WFMU's Beware of the Blog

Moving the Reel to Reel Catacombs to a New Site - A Very Special Last Post - Featuring Dora Hall!!

There is pure magic to be experienced, at least when you're in luck. Here's how it starts: Turn on the reel to reel tape recorder. Take the tape out of the box. Put the empty reel on the right spindle, and the full reel on the left spindle. Wind the tape through the mechanisms - including the pinch rollers, the capstan and the rest. The tape is pressed against the heads and moves at a certain number of inches per second. Start the machine. And sometimes... if you're lucky... magic comes spilling out of the speakers. 

For over five years (of my total of 7 1/2 years of posting here), I have been sharing treasures, finds, weirdness and the indescribable from my basement reel to reel catacombs, under a series going by that title. It began in March of 2010 with this post, and ends (for this blog), with the 67th entry, which is today's post. This blog is closing in a matter of days, and there will, at that point, be no further posts, changes or ability to comment. 

Before getting to today's post, which is a true favorite of mine, I want to say that it is my intention to continue this series, perhaps on a even more frequent basis, at a new site which I have started up this week, a blog I'm calling "Inches Per Second". That site can be found here, and I have already started posting with an initial post titled "A Gaggle of Giggling Twelve Year Olds". Please stop by, if you're of a mind to, and let me know whether or not the audience is there for me to continue sharing this particular area of collecting. 

As mentioned last week, I also hope to expand my current blog, "The Wonderful and the Obscure", beyond its current focus on song-poems, and bring in some of the other, non reel wonders from my collection. 

And now, on with the countdown: 

Several times, over the years, both in the 365 days project and in my own posts, I've mentioned the wondrous, late and lamented ALS Mammoth Music Mart, which ran in Skokie, IL, for 25 years, every fall. The most magical tapes I found at that sale are the ones featuring Merigail Moreland, You can read about the ALS sale and some initial information about Merigail in this post, and read the rest of the Merigail story in this post. 

But the second most wonderful find I made at the ALS sale is one I've rarely mentioned to anyone, and for which I've only shared the actual recordings with two people that I recall. For these tapes contain the sessions for an album by everyone's favorite Vanity Singer, Dora Hall, sessions that, as far as I can tell, were never released. And that's a shame because, for once, she was backed by a small combo of crack musicians, and, for one session, an big jazz band. Here's what I saw on one of the tapes I bought: 

Not familiar with Dora Hall? Read about her here, here and here, hear her within this site here and here, and search youtube for all sorts of amazing Dora material.  

The man behind these sessions was Chicago jazzman Larry Taylor. I have previously featured multiple posts featuring Mr. Taylor, and those tapes were also found at the ALS sale - clearly someone in his family dumped all of his tapes on the good people at the ALS fundraiser, because at the same time that I found those tapes, I also found close to a dozen tapes labeled "Dora Hall Session" and "Dora - Memphis" and "D.H" Session", and "Instrumental Takes - Dora". I gave them a spin, and heard.... magic, just as described at the start of this post.

These were the session tapes - with dates on them from the Fall of 1961 - at the studio speed of 15 inches per second (a few were 7 1/2 safety copies)  and featuring multiple takes of many songs (many more repeated songs by the band on the instrumental tapes than there were on the tapes where Dora overdubbed vocals, but just in general a lot of material). The band was made up of crack jazz musicians, with much of the material having a Dixieland feel. I own a ton of Dora Hall's albums and singles, and most of it has been captured online over the years, as well. If this material was ever released, I haven't found it. And it's better than anything else I've heard from her. 

First, before we get to Dora's vocals, here is one of the instrumental tracks from the Larry Taylor group that show just how good this band could be. Sadly, this one wasn't chosen for use under a Dora Hall vocal overdub, because I adore this track. It's my favorite from the tapes, actually, over any of the vocal tracks. It is just a backing track, but I love the back and forth between the "rock and roll" (twist) verses and the swinging bridge. But most of all, the trumpet solo - which sounds like it could have come from Clifford Brown - just kills me. It's sexy as hell, smooth and full of just amazing little melodic ideas. The last two bars of that solo are otherworldly. I also can't get enough of the little hi-hat and snare shot at the 2:19 point. I'm blathering, but these are the last thing I'll be posting to Beware of the Blog, and this particular track is one of my favorite things I've ever heard roll off of a reel of tape. 

The Larry Taylor Band - Between 18th and 19th on Chestnut Street (Instrumental) (MP3)

And now, a few samples from Dora's vocal sessions - I wouldn't be opposed to putting all of this out in some manner, and if anyone out there has the means to do so, in a larger venue than a blog, feel free to contact me at the e-mail address below. But for the time being, here are a few wonderful samples. The first three tracks are with the jazz combo (the first being over a different, swing take of "18th and 19th), and the fourth is from what's labeled as the "United Session", whatever that means - the tracks on those tapes feature Dora with a full jazz ensemble. To my ears, these tapes show Dora to have considerably more talent than her subsequent covers of pop hits (or later, less well made covers of these standards) demonstrate. Or maybe it's just the first-rate quality of the band(s) involved. 

Dora Hall with the Larry Taylor Band - Between 18th and 19th on Chestnut Street (MP3)

Dora Hall with the Larry Taylor Band - Nellie Bly (MP3)

Dora Hall with the Larry Taylor Band - Shine (MP3)

Dora Hall with Orchestra - That's a Plenty (MP3)

Back of Tape Box (JPG)  | Side of Tape Box (JPG)

Why wasn't this material ever released? Who knows? - most of those involved have been gone for decades. it is curious to me that Dora Hall released mediocre and just plain lousy material for more than a decade, while this material languished somewhere in Larry Taylor's home. 

You should be able to leave comments until July 30th. After that, you can contact me via either of my blogs, or via the e-mail address below. 

bobpurse@gmail.com

Thanks to everyone who read, liked and/or commented on my posts for the past several years. Having the chance to be a part of this blog has been one of the best things to have happened in my life. 

Bob Purse

Pot, Rock and Revolution - Another Reactionary Filmstrip Soundtrack (MP3's)

First off, I want to thank everyone for reading, liking and commenting on my posts on this blog over the years. When I first joined the original 365 Days project (2003), and then the subsequent WFMU hosted 2007 sequel, I had no idea that I'd be invited to start posting on my own early in 2008, starting with this post, let alone that this experience would inspire me to turn my own blog into a song-poem-palooza, or that I'd still be posting here 7 1/2 years later.

All that is in advance of saying that this is my next to last post, because, as you may have heard, the blog is being put to sleep at the end of the month. All posts will remain, but no new ones will appear. This will be my next to last post - the last will be a very special reel to reel tape feature, along with an announcement of a site where I will continue to share reel treasures. For now, I will say that it is my plan and expectation to continue to share vinyl wonders through an expansion of my own blog, adding to the weekly song-poem postings with regular postings of more of the sorts of things that I've been sharing here for the better part of the decade. Starting in August, those posts will appear at my site, "The Wonderful and the Obscure".

