Some Esoteric Short Film Music, A Hopeful Rock DJ, Paris and Munich, George Wallace Campaigns and Wally Cox Sells a Soft Drink

Before I get to this week's multitude of items, I wanted to encourage folks to have another look at my last post, specifically the comments. I will not repeat them here, but reader/listener Kyle, who I mentioned in that post, has again linked to some interesting sounds which have been posted by others, particularly at the site at finnley.audio. There are also two comments shedding a bit more light on singer Malcolm Dodds, who's demo of a song was featured in that point. 

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Okay, so I'm going to start with something perhaps a little esoteric and which comes in four parts, but with this posting, I want to acknowledge a great gift I have been given, as well as offer thanks for a previous, similar (if smaller gift). For there is a dedicated reader/listener out there named Charles, who has now, on two occasions, come across a stash of interesting reels, bought them, and then sent them to me (free of charge!), for my perusal and enjoyment. 

The first batch - which I think was between ten and twenty tapes - came my way over 18 months ago, and had been the property of, as Charles said, "a now deceased sound engineer at WABC-TV". I have featured at least a couple of these tapes here, including that Japanese language material I posted last month. But many of the tapes are still sitting where I put them upon their arrival, waiting to be heard. Such is the volume of tapes that I have. A very belated public THANK YOU to Charles for those. 

Charles has not gone at least one better. Perhaps 15 better, perhaps 100 better. I'll have a better idea after I listen to more of the tapes. Because he has purchased, and sent me, dozens of tapes which belonged to a late composer by the name of David Hollister. You can read about him here. Not only that, he has put me in touch with the relative who inherited and who sold him these tapes. She has more tapes, which she is willing to share with me, as long as I make MP3's of them, and she authorized me to share what I find on the tapes. 

So it is that I grabbed a tape off the top of the batch at random and gave it a spin on the ol' reel to reel spindles. I found its contents absolutely fascinating, and hope you will, as well, although I acknolwege, again, that the word esoteric comes to mind. But hopefully I am wrong about that. 

The tape box made it clear that the tape contained two different potential soundtracks for a film called "Organism" made by Hilary Harris. On the first side was what was apparently an original composition, using a variety of common and uncommon instruments (see the box, below). On the second side was a different conception for the soundtrack, a collage of existing electronic music, composed by a variety of composers. Both were created during the last week of January, 1975, one week apart. Here is the box:  

The finished film, which is just over 19 minutes long (a bit longer than each of these proposed soundtracks, can be found in a few different places online, including this one.

Here are the two soundtracks: 

Download: David Hollister - First Tape for Hilary Harris' Film 'Organism' - 1-24-75

Play: 

Download: David Hollister - Second Tape for Hilary Harris' Film 'Organism' - 1-30-75

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After the second of these, there was a brief section of microphone tests and piano playing, which I am assuming - perhaps incorrectly - also feature the composer, David Hollister. I am including this  brief segment, and the one following it, for completion sake. 

Download:  (Presumably) David Hollister - Microphone Tests and Piano Playing

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Following that, and until near the end of the reel, is heard the last several minutes of a live performance of an orchestral work, complete with applause at the end. The rest of it had clearly been erased by the material above. Again, I'm assuming this is a work by the same composer, but I could certainly be wrong. Perhaps if so, someone knows what this very interesting piece of music is. The odd part is that, early on in this fragment, someone cut into one channel to insert a few moments of two very familiar pieces of music, one being about as classic of a pop hit as you can get, and the other being a well-known moment of classical music, heard twice, first at a different speed as the live performance, to boot. After those two interruptions, the live performance is heard without further interference. 

Download:   Fragment of a Performance of an Orchestral Work, Presumably by David Hollister

Play:

Thank you so very much, Charles. This is beyond kind and thoughtful and I am immensely grateful. Tomorrow is my birthday - it'll be "When I'm 64" - and this was a wonderful gift, despite not having been intended as such. 

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Here's the sort of thing that always appeals to a good percentage of readers of this site - a Demo Reel from a DJ. In this case, he's Lance Shepherd, and I've been unable to find out much of anything. He had clearly, around the time of the excerpt shared here, worked in a variety of genres, and as he tells someone named Mike, to whom he directs some comments at the end, he really wanted to "get back into rock". Here's hoping he did. 

Download: Lance Shepherd - Demo Reel

Play:

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Here's a real oddity (or, if you prefer, a reel oddity), or at least it strikes me that way. When Canada Dry wanted to introduce their new soda pop, Sports Cola, in 1968, they turned to that well known pitchman.... Wally Cox. Now I grew up loving Wally Cox (Hollywood Squares, Underdog, and, for an earlier generation, Mr. Peepers), but he doesn't strike me as having had the greatest of sales-pitch voices or personality. But perhaps that was the joke. 

