Sunset 6 October 2007

Did you catch the sunset tonight? I did. I happened to be driving near the Gandy Bridge in Tampa, so I stopped and shot for 10 minutes. Not too shabby of a sunset...

Oodles Of Doodles CCCI

If I'm not careful, I'm going to lose the momentum I've built up over the past week. This candlelit scene comes to us courtesy of The Melachrino Strings And Orchestra-The Music Of Jerome Kern (RCA Victor LPM-2283, 1961). The only reason I can come up with for the Eiffel tower being in there is the inclusion of the song 'The Last Time I saw Paris'. But I'll take what I can get.

Oodles Of Doodles CCC

This is it. Doodle number 300. Two and a half years it's taken to get this far, with 10 percent of the total being posted here in the last week alone. I go through spells where I get excited about posting these things, and then I slack off for a while. But I've been on the ball for the past week. Number 300 is Billy May-Pow! (Capitol T1377, 1960), a fitting LP title for such a momentous post, and certainly a good artist for the honor. I think this is my first doodle from a Billy May solo LP, although he's shown up on a couple (1, 2, 3) of LPs leading the band for other artists. Oh, and then there are some various artist LPs he featured on (1, 2, 3). And if that's not enough links for you, Billy has been mentioned here and here for whatever reason at the blog. So with all those previous appearances, I thought it appropriate that he help us celebrate the 300th doodle. Enjoy! Here's to the next 300!

Artsy

Sometimes I don't know why a record jacket sticks in my head. I've looked at this cover for weeks, but didn't buy it. I suppose my initial prejudice was because it was a classical recording. But I eventually broke down and bought it just for that cover. The record is The National Symphony Orchestra-Howard Mitchell, Conductor-Shostakovich Symphony No. 5, Op. 47 (RCA Victor Red Seal LM-2261, 1959). I believe that's supposed to be Dmitri Shostakovich there, as he would appear in a bad dream or after a night of heavy drinking. The artist turns out to be someone fairly well-known, Joseph Hirsch. I don't know him myself, but the things I don't know about art are many.

Oodles Of Doodles CCIC

I've got a special doodle for you here from the great Peggy Lee. Take a good long look at this one as it wraps all the way around the outer edge of the LP. There's lots of things going on here, from little kids pretending to be grown-ups to old guys trying to be young again. Doctors, artists, workmen, cowboys, high school graduates, construction workers, short guys, fat guys, dancers, you name it, there's a little bit of everybody in here. This greatness comes from Peggy Lee-I Like Men! (Capitol ST 1131, 1959). There's a signature down at the lower left if you look closely. F. Page, which I think is Frank Page, who's been seen 'round these part before (twice!).

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Do you recognize these guys? Sure you do! It's Ferrante & Teicher, the duo-pianists who hit it big with such hits as, ummm, errr, well, they had a number of hits... This is the second caricature I've posted of these two, and the third doodle I've posted overall from their LPs. This one comes from the LP Love In The Generation Gap (United Artists UAS 6677, 1968), which I'm sure came out after F&T were on the far side of that gap. But at least they were trying. It's surprising how alike the two look in photographs, yet in this doodle, they couldn't be more different. Maybe it's the glasses they always wear in the photos...

Not A Doodle

I spotted this cartoon on a record a couple of days ago, and I knew I had to share it. It's so colorful and lively that it just draws you in and makes you want to enjoy the music. I haven't listened to what's on the record yet, but I'm sure I will. It's Chapotin Y Sus Estrellas-Sabor Tropical (Antilla SP 107). No, I've never heard of the artist or the label, either, but they seem to be (or were) a Spanish-language label based right here in Florida. I'm going to keep my eye out for more of these!

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Why go to a Broadway show when you can hang out here at the blog and see great scenes like this from Broadway? And if you have this record, you can also listen to the great music from the Great White Way, or at least any great music that came out between 1946 and 1956. This is Guy Lombardo And His Royal Canadians-Decade On Broadway '46-'56 (Capitol T788). I couldn't begin to tell you what shows are represented in this doodle. I'm going to guess The Mikado, My Fair Lady, maybe The King And I? Just guesses, I have no idea, really.

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This doodle hails from another record in the 'Capitol Of The World' series, this time coming from Germany. The record is Alfons Bauer-Mein Berchtesgaderer Land (Capitol T 10289). I'm afraid I have no idea what that title means, and I'm too lazy to look it up. What I can tell you is that there is a small signature in the doodle, down under the wagon on the bottom right. Bob Thomas is the name. Unfortunately, nothing comes up on Google with that name, at least nothing obviously related to records from the sixties.

