From RCA: "Hope for the news-starved people of Communist countries."

An important discovery from the RCA Victor Radio and "Victrola" Division. And you know what that means, don't you?

Sales! Sensational sales!

Wish I had the tiny, shatterproof-plastic phonograph mentioned on this 7" 78, but at least I have the promotional disc that went with it. I'm guessing this is from 1956. Found it (where else?) in a thrift store several years ago. I looked at it and said, "What the heck is this?"

Then I said, "Sales! Sensational sales!" People were staring at me.

Anyway, here it is:

A New Sensation in Sales--RCA Victor Radio and "Victrola" Division, vinyl 7" 78

Pretty awesome(ly bad) sound quality, no? Those lightweight players must have contained most of their weight in the tonearm....

I doubt that this experiment in the spreading of propa... er, democracy was very successful. Those phonographs may have been shatterproof, but wouldn't they simply have bounced off the Iron Curtain?

(Sproiiiiiing!) "Oops. Another one bit the dust."--Pilot. "Maybe if we get further away from the curtain...."--Co-pilot.













Lee

Peggy King--"Zero Hour," "No Sleep Till Dawn"

Zero Hour is my candidate for the finest little-known pop vocal record ever made. (Maybe I should capitalize that phrase?)

Experts on little-known pop vocal records agree with me.

The song is from a 1957 airplane-disaster movie that was parodied in a much better known 1980 comedy.

Zero Hour (From the Motion Picture Zero Hour) (A. Hamilton)--Peggy King with Frank De Vol and His Orchestra, 1957. From Columbia 45.

No Sleep Till Dawn (Noble-Gannon)--Peggy King with Frank De Vol and His Orchestra, 1957. Flip side of above.

I'd feature a label shot, but it's a DJ copy with a big white sticker on the already-white labels. It's the music that matters....


Lee

Rudy Meets Rudy

Rudy, meet Rudy. (Rudy, Rudy)

"Charmed."--Rudy. "Ditto."--Rudy.

And Rudy wants to hear some Al Caiola, which is great, because we have three Caiola tracks ripped'n'ready. These are from the 1973 Avalanche/United Artists LP Theme from "The Magnificent 7 Ride" '73 (Goodwill, 99 cents). A couple of interesting things about this LP, one being that the lower right-hand corner has been incompletely cut, and only on one side. Maybe someone was going to make this a cut-out LP but changed his or her mind at the last moment. It is a rather large arc, considering. Dunno. The other interesting thing--The Magnificent 7 Ride appears twice on the front cover, in the title and in the track listing. On the label, however, the title reads The Magnificent Seven.

O.K., maybe those aren't so interesting. Just making intro.

Anyway, what's Mannix doing on a 1973 LP? Wasn't that show long-gone by then? ('Net check.) Oh. It lasted until 1975. My bad. Me and my memory.

I was almost sure it was cancelled before Mission: Impossible left the air, but far from it. Is my TV memory that bad?? I guess so.

I'm stuck in intro-writing mode. I can't stop. Help me. Hellllllp meeeeeee!

Mannix (L. Schifrin)--Al Caiola, 1973. From Avalanche/United Artists LP.

Bonanza (Livingston/Evans)--Al Caiola, 1973.

The Magnificent Seven (E. Bernstein)--Al Caiola, 1973.

I love the almost Disco beat on Seven. The old tweak-the-rhythm-a-little routine, perfect for giving a former hit an updated sound.

Whatever I just typed....

Rudy enjoyed the Al sides very much.


Lee

Winter has officially arrived

I call the last photo "Pawprints in the Snow."

Anyway, something tells me we're "into" winter now. Just to support my claim, the temps will be falling over the next few days. Oh, great. Thanks, temps.



Lee

Alva Starr update

Courtesy of Phil X. Milstein, here is a picture of Alva Snelling, a.k.a. Alva Starr, whose Clock on the Wall and Space Race to the Moon were featured in the last post:




















The Alva Starr sides are from 1966, looks like.

Far out!


Lee

Alva Starr, Dave Gordon and the Reb-Tides, John

Clock on the Wall (A. Snelling)--Alva Starr, poss. 1967. From Golden Records 45.

Space Race to the Moon (A. Snelling)--Alva Starr, poss. 1967.

Hard to Love You (Howard Blaikley)--Dave Gordon and the Reb-Tides, 1966. From Press label 45.

Sadie the Cleaning Lady (Gilmore-Madura-White)--Johnny Farnham; Vacuum Cleaner Solo: Mrs. Jolly; 1967. From Capitol label 45. (#1 on Australian charts for six weeks in 1968.)


Lee

Rockin' sounds for Tuesday!

You'll rock, you'll roll. You'll do The Stroll. Eight sides ripped, over the past couple of days, from 45s in my collection. Fresh from the CD burner, and you'll hear it. These never sounded so digital.

All titles thrift or flea market finds, save for Gee, which I paid around ten bucks for. A hit in 1954, it was recorded in 1953, so don't be alarmed by the year....

Rock, bop, do the Bunny-Hop. Do it here, do it there, do it while you comb your hair.

Go, cats, go! (Oh, no--the cats are lining up. They think it's treat time. They're glaring at me....)

One More Time--Mel-o-Dots featuring Ricky Wells, 1952. From Apollo label 45.

Darla, My Darlin' (Jordan-McDermott)--The G-Clefs, 1956. From Pilgrim label 45.

Lewis Boogie (Lewis)--Jerry Lee Lewis, 1958. From Sun label 45.

Gee (Davis-Watkins)--The Crows, 1953. From Gee label 45.

Woke Up This Morning (John Collins)--Arthur Prysock, 1955. From Wing label 45.

I Can't Hear a Word You Say (Leiber-Stoller)--Ruth Brown, 1959. From Atlantic label 45.

Isle of Capri Boogie (Gene Burns-L. Schroeder)--Jackie Lee. From Sure label 45.

All Night Long--Joe Houston and His Rockets, 1956. From Tops label LP.


Lee

Sunday morning gospel--Eddy Arnold, Carl Story, The Oak Ridge Boys

His Eye Is on the Sparrow (Martin-Gabriel)--The Oak Ridge Boys, 1964. From LP.

A Picture from Life's Other Side--Carl Story. From LP.

Everybody's Gonna Have a Terrible Time Down There--The Statesmen Quartet, 1958. From LP.

The Bible Tells Me So (D. Evans)--Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. From Word LP.

There'll Be No Dark Valley (Cushing-Sankey)--Family Reunion, 1975. From LP.

Will the Circle Be Unbroken (Habershon-Gabriel)--Eddy Arnold, 1946. From RCA Camden LP.

Let the Sunshine In (Blenkhorn-Gabriel), Old Fashioned Revival Hour Quartet. From LP.



Lee