Li'l Abner is a musical with a book by Norman Panama and Melvin Frank, music by Gene De Paul, and lyrics by Johnny Mercer. Based on the comic strip Li'l Abner by Al Capp, the show is, on the surface, a broad spoof of hillbillies, but it is also a pointed satire on broader topics, ranging from incompetence in the United States federal government to standards of masculinity.

After several other writers and composers considered musicalizing the comic strip, Al Capp finally made a deal in 1955 with the eventual creators for a musical to be financed by Paramount Pictures, which wanted to follow the stage version with a film musical. The Broadway production opened on November 15, 1956 and ran for a modestly successful 693 performances. The score and Michael Kidd's choreography received critical praise, but some critics felt that the book's adaptation lost the spirit of the comic strip. Kidd and Edie Adams, as Daisy Mae, won Tony Awards, while newcomer Peter Palmer, in the title role, won a Theatre World Award. Paramount released a film version, in 1959, with most of the Broadway cast reprising their roles.

Li'l Abner is a satirical American comic strip that appeared in many newspapers in the United States, Canada and Europe, featuring a fictional clan of hillbillies in the impoverished town of Dogpatch, Kentucky. Written and drawn by Al Capp (1909–1979), the strip ran for 43 years, from August 13, 1934 through November 13, 1977. It was distributed by United Feature Syndicate. Read daily by scores of millions of people, the strip's characters and humor had a powerful cultural impact.

Li'l Abner Yokum: The star of Capp's classic comic strip was hardly "little." Abner was 6' 3" in his stockinged feet (if he wore stockings), and perpetually 19 "y'ars" old. A naïve, simple-minded and sweet-natured hillbilly boy, he lived in a ramshackle log cabin with his pint-sized parents. He inherited his strength from his irascible Mammy, and his brains from his less-than-brainy Pappy. Capp derived their family name "Yokum" as a portmanteau of yokel and hokum. In Capp's satirical and often complex plots, Abner was a country bumpkin Candide — a paragon of innocence in a sardonically dark and cynical world. A priceless rube, Abner was so gullible that he could be tricked by a small child. The loutish Abner typically had no visible means of support, but sometimes earned his livelihood as a "crescent cutter" for the Little Wonder privy company, (later changed to "mattress tester" for the Stunned Ox mattress company.)

In the Book of Samuel, Abner (Hebrew אבנר "Avner" meaning "father of [or is a] light"), is first cousin to Saul and commander-in-chief of his army (1 Samuel 14:50, 20:25). He is often referred to as the son of Ner.

Abner is only referred to incidentally in Saul's history (1 Samuel 17:55, 26:5), and is not mentioned in the account of the disastrous battle of Gilboa when Saul's power was crushed. Seizing the youngest but only surviving of Saul's sons, Ish-bosheth, Abner set him up as king over Israel at Mahanaim, east of the Jordan. David, who was accepted as king by Judah alone, was meanwhile reigning at Hebron, and for some time war was carried on between the two parties.

Esau Mwamwaya is a singer from Lilongwe, Malawi. He is best known for his collaboration, The Very Best with London based DJ/production duo Radioclit. His music has been described as an Afro-Western mix of dance, hiphop, pop and the traditional music of Malawi.

Esau Mwamwaya was born in Mzuzu, Malawi, but grew up in the capital, Lilongwe, where he played drums in various bands. He played with numerous artists including Masaka Band and Evison Matafale.

In 1999 he moved to London and while running a second-hand furniture shop in Clapton, East London, Esau sold a bicycle to the producer from the band Radioclit, Etienne Tron. Radioclit's studio was on the same street as Esau's shop, and eventually, Esau became friends with both Tron and Johan Karlberg aka Radioclit.

In 2008, the three men worked together to create a project known as 'The Very Best', releasing a critically lauded free mixtape through the label GREEN OWL() in collaboration with other indie artists, including M.I.A., Vampire Weekend, Architecture in Helsinki, BLK JKS, Santigold and the Ruby Suns. The songs are sung in Chichewa, the national language of Malawi.

Leslie Parrish (born 13 March 1935) is an American actress. She worked under her birth name, Marjorie Hellen, until she changed it in 1959.

Parrish was born in Upper Black Eddy, Pennsylvania, and was a promising piano student at the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music. She discovered that by modeling she could earn more money than as a concert pianist. She came to New York City in November 1953. Before modeling she worked as a waitress in a diner.

She joined the Home Theatre Group of professional performers who put on plays at a private theater in Hollywood. Ruth Warrick and Mark Herron were also members. Parrish believed the experience of facing a live audience made her a better actress and more capable of transforming a scripted part into a three-dimensional human being.

Parrish signed with 20th Century Fox in 1954, when she was 19. The studio gave her statistics as 5 feet 6 inches, with measurements of 35-24-34. Her hair is reddish gold, and she has gray eyes with a cream complexion. In May 1956, Parrish signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.