I am also amused by the sales pitch connected with this product, which was that it has virtually no caffeine. I somehow doubt that would be a big draw today. 

Anyway, in this 30 plus minute recording, Wally and his cohorts go through an inordinate amount of takes to get the ad just right. Of course, we're only hearing the sound - maybe someone kept doing something wrong visually. But the ad isn't particularly well written. Actually, the ad copy for the first section - which they work on for about ten minutes (!) - is some of the worst I've ever  heard. But again, maybe they were going for comic effect. But the sheer number of takes here is mind-numbing. 

You can find a couple of Wally Cox' Sports Cola ads (not this one), here.

If you'd like to invest 45 seconds in a little more homework, type in Wally Cox Best Friend into Google and see who was Wally's best friend, who was also the person was who considered Wally his best friend (and who, after Wally's death kept Wally's ashes with him for the rest of his life). It is not who you might expect. 

Download: Wally Cox Records a Commercial for Canada Dry Sports Cola

Play:

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I've done a whole lot of typing about the items I've shared so far, so I'm going to dial it back for the last three. Here is a couple, living in Europe, who returned from a vacation, and described their experiences for posterity in an audio diary. I have featured this couple before, in other tapes made during their travels across other parts of Europe, but this one seems to have been made upon their return home.

Download: Reflections on Our Trips to Paris and Munich, 1968

Play:

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On a three inch reel, recorded at the slow speed of 1 7/8 IPS, I discovered recordings which were largely of a 1968 episode of The Smother's Brother's Comedy Hour. Sandwiched into the middle of these recordings, however, was the polar opposite of that show, politically, entertainment-wise and just about any other way you might want to look at it. It was a promotional piece about George Wallace and his 1968 Presidential Campaign, followed by a segment of one of Wallace's speeches. Then it was back to the Smothers Brothers. Here is that segment. 

Download: George Wallace Promo and Segment of a Speech, Summer, 1968

Play:

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And now for the "Very Short Reel" for this post. This reel, at over six minutes, stretches my concept of what "Very Short" is by more than a minute, but I've been wanting to share it, and I don't have anything else as good as this, and under five minutes, ready to go.

Anyway, here is a small group playing a short instrumental Irish piece, and then a woman sings a song identified as "The Spinning Wheel", but I found the lyrics here listed as being "Spinning Song", so that's what I named the file (although I now see that there are other performances and sites where the song is called "Spinning Wheel"). The woman's name might be said, right before the name of the song, but whatever it is that the guy says, I can't make it out. 

Both performances are in front of a small audience who respond enthusiastically at the end of each piece. Their appreciation is quite well earned. 

Download: A Short Instrumental Irish Piece and a Woman Sings '"Spinning Song"

Play:

AUGUST BLOWOUT POST - EVERYTHING MUST GO

 Greetings, my friends. 

I'll tell you a little secret: this site is a LOT of work. I have, at one point or another, listened to everything I post. And if it's been a while and I want to share something interesting, I listen a second time. And all that listening, and all that writing and all that linking takes a lot of time. 

I don't mind, and I'm certainly not complaining - I am overjoyed that I've found a way to share my lifelong fascination with reel to reel recording with those who appreciate my finds. But sometimes it's overwhelming to try and get out two posts a month in the style that I prefer. 

Plus, I did an inventory last month, and I found that, over the years (going back to the WFMU days), I have - in my file named "not yet used" - nearly 400 discrete sound files that I've made from reel tapes, all of which I at least considered for this site, and WFMU before that, which are, as you might guess, "not yet used" on this site. And that number continues to grow, as in a typical month I newly save more items than I share. 

So I'm thinking that when I'm short on time, I will just put up a big batch of files, with little text - perhaps those things that I don't have a lot of explanation to give, or just things I think are interesting enough to share, but perhaps not worth the time it takes to type out a bunch of words. Paradoxically, it will be easier to share 12 files without saying much of anything, than it is to write a bunch of words about five files. So that's what's going to happen here. 

Please let me know what you think of this format. If you like the idea of getting more content and less blather from me, my feelings won't be hurt. And if you find this to be just too much at once, let me know that, as well. 

