The In Sound From Way Out!

Back in the 1970s my mom would take us to the library where we could check out "stuff." Of course with my early love for records, I combed through the LP albums and often checked out some records to take home.

One of these was a strange album called "The In Sound From Way Out!" (don't forget the exclamation point!).  It featured 12 songs that featured sounds from electronic sources as well as instruments. The liner notes say the music was "carefully synchronized with music played by live musicians as well as....oscillators, tone generators and feedback loops."  This was long before digital music or keyboards were the norm. I guess this was supposed to be music created by a computer...if I computer could create music!

 I liked the record and wanted a copy of it. In those days that meant saying "everyone be quiet" as I would play the album on my record player. The sound would pick up into the microphone on my Radio Shack cassette tape recorder. This of course would mean when the dog barked or someone slammed the door, it would also be on the tape. Maybe that added to the electronic effect?

Recently I wondered if anyone had ever heard of this album and lo and behold it is actually available on CD! The story goes that back in 1966 when it was released, it took 275 hours of work to hand splice the sounds together to make this very off the wall album. It was the brainchild of Jean Jacques Perrey from France and Gershon Kingsley, a veteran of Broadway and classical music.

It's hard to explain what the music sounds like, so listen to it here or here. It was quite crazy and thrilling to a young boy to listen to. Today it is just as crazy, although I'm not sure I would record it onto my cassette recorder again! 

New Year Ramblings Andy Williams, Guy Lombardo

 Happy New Year to all the Nostalgic Rambler followers...Are you out there? Sometimes I wonder if this is just a therapy for myself or if someone is actually reading this. 

This posting will be just a little hodgepodge as I've been under the weather recently. But I did want to finally check in with "you all."

The newspaper did a story about the heirs of Guy Lombardo. Sad to hear that the memorabilia of the man who millions looked forward to watching every New Year's Eve is now deteriorating in storage units here in Florida. Read the story here.  I wish I could help but I don't think my wife would let me bring more "stuff" into the house. Maybe Michael Feinstein could help.

As most look forward to the New Year 2013, I turned to clock back to January 3 fifty years ago and watched "The Andy Williams Show". My wife gave me a dvd collection for Christmas (she knows what I like!).

 

 Hard to believe that I watched a show that was 50 years old to the day. It was in "Living Color on NBC" so to me it looked brand new. Those shows are so great. Where else can you see Irene Ryan from the Beverly Hillbillies as a singer and dancer? Or Bobby Darin, Vic Damone, and Henry Mancini all on one show as Andy's guests? The Osmond Brothers are on some of the shows and their parents even made an appearance. As usual I am enjoying my time warp. Am looking forward to the next two shows which feature Bing Crosby, Tennessee Ernie Ford and Ella Fitzgerald.

Sad to read the another of the greats Patti Page has left us. Her Tennessee Waltz, How Much Is That Doggie In The Window? or Old Cape Cod were songs that charmed millions.

Here's a link or two to Patti's hits.

Take care my friends! May the new year bring you all the best.

The Story of Christmas with Tennessee Ernie Ford

 Alright, alright, I know CHRISTmas isn't for several weeks but I want to give you this info so you can get a copy of it if you want to in time! The neighbors already have their CHRISTmas lights up, which drives me crazy. They are the ones that start taking everything down when December 25th arrives. By then they are sick of it all...

Anyhow,  in a time long long ago called the 1950s, record buyers had taste. So much so that they made this album a million seller:

Star Carol was one of the rare albums that sold that many back in the 1950s. The public snapped up several recordings Tennessee Ernie Ford made featuring Christian hymns.

In the 50s, Ford had a popular TV show. By the early 1960s Ernie Ford had gained enough stature in the industry for him to do whatever he wanted. His clout let him present a program entitled "The Story Of Christmas" on NBC, December 22, 1963. 

 

The hour long prime time show featured some unusual animation by Eyvind Earle and plenty of music by Ford and the Roger Wagner Chorale. Critics and audiences loved it.  

 Daily Variety said "The tape should be preserved and played back for years on end. It's brilliance will never be dimmed or excelled."  Unfortunately, the TV programmers have been dimmed and don't excel at much of anything anymore. Therefore a Christian based musical program isn't about to be seen on the network primetime agenda in 2012.

 Fortunately the master tape was found and released on dvd several years ago..........

 and the music from the special is still remembered enough that a cd was released.

Here are a few teaser clips I found on Youtube. Click here for a clip featuring the animation or if you want to see one of Ernie's records spinning around a nativity scene (!) click here . 

 I bought my copy of the show at www.ErnieFord.com.

December can be a hectic month so if I don't get to do another post, then Merry CHRISTmas to you all. Thanks so much for reading the ramblings of the Nostalgic Rambler!

A Christmas Story: revisited

 Back in 1983 when I was in college I remember going to the movies with my college roommate John to see a new movie called "A Christmas Story."  That was 29 years ago (!?). I don't remember much about the film. I was in my 20s then and recall something about a boy wanting a bb gun and a lamp that looked like a woman's leg. It didn't leave much of an impression on a young man.

Fast forward to today and I find out that this movie is now a cult classic favorite! Our local "Ocala Civic Theatre" (I don't like it when they call a theater a theatRE...but that's another subject) is putting on the stage version of the movie.

