A brief and incomplete history of musical comedy duos

Much as in the rock music arena, the duo holds special regard in the world of comedy. The comedy duo is all about timing and chemistry, and watching two people riff on a joke in complete synchronicity is as exciting as hearing a bassist and a drummer lock step in a rhythm that shifts in tempo and time without losing a beat. Add to that the long-held assertion that comedians and musicians are incredibly similar in creative sensibilities, and a pairing of the two forms seems as natural as peanut butter and jelly.

Comedy duos have come a long way from the straight man/stumbling yuckster dynamic of yesteryear, and music has helped that evolution along in its course. In advance of Garfunkel And Oates’ appearance at the Gothic Theater on Saturday, June 25, The AV Club provides a brief overview of musical comedy duos, from vaudevillian relics to the new stars of the Internet Age.

Martin And Lewis
Emerging straight from vaudevillian traditions, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis put a musical twist into the straight man/comedic foil routine. Playing a charming, crooning drunk, Martin provided a wry facade upon which Lewis could splatter his shrill, rubbery-faced antics. In the nascent days of their act, Martin assumed the role of a nightclub musician whose set was constantly interrupted by the bumbling but affable Lewis. They fed off of each other in a rhythmic and playful way, using music as the backdrop for their gags to set the template for comedic timing built around a song. 

The Smothers Brothers
It may be hard for young’uns to imagine the seemingly vanilla-as-fuck comedy of The Smothers Brothers as controversial, but the folk duo raised the ire of the mainstream political machine as their opposition of the Vietnam War emerged in material they used on their prime-time CBS variety show. Political views aside, Dick and Tom Smothers’ comedic styling served as a metaphor for the changing social climate of the 1960s. Their twist on the straight man/comedic foil ran along the lines of relative intelligence: Tom, an argumentative dipshit, constantly butting heads with know-it-all, holier-than-thou Dick. Their shtick has kept its relevance in exactly that capacity, like our two-party political system distilled into a comedic familial pissing contest.

The Topp Twins
Though they are huge stars in their native New Zealand, few Americans are familiar with twin yodelers Jools and Lynda Topp. In the early ’80s, the sisters began performing as a huge roster of different characters, from the country-Western-obsessed Gingham Sisters to the slapstick-influenced Camp Mother and Camp Leader and the chauvinistic commentators Ken and Ken. Their television show, which ran for three seasons in the late ’90s, is steeped in Kiwi humor, and fans of the quirky physicality and cheeky nuance of Peter Jackson’s early filmography would do well to seek out the outspoken, politically irreverent twins, whose work is one of New Zealand’s most underappreciated exports. 

Tenacious D
White, suburban stoners finally got their own version of Cheech And Chong when Jack Black and Kyle Gass made it big with Tenacious D. Their acoustic-metal songs felt like rock operas played out in the theater of the bedroom, with Black’s braggadocio-filled vocals met by the fleet but unamplified licks of Gass’ guitar. Singing the praises of heavy metal, rocking out, fucking, and then rocking out some more, Tenacious D was a colorful pastiche that conjured up the former glory of skinny dudes in spandex doing lines of coke off of a stripper’s tits—but sung about by a couple of schleppy, fat, middle-aged dudes instead. 

Flight Of The Conchords
Deftly dipping their toes into a wide range of musical genres, New Zealand’s Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, who make up Flight Of The Conchords, have a broad appeal that comes in no small part from them being amazing musicians. The fact that their humor is just as well suited to a soft-rock ballad, a hip-hop jam, and a glam-rock send-up speaks volumes to the breadth of their collective musical knowledge. Lyrically absurd, painfully clever, and surprisingly consistent, Flight Of The Conchords is the consummate musical comedy duo for today’s discerning music snobs.

Garfunkel And Oates
Kate Micucci and Riki Lindhome, who perform as Garfunkel And Oates, are true products of the Internet Age. Their videos, which started as set-frame shots of the duo in a bedroom or living room, spread like crabs at a Renaissance Festival, and their recent videos have production values that belie their success. From the tiny bedroom sets to HD mini-films overflowing with stars of the comedy underground like Tig Notaro and Sarah Silverman, Garfunkel And Oates are perfect examples of how the Internet has changed the ways in which comedy reaches the unwashed masses.