Today, however, we have a sequel to a post I made in May, regarding a filmstrip soundtrack for a screed against the people behind a textbook called "Land of the Free". Almost immediately after making that posting, it received a comment from a person who had found another record, apparently from the same organization (who had apparently changed their name to "Constructive Action, Inc.) in the ensuing years, this time trying to scare middle class parents half to death with scary tales of marijuana use and rock and roll.

In listening to this album, I'm reminded of the saying that you are entitled to your own opinions, but not to your own facts. Plenty of the "facts" quoted here seem completely made up, none more than the statement that 40-50% of the young people who were smoking marijuana at that time, would be on heroin within 18 months. That's the most outlandish, but it's hardly the only time the narrator flies off the deep end - he also all but accuses Mick Jagger (who he repeatedly calls "Jaggard") of being to blame for the Manson family murders. It's also always good to base one's views of marijuana on the laws and cultures of such places as Egypt and Morocco.

Oh, but the opinions here, and the leaps of logic made from them, are even more fun. The entire youth subculture is the fault of a few hundred nihilistic students at Berkeley. The major networks and record labels should be charged with treason for creating and promoting what would otherwise be a non-existent "Generation Gap". Once you've had sex while high, regular sex is so disappointing, you have to keep getting high, then seek ever higher highs, until you simply can't function - and this happens to everyone who smokes marijuana. The cartoon cover of the "Yellow Submarine" album (which, by the way, the Beatles had little to do with) shows that John Lennon is a Satanist. And I'm sure the Smothers Brothers will be surprised to find out that their popular and controversial show was apparently on NBC. After all those years of conflict with CBS - they were fighting the wrong people!!!

This thing is ridiculous, but it sure is entertaining. And a huge thank you to Chester for making me aware of this album, and even more for sharing it with me and letting me post it. 

Constructive Action, Inc. - Pot Rock Revolution, Side One (MP3)

Constructive Action, Inc. - Pot Rock Revolution, Side Two (MP3)

Album Cover Sticker (JPG)  |  Record Label Side One (JPG)

Comments can be left below through the 30th, after which they can be sent to bobpurse@gmail.com

Bob

Johnny Cash and Friends Present: Singing Rice-Ipes (MP3's)

Here's a little little seven inch flexidisc, titled "Singing Rice-Ipes", containing seven songs about all of the wonderful things you can make with rice, featuring Johnny Cash, among others, singing brief ditties in support of Riviana foods (here spelled "Rivianna"), makers of Minute Rice and a number of other rice prodects. This disc came along with an album, released by Columbia Special Products, titled "Nashville Chowdown", and also came with a list of seven recipes ("Rice-Ipes"), one for each of the dishes described in the seven songs. Neither the album nor the recipe sheet made their way to my collection, unfortunately.

I am not much of a fan of the country music made in this era (this was released in 1970, and my interest in country dies out with the decline of Roger Miller's career, a few years earlier), and admit up front that I only recognize Johnny Cash, who is the lead singer on three of these tracks. Presumably, the other four tracks also feature Columbia Records talent - feel free to chime in with the names of these vocalists. 

(ADDENDUM 7/9/15 - As pointed out by a couple of listeners (and as something I actually wondered about, but did not add to my original text), it appears that this is not actually Johnny Cash (or other famous singers), but rather, impersonators. Why Columbia would risk alienating the stars on their own label is a mystery to me, but this appears to be the case.)

Some of these items sound darn tasty, although I find the idea of making pancakes with rice really unpleasant.

All but one of the songs song run well under two minutes, most under 90 seconds. The first four songs are on side one, and the other three on side two (which is in considerably worse shape than side one - I did my best with the surface noise). 

1.) Houston Hash (MP3)

2.) Sunnyside Rice (MP3)

3.) Cripple Creek Casserole (MP3)

4.) Texarkana_Rice (MP3)

5.) Blue Ridge Flap-Jacks (MP3)

6.) Skillet Gumbo (MP3)

7.) Hopping John (MP3)

Record A-Side Label (JPG)   |   Record B-Side Label (JPG)

Seeing Color TV for the First Time - A Tape from 1966 (Exploring My Reel-to-Reel Catacombs, Volume 66) (MP3)

I'm not quite old enough to clearly remember the point at which my family got a color TV, and suddenly not everything was in black-and-white. But my guess is that anyone a couple of years older than me or more (I'm about to turn 55) has a clear memory of that moment. 

Here, then, is a tape from my own family's home-recorded collection (a large set of tapes by the way, one which no doubt set me on the road to collection those made by other families). 

The tape dates from the first week of August, 1966 (the ability to date it so closely will be mentioned below), and features me older brother recording with a friend of his. This was his common practice, and became mine, with my friends, as I grew a little older. My brother (Bill) is heard here at 12 years old, his friend about the same. We'd had a color TV for some time, but the friend (Steve) had apparently yet to see TV in color. 

Essentially, this tape captures segments of about six minutes of broadcasting (with much cut due to the recorder being turned off and on), including bits of a game show, a newscast and commercials, as well as what anyone seeing TV in color for the first time in 1966 would want to see most, the NBC Peacock. 

If you can get past the constant noise from handling of the microphone, and the various inanities and noises made by 12 year old boys, this is a neat little time capsule in just under four minutes. 

Some specific highlights: 

    - at 0:13: "Ooh, it's a color TV? I wanna see a color TV"

    - at 0:29 (and again at 1:02): Moments from the original incarnation of "The Match Game"

    - at 039: an ad for New Era Potato Chips and a subsequent discussion of them by the boys

    - at 1:27: the original Match Game theme (aka "A Swingin' Safari"). An indelible, wonderful tune and record, and still my favorite game show theme song ever. 

    - at 2:01: easily my favorite moment here - a comment in response to a "Girl from U.N.C.L.E." ad. 

    - at 2.06: Bill expresses his absolute hatred for the show "Occasional Wife". His strong reaction is odd, given that the show won't debut for another five weeks. 

    - starting at 2:34: here's a neat discussion, with regard to something I'd forgotten. The UHF channels (at least those in Chicago), didn't necessarily have shows that ran hour-to-hour. If a show ended at 2:40, the channel went dead until the next show started at 3 PM. Steve wants to see a UHF channel in color, but neither Chicago UHF station seems to be broadcasting. There is a weak signal from Indiana (Bill says we also could get Milwaukee), but it's mostly just sound. The Chicago stations will likely start up again at 3, but Bill wants to get back to NBC for the peacock. 

    - at 3:12: "that's Nancy Dickerson?" Also, whoever is reporting is talking about the recent University of Texas Tower Shootings of August 1st, which give us an approximate date for this tape. 

    - at 3:36: at last, the NBC Peacock. 

I hope you enjoy this neat little nugget of television history, as experienced in the suburbs of Chicago. 

Bill and Steve: Seeing Color TV for the First Time (JPG)

Scotty Scott and his Vanity 45 (MP3's)

The Film City label is one which utterly fascinates me. It was the label Sandy Stanton created after The Fabulous Fable Label, which I've written about here a few times. And it's where song-poem God Rodd Keith got his start and made many of my favorite song-poem records, using The Chamberlin as a one-man band project like no one else has done before or since. (I've posted many of them on my own site, and I'd link you to them, but unfortunately, recent problems with Divshare have rendered nearly all of the files on my site unplayable.)

