Long before his tart tongue and questionable statements would bring him national infamy, before his struggles with drugs pushed him over a precipice or his feud with Howard Stern became the stuff of legend, this Texas-born, NYC-based DJ was one of the originators of the shock-jock ouvre.

This 1974 record captures the I-Man at a young age, just as he was honing a schtick that balanced quirky political commentary with edgy urban and religious characters of Imus's own creation.