S. J. Perelman on S. J. Perelman and More.... PLUS: A Local TV Dance Party from Pittsburgh, Spring, 1960

Hi there,

 

I have two unique and wonderful (and totally unrelated) lengthy reels of tape to share with you today, but first, I wanted to return to my ongoing series on the (roughly) chronological history of Scotch brand reel to reel tape boxes. I will add a label to these posts so that you can follow them. Using that label, you can find the previous posts here. The first two posts in the series took us from the initial product offering through around 1951 or 1952. For whatever reason, by the summer of 1952, those colorful and complicated patterns were shown the door, and Scotch went with a very austere look, almost devoid of color, except for the Scotch logo and what was left of the plaid pattern along the right side of the box:  

 

 

I actually have several "clean" and well preserved examples of this particular box, but I chose the very much "used and repaired" one above because it's a very special one from my collection. This box holds the first tape my family owned and recorded on, 67 winters ago. Many years ago, I shared about half it its contents - a recording made on Christmas morning, 1952 - at WFMU (along with the image of a slightly better preserved box from another tape from that era). And why does it have a giant "15"" written on the box? Well, after our first tape recorder broke, the newer home models no longer ran at the speed of 15 inches per second, which was largely meant for professional use. Most of our early tapes were on ten inch reels, which would not fit on the newer models either. But the handful of 7" tapes we had recorded on the old machine could not be heard correctly on the new equipment, and the "15"" on the box was an announcement that this was one of those tapes.

This is a very bland box, perhaps the blandest that Scotch released in the period from the 1940's through the 1960's, and I don't believe it was in production very long at all, but it resonates with me enormously, because the site of it reminds me of the contents of those tapes - my family, before I was born.