Every now and then, Film City seems to have done business with someone who wanted to record his or her own material. More often than not, this seems to have involved utilizing the abilities of that same Chamberlin, which was, quite likely, played on those records by Rodd Keith. They typically feature the same wording as the song-poems that Film City produced, with such backing bands as "The Film City Orchestra" or, as in today's case, "The Swinging Strings". All such fictional bands actually being one man playing one unusual instrument. 

I've previously posted two Film City vanity 45's, one created by a man who clearly didn't know how very little he knew about songwriting, and one by a woman who seems to have known that she was making something fairly goofy. It also seems likely, as a friend of mine has pointed out, that the fabulous record I posted many years ago - "Can I Pawn My Teeth to You" / "Man Do I Like Fridays", by Roy Esser, has the sound and feel of Rodd Keith's Film City productions. Although it did not appear on Film City (Stanton created all sorts of tiny labels as offshoots of Film City), I'm betting that one came out of the Stanton/Keith file, too. 

Today, another Film City record from the vanity file, and again it's someone who was from the amateur end of things. His name was Scotty Scott, and captured on the two sides of this 45 are a multitude of stultifying couplets. Having written my share of lyrics over the years, I know the feeling of needing to come up with something that rhymes, scans well, makes sense and sounds good. With the lyricist of this record, it often sounds like he settled for "well, it rhymes", including phrases which seem pulled out of thin air, random and non-sequitorial. 

An example: The A-side is titled "Chattanooga, Nashville, Battlecreek Trek", and if you can manage to figure out the point of this song, please let me know. He rambles on about people getting jobs and where they've been and where they are for 2 1/2 minutes, along the way offering up this magnificent rhyme. 

"One man gets a job, then his brother gets one, too

Then his Uncle Bob, with or without a shoe."

The B-side is "Antique Hunter's Craze". This tells the story of a married couple who threw away all their old things way back when, only to become antique collectors later in life, sung from the perspective of the couple's son, who is none too happy about this development. We are told: 

You ought to see them when the find a bauble that's rare

Their eyes light up with a smile that before wasn't there. 

I particularly like that one because it just doesn't scan with the melody at all. 

Scotty Scott and the "Swinging Strings" - Chattanooga, Nashville, Battlecreek Trek (MP3)

Scotty Scott and the "Swinging Strings" - Antique Hunter's Craze (MP3)

A--Side Label (JPG)  |  B-Side Label (JPG)

Incidentally, this record was pressed on translucent dark red plastic, with a splash of yellow in one spot along the edge. I don't know how much you can make out, but here is a scan of the entire record: 

Film City 45 (JPG)

Land of the Free - A Filmstrip About a Controversial Textbook (Exploring My Reel-to-Reel Catacombs, Volume 65) (MP3)

Here's an example of how I really never know what I'm going to stumble across when I go down and pull out a few random tapes from the vast piles of as-yet-unlistened-to reels in my basement. This was labeled "Education or Indoctrination", and contained very little other identifying information. Here's the story I learned: 

In 1966, a textbook arrived which attempted to focus on many of the things which had been overlooked in history textbooks up until that time. Titled "Land of the Free", and written by John W. Caughey, John Hope Franklin and Ernest R. May, it quickly became the target of many parents, educators, commentators and politicians, primarily conservatives, and even more primarily those on the far right.

The complaints were many, but (and this is a huge simplification) among other things, those complaints dealt with the minimizing (to the point of not mentioning, in some cases) the achievements of many famous Americans in the areas of war and politics, the playing up of the things that Americans have done of which we might not want to be so proud, and an emphasis on the roles that certain members of certain minority groups have played in the country's history. You can read online at length about the controversy regarding this textbook - by 1967, there was even a book describing the controversy! 

Into the fray marched something called "Publius and Associates", and they created a filmstrip to show to concerned parents and educators, all about the horrors of this textbook. The soundtrack to that filmstrip is what turned up in my collection, complete with the little "beeps", that those of us over a certain age remember from grade school.

Not having seen the book, I can't offer much of an opinion. But the first half of this filmstrip soundtrack makes a decent case that the book is woefully incomplete and perhaps deliberately provocative - one paragraph in a US 1966 history book discussing Eisenhower? But soon enough, the true nature of the narrators concerns becomes clear, as we are treated to complaints about which African Americans are focused on, including that Communist Martin Luther King and the radical W.E.B. Dubois, rather than that nice, non-threatening Booker T. Washington. And then there's the complaint that the book is critical of the HUAC/McCarthyism period of American history. Horrors. There are enough code words and insinuations here to make clear what was really on the minds of those behind this filmstrip and narration, even if some of their complaints do appear completely legitimate.

My copy of this tape also includes a postscript, apparently attached to the tape (and presumably to the filmstrip) by whoever was showing this filmstrip in California. It gives the names of those who approved (and voted against) the use of this book in California's Eighth Grade classrooms, and encourages people to vote their consciences when these people come up for re-election. This section also contains the most flaccid sounding filmstrip "beeps" that I've ever heard. 

Here, by the way, is a blurb announcing the presentation of the filmstrip in Pittsburgh, in 1968, by the wonderfully named Western Pennsylvania Parents to protect our youth from Propaganda, Brainwashing and Subversive Textbooks in our Schools. And here's a blog posting regarding two other Publius efforts, pamphlets called "The Hippies" and "Sex-Ed: Conditioning for Immorality". Wow.

By the way, in doing research about this book, I found out two interesting things. First, several minorities not represented well in the book also complained about some of the things this book focused on, saying that if you were going to write an alternative history to counteract the prevailing language in textbook, you shouldn't continue to pick and choose what to leave out. And second, the fallout from this book was that history textbooks got a lot bigger, as future publishers strove to include not only what had always been in previous books, but also to include the history of the marginalized, the obscure, the negative, etc. 

Interesting stuff!

Oh, and comments are back!!!

Publius and Associates - Education or Indoctrination? (MP3)

Tape Box (JPG)

That English Sound!!! Sounding Not At All English!!!! (MP3's)

Here's one of the myriad albums which came out in the wake of the British Invasion, purporting to contain hits by your latest favorite groups, particularly the Beatles. While I found a few sites which shared this marvelous album cover, and several sites trying to sell the album (which I picked up for a quarter), it doesn't look like the material itself has been shared anywhere, with one exception (I'll get to that in a few paragraphs). While most of the other albums that I've seen or owned which tried to glom onto the Beatles magic are from 1964, this one would appear to date from some point after December of 1965, given the presence of both sides of the Beatles 45 release in that month. 

This is, as you might expect, as half-assed as they come. At no point do the performers sound anything like the original artists, OR like they are from anywhere in England. We are treated to one song each by the Rolling Stones and by Herman's Hermits (the latter featuring a truly atrocious attempt at Peter Noone's accent, and no attempt to recreate his vocal tone), and four Beatle songs from 1965. Amazingly, they manage to mangle key lyrical phrases in both "Help!" and "Day Tripper".

