled Newhart. “I would’ve been very happy with that.”

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