We went to see it and it really is a heartwarming story. Not only that, but it is set in the 1940s so you get plenty of Nostalgic Rambler type references including Ovaltine, Little Orphan Annie, radio shows, and during the intermission plenty of classic CHRISTmas music from Bing Crosby, The Andrews Sisters, and Kate Smith!

I never had a lamp that looks like a woman's leg. I did have a bb gun as a kid. 

If you live near Ocala, FL, the show runs through November 25, 2012. If you don't live here, rent the movie. I think I'll watch it again after 29 years.

Apparently this movie is so popular the home it was shot at in Cleveland is now a museum. I bet "Miracle on 34th Street" or "It's A Wonderful Life" doesn't even have THAT! 

Dreams Come True In Blue Hawaii

 Aloha! The Nostalgic Rambler has been on vacation lately, therefore the lack of a new entry here. We are back from the Hawaiian Islands and were very enthralled by them.  Musically speaking people have been fascinated with the islands for years. Since I couldn't take you all with me, here is a bit of Hawaiian flavor tainted a bit from the mainland influences.

Back in 1959 Billy Vaughn recorded an album of Hawaiian songs called "Blue Hawaii" which has always been one of my favorites. Besides the exotic gal on the cover, he presented snappy saxophone laced renditions of such songs as "Aloha oe" and "My Little Grass Shack." The album sold 500,000 copies and stayed on the charts for almost a year.

 Perhaps the most famous Hawaiian artist of the Nostalgic Rambler era was Don Ho, who released his famed "Tiny Bubbles" in 1966. This one hit wonder lead to his own tv show and a years long audience love affair with his Hawaiian shows to which tourists streamed.

  Elvis is still strongly remembered for his "Blue Hawaii" which apparently was filmed in part at the Polynesian Cultural Center in Oahu. While we were there his presence was felt in the gift shop where you can even buy a replica of his Hawaiian shirt used in the movie.

 The ukelele has been a beloved sound of Hawaiian music for quite a while. It seems to be enjoying a resurgence lately. On our cruise ship trip I took several lessons and at our final performance the stage was packed with ukelele-ists!

Aloha everyone!

Visits with old stars via the genius of PunchyPlayers

        As usual, the Nostalgic Rambler can't relate to the "celebrities" on Entertainment Tonight or on the pics at the supermarket checkout. Most of the time I say myself "WHO is THAT?" Luckily there are some who still relate to the big stars of yesteryear. My latest find for you is a team of comic geniuses named Chris and Jeff from Dallas. They call themselves PunchyPlayers and their work is on Youtube. 

Imagine if Julie Andrews appeared with Julia Child? Through the magic of Jeff's vocal impersonations and Chris's video talents, you don't have to imagine it, you can SEE and HEAR it!

 What if the lovely Audrey Hepburn was your stewardess? Can you imagine her voice on the loudspeaker?

Judy Garland is another great subject they portray, including her and daughter Liza extolling the wonders of Cream of Wheat or going grocery shopping together with Judy having to sing advertising jingles throughout the store!

 Lucy and Desi also make an appearance on their Youtube page which is highly recommended. Click here and watch ALL their videos for a lot of fun.

With all the uninspired trash on TV these days, these two are a breath of fresh air. If I were I network exec I would snap up their talent and give them a weekly TV show.  By bringing back long gone celebrities in new twisted scenes, we could soon be enjoying episodes of  the new "I Love Lucy" with special guest star Judy Garland. Maybe they could even do a Perry Como show with special guest Jeff Borger (that's me in case you forgot....). 

Of course you'd probably encounter a legal nightmare ironing out all the rights to use this stuff, but if Forrest Gump could do it, so could the PunchyPlayers.

Here's a link to their Facebook page and here's a link to another rave review about this talented duo.

Suspense, radio's outstanding theater of thrills!

 Back in the 1970s I amassed quite a collection of what are now called "old radio shows" on cassette tape. Those old radio shows are now as much an antique as the cassettes they are recorded on! 

The hobby started when our local library introduced me to a vast archive of cassettes patrons could check out. I fell in love with the radio of the 1940s and 1950s. From the comedy shows of Jack Benny and Fred Allen to the mystery dramas of "Suspense", the talent of that time frame (before television came on the scene) will never be surpassed.

Recently I rummaged through an old box and pulled out those old cassettes. My wife has now been indoctrinated into "Radio's outstanding theater of thrills......SUSPENSE!"

"Suspense" was a radio drama where the "tale was well calculated to keep you in suspense..." in other words you were on the edge of your seat wondering what was coming next.

Many stars of the day appeared on "Suspense" including my beloved Lucille Ball.  Long before "I Love Lucy" she gets strangled in the episode entitled  "A Piece of Rope", she thinks she has witnessed a murder committed by co-star Desi Arnaz in "The Red Headed Woman" or she is so evil she is killed in "A Shroud for Sarah." 

"Suspense" was on the radio from 1942 until 1962. Quite a long run. You can easily find inexpensive access to "Suspense" shows by simply doing a search as they are readily available in mp3 format...or click on the Lucy episode titles listed above to listen via Youtube!

Sorry but today you won't find a bottle of Roma wine, "spelled are-oh-em-aye........" the then most popular wine in America and sponsor of "Suspense" for many years. Roma went the way of old time radio shows, but it is lots of fun to shut off the tv and let your mind create the picture.