In this blog entry, I am going to give you an introduction to the Hit Of The Week Record series made by the Durium Products Corporation. As a matter of fact, this line of records debuted on the market 85 years ago this month. The records were sold on newsstands from February of 1930 until June of 1932. The Hit Of The Week records can certainly be considered Great Depression artifacts as they were issued during The Depression and because of The Depression. The records were initially sold for fifteen cents ($0.15) and were later sold for twenty cents ($0.20). The records were made of paper and resin. They are flexible when toyed with. Due to hot and humid storage conditions, specimens have been discovered stuck together. The overheated and melting resin causes this unfortunate phenomenon. At first, each record featured one song and, then, beginning in August of 1931, each record featured two songs. The labels show some differences in part due to the extra song, and the reverse of the records are different as well. Examples are found with photographs of the artists performing on the songs. Some records included an advertisement reminding listeners that a new record would be on sale at newsstands on the following Thursday. The records were shipped in rice paper sleeves ... the vast majority of which perished or were discarded. Copies of the Hit Of The Week Records reached a peak of 500,000 sales per week and dwindled to 60,000. This forced the company to cease production on the line. The records that you see in this blog entry were purchased at the Surround Sound Productions event at the Merchants Square Mall in Allentown, Pennsylvania in September of last year. If you are looking for 78 rpm records, I definitely recommend this convention. Finally, I wanted to point out that these records truly sound incredible given the fact that they are merely paper and resin. I will be posting a romantic one for the Valentine Season in my February 11, 2015 blog entry.
Here is my pile of records: I am going to post more photographs and a video on February 11, 2015. UPDATE (February 11, 2015): Here are the video and the new pics ...
The url for the above video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryiKpgU-lxA
The following photos will show you the label variations and the examples with melted resin that I made reference to above (including the record with the Rudy Vallée image - you can see the residue over his head) ... Note: In the video, I stated that I will see if the resin on the grooves will affect the playing. It does. The records CANNOT be played when saturated with that melted resin. The records can be played in areas where there is no resin ... making the songs incomplete. This is important to know if making purchases. Records in this condition can only be used as visual aids (in displays, lectures, etc). This is a fantastic resource (release dates and other information) for Hit Of The Week Records: http://durium.opweb.nl The Wiki page is fine on this topic: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hit_of_the_Week_Records
I am back with another "recent" song for this Valentine Season. This record is from 1933. It features Victor Young And His Orchestra with "I've Got To Pass Your House To Get To My House". It was pressed on the Brunswick label (Catalog number: 6589), and I am playing it on a Brunswick Panatrope Exponential Type 106 Gramophone/Phonograph. It was produced in the late 1920s. The record and the player - both made by the Brunswick Company and both made in the USA! As for the song, its content is that of either unrequited love or another guy simply getting the girl first.
The url for the above video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUmeVj9ZWLM Here are some photos of Brunswick and Brunswick!
Here is another romantic song for you this Valentine Season, and this is no doubt a recent one for me. It dates to the year 1943 ... Hal Goodman And His Orchestra with "People Will Say We're In Love". This track was pressed on the label known as The Hit Record by "Elite Record Mfgers" (Catalog number: 7059). The record was released in the United States on September 11, 1943 and eventually peaked at #17 on the charts (Source: http://www.musicvf.com/song.php?id=18609).
I am spinning the record on the His Master's Voice Model 102E Portable Gramophone. The Gramophone was made in England in 1952. I even added a picture of Love Frog for the occasion.
The url for the above video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_PNlLQVvVM
It is the very early morning of February 7, 2015. Next week is Valentines Day, and, in honor of the upcoming holiday, I have for you "Hearts And Flowers" in the form of an instrumental (violin and piano). This record was pressed on the Zon-o-phone (Zonophone) label (Catalog number: G9466). It dates somewhere between 1899 and 1903. The song is "Hearts And Flowers" credited to Fred W. Hager. The song will be played on a Victor Victrola Model #4 (VV-IV) from 1915.
I thought that I would add some hearts and flowers to the video ...
The url for the above video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUHjJcfYlQ8 Here are some close-up photographs of the record (front and back) ...
