Your Hit Parade, Local Basketball, The Newest in Stereo Sound and Much More!

 Good Day, Sports Fans (or not, if you're not sports fans, or if it's not a good day), 

Today, I have a supremely varied hodgepodge of recordings for you, selected from my bulging computer folder known as "tapes not yet used", including one which is literally labeled as a "hodgepodge", as well are my monthly acetate feature. 

But first, I wanted to pass along that I received a note from a creator of experimental music named James, who wanted to let me know he'd used some of the vintage radio recordings I've posted in one of his compositions. It's a very interesting track, and it can be found here. He is likely to continue to use my postings, after asking and receiving my okay, and I will continue to link to them. His main page is here. 

~~~

First up, a recording from 1950, contained on one of those tapes with yet another Scotch tape design which I missed, during my Scotch tape brand feature. This one is a variation of the one I identified as the second Scotch design, here, and also similar to the one I shared a few weeks ago, which I'd also missed the first time around. I still suspect the first one I just linked was the second design, but this one was either concurrent with it, and used with five inch reels, or came right around the same time. Here it is: 

So what's on this tape that makes it worth sharing. Well, it's "Your Hit Parade" from 1950. What we have here are portions of two episodes, both from early July, by the sounds of it. The only reason I'm certain it's not all from the same episode is that the first two songs heard, are heard a second time, later on, and that wouldn't have happened on a single episode of that show. 

The latter episode can easily be nailed down to one of the first two weeks of July, as the song that had VERY quickly hit number one (and I won't spoil the surprise) would have attained that position during that time period. Add the reference to a holiday - almost certainly the Fourth of July - and we have a date for these programs. 

A further note - the tape quality if fairly horrendous in the opening couple of minutes, ruining a version of "The Third Man Theme", which I consider one of the best hits of the pre-rock era, but the sound improves quickly after that, and another rendition of the song follows, later, anyway. 

At the end of the tape are a few remnants of other programming, including the introduction of a Percy Faith song, and what sounds to me like Vaughn Monroe singing is his typically godawful style. 

Download: Your Hit Parade, Early 1950, Parts of Two Episodes

Play: 

For those of you who like oddities (and very short segments), the flip side of this tape contains about 28 minutes of bland music from records, but then, at the end, there is some shouting, some whistling, some rifle shots (I think), and then someone named Bill tries out parts of a short speech several times. Given that this recording is made on the same damaged section of the tape as "The Third Man Theme" on the flip side, there is a short section here that also has poor sound. Here is that segment: 

Download: Shouts, Whistles and Shots, Then Bill Speaks

Play: 

~~

Now here is a lengthy recording which may be of interest to some of you (the Sports Fans mentioned above). With March Madness just about done for another year, it occurred to me that some might enjoy this tape. It is coverage of a High School basketball contest in Maine - no date is listed, but I'm guessing this is from the 1960's. Someone with more patience (and interest) than me can probably figure it out, based on the players mentioned. 

The radio station was WBLZ, which probably didn't stand for "Blood, Luggage and Zucchini", but I'd like to think that it did. 

The teams are Banger and Caribou, and we have nearly the entire game coverage, minus some commercials and any half-time coverage. A true bit of local sports coverage, of the sort which rarely makes it beyond its live broadcast. 

Download: Maine High School Basketball on WBLZ

Play: 

~~

Next up, here's another one of those ubiquitous Stereo Demonstration Tapes, which every producer of reel tapes and reel tape machines seems to have been obliged to produce, in the 1950's and/or 1960's. In this case, it's Bell Stereophonic Sound with a nearly ten minute production about the wonders of Stereo!

Download: Bell Stereophonic Sound - A Demonstration Tape

Play: 

~~

And now, here is yet another tape from our young man in Japan. Please see my previous posts for more of an explanation of these tapes, and my confusion regarding exactly what he was doing there. This is before he started using music on the right channels of his tapes, and unlike some of the tapes, this one's date is crystal clear - it's June 27th, 1968 (just one week after I turned eight, by the way). 

Download: Audio Letter from a Student-Soldier in Japan, 6/27/68

Play: 

~~~

And here is our acetate of the month. I don't know anything more about this disc than what it says in the file name, and I can't seem to find the record right now to scan the label. 

But it's an endearing little piece, featuring "Gail and Gram", with Gail, perhaps age four or so, telling the story of "Goldie Locks" (as it was spelled on the record). She is VERY dramatic, raising a laugh from Gram at one point. Very sweet. This is followed by three very short, the last two sung by Gram in a foreign language which I cannot make out through the surface noise. But I bet one of you can. 

Odd to think that, if the Gail heard here is still around, she's probably about 85 or 86 years old. 

Download: Gail and Gram - Goldie Locks and Three Songs, 11/23/40

Play: 

~~~

And now, two tapes which could probably be names as "Very Short Reels". First is the aforementioned "hodgepodge". I love coming across things like this, as their genesis is quite unknowable. While much of this tape is made up of minimal conversation around the house, those segments are surrounded by all sorts of recordings, as if things were recorded and erased at random, sometimes for only 5-15 seconds. I made this file some years ago, but I believe I remember correctly that this is all that was recorded on the tape. Almost an accidental performance of Musique Concrète.

The mention of George Smathers at the very start, identifying him as a Representative and not a Senator (and what sounds like a reference to him having won a senatorial seat, but clearly not in that seat yet), would seem to date at least part of these recordings from no later than 1951. 

I love stuff like this. 

Download: A Three-and-a-Half Minute Hodgepodge

Play: 

~~~

And finally, a tape which may be stretching it, a bit, in terms of being a "very short reel" and even more so, in terms of being worthy of sharing here. But I did digitize it, and it was waiting for me to use it, and I did address all you Sports Fans, so here it is. It is, quite simply, the merest short fragment of a baseball broadcast, all of 76 seconds in length, with more than half of that being essentially light crowd noise between pitches. Enjoy!!!

Download: Baseball Game (short fragment)

Play: 

1953 Radio, Some Jingles, More from Japan, The Age of Jetomation, and Some Swiss Shortwave

Hello, 

This won't be news if you read my other blog, but... 

