William Melvin Hicks (December 16, 1961 – February 26, 1994 was an American stand-up comedian and a real Genius a term used to often, this guy had you in stitches but could drive a message home like a ten ton truck of information that hits you head on straight in the fuckin kisser. As a kid of eleven I stumbled upon Bill Hicks and he made me the man I am today and opened my eyes to the world, never before had comedy made me laugh and think shit that’s true he has a point. The biggest compliment I think I could give Hicks was I never looked at him like an American.
Finding moderate mainstream success in the late 1980s and early '90s, Hicks tended to balance heady discussion of religion, politics and personal issues with more ribald material; he characterized his own performances as "Chomsky with dick jokes”.
Though he generally disliked television, he is said to have been a huge fan of the Simpsons and Krusty The Klowns persona as a counter-cultural stand-up comedian in the ninth season episode "Last Temptation of Krust" is a tribute to him.
In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, fellow comedians and comedy insiders voted Hicks amongst the "Top 20 Greatest Comedy Acts Ever" at #13. Likewise, in "Comedy Central Presents: 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time" (2004), Hicks was ranked at #19. In March 2007, Channel 4 (UK) ran a poll, "The Top 100 Stand-Up Comedians of All Time," in which Hicks was voted #6.
Devotees of Hicks have incorporated his words, image and attitude into their own creations. Because of audio sampling, fragments of Bill Hicks rants, diatribes, social criticisms and philosophies have found their way into many musical works, such as the live version of Super Furry Animals 'Man Don't Give A F*ck'. His influence on Tool is well documented; he 'appears' on the Fila Brazillia album Maim That Tune (1996) and on SPA’s self titled album SPA (1997), which are both dedicated to Hicks; the British band Radiohead's second album the bends (1995) is also dedicated to his memory (and to "Indigo"). The UK band Shack released an album in August 2003 quoting a Bill Hicks routine in the title - Here's Tom With the Weather. The album also included other Bill Hicks quotes in the liner notes. Deborah Driscoll of The Starfire Station wrote an ode to Bill Hicks entitled "Willy Melvin". Righteous Babe Records artist, Hamell On Trial also wrote a song entitled simply, "Bill Hicks". English breakbeat artist Adam Freeland sampled Revelations for his track "We Want Your Soul."
The British movie Human Traffic referred to him as the "late prophet Bill Hicks," and showed that the main character, Jip, liked to watch a bit of Hicks's stand-up before going out for a night to "remind me not to take life too seriously". Hicks even appears in the comic book Preacher, in which he is an important influence on the protagonist, Rev. Jesse Custer. His opening voice-over to the 1991 Revelations live show is also quoted in Preacher's last issue.
Billl hicks was loved in England and had a massive fan base who loved his humor and reality of the world we live in today, when Hicks burned the Star spangled banner on the letterman show TV he was outcast by many stations and the TV world.
On February 25, 2004, British MP Stephen Pound tabled an early day motion titled "Anniversary of the Death of Bill Hicks" (EDM 678 of the 2003-04 session), the text of which was as follows:
That this House notes with sadness the 10th anniversary of the death of Bill Hicks, on 26th February 1994, at the age of 32; recalls his assertion that his words would be a bullet in the heart of consumerism, capitalism and the American Dream; and mourns the passing of one of the few people who may be mentioned as being worth of inclusion with Lenny Bruce and George Carlin in any list of unflinching and painfully honest political philosophers.
Bill hicks Gold:
A sane man,one night stand, relentless,revalations, totally bill hicks and bill hicks live.
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