Three of the remaining four songs are mysteries, perhaps included to try and fill out what ended up only being a 25 minute album. On "Where Were You", the performers seem to have made the questionable decision to try to emulate the group I'd pick as the worst major group of the era, Jay and the Americans - not only an awful group, but also certainly not English. "You Make the Decisions" seems to want to be a Peter and Gordon song, while "Just Give Me Time" is clearly a Beach Boys pastiche - again, not noted for being British.

That leaves the final track, and the real mystery of this album. Because "Bless You Little Girl" turns out to have actually been released - and this performance of it, too - not once, but twice, under two different artist names. The song was co-written by well known songwriter Bobby Russell, and came out under the name Bobby and Buddy and also by Peter and the Rabits (sic). I've listened to all three releases, and believe they are all the same track. How did that song end up on this album? 

And did any of these labels make their money back. There was clearly talent involved in these releases - bands, string sections, etc. Were enough people fooled to help earn the costs of such a product back? 

1.) We Can Work It Out (MP3)

2.) As Tears Go By (MP3)

3.) Yesterday (MP3)

4.) Where Were You? (MP3)

5.) You Make the Decisions (MP3)

6.) Help! (MP3)

7.) Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter (MP3)

8.) Day Tripper (MP3)

9.)Just Give Me Time (MP3)

10.) Bless You Little Girl (MP3)

Front Cover (JPG)  |  Back Cover (JPG)  |  Record Label (JPG)

Oh, and COMMENTS ARE BACK!!! Have Your Say!!!

Greetings from the San Fernando Valley, 1965: An Audio Letter (Exploring My Reel-to-Reel Catacombs, Volume 64) (MP3's)

In my vast collection of reel to reel tapes, there are dozens, perhaps even a few hundred, audio letters. I've shared several of them here over the years, and today, here's an admittedly mundane one as another example of the sort of "day in the life" quality that these tapes present. 

The one thing I do find sort of fascinating about this particular tape is the woman's accent. It sounds close in certain ways to Jack Nicholson's drawl, without being quite the same, and she also has a way of adding a pause in the middle of a word after certain vowel sounds, especially "O", essentially adding another syllable as a result. 

This is just life as she knew it in the mid 1960's - wondering about the effectiveness of those new Teflon pans, theater shows she and her husband had gone to at the local theater, sharing her life and asking about that of the person receiving the tape. 

The woman making the tape mentions her difficulty in using reel to reel tape recorders a few times, and, in fact, I've had to boost the sound quite a bit in some sections of the recording, as she left the volume far too low for nearly half of the recording. This accounts for the changes in sound quality that take place. After using the entire length of side one of the tape, she turned it over and recorded for a few more minutes on the flip side. 

This tape is from 1965.. She mentions that it is June 20th (coincidentally, my birthday!), and that it was Father's Day. The mention of the increasing numbers of soldiers being sent to Vietnam makes this the only likely year in which Father's Day was on June 20th. In addition, she mentions going to see Buddy Ebsen in "Paint Your Wagon" at the Valley Theater, which I've been able to confirm took place at a theater by that name in Woodland Hills, CA, the same week this tape was recorded. This also places the speaker somewhere in the San Fernando Valley. 

Unknown - Audio Letter from the San Fernando Valley Side One (MP3)

Unknown - Audio Letter from the San Fernando Valley Side Two (MP3)

Tape Box (JPG)

Stanford's Spring Sing '68: "The Rights of Spring" (MP3's)

First, I wanted to point out to anyone who read my previous post, about the mysterious rock and roll songs, thall ALL of them have been identified. The updated post can be found here. And now, on with the countdown: 

I was lucky enough to come across this album last year, the locally produced soundtrack to a show held at Stanford in 1968, and titled "Spring Sing: 'The Rights of Spring'". In different ways, this album is entertaining, eye-opening and not much short of astonishing. 

I was only seven in the spring of 1968, but with the history I'm aware of, it seems likely to me that, aside from perhaps the first three weeks of that season, it was not a very happy, lighthearted spring season. No doubt the murder of Dr. King on April 4 of that year more than took the wind out of the country's sails. 

And yet here we have the recorded evidence of a celebratory college show, held at Stanford that Spring. My strong guess is that it took place after Dr. King's death and most likely after the most extreme of the reactions and fallout from that event (given that most schools hold an even of this type close to the end of the semester), and if that's the case, I find the lighthearted nature of much of this material more than a little surprising. The bottom line is that I found myself listening to this album just short of shocked at how little it seems to reflect the issues of the day. 

Well, now, not all issues. The first track, "We've Got Trouble" contains some biting words about the privilege of being White, and makes several jabs at this and related issues, so clearly the problems of the day were not unknown to these young people. 

The other issue touched on, though, in several tracks, is the relationship between the sexes on campus. While the soon-to-be coming of co-ed dorms is excitedly mentioned multiple times, I was more taken with the tracks which casually, with attempted good humor and complete acceptance, make light of the possibility of co-eds getting drunk and being taken advantage of, or just in general the question of when and how will the lovely young lady get home. And this occurs without critical comment in songs by both men and women's groups on the album. Looked at through today's lens, I can't imagine that these songs would have made it into the show in these forms, or that if they somehow did, heads wouldn't have rolled the next day. 

That's not to say that this album is a horror of unabashed sexism and cluelessness, just that nearly half the time, there seems to be only one thought on the performers' minds, and it is expressed in a way that I don't think would fly today. There are plenty of nice moments, funny moments and enjoyable musical moments here. On the other hand, there are a few straight numbers, uniformly dull and uninspired (one is labeled "Renditions of Simon and Garfunkel", but could have just as well be labeled "Sounds of Silence" as that's all it is). 

A few other notes: The track "My Lord and Master" is the second track on side two, as indicated on the label, and not the fourth track, as indicated on the cover. And there is no mention of the little speech the ends the album, on the cover or the label. What's odd here is that the person speaking seems to be introducing the next act as he finishes speaking, except that.... that's where the album ends! 

1.) Jordan/El Capitan – We've Got Trouble (MP3)

2.) Business School – Goodnight Little Girl/I Should Have Known Better/ Goin’ to Live with God (MP3)

3.) Lathrop - The Simple Joys (MP3)

4.) Delta Upsilon - Renditions of Simon & Garfunkel (MP3)

5.) Alpha Delta Phi – I've Been Waiting For Spring (MP3)

6.) Fremont - Getting the Cure (MP3)

7.) Soto - My Lord and Master (MP3)

8.) Kappa Sigma/Roth - The Wrongs of Spring (MP3)

9.) Roble - Death of the Roble Dollie (MP3)

10.) El Toro - Conception of Stanford (Blown By the Winds of Freedom (MP3)

11.) Unknown - Announcement at End of Album (MP3)

Here are the covers and the labels: 

Stanford Label A-Side (JPG)  |  Stanford Label B-Side (JPG)  

Stanford Front Cover (JPG)  |  Stanford Back Cover (JPG)  |  Stanford Back Cover Close Up (JPG)

Comments can be sent to bobpurse@gmail.com

A Few Mysterious Rock and Roll Obscurities, Circa 1959 (Exploring My Reel-to-Reel Catacombs, Volume 63) (MP3's)

STOP THE PRESSES: All of the songs featured in the post have been identified by several helpful correspondents. Read on for the answers, in Bold, below!!!