 Last time I posted, I mentioned being short of time, and that I'd be brief in my comments. Little did I know how much time I would have starting the very next afternoon. For it was the next day that I learned that due to COVID's effect on my agency's finances, my position was being eliminated, effective immediately. After 29 years with my agency, I am out of a job, and this is the first time in about 40 years that I've neither been employed or in school. Hopefully, it will be just a hiccup in time, but who knows. 

~~

Before I get to today's features, I wanted to share a link sent in by a reader. Back in January, one of my offerings was a "very short reel" featuring Judy Codlin's demo reel. Well, sadly, an anonymous poster recently sent a link to Judy's obituary. which is here. 

~~

Today, I have another typically varied set of recordings for you, which I hope you'll enjoy. And I'm starting with one from 1953, not because I think it's the most interesting, but because it allows me to continue a series I thought I'd completed, the Scotch Tape Box series. 

I do think this tape's contents are interesting enough, but I especially wanted to share this box, which is of a style I'd never seen before, and which I therefore overlooked in my series. At this point, Scotch was still differentiating between paper and plastic backing, meaning that this is probably style # 3, and from no later than 1951, as all styles from after that point did not specify the type of backing, since they had all been switched to plastic. Here it is: 

And what is on that five inch reel of tape, I hear you ask through the ether. Well, it's a recording that appears to date from 1953, a broadcast on station KROK, in Rockford, IL, of a classical concert, primarily featuring the Peer Gynt Suite, with narration, along with a short performance afterwards. Not the most scintillating thing to hear, but recordings from this period are very, very rare. Plus, at the end, there is some other material, including commercials and the start of a newscast. The mention of the war having ended would seem to place this near or in July of 1953. If nothing else, I encourage you to listen to the last few minutes captured here. 

Download: The Rockford Symphony Orchestra - Peer Gynt Suite and Programming After - WROK, Rockford, circa 1953

Play:

~~

Sticking with the radio theme, here are a whopping 30 Jingles from a station in Southern California which actually broadcasted its format from Catalina Island. The station was/is WBIG, which you can read about here. The sound quality is a bit dicey at the start, but gets better. 

Here are all of those jingles!

Download: KBIG - Radio Catalina - 30 Jingles

Play:

And here is the tape box: 

~~

Next up, it's yet another tape from our young man in Japan, circa late 1960's. I don't have a date on this one, but I know there are people out there who might be able to take some of the comments and narrow down the time frame. 

As with at least one of the other letters I've shared, our man (boy?) in Japan chose to play music in one channel while talking on the other. In this case, the music is actually louder than his letter in several places, playing up the questionable nature of this decision. 

Download: Another Audio Letter from a Student-Soldier in Japan

Play:

~~

And now, it's time for Horizons of Science. See?: 

And when I got this tape, a few decades ago, I was very pleased to hear that it was narrated by Lyle Dean. Lyle Dean's voice is familiar to generations of Chicago area radio listeners, as he worked in news and commercial production at multiple radio stations, for what must have been decades. 

This is a fun little diversion of a program. The things discussed here do not necessarily seem to have been the wave of the future that they are presented as being, at least not under the terms used here, but it's an interesting little program, regardless. 

Download: Lyle Dean - Horizons of Science - the Age of Jetomation

Play:

~~

Next up, a lengthy segment for those of you who enjoy vintage shortwave recordings. Most of those I've come across in my collection seem to be from the same collector, or a few people, anyway, and are recordings of Australian broadcasts. This one, however, from the spring of 1968, is a recording of broadcasts from Switzerland. The sound quality goes in and out here - it's never great, which is often the case with these shortwave recordings, but it's almost all listenable. 

Download: Swiss Shortwave, Spring, 1968

Play:

~~

And finally, here's our "Very Short Reel" for the week. It's a pair of ads for Kronenburgh Beer, from the late spring of 1980. Actually, to my ears, this is simply the same ad twice, but maybe there's a subtle difference that is escaping me, as I'm not sure why the same ad would be placed on the tape twice, back to back. Then again, the sticker on the box does say "Spot", while the handwriting indicates "2 cuts".  

Download: Lance and Enid - Two Kronenburgh Beer Ads - 6-5-80

Play:

And here's the very messy looking tape box: 

Celebrating Baseball, Trying to Get the Ad Just Right, and Keeping in Touch

How ya doon?

Today marks the completion of the Scotch Tape Box History Series. Last time around, I shared the boring box that Scotch moved towards, during the period when the rest of the advertising world (and the Western World) was moving towards an explosion of color and imagery. Scotch then stayed with that box style, with minor modifications and variations, for at least 15 years, regardless of tape size or item number.

Following that - and I may have missed a design or two along the way, particularly after 1980, a period I don't generally look for tapes from, and during which I was not buying new tapes. But anyway, the next - and last - example I have is the starkest change of all, and even did away with the band of scotch plaid which had been present all the way back since 1948. In fact, it did away with just about everything, and featured a solid black box with the word "Scotch" in silver.

Ecch. What an ignominious end. The word "Scotch" barely appears anywhere else on the box (only in tiny legal type), replaced as a company name by "Magnetic Audio/Video Products Division of 3M".

<a bit of a plug - the tape housed in the box scanned above does happen to include some of the  recordings I made for my 1997 opus "The Many Moods of Bob", available free at that link.>

I'm thinking that now I might move towards sharing some of the other boxes which I consider to be particularly interesting/common/rare/whatever. Any thoughts on this?

And now...

~~

With baseball back in full swing, albeit with only 37% of the games scheduled and 0% of the fans present, I thought it might be perfect time to break out a really nice tape that I've owned for decades - it's actually part of the set of reels that I purchased that had belonged to the family of Merigail Moreland, although it has only a couple of moments which make it clear that it's part of that collection, and nothing of Merigail.

In fact, most of the tape is taken up by recordings of a key baseball game in Chicago history - the night the White Sox clinched the American League pennant, for what was then the first time in 40 years, in 1959.

