Happy Halloween!

(Monster Mash)

Happy Halloween, bloggers! This is a Wyncote release (Wyncote is my 3rd or 4th favorite budget label), and it contains most of the Halloween music that I have in my collection! I hope you enjoy your Halloween!

Jane Froman Sings for Royale Records

Jane Froman was a very well known singer in the 40's. Eli Oberstein was a marketing genius, for buying out a bunch of bankrupt record labels in the late 40's and using the material for his budget labels. He had material from many famous artists, Jane Froman, Artie Shaw and Noro Morales just for starters. These albums and EP's sold very well and help keep Eli and his budget labels in business until the late 50's.

Linger In My Arms A Little Longer/ You, So It's You (Side 1)

I Got Lost In Your Arms/ Millionaires Don't Whistle (Side 2)

Dave Brubeck, Paul Desmond and Cal Tjader play for Crown Records!

This record is a rare breed, despite the fact that Crown did issue many jazz albums, I have only found a handful of these records. This record has the touch only the Biharis brother could provide. This album features three legendary Jazz artists. The first track is by Dave Brubeck, which is extended by splicing in improv from other Brubeck recordings, resulting in the first track taking up the entire first side. The whole record is in reprocessed stereo, the first side is given the echo tunnel treatment (reverb), then the whole second side is panned to the left channel. Despite the reprocessed stereo this album still sounds great.

At A Perfume Counter (Dave Brubeck Quartet)

Purple Moon (Paul Desmound Quartet)

Jazz Latino (Cal Tjader)

The Corwins play "Alvins Harmonica"

   The Corwins were a stage name for several different groups of musicians on the Gilmar record label.  Gilmar records recorded sound alike cover records of the latest hits and then issued them on cheap 45 rpm records. The company also issued compact 33 rpm records and supposedly 12 inch albums as well, although I have never ran across any of the 12 inch albums in all my years collecting records.

Update 11/17/12: I wish to inform you that Value Records issued albums for Gilmar (Which I assume  Value might have just been a secondary label for Gilmar), and I have located a 12 inch album containing Gilmar material.

Alvins Harmonica

     

The Surfsiders Sing The Beach Boy Song Book!

 Does anyone else find it a little odd that there are more girls than guys on this cover?

The super generic mid 60's Design back slick.

     The 60's was the turning point for budget labels, generic music wasn't selling well enough to keep a company going like it did in the 50's. The budget label industry had to make many of these knock off and craze cash in records to survive. The Pickwick label has become at this point, the king of junk budget records, with their four or five different record labels issuing basically the same albums at the exact same time! This record was made as a knock off of the Beach Boys, who were very popular at this time. You can hear the complete album here. Below is my transfer of the selection "Fun Fun Fun".

Fun Fun Fun

Artie Shaw plays on Golden Tone records!

      Golden Tone records was cheap budget label that specialized in the reissue of older Tops record material. This album is a marriage of the cover of Tops record 1569 and the material from Tops record 1755. This record appears to have material that Eli Obertein had since the source material was from the Musicraft Label which he owned the masters for that label. These recordings may have been leased to PRI, the owners that ran this label in exchange for cash or some other another resource that he needed at that time while reorganizing his company. I uploaded these two selections because I couldn't find those two selections on Youtube, so enjoy these "Name" artist tracks on Golden Tone Records.! I would like to note that this release was one of the last for Golden Tone made in 1962 .

I Don't Stand A Ghost Of A Chance

Guilty

The story of Crown Records told in back slicks and record labels

Crown Records ran between the years 1957 to 1972, for a total of 15 years of incredible cheapness that  would become known by record collectors all over.

In 1957 Crown records started issuing budget records with backs that looked something like this.

An example of first label design 

The first stereo records usually had a little blurb on the back slick on the right or left side of the liner notes.

 

The first stereo records on Crown were pressed on red translucent vinyl.

By early 1961, Crown stopped issuing records with liner notes and began using a generic back slick, this same back slick was used up until 1964.

1961-1962

1961-1963

1964-1969

Between 1964-1972, this back slick was used with some of the feature albums swapped out for more current albums Crown issued. Sometime in the last couple years of the label some release featured this back.

Then in 1969 Crown changed to this last label style which was used until Crown folded in 1972.

The Candymen Orchestra plays the Twist part 2

 The label has a bit of a misprint, the last track is actually titled "Twisting By The Station" not Kiss Twist, that was on side 1.

If you thought that the first side was interesting, then this album is about to get more interesting. I bring you the second installment of this budget label "Twist" record, who were very common back in the day. I hope you enjoy 16 more minutes of twisting fun!

Side 2

The Candymen play the Twist

Every wondered what Old Macdonald had a Farm would sound like if you played it like a rock and roll song? This album answer this and other questions concerning what other old time favorites would sound like with a rock and roll beat to it. Personally I am most thrilled with this albums rendition of "East Side, West Side", which on the album has listed as "Twisting Around and Around the Town".

side one