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Here's my first doodle of radio towers. I've brought you a TV aerial before, but never radio. These must represent the towers used to broadcast the contents of the record, called Back To The Bible Broadcast (RCA Victor LPM-2128, 1960). This broadcast was apparently hosted by Dr. Theodore Epp from Lincoln, Nebraska, and featured Bible Broadcast Male Chorus, Quartet, Choir and someone named Rosella. Not sure what to make of this, especially on a major label. It looks more like the stuff you'd find on Word or Light. But at least we get a tag, Sacred Souvenirs.

More Mozelle

I've brought you plenty (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) of doodles by an artist named Mozelle Thompson, but this is the first time I've found his artwork on a cover. This is Cantor Josef "Yossele" Rosenblatt-Songs Of My People (RCA Camden CAL 597, 1960). Quie a nice picture of a mother reading or singing to her child. There's something a little creepy about the kid, though, with those big hollow eyes staring out of the album cover, as if he can see you out there, 47 years in the future...

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I heard a request for doodles about St. Louis, so here you go! OK, I know that no one actually requested this, but it could happen. And if these 12 things all have something to do with the St. Louis area, where's the arch? Well, it's on the cover, of course. I'm not even sure what some of these are supposed to be, so maybe someone from the area can clue us in as to what we're looking at, and why. These doodles come from the various artists LP Meet Me In St. Louis (Norman NS 212, 1969). I guess it was issued as a civic pride sort of thing, since I don't know how many people would want to take home a musical souvenir of their trip to St. Louis. Having said that, I notice the subtitle on the cover is "A Musical Souvenir". There is also a sticker on there saying Wetterau Foods, Inc, 100 Years Of Service, 1869-1969. So maybe they gave these away to employees and customers. That would make more sense to me than hoping people might actually purchase the record.

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This simple doodle is from the back of Eddie Haywood With Joe Reisman And His Orchestra-The Keys And I (RCA Victor LPM-1900, 1959). Nothing fancy, but it's quite effective. The cover is quite nice too, but I didn't scan it in. Sorry. I did grab the RCA tag from the front for you, though. Piano Magic, it says.

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They can't all be winners, I guess. Here's a terribly boring doodle from the back side of Music-Styled For You (Capitol SL-6522), a various artists record that was no doubt put out to make a little money from a slow-moving back catalog. They certainly didn't spend any money on a nice doodle, instead opting for the 1970's version of clip-art. At least you get some halfway decent easy-listening artists on here, like Les Baxter, Billy May and Nelson Riddle. But with only ten tracks, you didn't get very much of them.

Oodles Of Doodles CCXCI

I know it's getting late in the day, but I wanted to make sure I get a doodle or two up for you today. This pair of doodles is from another record in Capitol's Capitol Of The World series. I believe they were in cahoots with EMI at the time, which gave them access to music from pretty much everywhere in the world, so they covered their bases pretty well in this series. This record, featuring Italy, is Italy Dances! by Gigi Stok's Orchestra (Capitol T10184). I can't tell you much about it, other than it has a nice dancing doodle.

Oodles Of Doodles CCXC

Here's another great dancing doodle for you, this time from the flipside of Let's Dance With Johnny Long And His Orchestra (Forum SF 9050). I grabbed this one out of the stack tonight to record a track for Halloween. I recorded it, cleaned it up, went to save it, then realized I'd recorded it last year. But I got a better file this time, so I just saved it right over top of the original. There is an illustrator credit on the LP, which I think applies to the doodle. The name is Jerome Martin. Not as good as some of the other stuff I've posted, but not bad.

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Four tries to get this doodle posted. Blogger is having issues again. But I think the wait was worth it. This is the first doodle I've posted that features a rocketship! The first scuba diver! The first scooter! The first iron! And certainly the coolest car, TV and house! It's got just about everything, even a tag on the front, Great Hits-Great Feyer. All this goodness comes from George Feyer-Today's Hits-Tomorrow's Memories (RCA Victor LSP-2051, 1959). The more I look at all the icons in the doodle, the more I think they would make a great set of Monopoly tokens. I guess they already did the iron though. But their car isn't as cool as this one.

October, Part Two

I'm going to post the second set of calendar pages for this month on this first day of the month this time instead of waiting until the last day like I did last month. Nothing like learning from your mistakes, I suppose. These pictures are from the little CD-sized calendar I produced last year. The pictures themselves are reruns from previous large-format calendars, but you may not have seen the pictures before if you weren't an avid reader of the blog. The shot above is Cleveland's Terminal Tower, as seen through the glass ceiling of the mall below. And the night shot below is the clock tower on Daytona Beach. Trust me, there's a famous beach in the background, you just can't see it in the dark.

