Charles (the Bartender) Time Is On My Side/It's Alright Now (1966)

 

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Time Is On My Side/It's Alright Now

Charles (The Bartender)

Charles At Harlow's 

(1966)

Simply known as Charles, the Bartender. The liner notes describe him of a celebrity at Harlow's for his creation of a signature dressing that supposedly brought him guest spots on various TV and radio shows.

His back story reads with ambiguity, he wound up in NY to study finance and became a stockbroker... but found fame working for Harlow's. New York by way of Michigan by way of Switzerland by way of Germany by way of Poland... 

The liner notes read him as the world's next big thing, but his vocals and delivery make him feel like a Tommy Weiseau of the 60s go-go set.

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Fax Records - Side A (1962)

 

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Side A

Fax Records

Erotica (The Language Of Love)

(1962)

Fax Records was an L.A. based record label, specializing in sex records. Some were stag party records... dirty songs and stories, that sort of thing. Others were "personality" records, where burlesque house comedians ran through their blue material... and others, like this one, had audio reenactment of serial acts. This is a bizarre one, as it has percussion and other noises in the background... as if it is overturned with a field recording of some primitive drum group... but also other odd noises, I'm assuming is supposed to simulate the bed springs and creaking while the vocalists moan. To me, it sounds like people fucking a washing machine, hence the photo.

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Upper St. Clair High School Choral Department - Tribute Medley (1979)

 

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Tribute Medley (1969-1979)

Upper St. Clair High School Choral Department 

(1979)

Another wonderful high school choir record. Celebrating the tenth anniversary of their first Spring Chroal concert back in 1969, the class of 1979 sings songs of the past decade on this one... but the finale, a medley of hits, is certainly the showstopper.

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Jim Nabors - Shazam! (1965)

 

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Shazam!

Jim Nabors

Shazam! Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C.

(1965)

For the mountain of mediocre pop vocal albums that Jim Nabors released throughout the sixties, "Shazam!" Is sort of the unconventional diamond in the rough. Filled with novelty numbers and sung in his Gomer Pyle voice, I'm sure this is one of those records that would be instantaneously grating on the general public, but I just love it. A few songs enter Roger Miller territory, infact, he covers Miller's "You Can't Roller Skate In A Buffalo Herd," but the real winner on this album is the title track presented here.

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Jim Backus - I Need A Vacation/Caveman/Dirty Old Man/La-Z Boy (1958-1974)

 

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1) I Need A Vacation

Jubilee 5330

(1958)

2) Caveman

Jubilee 5351

(1959)

3) Dirty Old Man

Dore 899

(1974)

4) La-Z Boy 

Commeecial outtake

(1970)

Jim Backus

Ever since I was a wee lad, Jim Backus has always been a favorite of mine... from Thurston Howell III to Mr. Magoo (The Magoo Christmas Carol is my mandatory perennial) and ofcourse as the inebriated Mr. Fitzgerald in "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World"

So, since I couldn't decide what to share, I thought I'd offer a little sampler platter of some of my favorite singles... the last track came from a bootlegs CD of the "Celebrities At their Worst" persuasion.

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Lesley Gore - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (2002)

 

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Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

Lesley Gore

When Pigs Fly 

(2002)

Lesley Gore, for me, will always be a standout as Catwoman's disciple Pussycat in the Batman 66 TV series, and ofcourse for her major pop hit, "It's My Party". Then, there's this.

The cut that closes the comp CD "When Pigs Fly," filled with Golden Throat oddities such as Ani DeFranco and Jackie Chan's duet of Nat king Cole's "Unforgettable." 

But this AC/DC cover is worth the price of admission!

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Patty Gallagher & The Showdowners- Crawdad (1975)

 

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Crawdad

Patty Gallagher & The Showdowners

By Request

(1975)

This one was sent to me early this month by my buddy Nathan Abels. A mid-70's honky tonker out of Billings, Montana, distributed on a small label out of New Mexico. 

Most of the album is standard hillbilly lounge fair, but the Showdowners' take on the classic "Crawdad" veers into country-funk Elvis territory.

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