(Now granted, this is not as special as, say, a Cubs pennant winning broadcast, or, say, a broadcast of a last place Cubs team losing a game. We are, after all, only talking the American League here. But it's nice, anyway.)

This is nowhere near the entire game, and due to sections of it having been erased with other material, it's not even a solid nonstop chunk of the game. However, the end of the game is here, and - perhaps the most interesting part - the last 24 minutes or so is the post-game coverage.

The lead broadcaster here is the immortal Jack Brickhouse, beloved among Chicagoans of at least age 50 or more, and this would have to have been on WGN. I don't think there's anything else I need to say!

Download: Jack Brickhouse, et al - White Sox vs. Cleveland - 9-22-59 - White Sox Win Pennant
Play:

Update, 8/23: Long time reader and Frequent commenter Eric Paddon has listened to this entire chunk of tape and has written three comments expanding on its contents. For one thing, it IS "a solid nonstop chunk of the game", despite what I wrote, but there are other bits of information, too. I admit to not re-listening to the whole thing when I captured it digitally, last month, and was going by memory. 

Anyway, I deeply appreciate ALL of his comments over the years, and encourage you to read them here to fill in a few more bits of information. 

 ~~

Next up, an audio letter. This 30 minute example is fairly pedestrian as these things go, but there's a certain fascination for some people, me included, in hearing the ramblings of someone - or in this case, two someones ("dad and sis") - talking to a loved one who is far away, plus, there is a sort of horrible moment during the tape, which I'll explain.

But first, I'll confirm that you really are listening to the correct item: this one starts in a unique fashion, with bird-tweeting sounds, followed by comments about birds.

Then there's the moment... well, a unique aspect of this tape that is actually fairly chilling. There is a mention at one point about the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, and I certainly assumed, at that moment, that this tape was recorded at some point soon after that tragic event. But NO. At another point on the tape, it becomes clear that the date is August 12, 1967, and listening back to the King mention, is also becomes clear that the speaker is - honest to God - simply making a prediction, more or less as fact and certainly without any rancor or emotion, that King will be assassinated at some point. He doesn't say, as I thought at first, "when they assassinated...", instead, he says "when they assassinate....".

Wow. What an unintended insight into the thoughts and views of some people during the mid 1960's.

Download: Audio Letter from Dad and Sis - 8-12-67
Play:

~~

Next up, here's something fun: It's some radio guy making multiple attempts to record an ad for an end-of-year closeout sale at a local Fresno car dealership, presumably in the summer of 1963. There are multiple different (but similar) ads attempted, and the reader makes several attempts to get them right, breaking down repeatedly along the way. There's a bit of fun in the copy - some understated humor and a sense of making fun of themselves. I find this highly enjoyable.

Download: Trying to Record End-of-Season Ads for Fresno Motor Sales, 1963
Play:

~~

For my "very short reels" sample this week, I again pulled one out at random, and it turned out to be an ad for a local watering hole in Toledo, known as "The Distillery", an ad to be aired on WJZE, which was then on 106.5 FM - it's since migrated to lower on the dial and changed formats. This ad is date 3-20-97.

Download: "The Distillery" Ad - WJZE - 3-20-97
Play:

A Small Child and His Family, Ersatz Bob and Ray, A Hodgepodge Tape and Another Very Short Reel

Greetings!

First up, I want to share something based on a couple of specific requests. I have, from time to time, sold reel tapes on eBay, tapes that I did not want to keep (rarely if ever anything I've shared here, almost entirely tapes whose contents do not excite me). I have never promoted these sales before, but when I mentioned that I have a history of selling tapes, I had a few people post that they'd like to be alerted to these sales, the next time.

And so, with that in mind, I will let you know that I have three auctions of tapes at this time. 25 seven inch reels are here, another 27 seven inch reels are here, and 16 five inch reels are here. The auctions end on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of this week, respectively.

~~

I have been very slow to continue the "Scotch Tape Box History" series, having gone a few months without a further post, and that's because this is the entry that I've been dreading. Scotch used a series of creative tape boxes throughout the late '40's, all of the '50's and the early '60's, with the exception, I suppose, of the most commonly found box, the black design. But that one is so iconic to me, it still is something special. The rest, though, whether the busy Scotch plaid patterns, or the one with the clock, or the one with the studio rehearsal or the crazy art deco arrangement, are all so nice.

And then, just as the world was exploding in a symphony of color - and just as the art world was exploding with Pop Art and other wonderfully creative moves towards using color and images in new and startling, fun and exciting ways, the folks at Scotch went precisely in the other direction, and from perhaps 1964 or so through the end of the decade, THIS - with a few variations of product numbers and specifics as to each product - was your standard Scotch Tape Box:

Ugh.

~~

Okay, first up today is a tape I find utterly charming, except for those few moments that are ear-piercing. The primary speaker is a child named Paul, heard first at age 5, then at age 7. Paul and his father are recording, and he is singing and babbling the way a five year old is likely to do. Early on, a toddler, also in the room, becomes upset and shrieks extremely loudly, but if you can get past those moments, I think this is a lot of fun.

For those of you in my age demographic, you will probably get a kick out of the song Paul sings after asking if he can sing the "Huckleberry Song". He also makes up a few songs, and makes mention in song and speaking that he wishes mommy would be home soon with the brand new baby.

Then there is a break, and we indeed hear mommy, announcing that we've been listening to 1960, and now it's 1962, and all three children will speak. They do, but just barely - Paul is the star of our show again. For any more details, I'd prefer that you experience this tape yourself, and I hope you enjoy it as I do.

Download: Paul and His Family - 1960 and 1962 Recordings by Paul (age 5 in 1960) and His Family
Play:

~~

Next up, a rather peculiar and fascinating recording I found on a VERY old Scotch reel. Luckily, there was enough writing on the box for me to decipher what was going on, because otherwise, I would have thought this was a pair of guys pretending to be on the radio, and wishing that they were Bob and Ray.