And now.... on with the countdown!

~~~

There is a group of tapes that I've written about multiple times here and at WFMU, purchased ages ago now, and containing various media recordings, raw tapes and other items, primarily related to CBS television but also some other materials. It has supplied well over a dozen posts here and at WFMU, I would guess. I am still slowly going through them, as I never really go through any one collection all at once - it would detract from other things I want to listen to, and I don't have the time or wherewithal to do that, anyway.

So it was with great interest that I listened to one tape simply labeled "S. J. Perelman". I knew the name, and a bit about the man, but mostly associated him with the fact that he wrote for and with the Marx Brothers at one point, during the period when they made their best works.

The tape turns out to be largely a monologue, for what purpose, I'm not sure. Mostly likely some sort of televised piece, perhaps a profile, about him. But while there is someone directing the reminiscences at times, this isn't conducted as a typical interview, which I find interesting and unusual.

He talks about his life, the people he worked with, his view on the politics of the day (and a current response to it) and offers a few short anecdotes of the type only someone who had the life he'd led could tell.

I found this whole tape fascinating and at times riveting, and hope you do, too.

Download: S. J. Perelman on S. J. Perelman... and More!
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~~

Many of you will probably prefer the second tape to the first - I'd be surprised if that wasn't the case.  And it's something equally special - a recording of a local, "American Bandstand" type TV show from KDKA, Pittsburgh, circa Spring, 1960 (barely weeks before I was born!), complete with national hits, up and comers that did or didn't get big, and local performers, along with a lot of chatter from the host, Clark Ray. The tape runs about 47 minutes and contains too many wonderful moments to try and list here. This is one which is better enjoyed without too much blather from me, anyway, and again, I hope it's to your liking!

UPDATE 6/20: Either one or two anonymous posters have very helpfully offered updates to this post - he/she/they have informed me that the host's name was Clark Race, not Clark Ray, and that he was a legend in Pittsburgh. I have updated the name of the file, below, although the actual file linked still contains the incorrect name. In addition, close attention to what is said at one point has helped that commenter identify the date on this recording as Saturday, May 7th, 1960.

Many, many thanks!

Download: Clark Race's Record Hop, KDKA-TV, Pittsburgh, Spring, 1960
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A Special Post for Pete Seeger's 100th Birthday: The Weavers and Mahalia Jackson, Live on TV, January, 1958

Today is May 3rd, 2019.

 

This is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Pete Seeger. I consider Pete to have been the greatest vocalist ever recorded - and I don't think it's close, with John Lennon as a distant second. His voice can move me to a degree unmatched by anyone else I've ever heard. It was a natural instrument, a clear extension of his speaking voice, and unencumbered by training, artifice, pretention, smarm or anything else that might interfere with simple, direct, emotional singing.

 

On top of that, I consider Pete Seeger to be the single most important American musician of the 20th Century, when one takes into account all of his work: musical, social, political, environmental and more. I can certainly argue this point, but I doubt most of you have all that much interest, and it would take far more time and typing than I'm going to expend here and now. Feel free to disagree, but I'm not trying to start a debate, just telling you where I stand.

 

In addition, The Weavers are indisputably one of the most important groups of the second half of the century. Without the Weavers - and particularly Pete - there's no folk revival, no folk rock, and that's just for starters. So it was with GREAT interest, about 30 years or so ago, when I found the following label on an otherwise nondescript reel of tape:

 

 

In addition to just wanting to hear this, immediately, the date on this session intrigued me. January 13th, 1958. Most articles on the Weavers would have it that they were blacklisted from TV after 1951. AND: from reading a few books by and about Pete Seeger, I knew that he quit the Weavers in the winter of 1958. Was this a live performance on TV, during their blacklist? And was their very last live performance with Pete as a member (prior to reunions)?

Now I have the answers, and both answers are "yes" and "sort of". These answers come from a recent biograph of the Weavers, "Wasn't That a Time". This book documents that the WGN appearance captured here was their first TV appearance in years, and also indicates that, while in Chicago, they took part in a jam session at the then-brand-new Old Town School of Folk Music - the latter seemingly not a scheduled appearance in the evening after the TV program. This was certainly their last pre-arranged live performance.

What happened next was an studio attempt at making a rock-and-roll flavored single, which was panned by everyone involved, then a vote on whether or not to record a commercial for L & M cigarettes. Pete was outvoted, three to one, worked on the commercial with the group, then immediately quit.

That means this is undoubtedly the last recording of the original Weavers prior to the split. And there does not appear to be a copy of this performance anywhere online (it can be viewed at the Museum of Broadcast Communications Museum in Chicago, and I have seen it, but you can't take or get a copy).

A big additional benefit of this recording is the presence of the great Mahalia Jackson, who sings a few songs, including teaming up with the Weavers at the end of the hour long recording.

A huge deficit of this recording is the presence of the consistently and severely insufferable Richard Dyer-Bennett, a performer whose pretentiousness truly knew no bounds. I can imagine plenty of 1950's and 1960's people being unable to take folk music seriously, if they'd first been presented with Dyer-Bennett as a purveyor of the genre. He even manages to ruin "O No John", a fun, playful little number which was in my mother's repertoire. The Anti-Seeger, if you will. (I will add that the effect is even worse if you can see him in this performance which (as I've mentioned) I have.) Again, I'm sure there are those of you out there who's mileage varies. Such are the vagaries of taste.

But enough about him. Way too much.

This is probably the tape from my collection that I consider the most valuable. I would include the Merigail Moreland tapes and the raw tapes I own from an unreleased Dora Hall Dixieland album. The latter two, though would have a tiny, and a small audience interested, respectively. The audience for this one, I'm guessing, is quite large, and I've considered trying to sell it at times. But when it comes right down to it, I'm never parting with this tape, and if that's the case, I might as well share it with the world, or whatever part of the world is reading and listening to this.

Enjoy!

Download: Various Artists - The Hour of Music, January 13, 1958, Part One
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Download: Various Artists - The Hour of Music, January 13, 1958, Part Two
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Happy Birthday, Pete! I miss you.