Motown Treasures

According to Wikipedia's fascinating piece on Pigmeat Markham, the comedian originated the Here Comes The Judge routine as part of his successful stage act. Wikipedia notes:-

'Markham's most famous routine was "discovered" by the general public only after Sammy Davis, Jr. had performed it as a guest on the March 25, 1968 episode of Laugh-In. Due to the years of racial segregation in the entertainment world, he was not widely known by white audiences, and had almost exclusively performed on the "Chitlin' Circuit" of vaudeville, theatres, and night clubs and appeared in several race films, including William D. Alexander's 1949 revue film Burlesque in Harlem, which documented the Chitlin' Circuit.

'The phenomenal ripple effect of Davis's version of "the judge" led to Markham's opportunity to perform his signature Judge character himself as a Laugh-In regular during the 1968–69 television season.

'Thanks to his Heyeah come da judge routine, which originally was accompanied by music with a funky beat, Pigmeat Markham is regarded as a forerunner of rap. His song "Here Comes the Judge" peaked at number 19 on the Billboard and other charts in 1968. He published an autobiography, Here Come the Judge!, in the wake of his Laugh-In success.'

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Shorty's fab song was built on a strong Funk Brothers rhythm, with expert assistance from Sammy Davis Jr. and the Spinners, it was bound to be a hit. It is surprising that the instrumental version wasn't stuck on the B-side.

SWI

It's Shorty all the way for me, the Pigmeat Markham record has always been much too "novelty" for me.

Does any one else here see a glaring similarity between Mr Markham's tune and any number of '80s "Rap" releases …

Roger

I'm with Roger on that.

I love Shorty's Here Comes The Judge album