I am continuing the Valentine theme here with an instrumental number titled "Daughter Of Love Waltz". The song was performed by the National Promenade Band in 1922 and was pressed on the Thomas Edison Diamond Disc label (Catalog number: 51009-L). It plays at a speed of 80 rpm. This is a really great tune. I am playing the record on an Edison Disc Phonograph Model C-150. The Disc machine was made between 1915 and 1919. The url for the above video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNJXd5i6u4o
Keeping with the Valentine's Holiday of this month, tonight I have for you "Love's Golden Dream" - a duet by Helen Clark and Emory Randolph. Lindsay Lennox wrote the lyrics, and Gordon Nevin was responsible for the musical arrangement. The song was recorded in 1914 and was pressed on the Thomas Edison Diamond Disc label (catalog number: 80167-R/matrix number: 3104). It plays at a speed of 80 rpm. I am playing the record on an Edison Disc Phonograph Model C-150. The Disc machine was made between 1915 and 1919. The url for the above video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXfmlUtOyuY
Hi Friends. In honor of the upcoming Valentines Day Holiday, I have, for you, a very flirty record, and it is an old one. It dates to the year 1909 and is titled "A Bowery Flirtation". The Thomas Edison black wax cylinder record will be played on an Edison Standard Phonograph: Model B from 1905/1906. The record was recorded by Ada Jones and Len Spencer (Catalog number: 10082). It is a Vaudeville sketch that leads into a song with Ada singing and an orchestra accompanying her. I brought some old Valentine cards out and set them near the machine ... very special for this time of the year. The url for the above video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0eKaGrNncE Here are the lyrics (I transcribed them myself ... I did my best):
Len: Hello kid, what's the rush? Ada: It's 6:00, the rush hour. Len: Come ere, I want to ask u something. Ada: What? Len: Have you noticed anybody follerin' ya lately? Ada: Nobody particular. Len: Why Maggie, I'm yer shada, I follows you everywhere an' all it does is run away from me. Ada: Sure I do. Run away from a shada and it always follows you, but chase it, Timmy, haha, and it's gone fer good. Len: Well, you can't lose me kid. Tell me, did you ever love anybody? Ada: Sure I have. Len: I mean anybody but yourself? Ada: Oh, like that? So I'm stuck on meself, huh? Well, there's one thing about you, Timmy, that I have to admire. Len: And that is? Ada: Yer good taste. Len: Ho haw, gettin wise to yourserlf, ay? Why Maggie, that swell little mug o' yours is tintyped right on me heart. Ada: Hahaha, I bet there's a whole gallery of tintypes on that heart of yours. Len: You got me wrong, kid. Why, I never knew what love was 'til I fell in love with you. Ada: Ahh, haha. Don't make me laugh, me lips are chapped. Ada: Why Timmy, so many guys give me that speel that I set it to music. Len: Is that so? Ada: Yes, and it goes like this ... Ada: I never knew what love was 'til I fell in love with you. Len: Oh kid, nix. Ada: You won me heart completely with those dreamy eyes of blue. I jollied Maude and Maime ... Len: No no. Ada: ... and made eyes at Lil an' Lou ... Len: I don't know the party. Ada: ... but I never knew what love was 'til I fell in love with you. Len: Ah, kid, you's is the only one. Ada: I don't believe it. Len: See, ain't that a hit? Ada: What's a hit? Len: Ha, that's what they all say, hahahaha. Ada: Timmy ... Len: Aww, I didn't mean it kid, hahahahaha. Ada: Aw, hahahahaha. Additional information about the record can be found at this link: http://cylinders.library.ucsb.edu/search.php?queryType=@attr+1=1020&num=1&start=1&query=cylinder3530
Here I am turning my back to a picture of Bill De Bozo in Solidarity with The NYPD. This photo was taken on January 31, 2015 during the Online Protest against the New York City mayor.
Very dark video ... may as well be since it is a very dark topic. I filmed this last night (1-31-2015):
The url for the video in case it does not embed properly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuuAW6AmfJM
Here is a Second World War Reenactment that was held on the Fort Indiantown Gap Military Base. This event was part of the Bulge's 70th Anniversary. The specific area was difficult to find. There were no signs leading drivers to the location. Plus, once I arrived on the premises, I did not see any information on where the German hospital demonstration was going to be held and the area for the Militaria flea market. I never found the area where the hospital demo took place. I found a couple Militaria buildings by chance ... one was far from the initial one that I walked into.
The url for the above video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erFAaH4BlGE Despite the severe lack of organization at the event, the Military flea market lived up my expectations. Here are the artifacts that I purchased [an American grouping and a German grouping (including German-occupied Belgium)] ...
Tonight, we have Space Attack. This game was released by Mattel Electronics in 1982. This cartridge is from my childhood days. Who knows who bought it - most likely my elder brother. The first part of the game is difficult to understand (the part with the mothership and the invading enemies). The second part is awesome (the space battle). I played this a lot in the 1980s and I have been playing it often in 2015. This video features two tries: a win and a loss.
A very fascinating fact about the game is as follows. The enemy spaceships are Cylon Raiders from Battlestar Gallactica. Mattel thought that it could seal a deal with the owner(s) of Battlestar Gallactica, and it never happened. Mattel was far along with the development of the game thinking that a license could be granted (Mattel had already produced action figures for the sci-fi series). Mattel did not acquire the license, and, since the game was already completed or almost completed, they continued on with the game and gave it the name Space Attack instead.
I am playing the game on an Atari 7800 ProSystem (1988). I am back with my first 7800 system. It seems some games are more compatible on one or the other (very similar to my experiences with records and turntables). I did not realize until tonight that there is a dark line running through the screen as I was playing. The television set is a General Electric Model 25GT511 (1996). It no longer gets channels/stations, and horizontal bright lines are stuck on the screen - I am used to them most of the time. It is like that in the previous three videos too. I suppose I was too much into the games to notice. My Mom wanted to throw it out. I wanted to see if the television would still play VHS tapes via the VCR. It did. I then checked to see if the old Atari 7800 still worked. It did ... and hours later, I played video games instead of getting stuff done around the house.
The url for the above video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPYGTvazMDg
