Oodles of Doodles XXV

You're truly getting your oodles of doodles in just this single post today. All six of these doodles figure from the back of Gordon Jenkins-The Complete Manhattan Tower (Capitol T766). This recording appears to have been much hyped in it's day, recorded in hi-fi for the first time, expanding on the original recording from 1945. It's all pretty much disappeared from view now, as it doesn't seem to have been reissued on CD yet. As usual, the doodles aren't credited.

Some of these doodles have titles, I think. Maybe they are just descriptions of the songs. The one above says "Steven first enters the Tower, and views the Magical City."

The doodle above is either "Steven and Julie meet", "They go dancing" or "Love comes to the Tower". Take your pick, I guess...

This one is obviously "A pre-dawn ride in Central Park".

Above is "The Statue of Liberty".

And the last one is "Steven reluctantly bids farewell to Julie and the Tower". There, now you don't have to buy the record. You pretty much know how it goes.

Oodles Of Doodles CCCXXXIII

Well, I never thought I'd get this far in my doodles. The first hundred was pretty easy, the second hundred took a while, but it wasn't too hard. The third hundred took even longer, and now I am one third of the way to my first thousand. It's an odd milestone to celebrate, but here I am anyway. And I found a handful of doodles by one of the great doodle artists, Mozelle Thompson. Still don't know much about him, but I know he's fairly prolific. I believe that prior to this doodle, all of his work has been for RCA, but with this one, he spreads out to MGM. These six doodles are actually from inside the gatefold cover of The Starlight Symphony Conducted By Cyril Ornadel-The Musical World Of Cole Porter (MGM E3843, 1960). I've got no idea why I picked this record up, but I did, then I opened it up, and there were these doodles. I think these doodles represent the 6 musicals named on the cover, those being Kiss Me Kate, Born To Dance, Leave It To Me, Can Can, Silk Stockings and Rosalie. I can't tell you which one is which but I'm sure many of you can figure them all out.

So, where else have you seen artwork here at the blog by Mozelle Thompson? Let me count the ways: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 And one maybe that I just noticed last night in an old post.

Oodles of Doodles LXXXIV

Some rather odd doodles for you today from The Hoffnung Interplanetary Music Festival (Angel 35800, 1958). This classical release is from the mind of Gerard Hoffnung, who is also responsible for the doodles you see here. I guess it's supposed to poke fun at classical music, or more correctly, at commercial use of classical music in things more mundane, like TV advertising. Or perhaps I don't get it at all. But it does provide for a few nice doodles. These doodles are from the cover of the LP, as well as an included booklet which attempts to describe the weird goings-on found on the record. The doodles are credited as being from various books by Mr. Hoffnung, and you can see more of them on the website linked above.

Oodles of Doodles LXXXI

The cable has been out for the past couple of hours, so all I've been able to do is scan, scan, scan. So you're going to have to bear with me for a bit here. I've got a couple of doodles here from Pat Suzuki With Henri Rene And His Orchestra-Pat Suzuki (RCA Victor LPM-2030, 1959). The subtitle of this LP is Miss Pony Tail, and they have certainly emphasized her ponytail in both the cover photo and in these doodles. There is also a tagline on the front cover that says "Vocal Fireworks", which you can see down at the bottom (You know how much I love those!). As a special bonus, you'll see a four-pack of very, very, very similar doodles down below that are taken from The Many Sides Of Pat Suzuki (RCA Victor LPM-2005, 1959). And here's where the story gets interesting. This second LP was originally issued on the RCA Victor subsidiary Vik without the doodles. (I previously posted a scan of the Vik label from that LP in hopes of finding out more info on the label.) Anyhow, you can easily see the similarities found in the doodles on these two LPs. I wish I could ID the artist, but I don't spot a signature or initials.

Oodles of Doodles LXI-Christmas In July

OK, we've made it to the end of Christmas in July. I think this is Christmas doodle number 33, since I snuck in two days with two doodles each. (Well, three actually, but I didn't start until July 2.) We get back to the real reason for the season today, with this doodle from George Beverly Shea-Christmas Hymns (RCA Victor LSP-2064, 1959). 1959 was certainly a banner year for doodles. I think we had three or four from that year. And RCA Victor was a banner label for these doodles, with almost one third of our doodles coming from that label. Which brings me to another question: Is there a definitive list somewhere of the little tag-lines they used next to the Living Stereo logo on these classic releases? This one says "Holy Holiday". I'm going to have to have a look-see around the web, I think. Anyhow, hope you had a great Christmas in July, and I'll see you back here tomorrow with more non-holiday doodles! Thanks for playing along!

