Use in Popular Culture
Several modern musical acts have named themselves after this old-time phenomenon, including Old Crow Medicine Show, Dr. West's Medicine Show and Junk Band, Blues,funk rock band "Moondog Medicine Show, Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show, and MV & EE Medicine Show. It also lent its name to The Dream Syndicate's album Medicine Show, to Big Audio Dynamite's song "Medicine Show," and The Band's "W.S. Walcott Medicine Show". Throughout 2010 and 2011, the hip hop artist Madlib released a 12-part mix series with the title "Madlib Medicine Show."
The alternative rock artist Placebo refers to a medicine show in their song "Twenty Years" on the album Once More With Feeling.
Science fiction author Orson Scott Card titled his online sci-fi journal "The Intergalactic Medicine Show".
British comedy trio The Goodies performed a scene as part of "The Goodies Travelling Medicine Show" in an episode of their series entitled Hospital For Hire. The scene included a plant from the audience (Tim) being pulled from the audience to 'prove' that the mystery elixir cured all ailments.
In Rockstar's videogame Red Dead Redemption, one of the main characters plays the role of a early 20th century hustler peddling what John Marston refers to as snake oil.
On the album Everything You Know Is Wrong by the comedy troupe The Firesign Theatre, the recording's narrator plays a wire recording of a medicine show featuring a "Dr. Firesign" promoting "Chief Dancing Knockout's Pyramid Pushover Paste" and "Don Bruhaha's Inca Hell-Oil Tonic".
In The Simpsons episode, "Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy," Homer and Grampa Simpsons travel across country, giving medicine shows for their aphrodisiac, "Simpson and Son's Tonic."
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