Fax Records - Side A (1962)

 

03-16 075

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)

 

03-15 074

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)

 

03-14 073

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)

 

03-12 071

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)

 

03-11 070

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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Gian Rama Quartet - Pissi Pissi Bau Bau/Itsy Bitsy, Teenie Weenie, Yellow Polka-Dot Bikini (1964)

 03-10 069

Pissi Pissi Bau Bau/Itsy Bitsy, Teenie Weenie, Yellow Polka-Dot Bikini 

Gian Rama Quartet

Pissi Pissi Bau Bau

(1964)

"PISSI PISSI BAU BAU (EHHH?!)" No idea what it means, but this little slice of Italio rock n roll is infectious. I became hip to this record via their take on Mina's "Il Ciela In Una Stanza" featured on Robert Jacob Sanders' YouTube account... which I've grown to know, if a record is featured there, it's almost always worth picking up.

Aside from the aforementioned, the record is chock full of fun covers... such as this English-muddled version of the Brian Hyland classic.

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