But first, just a bit of housekeeping. I received a very interesting note from an anonymous poster, yesterday, with regard to what I labeled as "Walkie-Talkies" in my last post. Well, I stand corrected. Here's what was written to me: 

The "walkie talkies" are actually CB radios. The dutiful use of call signs (K- or W- followed by two letters and four digits, different syntax than amateur radio calls) would seem to date this well before the "Breaker Breaker" craze of the mid 1970s. If I was to guess, I'd say mid- to late-1960s.
Unfortunately all of the FCC's records of CB radio call signs were apparently destroyed in the 1980s once the nearly-always-ignored requirement to obtain a CB license was finally put to rest. Otherwise, you might be able to identify some of these talkers!
Even recordings from the 1970s craze are rare, so these pre-craze reels are especially rare and fascinating to hear as the original pre-internet "social media."

Thanks for that clarification and history lesson. Most interesting!

Oh, and I also added a really nice newspaper clipping to that same post, one that was in the box that contained the WRC 40th Anniversary highlights. 

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I'm going to do things upside down today, before I get to the main "blowout post" I described above, and share the three items which fit in with my regular features. 

First up, here's the contents of a neat, 12-inch acetate, in our "Acetate of the Month" feature. And with school starting for most children between last week and next week, what could be better than Miss Arlene greeting her room full of Kindergartener. On one side of the record, she greets them - and they greet her - in English, and on the other side, they greet each other in Spanish. 

Download: Kindergarten Class - Miss Arlene Greets Children in English

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Download: Kindergarten Class - Miss Arlene Greets Children in Spanish

Play:

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And let's get that "Very Short Reel" out of the way, too. It looks like, during the 1958-59 season, CBS TV ran various re-runs under the title "Stars In Action", or rather, "STARS..... IN.... ACTION!!!!". Here we have what I believe is the recording of various voiceovers being put onto the backing music. 

Download:  "Stars In Action" Main Title Voiceovers

Play:

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And now, nine more items, some of them quite lengthy, from my collection: 

By chance, a bunch of the files I chose are recordings of TV shows. So let's stay on the TV side of things to start. Here is the sound off of an entire TV special, a preview of ABC's fall, 1964 Prime Time programming, hosted by Bing Crosby. Crosby himself was the star of a new ABC sitcom that fall, one which didn't make it to the end of the season. 

Download: 1964 Preview of ABC's Fall Season, Starring Bing Crosby

Play:

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Now, did you ever wonder what a random woman speaker might have said, in 1970, about what the job of secretary of the future... say, 1980... would consist of and look like? Has that thought kept you up at night? I know it has for me. So I was relieved to find this 43 minute speech, on a tiny, three inch reel of desperately thin recording tape, recorded at 1 7/8 IPS. 

Download: Unknown - The Secretary of the Future, 1980, as Predicted in 1970

Play:

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Or perhaps 55 minutes of Fiddle Music, played by 90 year old Aunt Rose, with a much younger male relative on piano, recorded in Maine, among other spots, is more your speed today: 

Download: Fiddle Music with 90 Year Old Aunt Rose, from Maine and Elsewhere

Play:

Here's that tape box: 

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Returning to TV, here are some "wild track" recordings (Raw tapes, I think) from an ABC program about Japan, from the 1960's: 

Download: Wild Track Recordings for ABC program on Japan

Play:

And here's a portion of that tape box: 

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The next tape almost qualifies as a "Very Short Reel". The title pretty much explains this 5 1/2 minute segment: Robert Recites His Lines and Plays His Accordion, Spring, 1958

Download: Robert Recites His Lines and Plays His Accordion, Spring, 1958

Play:

And guess what, there's writing on this tape's box, too!

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Here's the tape I find the most interesting of all of those I'm sharing today. Your mileage may vary. I have in my collection several tapes recorded by an American couple living, I believe, in Germany, who made several trips to other parts of Europe during the late 1960's and early 1970's, and made recordings each night, while on those trips, summarizing their experiences from that day.In most cases, they used more than one reel - always three inch reels, with the thinnest, lengthiest tape available, and recorded at 1 7/8 IPS, as with the secretary speech, above. Here is their audio diary from 1969, capturing part one of a trip to Spain: 

Download: Audio Diary - Trip to Spain, September & October, 1969

Play:

Here's the tape, and the identification of its contents: 

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Last time around, I offered up some vintage country music television. This time around, it's more of the same, not from the 1950's, but from 1966, specifically, an episode of the Jimmy Dean show from January 16th of that year. 

Download: The Jimmy Dean Show, January 14, 1966

Play: \

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At some point, I came to own a few tapes connected to the Northrup Corporation, one of which you'll now have the chance to hear here. It's a rather odd compendium of various media reports and coverage of Northrup related stories. 

Download: Compilation of Northrup-Related Broadcasts, Summer, 1954

Play:

Here's what that tape box looks like: 

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And finally, the longest of all of the items I'm sharing here, which may be of some fascination to certain readers/listeners, and of absolutely no interest to the rest of you. This is an early 1950's revivalist-style church service, from a paper reel (that is, a reel made prior to 1952 featuring recording tape attached to paper backing). 