Over 15 years ago, I was at yet another large rummage sale somewhere, and came across a tape in a metal cannister (the type more typically used to hold 8mm films), labeled simply "Rock and Roll". This, of course, could have been anything from early Rock and R & B, to Beach Boys albums to 1970's stadium rock and beyond, but it certainly the sort of thing I would take a chance on. 

It turned out to be a recording of about 60 (mostly) rock and roll singles, many apparently recorded off the radio (based on snippets of DJ chatter and AM electrical interference here and there). But the odd thing was that these were not the standard "biggest hits" I've come across on nearly every other tape featuring old rock and roll that I've come across.

A handful of songs would be immediately familiar to anyone who enjoys the music of the era - all of them from 1959, dating the tape nicely. Another quarter of the songs might be known to people with a more intimate knowledge of that period - non-hits by Chuck Berry, The Poni-Tales, Ritchie Valens, Bobby Darin, Bobby Day, Art and Dotty Todd, and several others that I've been able to identify with the help of the internet in the ensuing years. What was remarkable to me was the sheer number of non-hits and tracks I still can't identify. Whoever made this tape managed to capture - in about 40 of the 60 tracks - records which were not national hits. And yet most of these seemed to be off-the-radio recordings, meaning that either the area in which they were recorded had a ton of regional hits, or that the person recording was lucky enough to listen to a station which had an unusually large playlists. 

As I've winnowed the songs I can't identify, over the years, I've been left with about a dozen, including a few that I really enjoy, and one that I just adore. So I'm putting the word out to all of those out there who also know and love this period in American music, and might know who/what a few of these are. I'm offering up six today. 

The second track on the tape - and the one I've never grown tired of listening to - is an alternate version of a song recorded by Robin Luke in 1959 or 1960, titled "Well Oh, Well Oh (Don't You Know)". It seems unlikely that someone would do a cover a of a song which was on a failed 45 by an artist who had only had one hit, so perhaps this was the original version and/or perhaps regional hit. I have tried, on two occasions, to find out who this performer might be, from noted experts in early rock and roll, and they were both stumped. I love the energy of this record, the vocal - which owes something to both Elvis and Buddy Holly - the Bo Diddley beat of the verses, and rimshot kicking it into the swinging chorus. I could do without the honking sax, but otherwise, it's just about perfect, and immeasurably better than the rather toothless Robin Luke version, which you can hear here.  

Unknown - Well Oh, Well (Don’t You Know) (MP3)

As it turns out, I was unable to find this song because Robin Luke's people changed the title. The above is the original track, titled "Well Don't You Know" performed by the song's writer, George Weston, in 1959!

My second favorite track on the tape was a nonsense/novelty record which I've titled "Great Scott", which is probably not correct. It's full of silly, fake words, and someone shouting more ridiculous verbiage with a ton of reverb. 

Unknown - Great Scott (?) (MP3)

This is actually "Crazy Talk" by the Loafers!

There are four more tracks from the tape that interest me enough to want to know what they are. I have guessed at the titles of three of the four, and have no idea on the fourth. I hope these (and the two above) are of interest to readers/listeners like me who love this era of American music (despite, in my case, the fact that these records come from the year before I was born!!). Most of the tracks start moments after the actual start of the record, and those are technically incomplete. But the final track, below, seems to be missing perhaps half of its length, and, being that it's an instrumental, I have no idea how to identify it, unless it's by someone who knows the track already. 

Unknown - Wanna Dance (?) (MP3)

That's "Wanna Dance" by Frank Pizani!

Unknown - Tra La La (?) (MP3)

That's "Ooh-Sha-Lala" by Mickey and Kitty!

Unknown - Sweet Shop (?) (MP3)

That's "Sweet Shop" by Randy Stevens!

Unknown - Unknown Instrumental (incomplete) MP3)

That's "Rockin' Crickets" by Hot-Toddys (featuring Bill Pernell)!

Rock and Roll Tape Can (JPG)

If anyone knows the remaining mystery song, or if you just want to offer up a comment - at bobpurse@gmail.com.

Special thanks to Lee R., Ken E., Steve C., Stewart B., Bruce M., Rich M., and Hellodes, who each offered up suggestions and/or answers to the mysteries of this obscure roll of tape!

B. L. Mellinger Scams You at 33 1/3 RPM (MP3's)

Here's a cute little red, seven inch, 33 1/3 RPM record, featuring (after a cutesy bit with a female receptionist) the voice of Mr. B. L. Mellinger, president of the Mellinger company. He's going to tell you how to become a big wheel in the import-export game. 

My guess is this was a pyramid scheme, but if not that, at best it sounds to me like a pretty shady deal - some sort of out and out scam. I wonder how many people took up this offer, and how "immediately" one could act, if one were responding to a record, in order to get the best Mr. Mellinger was offering. 

B. L. Mellinger, Jr. - Here Is My Personal Message, Side One (MP3)

B. L. Mellinger, Jr. - Here Is My Personal Message, Side Two (MP3)

Record Label Side A (JPG)  |  Record Label Side B (JPG)

Comments can be sent to bobpurse@gmail.com

Franklyn MacCormack and Friends Discuss Old Time Radio, March, 1964 (Exploring My Reel-to-Reel Catacombs, Volume 62) (MP3)

This tape came to me with a batch of others, none of them in boxes, and with minimal indication of what it might contain. There is a sticker on the reel, seen at the right, which reads "Radio's Nostalgic Yesterdays, 3/30/64

That sticker's information is true enough, but what it doesn't say is that the tape contains a rare recording of the legendary WGN Radio personality, Franklyn MacCormack, chatting with a few other long-time radio voices, about the history of radio, in particular, what would later become known as "Old Time Radio". The show was part of a series - an episode of "The Reviewing Stand" - which brought together personnel from WGN and WNUR, the radio station run by Northwestern University. 

Also featured in the conversation are Willard Waterman (best known as "The Great Gildersleeve"), radio producer James Jewell, and moderator James H. McBurney, then dean of the school of speech at Northwestern University.

Besides the involvement of MacCormack, I find this discussion particularly interesting because those taking part don't have any notion - indeed, they don't seem to think it would be possible - of the comeback in popularity of what would become known as Old Time Radio (OTR). That comeback would begin taking place in the early '70's, thanks to, among others, Chuck Schaden, whose career reviving OTR shows and stars started right in Evanston, mere blocks from Northwestern, a career that took him to the Radio Hall of Fame.

There is an assumption, mentioned a few times here, that these shows no longer existed in any playable form, which Schaden and many others demonstrated to be untrue, and which you can still determine to be inaccurate via visits to myriad OTR websites, as well as eBay.

