Here’s a little background. After he moved to New York City in 1963, he immediately began performing both in comedy but also in singing, where he opened for Bob Dylan and Nina Simone.

She even recalled of his performance anxiety, “He shook like he had malaria, he was so nervous. I couldn’t bear to watch him shiver, so I put my arms around him there in the dark and rocked him like a baby until he calmed down.” And Richard had a little something going on.

Check him out doing his Nina Simone kind of a thing – a bluesy cut – the standard “Nobody Loves You When You’re Down And Out” in this video back in the 60s.

I guess we can wonder why Richard didn’t keep on with the keeping on since obviously he was on his way with both talents…..some say he was so caught up during those days deciding if he was going to be like Dick Gregory or Bill Cosby and once that comedy success happened, it was all she wrote for singing.

So now we’ve seen both in action, which one is better, Richard Pryor or Eddie Murphy?

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