The Yellow Album | ||||
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Studio album by The Simpsons | ||||
Released | November 24, 1998 | |||
Recorded | January 1929 – December 1997 | |||
Genre | Soundtrack, hip hop | |||
Length | 46:35 | |||
Label | Geffen | |||
Producer |
Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, Anthony D’amico, John Pickles |
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The Simpsons chronology | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic |
The Yellow Album is The Simpsons second album of originally recorded songs, released as a follow-up to the 1990 album The Simpsons Sing the Blues. Though it was released in 1998, it had been recorded years earlier, after the success of the first album. The title is a play on the name of The Beatles' highly popular self-titled 1968 album, commonly known as "The White Album", with the skin color of the characters of The Simpsons. In addition, the cover is a parody of The Beatles' 1967 album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
The parody was also used for a couch gag in the Season 8 Simpsons episodes "Bart After Dark" and "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show" (until it was replaced in reruns of the latter episode with the couch gag from "Kamp Krusty," where the Simpsons find the Flintstones on their couch and Fred invites Homer to sit with him). A similar version of it is on the inside of the United Kingdom version of The Simpsons Season 9 DVD. An outtake named "My Name is Bart" is a parody of musician Prince's 1992 single "My Name Is Prince". In 1993, it was also reported that Matt Groening had penned a rap song to be performed by Bart.
James L. Brooks, producer of the show, wanted to produce a follow-up album based on the popular reception of the debut, but creator Matt Groening was against it. The cast recorded a second album, titled The Yellow Album, but it was not released until 1998, where it suffered poor reception. The album was to be released in February 1993 and feature Prince, Linda Ronstadt, and C&C Music Factory. Plans were in the works for music videos to accompany The Yellow Album.
Greg Haver cowrote and produced "Ten Commandments of Bart."