October, Part One

First of the month means you get extra calendar pages. This time it's the big 11x14 shots that decorate the walls at my office. The shot above is an old picture of some blossoming water lillies in a drainage pond in Lakewood Ranch here in Florida. I seem to remember the pond was gone last time I drove by, a victim of progress, no doubt. The shot below is one of my favorites from a visit to Ohio a couple of years ago. That's the bridge for Route 82 crossing over the Cuyahoga River. It was a great day to shoot such a scene, no breeze at all to disturb the water, and no clouds in the sky to disturb the endless blue.

Not So Crazy Otto

I just keep getting drawn further and further afield... While researching Crazy Otto for an earlier post, I found this great bit of artwork on an LP that I had somehow missed earlier. It's not a doodle, but it has the feel of some of the great doodles I've found in the past. This is the cover of Crazy Otto (aka Fritz Schulz-Reichel)-Not So Crazy Otto (Decca DL 8370). Gotta love all those bob-haired beauties gathered around the piano. And Otto himself looks like some weird cross between Tony Curtis and Peter Lorre. Heaven knows what's up with that.

The Beginning Of October

Wow! It's another great Fall picture this week for the calendar picture. You don't get color like this in Florida, let me tell you. This was on the side of the road in the Cuyahoga Valley in Ohio last year. It only lasts for a week or so, but it sure is great during that short time. Wait, I want to say it again. Wow!

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Just a few minutes ago, I posted a doodle from a Johnny Maddox LP. A quick internet search turned up some information about him, some claiming that he was also known as Crazy Otto. So, if Maddox is Crazy Otto, then who's the guy that released several records on Decca as Crazy Otto? Maddox was friends with the founder of Dot, and recorded for them, so surely he wouldn't have recorded LPs for Decca. I'm going to have to do some more research. But in the meantime, here's a groovy little doodle from the back of Crazy Otto's Back In Town (Decca DL 8627). On this LP, the liner notes claim Crazy Otto is one Fritz Schulz-Reichel, "a not-so-crazy German piano virtuoso and composer." Hmmmm, that name sounds like it could be made up, but I don't know... Well, looks like Schulz-Reichel may have been the original Crazy Otto, or Schrager Otto in German. He had a hit with The Crazy Otto Medley. I'm satisfied, how about you?

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Another day, another doodle. Or two... This is a great portrait of Johnny Maddox from the album Johnny Maddox Plays (Dot DLP-3005). I don't know much about Mr. Maddox, but I have to assume this is a pretty good representation of him. Sometimes the doodles don't quite get it right, if you know what I mean. This one looks pretty good though.

Wait a minute... Johnny Maddox is really Crazy Otto? Well now, that puts a whole different spin on things. No he's not! I've got to get this sorted out...

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I think Switzerland is a good place to end today's Doodle Fest. I wanted to see if I could post ten different doodles in a day, and this is number 10. It takes a bit of work to get these things scanned in and cleaned up, and Blogger is still giving me trouble with the picture uploading. But I've managed to overcome all of those issues, and get ten doodles up today, plus three other posts. That's not too shabby, especially considering I've been averaging one or two posts a week for the past two months. This great scene comes from the various artists LP A Visit To Switzerland (Capitol T10264). It's part of the Capitol of The World series, many of which featured a great doodle on the flipside. Hope you're enjoying these great little artworks!

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Here's a hip doodle that's sure to get you out on the floor. These two swinging youths are from Bill Justis-Tamoure-Pipeline-Bill Justis Plays 12 Top Tunes (Smash MGS 27036). I just love doodles that feature folks dancing, and these two are no exception.

Update-I think I've posted too many doodles. I completely missed the fact that we've seen these exact two folks on another LP from Bill Justis. Go check it out! I guess I need to try and keep up with the archives a bit better.

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Hmmm. I don't think I've ever heard of a tour bus that actually said Greyhound, but if you look close at the picture above, there it is. Maybe the custom tour bus is a product of the rock era. This touring doodle comes to us courtesy of The Woody Herman Herd-Road Band! (Capitol T658). Not sure if Woody Herman was still around for this LP, I know some bands toured for decades after their leaders passed on. No, looks like he was still alive and well for this one. There's even a credit for Keith Moon as trumpet player. I always thought he played drums...

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How about a couple of flappers for a doodle? Don't think I've seen that before around here. These girls come from the back side of Jo Ann Castle-Ragtime Piano Gal (Dot DLP 3249). Don't miss the cigarette in the long holder being smoked by the girl in the back playing the piano (presumably Ms. Castle). Remember, this was probably the early 60s, when such a thing might have been OK. But not anymore.

