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Way back in the 50s a phenomenon known as the folk sampler LP existed. The company best known for making folk sampler LPs was Elektra. Other companies, like Vanguard and Prestige, culled their catalogs to create folk music samplers, but their results were sonically mediocre and musically bland. The competition simply couldn't match the musical... Read More »

I love audio shows, but I didn't always love them, so before I talk about this particular show I'd like to share a little bit of my personal history with audio shows. Back in the early 80s I had a friend named Victor Fonseca, and like most men named Victor, he went by the name... Read More »

Sometimes happiness arrives in simplest of forms, and this obscure LP by George Dewitt (1922 - 1979) is a perfect example. In today's world George Dewitt is unknown, but in the 1950s he was quite visible on TV as a game show host. He was also a singer. The game show was Name That Tune,... Read More »

I love forgotten bands and forgotten albums. Part of it is the pleasure of knowing something that other people don't know, and the other part is knowing about obscure rock bands that made really good music. Having said this, I don't like cult bands. Cult bands are usually overrated, and their appeal is usually traceable... Read More »

Chicago based conductor and arranger David Carroll (1913 - 2008) made a lot of records for Chicago based Mercury Records. As he also held an executive producer position at Mercury, I suspect that some of his LPs, EPs, and singles were arranged and conducted by somebody else. Also, if you shopped for vintage LPs during... Read More »

When I was twenty two I came to the conclusion that I actually like jazz, but I had a problem with jazz. The problem was I had yet to hear any jazz that stirred me enough that I'd want to purchase it. Rock and roll is all about hooks and when it's good you feel... Read More »

Helen Merrill isn't my favorite female jazz singer, as that designation belongs to June Christy. Having said this, I really like the two Merrill albums that I own. They are the Gil Evans arranged Dream Of You (Emarcy MG 36078) from 1957, and the Chuck Sagle arranged American Country Songs from 1959 (Atco SD 33-112).... Read More »

When you think of jazz pianists you probably don't think of Bobby Hamack (1922-1990). That's because his work was primarily behind-the-scenes studio work in radio and television. Hammack was the West Coast musical director of the ABC-TV and radio networks between 1958 and 1963, and he conducted his own orchestra and scored music for several... Read More »

If you know the name Lyle Ritz (1930 - 2017) at all, it's because you saw him credited as the bass player on a pop or rock album. Ritz was a prominent bass player in Los Angeles during the 60s, and he was part of the studio musicians collectively known as the Wrecking Crew. His... Read More »

I own a lot of albums, and my use of the word "albums" means LPs and CDs. Most of them bring me tons of pleasure, but I also keep a few albums for reasons other than pleasure. I find Miles Davis uniquely irritating, and LP-era Ellington turgid, but since I like to cruise in the... Read More »

I love guitarists, and I own a lot of LPs by guitarists. Although I file the jazz guitarists, like Barney Kessell, Johnny Smith, and Wes Montgomery, alphabetically, many guitarists, regardless of genre, are also found in my miscellaneous guitarist section. That's where the obscure guitarists and multi-artist collections of guitar music are found. One obscure... Read More »

When I was fifteen I had yet to learn that greatest hits and best of records also meant The Worst Sounding Records. Back then my ears weren't very sophisticated, so I was oblivious to the fact that albums like Simon & Garfunkle's Greatest Hits and Rod Stewart's Sing It Again Rod were, despite the wonderful... Read More »

Robert Pincus joins PF as a writer of music and other topics of interest. Telling a story about myself is always a challenge, so I will start by telling you my name. My name is Robert Pincus, but some people call me Mr. Record. Some of you may know me from my ten-year tenure at Cisco... Read More »