But no, as the box made clear, this is a pair of would-be humorists by the names of Don Anderson and Leo McKay, working under the names of "Bunky and Dufoe", at station KWRO, Coquille, Oregon on 2/27/57, with either their entire show for that day, or an excerpt thereof. Your mileage may, of course, vary, but boy do I find this to be a big old dumpster fire of unfunny. And as someone who reveres the early, improvised work of Bob and Ray (from when they were on in Boston), this just grates on me.

On the other hand, it may well be the only known recording of this duo (I certainly couldn't find any mention of them online), so that certainly makes it worth hearing. And certainly, tastes in humor vary widely, so you may enjoy it not just as an obscure piece of radio history, but as comedy.

Download: Bunky and Dufoe (Don Anderson and Leo McKay) - KWRO, Coquille, Oregon, 2-27-57
Play:

~~

The next tape I'm sharing as an example of something I come across from time to time - this one being more interesting than most others, and that is the type of tape I label a "Hodgepodge". These are typically tapes of anywhere from 20 minutes to over an hour, which, within their length, contain a fairly ridiculously varied number and group of recordings, often with no clear link between the segments. My own family's tapes would have a ton of this sort of thing, or at least if a stranger went through them, that person would think they were a hodgepodge. Having been there, I would know the relationship between the items of the tape and of the people heard.

And there's little doubt that's true of this tape, too. But I don't have that background information, so here's what I heard. Someone playing blues chords and licks, fairly badly (and very badly recorded), on an electric guitar, with some vocals here and there. Someone (who was probably trying to be funny) expressing himself with extremely crude language, most likely just for his own entertainment and for the entertainment of those in the room, while the guitar playing continues - THIS SECTION IS NOT SAFE FOR WORK - and is followed by more guitar, then a Brook Benton song recorded off the radio, and even more blues.

This is interrupted by someone singing standards, a capella and then with a record. Then there is a segment which seems to be capturing mostly the ambient noise around someone's home - a radio is on and there is a bit of conversation for around three minutes. Some VERY badly recorded radio follows (Warning, this is extremely shrill, and begins at 20:40), and that segues right back into the blues guitar and vocal, recorded just as loudly and badly.

Again, I include this mostly as an example of a type of tape I come across fairly often, and that I haven't shared before. Plus there are some curious things here. I may try to do this with other genres that I have categorized tapes into, in the future, or other "hodgepodge" tapes that seem interesting.

Download: A Hodgepodge - Bluesy Guitar, Rude Talk, Singing, Conversations at Home
Play:

~~

Finally, this week's "Very Short Reel". And it's an "Extremely Short Reel", just 24 seconds (it says 21 plus 2 on the box....). This is one tape from a whole batch of tapes which I bought at least 15 years ago, all of which came from a station in Astoria, Oregon, which is, like Coquille, above, right on the Pacific Ocean, but at the other end of the state's coastline from Coquille.

Most of the tapes from this station were episodes of a half-hour story-telling program, with the stories read by the same female announcer heard here - I believe she was named "Aunt Polly" on the story program. The stories were mostly science fiction and horror, and nothing in the series was all that interesting to me, and I sold them all after listening, again, many years ago.

But here's one from the collection that stayed with me. As you'll hear, it's an ad for a dance, to be held at the Clatsop County Historical Society, which is still there (although the phone number for the the heritage center has since changed. It was in February of 1990. Maybe someone out there reading this was there!!!!

Download: Clatsop County Historical Society USO Dance Ad - 2-4-90
Play:

The 1962 Eurovision Song Contest, Jonathan Winters Uncensored and More

Hi, everyone,

It's time to update the ol' Scotch Tape Box History Series. I believe I can hear you whooping and hollering from here!

I have to say up front that I do not know exactly where this design fits in. Each of the last four boxes that I've shared seem to date from somewhere in the period 1958-1965 or so, which is mostly a period that my family bought precious few new tapes, as we only replaced our faded Concertone with a newer model in the fall of 1963. And even then, my father seems to have favored a brand called "Knight" (which also went through some interesting box design changes).

So I'm certain that the last four (including this one) come from that era, but really can't put a better date on them. However, today's offering is a definite change of pace. All of the previous designs prominently featured some representation of the reel of tape held within, and/or played up the quality of the tape or some special feature (extra length, weather balanced, etc.), this one contains none of that. It has a type number (141, indicating a 1200 foot reel), and some space age era illustrations. We're also told it's part of the "Tartan Series, whatever that was. But that's it. As with the previous boxes, the Scotch pattern has been relegated to a half-inch on the right edge of the box.

I suspect this box was in production longer than the last few that I shared, as it turns up more often, particularly more frequently than the last two.