Download: An Early 50's Revivalist-Style Church Service

Play:

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Again, please let me know if you like, or dislike, this format. It is definitely a way to get more of what I have out there to you, the reader and listener, but it's also a ton of stuff to listen to. I'd also be interested in knowing which of the categories covered here are of interest, and not of interest, for future posts. 

Bloopers in Iowa, Vacation in Germany, Natives in New Mexico, Women in Market Research & More

 Greetings!

The files for this week, and my overlong text (I'm sure) that will go with them will follow in a moment, just a few jumps down the post.. 

But first...I'm using the start of the new year to get caught up on some replies to comments that many of you have been kind enough to leave. First, please know that I don't usually respond in the comments, not knowing who might or might not see them, but if you use your actual e-mail address when you comment, I often will respond by e-mail. But I understand why many don't want to do this.

Anyway, here are a few of things that I thought were worth sharing (more will be shared with future posts). 

I want to start by thanking everyone who wrote (either in comments or via e-mail) about the post I wrote for my father's 100th birthday.  It was very rewarding, touching and at times overwhelming to read these comments, and I deeply appreciate it. 

Okay, on to other things. From the "Small World" file, I heard from two people with personal connections to the Christmas Day family recording I posted a few weeks ago. The first was from Eric, who reported that he grew up in the same town in which that tape was recorded, and knows the street the family lives on quite well. Not long after that, I heard from "Old Guy" who reported that he was born two days before that recording was made. Some coincidences! Thank you both for writing. 

Then there is a comment from Jeremy, which can be found at the end of this post. Jeremy figured out that the tape from the young man in Japan was recorded in November of 1967, and he explains how he determined that in the comment. Thanks, Jeremy!

For this post, from Halloween of last year, I got a couple of comments worth mentioning. One anonymous poster suggested that the Octet music sounds a lot like music that was used in certain NFL films of an earlier age, and wondered if anyone had those films on VHS (or otherwise) and might compare.  And Brother Herbert wrote, regarding the same post, suggesting that the last name of the narrator of the vacation tape (and also the narrator's son) is Glossnick, or something similar. Thanks to both of you!

"Oldradios90" is a reader who comments quite often, which I really appreciate. A couple of months ago, OldRadios left this comment: 

II recently digitized this tape of a 1960s comedian to archive.org can you possibly make out who it is? https://archive.org/details/01.-1960s-comic-monomix 

I do not recognize the comic. Anyone out there have any guesses, or even a definite answer? 

The same poster asked if I had any "blue" Friar's club material, and I direct that reader to this post, from nearly five years ago. 

And I shouldn't leave the top of poster "OldRadios" before quoting something I was asked in a comment several months ago: 

"Hello Bob! I was wondering if you ever kinda get this sad feeling when a tape ends? Especially on recordings of family and friends because you feel like you get to know these people for a short time and you wonder what happened to them and if they are still alive?"

What a wonderful and insightful question! Yes, this absolutely happens, in exactly the situation you describe. I don't know that I feel like I get to know them (with the exception of a few cases), but I often wish there was more, wish I knew more about them, and frequently wonder whatever happened to them. On occasion, I even get to find out, when they (or their relatives) write to me. Sometimes, the internet can be amazing and wonderful. 

Finally, before getting to today's tape-a-palooza, a big shout out to Timmy, who nearly always comments, often saying something about every last thing I share, at this blog and at the song-poem site. I appreciate your involvement in this little project of mine more than you could know. 