They also discuss the likelihood of OTR drama and comedy being attempted anew in that day and age, 1964, and their belief that it could work. Aside from the CBS Radio Mystery Theater, no attempts made after that point that I'm aware of (Theater 5, The Zero Hour, etc.), actually did make and keep an audience. 

And of course, in the midst of this, there is the requisite, gratuitous slapping down of the rock and roll music that had taken the place of "good" radio; music which, we're told, is un-hummable and forgettable. Interestingly, it was this very week when The Beatles held the top five positions on the Billboard Hot 100, with some very memorable work indeed. 

Just an interesting conversation with a couple of radio legends involved. I enjoyed it, and I hope you will, too. 

Franklyn MacCormack and Friends (MP3)

Tape (JPG)  |  Tape Label (JPG)

Comments can be sent to bobpurse@gmail.com 

Thurl Ravenscroft - Volume 6 - And That's No Bull! (MP3's)

On five previous occasions, I've brought you items from my collection featuring the great Thurl Ravenscroft. 

This began during the 2007 "365 Days" project, when I shared many of my favorite Thurl items all at once, and was most recently updated just over two years ago, in a post you can find here (and which links back to the previous post, which itself links to the earlier posts...)

Today, three songs from two vintage 45's. The first is a record by Jerry Gray and his Orchestra, who I previously featured with Thurl on a song called "Pale Moon" a few years ago. This record is more of a novelty, and it's one that really allows Thurl to go to town, with a fake Spanish accent and some truly deep notes at the end. 

Jerry Gray and his Orchestra, Vocal Chorus by Thurl Ravenscroft - And the Bull Walked Around "Olay" (MP3)

Record Label (JPG)

The other two songs are from both sides of a 78 recorded by Thurl's quartet The Mellomen, a name which was sometimes spelled (as it is here) The Mello-Men. 

Thurl is front and center on the first song, "My Love, the Blues and Me", giving him a rare chance to sing lead on a slow, sad romantic song. 

The Mello-Men - My Love, the Blues and Me (MP3)

Record Label (JPG)

On the flip side, "I'd Give a Million Yesterdays", you'll hear, for the most part, Thurl's more typical role in the Mello-Men - singing as part of an ensemble. I have dozens of records by the group - typically backing up other singers - where the bass could be anyone, because he never steps up and sings anything by himself, or in his lower register. This one is different, though, in that Thurl gets a brief solo spot near the end of the song, which is worth the price of admission. 

The Mello-Men – I’d Give a Million Yesterdays (MP3)

Record Label (JPG)

Comments can be sent to bobpurse@gmail.com    

'Listener' Mindwrecker Mines Some Audio Motherlode

Greetings, Audiofiends!  I'm stepping away from my usual WFMU Comic Supplement posts today to point to a few audio-centric websites that I still regularly use. Naturally, many fine pages disappear or go dormant, but these are some that have remained robust for many years (and one interesting newbie).

Many pages feature rarities that are so long out of print and obscure that they are one of the only sources of the material, while others are more of a 'listening room' where you can stream or download material to judge whether to buy it from a vendor legitimately.

Here are my top five current favorites:

 Allen's Archive of Early and Old Country Music, whose title pretty much sums up the contents. Terrific old vinyl in various genres, and occasional lovely collections of 78rpm records. Cover artwork, occasional label art, good information when he knows it. This has been a wonderful resource over the years, and is great for experimental downloads - surprise yourself with some unfamiliar stuff.

Willard, here, used to run a fantastic Harry Nilsson page that is much missed since it's untimely departure last year. His Wormhole page is a currently awesome resource for listening to some hard-to-find oddities and bonus tracks by a very wide variety of artists and styles (as well as videos). Plus he really knows his material and does his homework.

Lonesome Lefty is another site specializing in old-timey folk and country material. They seem to be based out of Canada or somewhere way up North as a lot of the records come from up there. Lots of liner notes from Lefty accompany all posts so that you are always well-informed about the album in question.

Our pal Uncle Gil spins loads of different types of records, with a decided slant towards vintage R&B and early rock and roll, but you never know what will turn up in here. Many surprises. Worth a good dredge every so often. Another site that puts up a steady stream of new material all the time. This one is perhaps based in Europe somewhere, as the pressings seem to almost all originate overseas, which makes for some nice unusual versions of records.

And lastly, our newcomer to the daily-posting-of-vinyl-records scene:

This one just started up on January first, and threatens to put up a different record every day. So far, the selection is thrift-stor-ey and cool, and the downloads are high-quality for the most part and include well-scanned and edited cover artwork.  No information given - just slabs of wax served up hot.  I'm enjoying this page a lot so far, they have showcased several favorite records of mine in the short time they have been online. And I thought that WFMU people would appreciate the "365 Days" aspect of this site (is there a connection with us-? Your guess is as good as mine).

Basic Hip Oddio 365

Enjoy, peoples! And I'll see you next time at the WFMU Comics Supplement.

Comments:  mindwreckertv@gmail.com

A Birthday Conference Call: August, 1966 (Exploring My Reel-to-Reel Catacombs, Volume 61) (MP3's)

Here's a tape that I found fascinating. It's not an easy listen - the sound quality is abysmal, even after I worked on it quite a bit to eliminate a lot of humming and buzzing - but if you can get past that, and are the type to like things like audio letters, you may also find something to enjoy here, even if once is probably going to be enough.

I've certainly been on my share of conference calls, but here's something I didn't know until I played this tape: you could arrange a conference call via the telephone company way back in the dial phone era, at least back to the date on this tape, which is nearly 50 years ago. I'm not talking about party lines, which were common back then, and in some cases were the only phone lines people had, but actual, prearranged conference calls. This tape not only demonstrates what those primitive conference calls sounded like, it also captures the clunky, time consuming way one had to set the call up in the first place. 

What's captured here in the last 25 minutes of this 30 minute tape is a group of friends all calling yet another friend to wish him a happy birthday.

But as mentioned, it starts with a recording of the long-winded process of setting up the call. The person whose idea it was calls the operator, gets transferred wrong and starts over again, before finally ending up with the conference call operator. He then has to spend three minutes giving the names and phone numbers of all of the people who will be on the call - to be made later in the day - and setting up the parameters of that call, which includes making sure the operator calls everyone NOW to make sure they know there will be the conference call later in the day, and at what time. I can only imagine how much this must have cost...

Then it's on to the actual call, which - aside from some terrible phone connections - sounds much like any other recording of a group of people all coming together to say Happy Birthday to someone they all know. That it's all over some fairly shaky phone connections adds a touch of weirdness to the proceedings - one participant is thought to have missed the call, only to show up as if there all along near the end - and it is, as mentioned, hard to listen to. But I thought I'd pass it along to others who might enjoy this moment in time. 

I note about the date: the person who set up the call quite clearly gives a date of August 9, 1966, at the start of the tape. A different date is written on the tape box, and I'm not quite sure what to make of that, but I'm going with the date heard on the tape. 

A Birthday Conference Call, August 9th, 1966 (MP3)

Tape Box (JPG)

Comments can be sent to bobpurse@gmail.com

The Songs of Christian America - Clifton Webb at the Piano (MP3's)

Here's a downright peculiar album. It came from Fleetwood Records, in Revere, Massachusetts. But while Fleetwood seems to have specialized in Drum and Bugle Corps records, as well as a variety of sports related releases, this one is something different entirely. 

