Americans in the late 1950s and early 1960s could be square and prudish compared to today. Women especially were expected to be prim and demure, and public discussions of sex were scandalous.
That’s why Rusty Warren became an underground comedy hit.
Her material seems almost quaint now, but in the 1960s her act was so risqué that many record stores wouldn’t offer her comedy albums for sale.
1930: Her parents, the Goldmans, adopted her as a baby and named her Ilene. They raised her in Milton, Massachusetts.
She acquired the nickname Rusty on account of her red hair, and she later chose the stage name Warren after the cross street nearest to her home.
From age 6 she studied singing and piano. After high school, she attended and graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. She performed with other pianists in a Chopin concerto conducted by Arthur Fiedler, legendary for the Boston Pops.
During summer breaks from college in the 50s, she played piano and sang pop songs at hotel bars and nightclubs, even though she was too young to drink alcohol. From those establishments she began developing her bawdy comedy routines.
Vaudeville comedienne Sophie Tucker influenced Rusty and gave her pointers.
She made her way out west to Phoenix, Arizona. Rusty Warren became a regular at a club called the Pomp Room, which was where she recorded her first live comedy and music album Songs for Sinners (1959).
A staple of her act was a tune popular among WWII soldiers called Roll Me Over in the Clover. The song’s message was pretty obvious, and when sung by a woman it was particularly off-color.
Housewives loved her cheeky songs and jokes. She made it acceptable for women to admit they enjoyed sex, and they became her primary audience.
1960: Rusty Warren released her best selling comedy album: Knockers Up! Record store owners wouldn’t stock it because of the title.
The signature song, with its double entendres, urged women to be proud and show the world what they had.
Though her material was naughty, she prided herself on never cursing onstage.
Rusty Warren released 11 live comedy albums including Sin-sational, Banned in Boston, Rusty Warren Bounces Back, Bottoms Up!, and Sexplosion.
Among her most popular tunes was Bounce Your Boobies, Shimmy Like My Sister Kate, and Steel Drivin’ Man.
Rusty was a natural fit for Las Vegas where she performed for many years. She won an award for Comedienne of the Year.
Her fans, mostly female, were legion. While she satirized women’s roles in traditional marriages, she never tied the knot. That’s because she was a closeted lesbian.
In the 1990s she performed on lesbian cruises and then retired. She lived out the remainder of her life at her residences in Hawaii, Arizona, and California until she passed away in 2021.
Rusty Warren was ahead of her time and is remembered as the Mother of the Sexual Revolution.
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