Okay, now I'll share some stuff. 

~~~

Here's an interesting compilation. I suppose it's possible this reel circulates out there, but this particular collection may have been unique to its previous owner, who was a family member of mine who was also a working actor in Iowa for many, many years. It's a compilation of radio bloopers, mistakes and other outtakes, which largely appear to have their origin in various spots in Iowa. 

I find this sort of thing very entertaining, and hope you do, too. 

Download: A Collection of Bloopers From Iowa Radio

Play:

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Next up, one of several tapes I bought, somewhere along the way, featuring an American family who lived in Germany, and who took frequent vacations into other parts of Europe. Sometimes it was just the couple on the vacations, and sometimes their two young daughters went with. 

What makes these tapes interesting, and often fascinating, to me, is that this couple recorded updates to their trips in real time, with an audio diary of each day's events recorded every evening. I've found four or five of these in my collection - all recorded on three inch reels at 1 7/8 inches per second - and it's possible there are a couple more. Today's entry is the shortest of those I've found thus far, and it sounds like this might have been the first of at least two tapes (many of these vacations seem to have had two or three tapes made) - if so, I don't have the other tape. It also sounds like this was the first vacation made after the family moved to Germany, based on the main speaker's introduction to the reel. 

The trip was to Berchtesgaden in Bavaria, and I only knew how to spell that, because it was written on the tape box, a box which I'd scan and share here, except I can't find it now. The starting date for the trip was June, 1967. Here's the tape:

Download: Our Trip to Berchtesgaden, June 4-10, 1967

Play:

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On a wholly different subject, here is a documentary, produced around 1970, but something called "The Children's Foundation", titled "In Occupied Territory", and dealing with the problems and challenges faced by Native Americans and Chicanos in New Mexico at the time. I think this is pretty interesting stuff. 

Download: The Children's Foundation - In Occupied Territory (Radio Documentary)

Play:

Here's the tape box: 

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Here's a tape I wish I had in complete form. I've come across a few of these over the years, and I think I shared at least one here before. It's market research session. They get a bunch of people together with the goal of finding out more about how their product - or perhaps a product yet to be introduced - is thought of, and related issues. 

This recording exists on an otherwise erased tape - the material erasing it was far less interesting. So this is only the first 16 minutes or so. In it, we learn that the focus will be on the low-cost Steak Houses which used to be far more common than they are now - Ponderosa, Bonanza and the like. 

Of course, the company paying for this group session isn't mentioned to the participants, as that would surely skew the results. What we have here is the opening introductions - each participant is a housewife or an older woman whose kids have grown. We get a little bit into the actual conversion. As it continues, a baby begins having a fit in another room, as the conversation continues. One of the participants identifies that it's her child who is upset, after several minutes of wailing. They are just starting to discuss what to do about this when the available tape stops. 

Download: Market Research Session - Low Price Steakhouses (beginning only)

Play:

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At the end of October, I posted a tape labeled "Octet II", which a couple of commentators really enjoyed and found interesting. What I didn't recall, at all, at the time, was that I had another tape, labeled "Octet", featuring four more songs from the same group. I came across it during the holidays, while looking for something else. Here is it!

Download: Octet I - Four Songs

Play:

And here's that tape box: 

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And finally, here's our "Very Short Reel". Today, it's another voice actor demo reel, in this case for Julie Codlin - just over two minutes of her various commercial performances. 

Download: Julie Codlin - Voice Actor Demo Reel

Play:

Two Vastly Different Radio Shows, Film Narration, and More!

 Howdy, folks, 

I'll start with two lengthy radio recordings, representing vastly different eras and programing. The first, and by far the more interesting of the two, is a nearly complete recording of an episode of The Grand Ole Opry Radio Show. There are some huge stars of the day (and some huge country stars of all time) represented here: Marty Robbins (the "star" of this episode), Bill Monroe, Loretta Lynn, and Lonzo and Oscar, among others. 

Best of all - to me at least - are the commercials for Lava Soap, specifically the jingle. But I'm a sucker for jingles. 

Perhaps someone out there can date this better than me. It's certainly from late in the year, what with the repeated mentions of Christmas, and can't be from earlier than 1965, as that's when the religious album that Loretta Lynn mentions was released. I've dated it as being from December, 1965, but wouldn't mind being corrected. Also, I can't tell if this is from a broadcast on WSM in Nashville, or if that's simply where the broadcast originated. Regardless, this seems to be a line-in recording, perhaps from the station itself. The quality is excellent.

The tape concludes with a Christmas tree safety PSA, followed by the opening 90 seconds or so of "The Ernest Tubb Midnight Jamboree", with an indication that maybe these actually ran on Christmas Eve. 

Download: The Grand Ole Opry Radio Show, December, Possibly 1965 

Play:

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Switching genres, eras and towns, here's nearly 45 minutes from the waning days of the Chicago Top 40 / Album Oriented Rock station WDAI. More than half of this recording is the final segment of the station's "Top 20 Album Rock Countdown" 

