Happy 2013. It's been a busy month personally, but it's finally calmed down enough to get in this month's jetsam exhibit. I guess I think of this blog as a archives/museum type thing. It's the archivist in me. It's been there since I was a kid, along with a healthy respect for the past. The results are brought to you monthly.
I did have a few comments on some better pics of my RCA 70D turntable, so here is a few. I just put in a new on off switch for the motor that is rotary and with a vintage knob, certainly suits it better then the wall switch. I'm slowly working on trying to plug the holes and doing what I can to clean up the formica scratches. I tend to think that won't work out great based on what I found online so far, but at the least i'll try to make it neat. I don't think I will even consider repainting it, as it has the original paint and it's in fairly good shape. I'm trying to keep as much original as I can.
This is with a standard 12 inch LP on the 16 inch platter.
This is with a 16 inch transcription. This disc is actually part of this month's exhibits.
It's 1958. $1000 was a big deal. Instant cash outlets didn't exist, and one took care with borrowing money. Companies like Household Finance appreciated this, and tailored their commericals that way. These are a combination of both an announcer and jingle.
When you listen to these, keep in mind they were rather serious. You can also keep in mind those JG Wentworth 877-cash now TV commericals that are over the top and really cheesy, because the 1958 jingles today really sound like them....strange but true.
Enjoy
Side 1-SPOTS 1-8
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Side 2-SPOTS 9-16
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Finally, we have Kmart and a jingle package from August of 1974 that could almost be used today. It's not the usually extremely dated material from the 70s...yes, no wah wah pedal. We have both the "Full Sing" and "Donut" versions of the jingle. Donut=room for the local announcer to do his thing,
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Enjoy, and see you next month. Comments, questions, email or post here and i'll do my best to get back to you.
scott s.
1. I thought that showing the turntable with the 12" LP & 16" Transcription would look like a big difference (I know how large transcriptions actually are), but it doesn't look like much in the photos.
ReplyDelete2. I've never heard the first two HFC arrangements (the jazzy one, and the operatic one) and the third is close to what we had here in New York. Is it possible that these were produced solely for Canadian radio (I'm not overly familiar with HFC's business, just the commercials I grew up with in New York)?
3. This isn't just a museum, it's also a learning experience for people who have never experienced these things.
4. Is there a link for the K-Mart commercials? Nothing is showing up here, but it may just be on my end.
The link has been added. I missed posting on the initial posting. The files were all set, just the link wasn't missing....DOH!
DeleteThank you for your comments, and you're right, It is a learning experience for people who haven't experienced these things. I guess I get so used to living in the world of nostalgia and technically obsolete technology, I forget some people don't know what a dial telephone is. Funny thing is though, I still play with computers to a degree...I jump back and forth...LOL!
I think it's fair to say these spots were produced solely for Canadian radio, but I would think the jingles are American with a Canadian announcer. It's possible that NY didn't use those jingles, where canadians did and many other scenarios that we'd never prove, but it's always interesting to speculate.
Realistically, there is only 4 inches in difference between a 16" and a standard 12" LP. The format dates back to the mid 1920s as an experiment in putting sound on film. Some discs that were tried measure 20", but all at the 33 1/3 RPM standard. the 16" became standard in the early 1930s, and revolutionized radio shows as one could record ahead of time instead of live. It got to the point where they would have to announce the show was "electrically transcribed" to the audience to let them know it was recorded. It also ushered in the era of radio syndication. The World Broadcast System was a perfect example. They were know as a "wax network" as all they're shows were on disc. The format existed into the late 50s, when tape was finally popular in north america.
It makes you wonder though how much research columbia did for the 12" LP. change the groove and disc size, keep the speed, and you hav an LP.
Actually, Columbia only developed the High-Fidelity LP (the Columbia historians leave that part out). It is actually Muzak that developed the transcription disk, pressing on vinylite, and broadcasting via telephone lines, all of which were adopted by radio (I think the name of the first syndicator was Bruce Eells Syndication, which became another company shortly afterward -- was it World?).
ReplyDeleteColumbia just had to solve the LP tracking problems -- they had trouble at first with the 12" discs, that's why they started with 10".
I think RCA gave us more lasting developments like the RCA plug and component systems, but the RCA promo people don't really push their history like those at Columbia.
Interesting, as I didn't know muzak developed the transcription, but it makes perfect since, as I read a bit of history on the company years ago, mentioned the phone line delivery system, but not the disc development.
ReplyDeleteI still remember read how columbia dropped the bomb on RCA with the "LP" with all the finesse of nah nah and bragging rights...causing RCA to come up with the 45.
scott s.
Most likely I got the info from "Elevator Music" by Joseph Lanza, which attributed pressing on vinylite, 16" transcriptions, and broadcasting over phone lines to Muzak. Some of it may also have been in "Playback: From the Victrola to MP3" by Mark Coleman, which also goes into detail about the RCA-Columbia war of the formats. Both books are small and easy to carry around, and (hopefully) are still inexpensive hardcovers when bought second-hand.
ReplyDeleteI bugged my local record guy about wanting one of those big 16" records recently, and he let me pick one out of a couple three foot tall piles he had! I tried to grab a colored one, but he wouldn't let me get away with that. I wound up with some un-named orchestra doing nothing important, but it's cool to finally have one, even if it is plain old black.
ReplyDelete