Not sure if you are familiar with Michael Shelley on WFMU. Several years ago, for his promo giveaway he had current artists cover 70s music and packaged it like your bubble gum album. https://youtu.be/ugCIWENzdY0
Oh yeah, I know his show — though I didn't remember this promo giveaway. Packaging-wise, the video makes it looks more like one of K-Tel's many 70s hits comps than Goofy Greats, which was more of a K-Tel outlier in both packaging and content.
It amazed me at the time, and still does that two songs about getting head: "Yummy Yummy, Yummy" & "Chewy Chewy, "were top ten hits. Much more blatant about subject content than "My Boy Lollypop." My earliest memory of novelty tunes was hearing Sheb Wooley's "Purple People Eater" on my parent's car radio.
K-Tel's repackages were the best. I still regret not ordering one of Wolfman Jack's "Fantastic 48 Hits" package that he advertised on XERF in the sixties. He would exclaim that he would include a "free picture of Jessus Christ that glows in the dark if you ordered now!"
Very cool "rememberies," Dan! What couldn't help enter my noggin as I watched/heard the K-Tel ad was the Credibility Gap's early '70s audio parody, "16 Golden Bits"! If I may, I think you'll dig it...it'll help to know, too, that the Gap was an early '70s L.A.-based comedy troupe, most of whom later leapt to the screen as Spinal Tap, and other classic comedies, and their Harry Shearer went on to become all the non-Simpsons voices on "The Simpsons"! Here 'tis (ignore The Kings album cover used as the only visual): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLD1rywXMJk
Credibility Gap: David Lander, Shearer, Michael McKean, and Richard Beebe
Nice! You're the only non-Brad person I've met who ever knew who they were! Leave it to the good Doctor! Can you guess HIS real name (don't look it up), and his previous job (which actually may have run concurrent to his radio gig.....I'd tell you not to look that up, either, but I don't think it's noted anywhere)!
Oh yeah - Barry Hanson! I actually interviewed him about 20-25 years ago, in conjunction with a feature I was writing on Weird Al. He was great, but the best part of it was when he left a message on my answering machine - “Hel-lo, Dan… this is Dr. Demento!” - sounding exactly like he did on my clock radio decades earlier. I wish I had saved it!
Wow, that's doubly impressive! I hope you're willing and able to reproduce/re-construct/whatever to share that interview, at some point, on your 'Stack! Hansen was employed by Warner Bros. Records in the '70s.
Along with writing the voluminous artist/song copy for each of the label's 2-LP "Loss Leader" sampler compilations (that sold for $2 each, and were advertised on each of the label's regular-issue copies' inner sleeves), he wrote and edited the weekly, promo-only (made available to record industry personnel and radio folk) in-house "Circular." It was usually about 8 pages, and roughly the size of a 45rpm record sleeve. He was as informative as you'd want, while being pretty dang hilarious!
He'd provide artist bio info, as well as recording info and anything The Bunny's label wanted to be known by insiders to play/sell the product. I had several dozen of them, and they can be seen and are talked about here: https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/50-years-later-meeting-bonnie-raitt
I knew about his “Loss Leaders” work, but didn’t know about the in-house circular. Very cool! Sadly, I think that interview has been lost to the ages; I was not very meticulous about cataloging tapes/storing transcripts back in the 90s, and between various moves and computer crashes I lost a lot of good stuff along the way.
Believe it or don't (and long before I was aware of his Dr.-ness!), Hansen's writing style (in "Circular," particularly) ended up being quite influential to my style (along with Fran Lebowitz's '70s-era books!). 'Tis a shame about the interview, although I can certainly relate!
Love me some bubblegum! Glad your buddy's mom had your back with it, lol.
Hahaha - yeah, she didn't take no mess!
Not sure if you are familiar with Michael Shelley on WFMU. Several years ago, for his promo giveaway he had current artists cover 70s music and packaged it like your bubble gum album. https://youtu.be/ugCIWENzdY0
Oh yeah, I know his show — though I didn't remember this promo giveaway. Packaging-wise, the video makes it looks more like one of K-Tel's many 70s hits comps than Goofy Greats, which was more of a K-Tel outlier in both packaging and content.
That Trashmen clip is amazing. And Clark's whole attitude drips of "well, this is the last time I'll ever be seeing you, so good luck!"
Hahaha — seriously! "And now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go wash my hands."
It amazed me at the time, and still does that two songs about getting head: "Yummy Yummy, Yummy" & "Chewy Chewy, "were top ten hits. Much more blatant about subject content than "My Boy Lollypop." My earliest memory of novelty tunes was hearing Sheb Wooley's "Purple People Eater" on my parent's car radio.
K-Tel's repackages were the best. I still regret not ordering one of Wolfman Jack's "Fantastic 48 Hits" package that he advertised on XERF in the sixties. He would exclaim that he would include a "free picture of Jessus Christ that glows in the dark if you ordered now!"
Very cool "rememberies," Dan! What couldn't help enter my noggin as I watched/heard the K-Tel ad was the Credibility Gap's early '70s audio parody, "16 Golden Bits"! If I may, I think you'll dig it...it'll help to know, too, that the Gap was an early '70s L.A.-based comedy troupe, most of whom later leapt to the screen as Spinal Tap, and other classic comedies, and their Harry Shearer went on to become all the non-Simpsons voices on "The Simpsons"! Here 'tis (ignore The Kings album cover used as the only visual): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLD1rywXMJk
Credibility Gap: David Lander, Shearer, Michael McKean, and Richard Beebe
Oh yeah, I’m hip to the Gap - thanks in part to Dr. Demento, I think!
Nice! You're the only non-Brad person I've met who ever knew who they were! Leave it to the good Doctor! Can you guess HIS real name (don't look it up), and his previous job (which actually may have run concurrent to his radio gig.....I'd tell you not to look that up, either, but I don't think it's noted anywhere)!
Oh yeah - Barry Hanson! I actually interviewed him about 20-25 years ago, in conjunction with a feature I was writing on Weird Al. He was great, but the best part of it was when he left a message on my answering machine - “Hel-lo, Dan… this is Dr. Demento!” - sounding exactly like he did on my clock radio decades earlier. I wish I had saved it!
Wow, that's doubly impressive! I hope you're willing and able to reproduce/re-construct/whatever to share that interview, at some point, on your 'Stack! Hansen was employed by Warner Bros. Records in the '70s.
Along with writing the voluminous artist/song copy for each of the label's 2-LP "Loss Leader" sampler compilations (that sold for $2 each, and were advertised on each of the label's regular-issue copies' inner sleeves), he wrote and edited the weekly, promo-only (made available to record industry personnel and radio folk) in-house "Circular." It was usually about 8 pages, and roughly the size of a 45rpm record sleeve. He was as informative as you'd want, while being pretty dang hilarious!
He'd provide artist bio info, as well as recording info and anything The Bunny's label wanted to be known by insiders to play/sell the product. I had several dozen of them, and they can be seen and are talked about here: https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/50-years-later-meeting-bonnie-raitt
I knew about his “Loss Leaders” work, but didn’t know about the in-house circular. Very cool! Sadly, I think that interview has been lost to the ages; I was not very meticulous about cataloging tapes/storing transcripts back in the 90s, and between various moves and computer crashes I lost a lot of good stuff along the way.
Believe it or don't (and long before I was aware of his Dr.-ness!), Hansen's writing style (in "Circular," particularly) ended up being quite influential to my style (along with Fran Lebowitz's '70s-era books!). 'Tis a shame about the interview, although I can certainly relate!