I find a couple of things interesting here. First, one of the promos mentions that they don't play too many commercials, yet the segment captured here is positively larded with commercials. Also - presumably because one of the hit albums of the day was the "Sgt. Pepper" film soundtrack - a track from the original "Sgt. Pepper" was played, and the choice was: "She's Leaving Home". Imagine an AOR station making that choice today. 

The countdown ends at about the 30 minute point, so for the rest of the segment, you get to hear the regular programming on WDAI. For me, the commercials are by far the most interesting part. A real time capsule. 

By the way, this is from my own collection - this is a tape I made, probably in August of 1978, but possibly September. My mother later erased the earlier portions of the countdown. 

WDAI was in it's last days as a rock station. On 1/1/79, they switched to an all disco format, leading directly to the later decision, by Steve Dahl (who lost his job due to the format switch) to host "Disco Demolition Night" at Comiskey Park. 

Download: WDAI, Chicago, Album Rock Countdown, circa August, 1978

Play:

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Now, here's a peculiar tape which has been in my collection for over 30 years. It contains six pieces of music, all but the first instrumental (and that first track contains no lyrics - just a mixed group doing a variation of the sort of horrid scatting that "The Swingle Singers" polluted the airwaves with in the sixties).  

The tape is labeled "Octet II" on the side of the box. The back of the box looks like this: 

This is not my sort of music, but I'm guessing there are those out there who will find this interesting. So I'm sharing it. 

Download: Octet II - Six Songs

Play:

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Next up, yet another tape featuring narration of a presentation. But unlike the previous items I've shared of this type, this is not a slide show narration, but rather, narration of film - movies, filmed in 1963 - as can be seen in the sticker affixed to the tape: 

 

The "JWG" is the narrator, who is John W...... something. I cannot make out the last name. It sounds like this gentleman took his son and another boy, likely a close friend of his son, on a trip from Chicago to the American southwest. The label leaves no doubt anyway, but it's clear that this summer trip could have taken place no later than 1963. The story begins with a reference to the Northwest Expressway - which would be the Kennedy Expressway by the following summer.  

I'll let this play out for you, and won't spoil the story, but I will say that this is the most professional home recorded narration that I've ever heard, and this guy clearly worked to make it just about perfect. Oh, and there is one experience recounted here, in fairly gory detail, that I wouldn't wish on anyone, particularly not a teenager or pre-teen on vacation with his father or friend's father. 

I will say no more. 

Download: Slide Show Narration - Jack, Floyd and John Tour the American Southwest

Play:

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And finally, our very short reel. This five inch reel contains three 1968 commercials for "The Thunderbird Lounge", an "After midnight groovy place to go" in Las Vegas  - it was open all night! 

There is still a business by that name, but I have no idea if it's the same business that existed in 1968, or if it is, if their activities and offerings are still the same. 

These are all interesting, and definitely give up a vibe that there was something very interesting that went on at the Thunderbird Lounge, but it is the third ad, with great voice performances by Gary Owens and Stan Freberg, among others, that stands out. 

Download: Geyer-Oswald, Inc - Three Thunderbird Lounge Ads - 4-23-68

Play:

"Acetate of the Month" will return next time. 

Steve Allen Highlights, A Soldier Vacations in Japan, News From the Dawn of Reel Recording and More!

 Howdy, 

I have a wide variety of recordings today, so let's get right to it!!

First up - and this may be Manna from Heaven for some of you - here is a compilation someone made, featuring (mostly) musical performances as seen on the Steve Allen show. This was not his pioneering Tonight Show, but rather from The Steve Allen Show, most likely the late in the run of his of his NBC Sunday night show, or from his brief run thereafter on ABC. Here's the top of the tape box: 

I think the tape largely speaks for itself. There are a few spoken segments, including a short bit about angry letters in the paper and a phone call, among others, but most of this is music. It's not really my type of music for the most part - for me the best part by far comes when the always great Smothers Brothers show up at the end. But if you want a preview of what you're going to hear, here's the part of the back of the tape box that has the lineup: 

Download: Musical Highlights from the Steve Allen Show

Play:

~~

And now, here's the entire contents of a reel which is Manna from Heaven for me. For this is one of those elusive paper reels, of the type only produced between about 1948 and 1952. Often these turn out to be a letdown, containing recordings of classical music off of radio or records. But this one is the jackpot - news and comment from 1951 and 1952. 

At first, I thought the first segment was simply a newscast, but the amount of commentary, from decidedly left-of-center, led me to realize that it was something else, more akin to what Paul Harvey used to do, but from my side of the aisle. A more careful listen - d'uh - indicated that it was a broadcast paid for by the American Federation of Labor. The host is Frank Edwards - he hosted this show for close to ten years. As seen by the note contained in the tape box, this program was dated 9/17/52. 