Things get a lot less interesting, design-wise, from here on out.

~~~

The big offering for today is a remarkable piece of tape recorded live, off the air, in England, in 1962. It features virtually the entirety of the 1962 "Eurovision Song Contest". If you are unfamiliar with this amazing and unique event, you should really read up on  it, but if you don't want to, I'll tell you that it is a contest between some of the nations of Europe, held every year, to determine the best song of that year.

That it doesn't succeed in this is self-evident - for many years, a very specific few types of songs were offered up, intended to appeal to the generic middle-of-the-road European judge. Monty Python famously ridiculed this tendency around 1970.

The only worldwide hit to have come out of the contest, as far as I know, is the magnificent "Waterloo" by Abba, which may well have broken the mold, and perhaps brought more variety to future contest, but I really don't know.

The recording heard here features an announcer who seems more suited to a golf tournament, breaking in with hushed explanations and comments via what sounds like a walkie-talkie, at opportune moments.

Aside from a moment to turn over the tape, the whole thing seems to be here - all the performances, the intermission music while the countries are deciding on their favorites, the voting, and the second performance of the winning song. For me, I only liked a couple of the songs, neither of which got many votes at all.

I've probably made this sound awful. It isn't - it's weirdly wonderful, and certainly a moment in time that has long-since passed. Just think, less than six months after this contest, The Beatles recorded their first Parlophone Records 45. I have to think that, at least by the 1964 Eurovision contest, the difference between the songs performed at this contest, and what actual Europeans (and the rest of the world) were listening to, must have been as wide as the ocean.

Download: Various Artists - The 1962 Eurovision Song Contest
Play:

~~

Next up, something really remarkable. At least, that's the case if it's as rare as I think it might be.

This is a short tape of Jonathan Winters, at some undated point in his career, but I would guess the 1960's, performing without the restrictions of the day, for either stand-up (which he actually did very little of) or of album releases.

Over the course of these 13 or so minutes, you'll hear Winters - who has an audience of only a few people - engage in a series of mostly very short vignettes, punctuated here and there by words that would have been bleeped, at the time. The scenes include a bit about having diarrhea, a bit of gay comedy (the one thing not unheard of in his released comedy), some lighthearted material about a rape, some fun about teenage masturbation, and in the last (and by far the longest) bit, a parody of a hip black guy, which features the use of several racial and ethnic slurs.

Again, maybe this is commonly known of and circulated. But I've only found one reference to it, on an acetate (and indeed, it seems likely that this is a recording of an acetate), so I'm guessing it's fairly rare.

Download: Jonathan Winters - Unreleased, Off-Color Material
Play:

~~

The next tape, featuring Larry Blair talking about "The CIA" came in this box:

I am almost certain that this tape was recorded as accompaniment to a slide show, perhaps for use in High School or College classes. The factual reporting, with very little opinion on either side of any issue, and the open-ended nature of the ending suggests that it was meant to be followed by conversation, a written assignment, or both.

On the other hand, I doubt that this tape was the item that went with the slide show. I suspect it's far more likely that Larry Blair used this tape as a demo reel to promote his own talents as a reporter or voice-over/commercial pitchman.

Download: Larry Blair - The CIA
Play:

~~

And assuming that I'm correct about Larry Blair's tape, it's something of a coincidence that the "very short reel" I pulled out at random for today post is ALSO a demo reel, in this case for Harry Chase, an actor known primarily for his voice work, and who has credits on IMDB as recently as 2012. Here is his demo reel.


Download: Harry Chase - Voice Talent Demo Tape
Play:

Two Great Commercials and Two Home Recordings

Happy Leap Year Day,

It's been quite a while since I updated the Scotch Tape Box series, mostly because I've barely had time recently to complete posts at all. But today's the day. Last time I updated the series, I acknowledged having accidentally skipped over two designs, and offered up one of those, promising one more to come.

I actually suspect that this one, while coming after the iconic and stark black and gray box they used in for much of the 1950's, actually came before the clock motif one that I shared last time, but there's no way I can be even remotely certain.

Regardless, this one is an absolute favorite, one which they didn't use for very long at all, judging from the frequency with which these boxes turn up (rarely). There's a hell of a lot going on here. The scotch design on the outside edge is still there, and there is a vestige of the grey image of a reel, but if you didn't know what it was, you wouldn't necessarily figure it out.

As to the rest of the box, it's so busy that I'm not surprised they dispensed with it quickly. It says "PE backing", directly over part of the writing on the grey box, and the entire left side of the box is given over to drawings of various kinds of weather, with the phrase "Weather Balanced" in the center. This phrase is also on the edges of the box. I have no idea what that has to do with anything - maybe someone can enlighten me. And like the previous tape box shared, this one again trumpets the fact that the reel has 50% more tape on it than a seven inch reel could previously hold.

I'm guessing they decided this was too complicated to be worthwhile, but I love it.

~~

Another project, one I have been keeping up with, is the "Very Short Reels" project, which is linked with that phrase at the bottom of this page. This time around, instead of again tacking the short reel onto the end of my post, I'm going to lead off with it, because this is one of my favorite tapes ever. I found it in 1992, most likely at the ALS Mammoth Music Mart, which I've written about multiple times, so won't describe it again. 

The five inch box had a cover I would have found irresistible, then and now: 

Are you kidding me? Some local ad agency's own tape of an ad produced for some company's Cherry Sauce? And recorded two days after I was born? That's for me. 

In most cases when I find something this cool, the actual contents turn out to be something of a disappointment. But not this time. I love old-timey radio advertisements, as my multiple posts of the Star Ads should make clear. And this one is as good as all but the very best of the Star Ads. 

It's heard in two versions, a version with the chorus vocals (including a section of individual vocals), but with no voice over, and the version with the spoken voice over. Oddly, perhaps, I prefer the version without the voice over, by far. There is just so much going on in that basic track, The section from 0:10 to 0:18 is masterfully arranged and played. I almost feel like it's spoiled when someone talks over it. I also love the xylophone player getting his part right as the take is announced at the beginning of the backing track version. Finally, I think it's entirely possible that one of these singers later moved over to the Star Ads agency. If you have a listen to some of those ads, particularly the ones featuring the guy I call "the voice" of Star Ads. He's heard here in the first and last ads, and I think he's in this ad, solo, at the 0:48 spot. 

One of my favorite things that I've ever found on a reel - The Comstock Cherry Sauce ad by The Gordon Best Company. 

Download: The Gordon Best Company - Comstock Cherry Sauce, Basic Track

Play:  

Download: The Gordon Best Company - Comstock Cherry Sauce, With Voice Over

Play:  

Always remember: Lighten each dish with extra delish. 

~~

