The comedy album was a staple at adult gatherings during the mid to latter 20th century.

Known informally as “party records,” these stand-up comedy recordings rivaled popular music as the background sound of choice at house parties.

Albums by the likes of Redd Foxx, Richard Pryor, Bill Cosby, George Carlin and other popular stand-ups and comedy duos often featured bawdy riffs on controversial topics, as well as X-Rated or so-called “blue” material.

These were the records that found their way to the turntable and needle after the children were tucked in bed and the drink cart was rolled out.

“Party records” were a staple in African-American households. Red Foxx is the name most often associated with the genre. Foxx released more than 50 albums from the 1950s through the 1970s party record heyday.

Comedy in the new millennium is delivered to listeners and viewers in various formats: podcasts, streaming services, audio files, YouTube, compact discs and, to a lesser extent, the once dominant vinyl record.

And, comedy is more accessible than ever on late-night TV chat shows, theater stages, festivals and, of course, comedy clubs. On any given night, club comics can be found hawking CDs of their material after their sets. The comedy recording has moved from late-night house parties, to the car, the gym-goer’s headphones, and those ubiquitous voice-assistant devices.

Kathleen Madigan, returning to the State Theatre Center for the Arts, Easton, 8 p.m. March 24 on her “Boxed Wine and Bigfoot,” tour has managed to consistently rise to the top of a crowded comedy crop.

Her latest hour-long comedy special, “Bothering Jesus,” is streaming on Netflix. Madigan also released an album of the same title this past February where it quickly became her best-selling comedy album since 2014.

The album, as of publication, holds the No. 1 spot atop the Billboard Comedy Album charts and cracked the coveted Billboard Top 200 album list, reaching position 138. It debuted at No. 1 on Neilson SoundScan Comedy Charts and the iTunes charts.

“I’m hoping to get to at least six weeks [at No. 1 on the Billboard Comedy Charts]. Then it’s fine whatever happens after that,” says Madigan during a phone interview.

Fans of Madigan know she has a fascination for mysteries like the case of missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 and folklore like the Loch Ness Monster. She has touched upon these topics in past performances, including her Netflix special.

When asked if she has a fondness for conspiracy theories, as well, she says, “Not so much because those spin out into complete and total chaos, I think. Those go too far. It’s just nonsense at some point. I don’t really go down those roads too much. God love everybody who has the patience for it, but I just don’t have the patience for it.”

Madigan maintains a busy touring schedule, performing at least 250 dates annually in between her other projects. She recently appeared in Season 7, Episode 3 of Jerry Seinfeld’s fun series, “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.” Seinfeld, Madigan and her friend, fellow comic Chuck Martin, zipped around Los Angeles in a rare Baikal Blue 1972 BMW 2002tii.

Seinfeld compared Madigan to the best qualities of the car, saying, “She is small, practical and fun. She makes a lot of sense, but not too much sense. Just enough to be hilarious.”

When Madigan has rare moments of downtime from her busy comedy schedule she enjoys unwinding at her rustic cabin in the wilds of Missouri. “There are creeks and four-wheeling trails. It’s the woods,” she says about her retreat where she spends time doing, in her words, “rednecky things,” with her large Irish family. “It’s like 300 acres of the woods. There’s a hunting cabin. My uncles go hunting out there.

“There’s a clearing and I’ll take my nieces and nephews out and they can shoot BB guns and we’ll go for hikes. There are trails. My dad rented Bobcats and made four-wheeling trails for the kids.”

Asked if she makes her hunting cabin a full-time home, she replies, “Nobody’s living in the hunting cabin. My mom won’t even spend the night because there are mice.”

Madigan is a skilled golfer and enjoys hitting the links with fellow comedians and her close friends Lewis Black and Ron White. “I’m a really good golfer. I can beat Lewie and Ron. People probably wouldn’t think that.”

Another talent that Madigan’s fans probably don’t associate her with is fishmonger. “I can clean any fish in five minutes or less,” she laughs.

When Madigan’s tour stops in Easton, she enjoys visiting local establishments. “There’s a shop in Easton, The Mercantile [Home]. They’ve just got really cool, weird stuff in there,” she says.

“Then I go up to the [Center] Square. I walk up there. There’s an Irish bar [Pearly Baker’s] there.

“That whole downtown seems to be coming back to life in a good way.

“It’s a fun night out,” she says of her performance at the State Theatre. “It’s just fun to go out and see something live every now and then.”

Tickets: State Theatre Center for the Arts box office, 453 Northampton St., Easton; statetheatre.org; 1-800-999-7828; 610-252-3132