Following this, we hear the well known and respected voice of Edward R. Murrow, delivering a eulogy for the then-recently deceased Senator Arthur Vandenberg of Michigan. Oddly, although this seems to start with the turning on of the tape machine, this broadcast (heard after Frank Edwards) clearly dates from more than a year earlier, both because that is when Vandenberg died, and because that's what it says on the other side of the paper: 

The tape ends with some Western Swing. Usually, when there are records recorded on a tape that I feature, I leave that segment, but here, I wanted to present the tape in its entirety, plus, the music is SOOO great - first, there's Merle Travis with "Alimony Bound", then there's a rendition of "Orange Blossom Special", following which there is just a moment of some walkie talkie conversation. 

Download: A Paper Reel - 1951 News and Comment, An Obituary and Some Western Music

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~~~

And speaking of Walkie-Talkie Conversations, here's an oddity I found on a three inch reel of tape. It's a series of police calls and dispatches from somewhere in England. Like many three inch reels I find, this was recorded on a machine which did not keep its speed very accurately throughout the recording, and if you compare the background hum throughout, you'll note that it varies in pitch from spot to spot: 

Download: Some Police Calls From England

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~~~

And now - and I hate to bury this wonderful tape so far down, but I like everything I'm sharing today - here's a really neat tape featuring a young soldier in Japan, recording a chatty tape for the folks back home in the spring of 1968, all about his vacation through parts of Japan, with loads of great detail and thoughts about what he did and saw. 

This tape was recorded on all four tracks of a three inch reel - as you'll hear, he realizes he has a lot to say after finishing side two, so he went back to side one and started using the right channel. 

By the way, each of the four segments, except the second one, starts with what "used to be" on the tape, before he started erasing it, and I've left these in. On parts one and four, this isn't that interesting, but part three starts with someone starting up The Beatles' "I Feel Fine", and proceeding to play drums along with it, in possibly the worst possible mismatch for the record, and exceptionally badly, to boot. I found that most entertaining. 

Here is the mailer cover for the tape: 

And here is the tape: 

Download: Audio Letter About a Vacation in Japan, 8/27/68

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~~~

For my Acetate of the month, I've chosen to dig into my mother's collection. As I've mentioned here and elsewhere, she was a coloratura soprano, and as her training and career began in the 1940's, she had many acetates of herself performing, that being the most convenient way to hear oneself, in those days. 

I share this, not to feature her vocal performance, although it is nice, but because her comments at the end - starting at the 2:10 point - make me smile, and I hope it does the same for you. One thing mom didn't lack for was belief in herself....

She was exactly a month shy of her 23rd birthday, the day this was recorded. 

Download: Mary Frances Godwin - Addio, del passato (with Comments) - 3/16/46

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~~~

And now, it's time for our "Very Short Reel". On the tape, the label says "Coke Theme" (I am unable to get my scanner to replicate the very light writing on the reel). On the recording itself, Coke is not mentioned, and the show is called "Refreshment Time". The entirety of the tape is heard here - it features someone named Singing Sam, who sounds a bit like Bing Crosby, saying goodbye at the end of the show. 

Download: Close of 'Refreshment Time' With Singing Sam

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I hope you've found something - hopefully a lot of somethings - to enjoy here today. 

A Vacation! Ed Sullivan! Mike Wallace! The Brooklyn Dodgers! All on One Five Inch Reel!!!

Hello everyone!

Before I get to this weeks remarkable reel of tape, here is volume two of my series covering the evolution of tapes from the Minnesota Mining Company, aka Scotch Tapes. Last time, I shared what has been confirmed to me as the first design they used, a very attractive and busy Scottish plaid theme that was in place from around 1948-1949.

Fairly quickly, they appear to have modified this box considerably. Perhaps someone in marketing decided it would be a good idea to have an image of the tape right on the box. The plaid theme is relegated to the background, and is well under a quarter of the box, the reel is the dominant part of the image, and in a new feature, there is a little box near the bottom telling you whether you've purchased the paper-backed tape which had initially been the only choice, or if you've bought the new, plastic-backed version (which would soon become the industry standard). This box appeared in perhaps 1949 or 1950, and was replaced by at least 1951, if not earlier. By the time the next design came along, paper-backed reels were a thing of the past.

Incidentally, the timing chart seen here as part of the reel, was indeed part of the reel, although it must have been easy to dislodge - I've only ever seen two or three of them. And finally, for seven inch reels, 1200 feet seems to have been the only choice at this point. As different (and thinner) plastics would be employed, going forward, this would eventually expand into a choice of 1200, 1800, 2400 and even 3600 feet on a single seven inch reel.

What a fascinating and fantastic time capsule I have for you today, all captured at 3 3/4 inches per second in glorious mono, on a single five inch reel of tape. Here's what the back of the box (a Scotch box, by the way) looks like: 

Incidentally, in reference to my comments on tape length, above, by the tape this tape was bought (1956 at the latest), the industry had figured out how to use thinner plastics. This tape lasts an hour or so on each side, meaning it's an 1200 foot reel, the same length as on the seven inch reel pictured at the top. In 1951 or 1952, they probably would only have been able to fit 900 feet onto a five inch reel. 