Credited to "Nathan Webb at the Piano", and titled "The Songs of Christian America", it is nothing but a series of unidentified songs played as piano solos, for more than 25 minutes a side. 

The back of the cover is blank, and the album label only repeats what is said on the cover, as well as a bit of label information. That information includes the phrase "PARDON ME, but... CHRISTIAN PATRIOTS SCHOLARSHIP FUND". I'm assuming the album was a fundraiser for that fund, although I can't find out anything about this particular group of Christian patriots or their fund. 

My assumption, though, is that this was a white supremacist group of some type, both because that sort of group pops up in searches for the phrase "Christian Patriots", and because this album came to me in a collection which contains multiple other examples of anti-Semitic, anti-Black and related white supremacy items, such as the album I posted by Wally Butterworth, some time ago. 

What you'd be hard pressed to do would be to develop any idea of the political leanings behind this album by actually listening to the tracks. These are straightforward, unimaginative and (to my ears) deathly dull run-throughs of several songs. As mentioned, the songs aren't named on the label, and in a fit of un-professionalism, the producers allowed the next to last song to be recorded at a very low level, and only faded in to full volume after more than half a minute of the tune.

Many of these songs I either don't recognize or can't recall the names of (in the latter camp are several hymns I can hum, but can't put words to). Those I do know include a number of national songs, as well as a few of those hymns. In at least a few cases, calling these songs "Christian" is a stretch (is the U.S. National Anthem in any way a strictly Christian song?), and in at least one other, identifying the song - "Onward Christian Soldiers" - as an American song, is demonstrably untrue. 

Because I'm familiar with so few of the songs, and because they are unnamed on the label, I have simply made files of the two sides, without breaking them down into tracks, many of which I'd have to leave unnamed anyway. Besides, the best thing about this album, by far, is being able to see the ridiculous cover

Nathan Webb: Songs of Christian America, Side One (MP3)

Nathan Webb: Songs of Christian America, Side Two (MP3)

Album Cover (JPG)  |  Record Label (JPG)

Comments can be left at bobpurse@gmail.com

The Sound of Good Selling! (Exploring My Reel-to-Reel Catacombs, Volume 60) (MP3's)

Happy New Year, Everyone!!!

To help you celebrate, here are two tapes from my most recent acquisition: a pair of undated tapes from Lorin-Frank Productions, Inc. In this case, these are Volumes 3 and 5, the only two tapes of that series that came in this bundle of seven advertising reel to reel goodies (all on five inch reels).

Many of these are jingle commercials, with vocals at the start and finish and music beds in between. Volume three contains ten selections, volume five only has five selections (including two for Noxema - they seem quite similar, but are identified as different radio and TV ads). One of these in the latter batch is for National Beer, although it in no way can compete with the classic National Beer ads created by "Star Ads", which I've previous posted here and here, and which can also be viewed here.

Here is Volume Three:

1.) Lorin Frank Productions - WTAE Jingle (MP3)

2.) Lorin Frank Productions - Noxzema Background Score (MP3)

3.) Lorin Frank Productions - Genesee Jingle (MP3)

4.) Lorin Frank Productions - Gold Medel Jingle and Background (MP3)

5.) Lorin Frank Productions - STP Jingle (MP3)

6.) Lorin Frank Productions - Chevy (MP3)

7.) Lorin Frank Productions - Noxzema Jingle (MP3)

8.) Lorin Frank Productions - Viz Eye Drops (MP3)

9.) Lorin Frank Productions - Bisquick Jingle (MP3)

10.) Lorin Frank Productions - Carling Jingle (MP3)

Volume Three Tape Box (JPG)

And here is Volume Five:

1.) Lorin Frank Productions - Radar (MP3)

2.) Lorin Frank Productions - Bee Hive Golden Corn Syrup (MP3)

3.) Lorin Frank Productions - National Beer "Gone Native" (MP3)

4.) Lorin Frank Productions - Noxema Complexion Lotion (MP3)

5.) Lorin Frank Productions - Noxema Complexion Lotion (MP3)

Volume Five Tape Box (JPG)

A Trio of Weird and Obscure Christmas 45's (MP3's)

Perhaps, after a solid month of Christmas music, you're now thoroughly Binged, Burled, Perryed and Thurled out (although I personally wonder if anyone could really get Thurled out...). 

Well, here is a set of three Christmas records I'm guessing you haven't heard before. At least two appear to be vanity releases, and the third is on a Chicago label which may have been tiny enough for that release to also be something of a vanity production. 

First up is our old friend Harold Duncan, last heard around these parts singing his patriotic tune "Be American". This record came out on the "American Sound" label, which I suspect was Duncan's label, as "Be American was on the same label".Mr. Duncan was from south Florida, and appears to have made a variety of attempts to break into the music business, judging from the number of times I've discovered his name turning up on an obscure record or piece of sheet music. Of the four records I own that have a direct Duncan connection, his Christmas concoction is by far the worst, in both composition and execution. 

The song is called "Santa Got Stuck in the Chimney (Upside Down)", and it is just as stupid as that title suggests. But the problems only start there. Mr. Duncan enlisted a group called "The Rusch Sisters" to sing this song, and its flip side, and they are, simply put, unbearable. They sing in what I suppose is supposed to be a cutesy style (perhaps even supposed to sound like young girls), at times at the upper end of their ranges. Ecch. 

Worse yet is that flip side, "Rudolph Stopped to Rock 'n Roll", particularly the bridge, where they very nearly squeal on the high notes. The fact that the backing has nothing in common with " Rock 'n Roll" certainly doesn't help. 

My copy of this record came with a similarly self-produced book, complete with a drawing of Santa in the chimney, and the sheet music of the song inside. When I find that book, I'll add that image to this post. 

The Rusch Sisters - Santa Got Stuck in the Chimney (Upside Down) (MP3)

The Rusch Sisters - Rudolph Stopped to Rock ‘N Roll (MP3)

Rusch A-Side (JGP)  |  Rusch B-Side (JPG)

 

Given my love of song-poems, I'm quite intrigued by this next offering. Credited to "The Ping Pongs", it contains two Christmas tunes as well, "Pinky Tail" and "The Things I'd Like for Christmas",. While I can't find anything that makes it clear to me that this is a song-poem, it sure looks and sounds like one to me. I'm sure that, at the very least it is, as I've mentioned, a vanity project.

But the label (Sunkist Records) looks like any number of small song-poem spin-off outfits, the label number (102) indicates this is one of the first discs on the label, and the performances sound like a song-poem group - specifically, it sounds like the less-than-enthused group which showed up on many of Norridge Mayhams later projects (the melody of "Things I'd Like" actually sounds quite a bit like a couple of Mayhams' songs), a group I believe came out of the Globe Records song-poem emporium. 

Regardless of the back-story, these songs are an interesting listen, with a tossed off feeling and homespun instrumentation. 

