the first family

Vaughn Meader was a young singer/pianist that said he discovered a voice he could do - that of President John F. Kennedy. He started incorporating it into his act and before you know it - he had an album out. The First Family was the fastest selling LP of it's time. JFK himself loved the parody album and even gave them as Christmas gifts. In fact, while greeting a democat national committee group - Kennedy announced that "Vaughn Meader was busy tonight so I came myself." Unfortunately, after Kennedy's fatal trip to Dallas - record stores across the United States pulled The First Family off the shelf and Vaughn Meader faded into obscurity.

I loved the album as a kid and Kennedy was among my first impersonations. Each of the skits were very strong and funny. If you ever get a chance to go back and listen to it - you'll find the jabs quite tame compared to today's political satire. Vaughn was a talented fellow and it was sad that his comedic career suffered from the tragedy of Kennedy's death. He was so closely associated with Kennedy that all of his work suffered. He vowed never to impersonate Kennedy again and kept that vow. He died in 2004 - keeping his vow. Rich Little recorded the album The First Family Rides Again back in the eighties - in which Vaughn was invited to participate in the parody of Ronald Reagan's administration.

There's a lot of political parody/satire out there today. Let's not forget Vaughn Meader. He's the grandfather of most of what you see and hear today on radio & television. I just browsed youtube.com hoping to find a cut or two from the album, but nothing was there to sample.