These are the things I think about. Don't pity me. 

The tape is dated 1957, as you can see, and virtually all of the recordings do appear to come from that year. But the tape had also obviously been used previously, as the last thing on the tape - and the most wonderful of the four segments - is clearly something recorded in the fall of 1956, then partially erased by the material earlier on that side. And I sure wish that erasing hadn't taken place. But still the material that is here is mostly great, so let's dive right in. 

The first segment of the tape is the one I find the least interesting, even though it contains a genre I usually love - the home recording, with family and friends. In this particular case, the 16 minute recording just isn't all that interesting, starting as it does with someone breathing into a microphone, and dominated as it is, later, by a woman reading a Mad Magazine article without much humor or character in her vocal delivery. The entire recording is essentially some folks from Massachusetts finishing up their yearly visit to the home of friends. 

Download: The End of our 1957 Vacation

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Next up, a reel treat for anyone who enjoys recordings of vintage variety TV. The remainder of side one, except for a tiny bit at the end, contains the broadcast of the Ed Sullivan show for March 3rd, 1957. I suspect that this was recorded first, then the opening section was by the vacation material, which seems to date from later that year, in summertime. 

The show is billed as a tribute to My Fair Lady, on the first anniversary of its debut on Broadway, and there are several acts (and comments) related to that show, but there are other, unrelated acts as well, including a lengthy, sort of pathos-laden bit at the end by a comedian, as well as a lot of commercials, particularly those featuring a special offer/contest, which you'll hear about as the tape unspools on your listening device. 

On the one hand, this is not an episode of "The Ed Sullivan Show" that I would have particularly enjoyed watching, compared to some of the episodes which have had segments excerpted on specials over the years, but on the other hand, it sure is a fascinating listen!

(the last two minutes or so are what's left of an even earlier-recorded business meeting of some sort. I'm not sorry that this recording was mostly erased.)

Download: Various Artists: The Ed Sullivan Show, march 3rd, 1957

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Side two begins with a split second of the same meeting, followed by someone starting to sing "Stardust", before quickly segueing into an episode of a show Mike Wallace hosted during this era, "Night Beat". Virtually the entire show is here - 51 minutes - missing only what Wallace indicates at the start were going to be some theatre reviews. 

There are three segments here, first a news round up, then an interview with the former ambassador to Russia, George Kennan, and finally Garry Davis, proponent of one-world government. It's an interesting listen. For one moment, mid-show, the recordist stops the tape and picks up again a few feet forward on the tape, and we teasingly get to hear a few moments of a pivotal Brooklyn Dodgers baseball game. Ah, well. 

One more thing; in four spots early in this segment, whoever was recording did <something> which resulted in lengthy and loud, high pitched whines. I have edited these out, leaving just a split second of the start of the whine. They will sound like edits, because they are. I am sparing your ears. 

Download: Mike Wallace and guests - Night Beat (date unknown)

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And finally, the pièce de résistance.

What we have here is a tantalizingly brief (eight minutes) recording of the Brooklyn Dodgers, at the start of their locker room celebration, just after beating the Pittsburgh Pirates, on September 30th, 1956, to win the National League Pennant on the last day of the season. What a great little hunk of tape.

Download: Brooklyn Dodgers Pennant Celebration - September 30th, 1956

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Both Fascinating and Tedious

Well, you may or may not agree with the name I've given to this post, and if you don't, I'm guessing you'll lead towards tedious.

However, I have come across well over a dozen, perhaps even two dozen, tapes just like this one, and I thought, since it seems to have been a genre all to itself, way back when, I'd offer up one of them.

I am reminded of some dear friends of my parents, the parents of my childhood best friend, in fact. Every year, they would go on an exotic vacation, and then upon their return, have a dinner party for their (I dunno, maybe eight) best friend couples, after which they would treat them to over an hour of showing their vacation slides. My parents DREADED these invitations, and found it among the most boring things they had to endure in order to be good friends.

Unknown to me - and probably most of the rest of the world - there were people who not only shared their vacation slides, but made a real production out of it - preparing background music, and recording the narration beforehand, apparently from a written script.

THAT is the genre I refer to, above. And here, for your pleasure, annoyance, bewilderment or just plain boredom, is one of those tapes. In this case, it's for someone's 35 minute trip through slides presenting his/their recent trip through New England.

There really is nothing comparable today. Sure, someone could post 240 cell phone photos from his trip to France onto Facebook, but that person would probably not write an explanation of each one, and certainly wouldn't expect there to be comments made on each one. There wouldn't even be a way to know who, if anyone looked at any, or all, of them.

If you want to hear more of these, let me know. If you don't say you want to hear more, I won't share any more of these.

ENJOY.

or not.

Download: Unknown - New England Slide Show Narration
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