The Ping Pongs - Pinky Tail (MP3)

The Ping Pongs - The Things I’d Like For Christmas (MP3)

Ping Pongs A-Side (JPG)  |  Ping Pongs B-Side (JPG)

 

 

 

Finally, out of Chicago's small IRC label (most famous, if that's the word, for releasing Dick Biondi's "Pizza Song", and some of Ronnie Rice's earliest records), comes the fabulously named "Leonard at the Thomas Organ", with a misbegotten attempt to glom onto the success of the Chipmunks, although whoever is doing the sped-up vocal goes completely unacknowledged on the record label.

Unfortunately, no one told the performers or producers of this record that if you're going to record at half-speed for comical effect, you have to enunciate extremely clearly, nor did they learn that whatever you're singing while doing that enunciation needs to be funny.

I had to slow this track down to half-speed to figure out all of what was being sung, and once I did, I could make out all the words, but I still couldn't figure out what was supposed to be cute, funny or endearing about a very pedestrian description of some not very interesting events. Actually, I get a kick out of the billing of the performer (see above) and the extraneous quotes in the song title more than I do out of the song. It's listed as "Cross-Eyed 'Little' Santa Claus". 

The flip is an instrumental titled "Jingle Jam".

Leonard at the Thomas Organ - Cross-Eyed “Little” Santa Claus (MP3)

Leonard at the Thomas Organ - Jingle Jam (MP3)

Leonard A-Side (JPG)  | Leonard B-Side (JPG)

For those who might like more obscure Christmas music, I've been featuring Christmas song-poems all month at my own site. 

Comments can be sent to bobpurse@gmail.com 

NAME THAT TRIVIA!!! A New Party Game via the Record Player, circa 1966 (MP3's)

So imagine it's the fall of 1966, and, since you and your family have recently moved to the new high-end subdivision, you want to get to know your neighbors better. What better why than hosting a dinner party, after which you'll play a game? Perhaps you'll invite the neighbors on either side of you, and the those from the three houses on lots that are across from yours and those other two neighbors! And next Friday, the kids will all be at the school dance!

You have lots of new recipes to try out!

But the real fun will come after dinner, when you break out that album you bought over the summer, the one you got as soon as you heard about it back in July, the one on the Frisky record label, featuring everyone's favorite quizmasters, Phyllis Hedeman, James Dukas and Jerry Roberts, "NAME THAT TRIVIA!". It came with even answer pads for everyone, see?: 

Name That Trivia Answer Pad, Side One (JPG)  |  Name That Trivia Answer Pad, Side Two (JPG)

You've touched the needle down on the record just to see if the questions are too hard or too easy, but they seem just right for people of your vintage. Things like:

"Remember 'Pebeco'? What would you do with it?"

and

"what was that chased away that villian, 'Mr. Coffee Nerves'?"

and

"What was a Hooverville?". 

This sounds like a LOT of fun! Here's hoping your party goes well!

Phyllis Hedeman, James Dukas and Jerry Roberts - Name That Trivia, Side One (MP3)

Phyllis Hedeman, James Dukas and Jerry Roberts - Name That Trivia, Side Two (MP3)

Front Cover (JPG)  |  Back Cover (JPG)

Comments can be sent to bobpurse@gmail.com

An Army Doctor in Retirement: A Road Trip from New Jersey to Texas (Exploring My Reel-to-Reel Catacombs, Volume 59) (MP3)

Today's reel is for anyone who enjoyed the tapes I shared, featuring audio letters from an army doctor in the Korean, shortly after the end of the war, to his wife back home, and who wondered whatever happened to that man after he left Korea, and after his career was over. Those audio letters were featured over the last three years, and can be found here, here and here.

It may also be of interest to anyone who wants a look at how one might have documented a road trip halfway across the country, in days long before such things were easily transmitted online, in real time.

Specifically, here is that same army doctor (fully identified in the tape, but I'll just call him Bill, as he always identified himself on the Korea tapes), 13 years after the tapes I previously shared, taking a road trip with his wife, Mary, in the spring of 1967, from their small home township of Mount Holly, New Jersey to the tiny burg of Gorman, Texas, where they were going to visit their newborn great-granddaughter. 

As mentioned, the full name of these people can be made out multiple times, as can the names of several family members and in-laws. Those interested in finding out who they were, and more about them, can probably succeed in doing so. I'd be interested in hearing those results, 

Oddly, for a man who was able to fill tape after tape of (usually interesting) minutia from his life in Korea, Bill's narration here, recorded on each night of their trip, after their arrival in a hotel, is quite brief - he's downright taciturn. Typically, he turns the recording over to his wife Mary, who fills in a few details, but rarely all that much, either, aside from the weather, details of the town they stopped in, and what they ate. It takes all of 13 minutes to get through the nightly recordings between New Jersey and Texas. 

Bill and Mary - From Mount Holly, New Jersey to Gorman, Texas, 1967 (MP3)

Once there, for what is said to be a planned few days, there are several segments recorded (totalling 18 minutes) with a variety of relatives and in-laws, At one point, Bill turns to the microphone over to one of the in-laws, and instead of hearing that person speak, there is a lengthy gap, and suddenly it's more than a week has gone by, and Bill briefly mentions a family tragedy that led to that gap. Later, there is a perhaps overly long recording of the baby crying fairly harshly and loudly. Then it's time to be heading back home.

Bill, Mary and the Extended Family - Visit in Gorman, Texas, 1967 (MP3)

The trip back home is covered in more detail (23 minutes) than the trip to Texas had been. This leads off with far more detail regarding why Mary's stay in Texas lasted several days longer than planned, and where Bill was all that time.

With the possible exception of the first night's recording from the trip home, it's pretty clear to me that Bill and Mary took notes, and actually recorded much (if not all) of this narration late in the trip home, if not after they arrived home. There's little difference in the sound quality from segment to segment, and at one point, Bill accidentally states that he's signing off from a town in Indiana - except that they've been claiming to be in Missouri for the entire segment, and if he'd really been taping that night, he'd have had no idea that bad weather would be keeping them from getting beyond Indiana the following day. 

Bill's narration remains brief, and Mary sounds like she's reading directly from notes, ones which are missing words - she occasionally speaks in incomplete sentences, particularly skipping over articles (i.e. "drove along highway"). She does, however, have a lot more details to share here, and her story of going to an over-the-road oasis on a toll road, and thinking that their car had been stolen afterwards is pretty funny. There's a real homespun feel to much of what she describes here, especially some visits to see relatives on the road home.

And again, at the end, without a break, we suddenly learn that her final narration was being recorded several weeks later, making me wonder if the whole thing was done after-the-fact. 

Bill and Mary - From Gorman, Texas to Mount Holly,New Jersey, 1967 (MP3)

I hope you've enjoy this little road trip from 47 1/2 years ago. I wonder if Bill and Mary ever imagined that, in the 21st century, strangers from all over the world would have the ability to listen to their audio road trip.

Comments can be sent to bobpurse@gmail.com 

Gorman Reel.jpg (JPG)

Gorman Tape Box Front (JPG)

Gorman Tape Box Back Detail (JPG)