...FUNNY GIRL: Emmy-winner Kathy Griffin claims the prime reason she has released a comedy album is to win a Grammy. But was she also aiming for having the highest-charting title by a female comedian in the last 25 years?
Maybe Grammy voters will take notice of Griffin's chart feat and hand her the statuette she covets. "For Your Consideration" (Music With a Twist) enters The Billboard 200 at No. 85. That's the highest-ranked album by a female comedian since 1983, when Joan Rivers cracked her way to No. 22 with, "What Becomes a Semi-Legend Most?"
Charted albums by female comedians are rare, but there have been at least three in the last four decades that have charted higher than Griffin's. In 1971, Lily Tomlin's debut LP, "This Is a Recording," raced to No. 15. The follow-up, "And That's the Truth," climbed to No. 41 a year later. In 1980, Gilda Radner's "Live from New York" reached No. 69.
On Top Comedy Albums, Griffin's "Consideration" bows at No. 1, the first album by a woman to lead this list. Since the chart was initiated in 2004, only males and soundtracks have been on top. Here is a summary of the men who have visited the comedic penthouse, and for how long:
69 weeks: Dane Cook
43 weeks: Larry the Cable Guy
22 weeks: "Weird Al" Yankovic
19 weeks: Flight of the Conchords
9 weeks: Ron White
6 weeks: Bill Engvall
1 week: Jeff Foxworthy
1 week: Eddie Izzard
1 week: Patton Oswalt
1 week: Nick Swardson