Well, that's a tape I've been enjoying for over 25 years. Here's one I just discovered this week. It was in the middle of a off-the-air recording of Victor Borge's TV show circa late 1958 or 1959. That was enjoyable enough, but basically captured his act, which I adore (I would rank Borge among the top three or four comedians of the century), but which I am extremely familiar with/ 

However, the show contained several lengthy ads for Pontiac, including, delightfully, one of almost two minutes featuring Bob and Ray, and which I don't believe has ever been anthologized or captured on youtube, etc. So here is that ad, for your dining and dancing pleasure: 

Download: Bob and Ray for Pontiac, Circa 1959

Play:

~~

Next up is a short bit of recording which I found in the middle of someone's recordings of some mid-1950's pop music. Usually that type of tape is wholly uninteresting, containing material that either never needs to be heard again (ahem, Mantovani), or which is readily available on youtube, or things that qualify for both of those descriptions. 

And yet, here was an absolutely lovely little 7 1/2 minute blast of a happy family (or perhaps family and friends), singing together fairly joyously at times. There are several children present and someone playing a guitar. After a brief rendition of the children's song, "Five Little Ducks", we move on to the recent hits of the day. 

Based on the songs sung, I'm guessing this tape to be from 1957, probably early 1957, based on the familiarity everyone present has with several hits from late in 1956. That this is right in the heart of what is perhaps my single favorite 18 months ever for popular music surely adds to my enjoyment, but I hope those who listen to it will find it at least pleasant and sweet. 

The songs that follow are: Marianne, Wringle Wrangle, and one I don't recognize, all featuring guitar and enthusiastic singing from the children present, then Horace the Horse (a children's song) and The Green Door, both sung a capella, and with a lot of comments from the children. The raucous nature of these recordings then gives way to a very sweet and harmonious version of "Blueberry Hill". During this song, though, one of the children decides it's time to stop recording and becomes increasingly loud about his or her displeasure, and the recording is ended. 

Download: Family Sing Along Circa 1957

Play:

~~

And finally, a tape I find fairly tedious, but which is unique enough and certainly rare enough to make it worth sharing. This tape contains what appear to be a few friends, repeatedly rehearsing and practicing songs - mostly just two of them - over and over again in different settings and styles, with both organ and piano backing. I have done a lyric search, and I don't believe these are songs which ever became popular - they may not have even ever been published - so this may have been the work of an amateur songwriter with some hope, via these demos, of having a hit song, or simply friends performing material they'd written. Who knows? At the end there are performances of the standard "Laura" and of a song called "Don't Take Your Love From Me" (and there is a glitch in the latter performance), but for the first 36 minutes or so of this 41 minute segment, it's just the same couple of songs, again and again and again. 

Download: Unknown - Rehearsing a Few Songs Over and Over

Play:

Earl Godwin, Fizzola Cola and a Vintage Radio Promo Presentation

Hi,

Last time around, I acknowledged that I had goofed a bit in trying to stay chronological in my presentation of Scotch Brand Tape boxes. Specifically, I quickly realized that I had skipped over two relatively brief designs in indicating that Scotch went from the iconic grey-reel-on-black-background box straight into the good-enough-to-use-to-record-an-orchestra box.

I do believe that the latter box was still from the early '60's, for the reasons I outlined in that second post I just linked, but there were two designs that pre-date it, that also came during the period that my family was not buying new tapes, and again, like the orchestra box, I never saw this design until I began collecting other people's tapes.

This box trumpets the fact that, like maybe tape manufacturers in the late 1950's, Scotch was now selling 1800 foot reels, a 50 % improvement in terms of the length of taping tape available - regardless of the speed used - over the previous industry standard of 1200 feet. It keeps the grey-ish tape motif and the general black background, but also has two (very late '50's-ish) clock images and the phrase "extra play". It's a busy image and one that I find very appealing.

And now on to the first of four items I'm sharing today. And forgive my long road trip to get there. I hope its interesting.

I picked this first item because it came up in conversation this week, with some of the children I work with at my church, and I realized with some surprise that I'd never even mentioned this to my own kids, who are now in their late 20's. I'm not even sure any of my friends have ever heard it.

Part of the conversation with these church kids (ages 12-16) included their reference to everyone having to take music theory at the local high school. That struck me as odd.

I commented that at my high school, only those who believed they would be pursuing a career in music took music theory. And, since I had thought that this was where I would be heading (when I was 14, anyway), that I had signed up for Music Theory as part of my Freshman class load - but that there were only about 15 of us in the class. No one had to take it, and no one outside of the 15 of us did. I was encouraged to sign up as a freshman by the teacher of the class, who knew my family (he also thought a music career was in my future). Everyone else in the class was a Junior or Senior, all of them quite focused on careers in music.

The final project, that following spring, was to create a product and write (meaning, submit the sheet music) and record a commercial for the product, using at least one change in tempo or style (I'm sure there were other things we had to include, as well). My product was "Fizzola Cola". As I've mentioned here from time to time, my mother was a professional (and coloratura) classical soprano, so she sang on the commercial. I sang as well, and played the piano.

Here is that ad. The volume at various points is not perfect (the conversation at the start is way too soft, for one thing), and the tape has worn out somewhat in the ensuing 44 years, but it's still worth a listen, I think, and I hope you enjoy it.

Download: Bob and Mary Fran Purse - "Fizzola Cola" Ad
Play:

P.S.: I took the second year of Music Theory as a Senior, still believing at that point that I might pursue a music career. Aside from playing trombone in a pit orchestra for one show, being in a few bands for a short amount of time, and working a few times as a folk singer for children, I never actually did anything that looked like someone who was pursuing a music career. But those two classes made a world of difference for me as a musician and songwriter, even if those things turned out to be solely avocations.

~~

As long as I've focused on my family, I thought I'd also include something I came across a while ago that I had no expectation of finding - a recording of my maternal grandfather in one of his radio broadcasts. Earl Godwin was known as the "Dean of Broadcasters", and was part of the crew that would crowd around President Franklin Roosevelt's desk for press conferences - actually getting to sit next to the president because he was so tall when he stood that the other reporters complained.

He worked for NBC's "Blue" network and remained with the network when it became ABC. I never got to know him, as he died a few years before I was born, and had only heard his voice on one recording, an acetate we owned of a radio tribute to him, on his 75th birthday.

So here I was, listening to a tape I had bought, the earliest one (of several) featuring vintage recordings of day-by-day radio broadcast summaries of the goings-on at the Army-McCarthy hearings, when the announcer introduced commentary from Earl Godwin.

Here is that broadcast:

Download: Earl Godwin - Comments on the Army-McCarthy Hearings
Play:

~~~

Staying on the theme of radio (and the 1950's), here's a vintage (1953) promotional piece from CBS radio - a commercial sales presentation. I'd venture a guess to say that the vocal insert at 8:34 was not intended to be part of the presentation.

Download: CBS Radio - A 1953 CBS Radio Commercial Sales Presentation
Play:

~~

And finally, as promised each post nowadays, I have again grabbed a "very short reel" at random and will offer it up here. This one takes a bit of explanation, as it appears this length of tape was used three times, with each new use erasing part of the previous use. Advertised on the box (see below), is the final use, a painfully shlocky white-rap tribute to Webber's Transmission, from 1997, which has to be heard to believed. After that's over, we hear most of what was being erased, a commercial for a then-upcoming "Bride and Groom" show. Finally, in the last few seconds of tape after that partial ad, we hear an announcer guaranteeing our satisfaction, with regard to.... something. All in 108 seconds.

Download: Noble Broadcast of Toledo - Webber's Transmission, Bride and Groom Show, Satisfaction Guaranteed
Play:

Mort Sahl Hosts the Tonight Show! PLUS Some Truly Odd Coca-Cola Ads

Howdy, everyone,

As you will have seen if you read my other blog, this has been a truly hectic and busy month, so I will not be typing nearly as much as I often do, allowing much more to be experienced by the listener without all those comments from me.

But first, I want to continue to the Scotch Tape Box series, and that's where I'll do most of my commenting for today. Two entries ago, I shared the box that seems to have been the one they settled on for most of the 1950's, then last time, I went a bit out of turn and showed the 10 inch reel box that seems to have been their style for quite a while in the '50's and maybe into the '60's.

Below you will find the box I believe came next, and it's a radical change from the "picture of a reel of tape" which had been the focal point, to one degree or another, from each previous design:

I believe this design replaced the iconic black-with-most-of-a-reel design some time in the very late 1950's, and was the going design for a couple of years. I say this both because of the material I've found on such tapes over the years - the likely dates of those recordings, and, most centrally: because I literally never saw one of these until I started collecting tapes in the 1980's. That dovetails nicely with the fact that my family did not have a reel to reel machine that worked well - at all - from about 1960 until the fall of 1963. There would have been no reason to buy tapes during that period.

Now, Scotch is promoting the high quality of the tape, and suggesting via the image, that it is what the studios use - and that was probably fairly accurate. This happens to be a 2400 foot reel, which was twice the length that the first reels of tape had. They had previously expanded to 1800 feet, and now made the tape even thinner and lengthened it again. The box says "Double Length - Double Strength", and while the former was absolutely accurate, the new, thinner tape was not in any way stronger - it was more fragile and more likely to stretch and damage, just as you'd imagine. It got even worse when they thinned the tape again and crammed 3600 feet on the same roll of tape, about a decade later.

~~

Okay, like I said, I'm just going to put up this rare and wonderful tape and let it unspool for your enjoyment, without commenting much at all. Here we have an episode (or I think perhaps parts of multiple episodes - I listened to it months ago) of NBC's "Tonight Show", featuring the guest hosting of Mort Sahl. The main part of the tape is an episode featuring several famous women discussing male/female relationships. I'm fairly certain this comes from the several months between Jack Paar's departure from the show and Johnny Carson's arrival, a period during which NBC had multiple guest hosts for the show. If I had more time, I'm sure I could figure out the date(s) of this recording. This is an amazing 90 minutes of tape.

Download: Mort Sahl and Guests - The Tonight Show (1962)
Play:

~~

And here's a VERY peculiar tape I heard for the first time, just this week. It features nine Coca-Cola radio, each one of them featuring a string of helpful household hints that, aside from a couple, have NOTHING to do with Coca-Cola, interspersed with the then-current jingle. I'd love to know how these were received in 1971, because hearing them today is befuddling. Make sure you remember to rub lighter fluid on the walls of your house!

Download: Nine 1971 Coca-Cola Radio Ads
Play:

~~

Finally, I again pulled out a "very short tape" from the pile of them I have by the tape recorder, and found that it was labeled ""Clock Jingles". However, that seems unrelated to the tape's actual content, which is a series of ads for several businesses - no doubt in the same market - very likely from the same advertising company. The link below lists the apparent names of the companies (and, for the first one, the radio station). I'm very unsure that I have them all right, but again, maybe someone out there can identify the location and correct names for these companies.

There are 16 1/2 jingles/ads heard here in just 135 seconds. I say "1/2" because the ad that starts at 1:04 is incomplete - it plays just as you'll hear, on the tape.

Download: Unknown - WMMM, Kettering’s Bread, Sorrow’s, First Federal & Corwin’s Ford
Play:

Late Night Gossip Radio, New York City, 1959-1960

Before I get to another quartet of tapes, I wanted to continue with the "Scotch Tape Box" series, which you can follow by clicking the link for "Scotch Tape box History" at the bottom of this post. I'm going to do my best to share these in chronological order, although I'm not sure on a couple of styles, but this post is the exception. 

Because while the 3 inch, 5 inch and 7 inch boxes produced by scotch each went through myriad changes during the '50's, they seemed to have largely stayed with one style, throughout, for their 10 inch product. Maybe they were setting it apart because it was even more likely than the other products to be used by professionals in the recording studio (and indeed, this was a sales point, right on the box). Regardless, every ten inch Scotch reel I've found from the early days (and admittedly, I haven't seen that many) has looked like this: 

Similarly, every Scotch box I've ever seen with this design has been a ten inch reel. I don't think they ever housed smaller reels in boxes that looked like this.

That box has considerable wear. This particular tape is one of six 10 inch reels my family owned and used, all of them filled before I was born in 1960, and this is the only Scotch brand one of the six. The others were all Audiotape brand. Unlike almost all our family's early tapes, there are no personal family recordings on this tape - it contains a performance of a Paganini violin piece and a collection of live Benny Goodman performances.

~~

Not so very long ago, I obtained a couple of five inch audiotape reels, labeled professionally with a "TV Time Recordings" logo, and featuring segments of "The Bea Kalmus Show" on WMGM radio, New York, dated exactly two months apart, and both of them featuring a local New York starlet named Fairfield Mason. I'm certain these came from Mason's collection or that of her family, as each tape is clearly excerpted from a much longer radio show.

And what a show it must have been. I'm not particularly a fan of this "gossip column on the air" style of radio, which Irv Kupcinent did for years here in Chicago. In fact, I find it aggressive in its vapidity. On the other hand, its certainly a snap-shot in time, and a time where this version of show-biz might have felt quite strong and steady, even though it was nearing the end of the line.

