Presenting The Goldwaters

Ever heard of these guys? The album is dreadful, but the cover makes me laugh. Believe it or not, I actually found an interview with one of the members on conelrad.com.

Sez the site: "In the pantheon of strange political gimmicks, The Goldwaters would have to rank fairly high on the list. Right up there with Michael Dukakis "boxer" action figures. The idea to assemble a conservative folk combo, have them record a bizarre, nearly unlistenable album and then put the group on the road with the 1964 Republican nominee for President was the warped brainchild of the Nashville-based Bates Brothers, Buford and Mark Clark. To fulfill their unique vision, the brothers recruited four kids with moderate musical skills from nearby colleges. The result was the Republican answer to the Chad Mitchell Trio."

If you're hooked, go read more. If not have a laugh and go on your merry way.

James Bond Knockoffs

Although James Bond had his own brand of inimitable cool, there were still those who tried. Count Basie ... NOOOOO!


And then there were those who didn't even have the pedigree. This guy makes George Lazenby look like ... well, look like James Bond.

The Man With The Midas Touch

If there is one song that really sounds like the sixties to me, it's Goldfinger. The lush opening orchestration really captures sexiness of the decade. And that's even before Shirley Bassey roars into action.


And as fantastic as this album is, the album below is the exact opposite. I picked this up the other day because how often can you find the Pussy Galore solo album? How bad is it? Unlistenable. But it's hanging on my wall, because Honor Blackman, I'll fly with you anytime. Just don't sing.

James Bond in ... Thunderball!

I started to do a mondo James Bond post, but I decided to break these up over a few days to make it easier to read. I buy alot of records at estate sales, but I don't really start out to collect something. It just happens. Like the day I found the Thunderball soundtrack album.


Is Connery kickin' it here or what? Underwater scuba ninja fu -- awesome. Of course, then a few weeks later I lucked out and found the Esquire magazine below. But that cover is only the beginning.


These days, can you imagine a celeb being pictured on the cover and not even being discussed inside the magazine. Well, that's what happens here. And, once you get a look, you may not even care. Check these out, then stay tuned tomorrow for ... Gold-fing-ah!

Exercise Records

From the archives, a few of exercise records. Listen, follow the instructions and watch those pounds melt away!

Basic Hip!

Comedian Del Close had a career so amazing it just sounds made up. He knew L. Ron Hubbard (who once told him that he was thinking of turning his Dianetics Institute into a religion for tax reasons). He was a regular on My Mother the Car and Get Smart. He used to do light shows for the Grateful Dead. He directed the Second City comedy troupe in Chicago where he discovered John Belushi, Dan Ackroyd, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, Harold Ramis, Betty Thomas, George Wendt, Tim Kazurinsky and John Candy.

But before that, there has Basic Hip, a beatnik satire album he made with John Brent. It’s kind of hard to find, but you can listen to it online.

Thanks to Learning2Share for the tip!

I Want To Go To Cuba!

Havana at Midnight.

Havana -- slightly later. What's the difference? Fewer clothes?

Album Cover: Afternoon in Amsterdam

I go to a lot of estate sales in my voracious quest for cool MCM artifacts. I found this album at a North Dallas sale a few years ago. I thought it was kind of kooky. Why would someone have an album of Dutch caliope music? Who would want that? Well, me for one.

Anyway, a curious thing happened. After I bought it, I started noticing this album at many of the estate sales I went to over the next six months. I must have seen it 10 times. Evidently, Dutch caliope music was pretty popular in Dallas in the 50s and 60s.

Another similar episode happened two weeks ago in Fort Worth. I went to back-to-back estate sales in Ridgmar, and at both sales is this Winston Churchill Ezra Brooks bottle commemorating the Iron Curtain speech. I've never seen the thing before in my life, then I see it twice inside of a half hour.

That's estate saling. Sometimes you follow things, sometimes things follow you.