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I don't think I've posted many anthropomorphic animal doodles, so here's a nice one for you. This comes from an LP by The Grasshoppers called Sing Along With The Grasshoppers (Spin-O-Rama S 91). Not the fanciest of LPs, and certainly not from the fanciest of labels, but at least this one has content on the flip side. Many of these budget LPs sport ads or generic label information on the back side. This one also features lyrics to some of the public domain songs so you can sing along with the Grasshoppers! FYI, the names of these guys are Dennis, Archie & Rickey. Now you know.

September Is Here, Part 2

Here's a little something else I've been procrastinating about. These are two calendar images that I should have posted back at the beginning of September with the other monthly calendar pages. But I haven't gotten around to it until today, the last day of the month. Sorry about that. The shot above is sunset over Lake Erie, as seen from the waterfront behind the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. I always thought that was a great picture. The shot below, which is no less a great picture, is a detail of a bougainvillea blossom. It's really small in real life, each of those white bits being at-most a quarter inch in diameter. I shot this three or four years ago down on Gasparilla Island, near Boca Grande here in Florida.

The Last Day Of September

Only one day this week is in September, so that day gets a calendar page all by itself. I shot this turtle last year while he was sunning on a rock in the Hillsborough River. Little did he know he was going to be famous, with his image plastered all over the world wide web, being seen by over twenty people who visit this blog! Does that make him a rock star? Hmmm....

Five RCA Tags

Here are some RCA Victor tags that I scanned more than a year ago, but never got around to posting. Sometimes I procrastinate a little... At the rate I'm going, I may get all of these collected up by the year 2217. Maybe. Let's see, where did I start? Oh, Hi-Fi Drums comes from The Guy Warren Sounds-Themes For African Drums (RCA Victor LPM-1864, 1959).

Next up is some Instrumental Dance Music from the various artists LP The Dancing Beat Of The Swing Bands (RCA Victor LSP-2090). Those bands include Larry Elgart, The New Glenn Miller Orchestra, Urbie Green, Sid Ramin, Buddy Morrow and Billy Butterfield.

More "Last Date" Piano come from Floyd Cramer, of course, and his album On The Rebound (RCA Victor LPM-2359, 1961).

The Singing Cowboys are members of The Ralph Hunter Choir and the album is The Wild Wild West (RCA Victor LPM-1968, 1959).

Last but not least in this tag-fest is A Broadway Best from the LP Kiss Me Kate (RCA Victor LSP-1984, 1959) featuring Howard Keel, Gogi Grant and Anne Jeffreys with Henri Rene And His Orchestra. More great tags to come, hopefully in less than a year...

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Here's a slightly weird doodle from the back of Chet Atkins-The Most Popular Guitar (RCA Victor LPM-2346, 1961). It wraps all the way around three sides of the back of the LP, and there was plenty of text in the middle. It's obviously some of the same doodles cut and pasted in various combinations, but I wanted to show you the whole thing as it appeared on the LP. Why do I say it's weird? I don't know exactly, it just strikes me as odd. I don't know that Chet Atkins was ever as popular as, say, Eric Clapton, so who might be carrying around signs saying Vote Chet? I'm thinking these must be RCA executives. Anyhow, I previously shared a Chet Atkins Christmas doodle with you here.

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Three hours later and Blogger seems to be behaving a little better with uploading pictures. While it's working, here's a quick pair of doodles for you from the flipside of Franz Hertzman And His Orchestra-Music For A German Dinner At Home (RCA Victor LPM-1935, 1959). This is part of a series of records that feature music for different kinds of meals. I previously posted both a doodle and a tag from a barbeque related edition, and I've got a Japanese one around here somewhere, too. The artist is a person named Dillon, who we've seen before a couple of times around here (and who I suspect you'll see again come Christmas, but I don't want to get ahead of myself...). The RCA tag is one of the few I've seen that repeats itself, "Dinner Music" being the same on all the records I've seen from the series.

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Finally! It's taken many, many tries this morning to post this doodle. I successfully posted the previous Ray Anthony doodle after I had tried this one half a dozen times already with no success. But that's all beside the point to you, you just want to know what you're looking at. These great sketches come from the back of Jerome Hines, Arranged And Conducted By Skitch Henderson-Standin' In The Need Of Prayer (RCA Victor LPM-2047, 1960). Pretty good doodles, eh? You also get a tag, shown below, proclaiming Spirituals. For those of you who might be interested, the stereo version of this LP, LSP-2047, features a very similar tag, only it's got a black background from the adjacent Living Stereo logo. And some of the text on the cover has been rearranged. But you don't really care, do you?