Bea Kalmus is written up in a few places as the first female DJ in the country, and I have no idea if that's true. She also made albums, appeared in a forgotten film titled "Disk Jockey" (which I would love to see, as it also features an appearance by the Weavers - but no one seems to have it) and would sometimes sing along with the records that she played. In between, on her late night show, which came from a local restaurant (as did Kupcinent's), she would interview the stage, screen and music stars who were in town.

If Bea Kalmus' star has faded to almost nothing - and significant mentions of her on the web are minimal - Fairfax Mason, the guest heard here, does not appear to have been much of a star even in 1959 or 1960. The potential Broadway show she mentions in each broadcast does not appear to have ever come to fruition, and she has only one Broadway credit to her name, a small part in "How to Succeed", a few years later. A deeper search in Google Books finds that she was still working as a singer/entertainer in 1992, at what appears to have been a small New York club. But Bea treats her as if she was Ethel Merman.

I, for one, cannot stand Fairfax Mason's laugh.

Here are both tapes, from November 26th, 1959 and January 26, 1960, dates which nicely book-ended Mason's trip to Newfoundland, where I'm sure it's quite lovely at the start of winter. The second interview is nearly twice as long as the first.

Download: The Bea Kalmus Show, with Fairfax Mason - 11/26/59
Play:


Download: The Bea Kalmus Show, with Fairfax Mason - 1/26/60
Play:

~~

Going in about as random a different direction as I could, here is a bit of virulently right wing propaganda - John Birch Society style - railing against the United Nations. I only have tape four of the series, and if I had more, I'd annoy you with those, too. By the way, the crackling sound is on the original tape. A quick search shows that Mary Davison wrote multiple books on this and related subjects, and was called a "whistleblower about the United Nations" at least once.

Download: Mary Davison - The United Nations, Tape Four
Play:

~~

And finally, something very nice randomly selected by my towering stack of Very Short Tapes (this series can also be linked, at the bottom of this post). This one turned out to be a Demo Reel for legendary voice-over talent Hal Douglas, who was particularly well known for his narration of movie trailers. Here he is heard in a series of commercials and segments of commercials, in a demo reel for potential customers.

Download: Hal Douglas - Voice Talent Demo Reel
Play:

Give Bobby a Microphone, and He'll Entertain an Imaginary Audience

No, this Bobby isn't me, although what that title applied to me, as well. We'll get to Bobby in a minute. But first, another chapter in my roughly chronological parade of Scotch brand reel to reel tape boxes. The series can be found here, and the most recent post in that series (as of now, anyway) will show you a very spare, almost entirely white (well, cream) box with some black line drawings and a bit of red. My impression, based on the fairly limited number of boxes of this type that I've found, is that that white design was in use relatively briefly. However, it was also in use during a period that very few homes had reel to reel tape machines, and the pros were likely using 10 inch reels (which had a different box - that's for next time).

The next box design flipped the white one on its head, being dominated by black, and in place of the line drawing of a tape, and actual image of a tape.

This is the most "iconic" '50's box, to me - the one I come across over and over again from that era. It is my impression that they used this design longer than any other design of the 1950's or 1960's. If I picture the generic "vintage Scotch box", it is this one. Not only does this box appear to have been in use from circa 1953 or so until the late 1950's, it is exactly in that era - particularly by 1957 or so - that home reel to reel machines became far more affordable, and the number of tapes that I find which were recorded privately, by families, explodes around that time.

Finding home tapes from prior to 1955 is quite rare - those from 1957 and later are increasingly common as the years go on. Even in my own family, where we'd had a machine since 1952, we only amassed about ten or fifteen tapes to use prior to the late 1950's.- they were expensive! By the early '60's we had about three dozen. This tape design, from one of the biggest manufacturers of tape (along with Audiotape) overlaps that explosion in customer base.

~~~

The "Bobby" in question is one Bobby Berlt, and I love this tape. Bobby is attending an event with several relatives, and has been afforded the opportunity to babble into a tape recorder. When I first heard this tape, Bobby's well-spoken manner and the content of what he says and does led me to believe he was eight or nine. But late in the tape, he mentions that the previous year he'd been too young for Cub Scouts, and that he's since joined, meaning that he's probably five-and-a-half or six, which actually makes his "performance" here fairly impressive and not just endearing.

That's me speaking, of course, I can imagine those who don't work with and/or enjoy children finding this a difficult listen. For 16 minutes, Bobby talks. He talks about last year's vacation, imagining himself talking to an audience of younger children (an audience whose voices he occasionally provides). He provides interlude music, claiming it was to pass the time while he was otherwise occupied, and he talks about this year's trip to see the relatives he's with. Things bog down a bit near the end, when he becomes obsessed with getting his uncle to come over and talk (and when the uncle does show up, he dismisses him after about 45 seconds), then he talks to his aunt and decides he's done.

Bobby Berlt, if you're out there, I'd love to hear from you, and hear whether you enjoyed your performance!

Download: Bobby Berlt - Talking
Play:

~~

Next up, here is a relic from a very different time, sociologically and politically. It's a 24 minute public affairs radio program, produced by the Ohio Farm Bureau, titled "When Neighbors Meet". The reference to Gerald Ford being House Minority Leader places it somewhere between 1965 and 1973. That's about all I'll say about it. Have a listen.

Download: Ohio Farm Bureau - When Neighbors Meet
Play:

~~

Finally, I'm going to start another little series here, a project begun in part to make myself digitize a bunch of very short tapes that I own. These are typically five inch reels, but which have only a few feet of tape on them - they usually have an ad or two, or some voice actor's demo reel. They are anywhere from 30 seconds to three minutes in length. I have hundreds of them - more than three dozen sitting less than four feet away right now, waiting to be digitized - and I'm going to try and share one within every post. I grabbed one at random, and it actually turns out to be one that is fairly inexplicable - it's not an ad or a demo. It's.... well, listen:

Download: "Malfunction, Malfunction"
Play:

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!
Play:

~~

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: