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!

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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!
Play:

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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
Play: