This is Paul Shanklin, the satirist who wrote the lyrics and sang ‘Barack the Magic Negro,’ a parody for the Rush Limbaugh show. Read his biography below, see a photo and watch videos.
Paul Shanklin is the conservative political satirist behind all of the buzz about the parody Barack the Magic Negro. He wrote the lyrics and sang it – in his best Al Sharpton voice – for the Rush Limbaugh Talk Radio show.
Paul Shanklin is reportedly a longtime friend of Chip Saltzman, former Huckabee campaign operative, who distributed the parody as a Christmas gift to members of the RNC in hopes of currying favor and votes for the GOP Chairmanship next month.
Paul Shanklin has been providing political satire for Rush Limbaugh since 1993. His political humor skits and songs parodying President Clinton and others have become favorites of the Rush Limbaugh listeners.
Over the years, Paul has written and produced over 1300 song parodies, skits and spoof commercials for the show, and has released ten successful albums. His career in talk radio political humor began in the ‘Oldies 98/Turner Dairy “Do Your Moo” booth’ at the Mid-South Fair in Paul’s hometown of Memphis, TN in the fall of ‘92.
It was there that Paul’s Ross Perot impression got tons of attention and lead to local appearances. In May of ‘93 Shanklin sent three demo tapes to Johnny Donovan with the Rush Limbaugh Show . After getting no response, Paul’s friend, political cartoonist Mike Ramirez (yes, that Michael Ramirez), suggested he call Donovan as Bill Clinton. As Clinton, he told Donovan,
“I don’t feel Rush and I are as close as we used to be. Can you work things out between me and Rush? I don’t think we’re really that far apart on the issues.”
Donovan liked the impression, asked for a demo tape, and national exposure with the Rush Limbaugh show followed.
Paul Shanklin also is considered a voice talent for commercials, and travels the country performing his political comedy routine. He has made national television appearances on C-Span, Fox News Network’s Hannity and Colmes, and The O’Reilly Factor. And now he has been featured on Right Pundits!
Paul is the recipient of the “Pollie” Award for the Best National Political Ad, and was featured in the book Rush To Us by D. Howard King and Geoffrey Morris.
Paul Shanklin ‘Barack the Magic Negro’ Video
Paul Shanklin ‘John McCain sings Sarah-cuda’ Parody Videos
Paul Shanklin ‘One Night in Baghdad’ Parody Video
December 28th, 2008 at 8:10 am
Actually “Barack the Magic Negro” is not very good, because there is no pun. You gotta have a cute pun. Some of the other titles on his CD are better, because they have a pun (e.g., “The Star Spanglish Banner”) Hey wait! He can do this to our National Anthem? But that’s ok. He’s a CONSERVATIVE.
The Huckabee connection? He’s the big Christian, right? So this is what Christianity is all about? Barack the Magic Negro? Glad I got that figured out, finally.
December 28th, 2008 at 10:00 am
The word puerile comes to mind. Mr. Phillips is right. It’s not funny, it’s not clever, it’s a weak, lame impression of Sharpton, and I dearly hope the RNC embraces such garbage, which they seem more than a little prone to do.
December 28th, 2008 at 10:21 am
I tired to find a list of Spanish-Americans who have died in Iraq, but I cannot find the casualty list broken down by race. It might be a nice present for the author of “The Star Spanglish Banner.” Apparently the military, and Mr. Death, do not care that much about race.
Maybe God too, huh?
December 28th, 2008 at 11:28 am
Yay, John, let’s take over Right Pundits!
You know, I can make up funny songs too. Rush thinks that “Barack The Magic Negro” is funny, I wonder if he would laugh at this:
RUSH THE FAT GRAND DRAGON
Rush, the fat grand dragon couldn’t have a TV show
His career got left behind on AM radio
Rush, the fat grand dragon couldn’t have a TV show
His career got left behind on AM radio
He had his chance one evening, but the audience had a fight
And later as a sportscaster he showed his racial spite
Radio’s a lot like having a white hood on
Especially when you got your friends who make up funny songs, oh…
Rush, the fat grand dragon couldn’t have a TV show
His career got left behind on AM radio
Rush, the fat grand dragon couldn’t have a TV show
His career got left behind on AM radio
Etc., etc. I’ll have to work on it.
December 28th, 2008 at 11:38 am
Your parody sucks. Don’t kid yourself, just forget you ever wrote that and move on with your life.
December 28th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
The youtube video that is posted here no longer works.
The same video can be viewed at metacafe.com at http://www.metacafe.com/watch/695344/barack/
Barack – The most amazing bloopers are here
I think it’s funny how everyone thinks that Rush Limbaugh owns this term when it actually comes from a black, democrat by the name of David Eherenstein that published it in the L.A. Times the day before. This song is just simply repeating what that democrat published.
So who is real rac@#t? The black democrat that first called obama “The Magic Negro” or Rush that simply talked about what he read in the paper?
Seems to me the rac@#m came from the left on this one!
December 28th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
Ed.
“Apparently the military, and Mr. Death, do not care that much about race.”
Just because you dont know your way around doesnt mean that no one cares.
HERE.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL32492.pdf
I think the reference is to “spanish speaking” Americans Ed, not Spanish Americans.
December 28th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Excellan effort Raynard!
December 28th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
Not to say anything at all about all the insults against whites that come from blacks that are called humor.
But no, this song gets called rac*sit up and down creation.
Great effort ?
Just more hypersensativity if you ask me, topped off with some hypocrisy.
December 28th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
That Raynard Jackson guy sure knows how to SPAM.
December 28th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
what do you mean, I find Raynards efforts right on par with the best of your sides efforts without all the name calling. Plus he researched his bit in independent fashion thinking a bit outta the box. this is what we expect from our “new thinkers’ to counter the compulsive divisivism so beloved by many of the group. unlike you slackers I worked in the tobacco fields picking tobacco as a kid so I know a lot about the exploitation of agricultural workers, which the african slaves certainly endured. So why you were all working at the gap and best buy I could fondly remember getting up at 5:30 am summer weekday and trudging out to the tobacco bus for a pickup. I got no mall food court passes, no bonuses, no neat socks or little ipods. Just mud caked sneakers and mud soaked jeans from sitting in mud babying the little plants and picking their leaves under what amounted to house arrest except we were under white tobacco nets in the blazing sun heating up past 100 degrees and I wasn’t even 17 yet. See I get aspects of slavary none of you do and I understand the system so well I have chosen to naturally align with “the people”. And then you all call me names for being insightful.
December 29th, 2008 at 8:04 am
Brian – Jackson didn’t take the time to comment or add to our conversation. He simply posted an article from one of his websites and posted the links to drive traffic there. Although it was better than a porn link and a “hi webmaster” I guess, but for all intents and purposes its still SPAM.
Also, I spent more than my fair share of time in the orange groves of south Florida and watermelon fields in South Carolina, so your experiences are not unique to everyone here.
March 8th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
I have been trying to contact Paul Shanklin. I have a funny feeling about an old song that goes Rosanna Rosanna… it’s perfect timing for a song about Obama. Timing that is, in the musical sense. I’d like to hear Paul do something with that song. CB>