Oodles of Doodles XXIX-Christmas In July

To celebrate a little bit of Christmas in July, we're going to bring you a month of Christmas doodles. And to make it even more special, we're starting out with out first color doodle! This image is from the flip side of Jimmy Roselli-The Christmas Album (United Artists UAL 3538, 1966). I don't know much about Mr. Roselli, other than he appears to be an Italian crooner along the same lines as Dean Martin.
We'll try to bring you more Christmas related doodles as July wears on, and for more Christmas related fun, click on over to FaLaLaLaLa.com. It's the place to be when you aren't gathered around the Christmas tree singing carols.
For those of you who may just be tuning in, these little doodles you see here are all collected from the backs of old vinyl LPs in my collection. There are plenty of websites out there that feature the fronts of some of these same classic LPs, but nobody has seen fit to share the little pen-and-ink doodles that decorated the backs of the LPs. Cheaper to print than full-color photos, and often more decorative, these doodles hit their peak on the RCA-Victor albums of the late 50's and early 60's. But many other labels used similar drawings, and for many years. We hope you enjoy them!

Now, go watch Live 8!

Missing Doodles?

Mmmm, I seem to be missing some doodles. I was going through and trying to tag all of my doodle posts, and I came up with too few of them. So I started looking, and I think I skipped from Oodles of Doodles 163 to Oodles of Doodles 169. That's what I get for posting in roman numerals instead of just counting them in plain old Arabic. Now I have to go back and fill in those numbers. Am I missing any more numbers? I'm not sure and I'm too lazy to look right now.

Oodles of Doodles XCVII

Here's something you haven't seen previously at Oodles of Doodles. These two doodles hail from the back of kiddie records, the kind that were marketed towards children as playthings as much as recordings. Kids would take these records and play them over and over and over again until the grooves wore down to the far side. So I figured I was lucky to find a couple in decent shape, or at least good enough shape to scan in these doodles. The doodle above is from 30 Song Stories For Rainy Days (Twinkle Records TW-8), while the one below is from Party Time Dance & Game Songs (Twinkle Records TW-18). The first record has a credit of Burt Portnoy for liner art, but the second LP is anonymous. Turns out that Mr. Portnoy was previously mentioned here at Ernie (Not Bert) as the designer on a Christmas LP. It's a small world after all.

Oodles Of Doodles CCIL-Christmas In July 2007

What is with all these angel doodles? What is this, the fifth or sixth one I've featured during Christmas In July 2007? I certainly didn't plan it this way. Back on the first, or maybe on the second, I pulled a bunch of Christmas records out of the stack of stuff I'd bought this year, and found about 20 with nice doodles on them. I scanned them all in and I've been working from that pool ever since. So it's pretty much just by chance that we've ended up with so many angels. When I run out of pre-scanned doodles, I'll make sure to try and pull more doodles than are angel-free. But until then, you're stuck. I even peeked ahead, and there are more angels to come. Today's angel is a real beaut, and she's from the back of Christmas In Poland-Directed by Rev. Henry A. Waraksa and featuring The Schola Cantorum Of SS. Cyril And Methodius Seminary (Capitol DT 10198). This angel pretty much covers the entire flip side of the sleeve, with all the liner notes, credits and track lists crammed in on either side.

Oodles of Doodles CIL

I love doodles of musical instruments, and these fanciful instruments are really, really out there. From the LP An Evening With PDQ Bach-Peter Schickle Town Hall Concert (Vanguard VSD-79195, 1965), these doodles represent some of the fanciful instruments used by the fanciful Mr. Bach. I never did get the whole joke with PDQ Bach. I suppose I'm not highbrow enough. Oh, well. These doodles are all signed by Jules Maidoff, who appears to have done a lot of album design before he ran off and became a serious artist. The doodles are all named, by the way. The one up top is The Hardart, the one below is The Double Reed Slide Music Stand, and the one at the bottom is The Left-Handed Sewer Flute. There are some more, similar musical instruments on the cover, so if you're interested in such things, by all means track this release down.

Oodles of Doodles C

Here it is, the long awaited doodle number one hundred! And what better way to celebrate than with a sextet of doodles from The Three Suns. You've seen The Three Suns here once before, but I've been saving them up ever since then to bring you this giant pile of doodles. The first one is from Let's Dance With The Three Suns (RCA Victor LSP-1578, 1958). Pretty typical doodle, but they aren't going to stay dull here for long.

The second, and my favorite of the bunch, is this space ship from The Three Suns-Swingin' On A Star (RCA Victor LPM-1964, 1959). I really wish this one had a signature on it, but I can't locate one. This is one of the more imaginative doodles I've featured around here. And in case you're wondering why The Three Suns would have four people on their rocket to the stars, the fourth is special guest King Curtis who was brought in for some horn work on this LP.

Thirdly (is that a word?), we have The Three Suns-Love In The Afternoon (RCA Victor LPM-1669, 1959), featuring a charming picnic scene. And we finally get a recognizable signature, Jo Grey II. No hits on this name over at Google, but you have seen the name before here at Ernie (Not Bert).

What else have I got for you today? How about these dancing fellows from The Three Suns-On A Magic Carpet (RCA Victor LPM-2235, 1960)? You know you have to dance when you see something like this.

But wait, the hits keep on a'comin'. How's about this cauldron from Fever And Smoke-The Three Suns (RCA Victor LSP-2310, 1961)? The doodles are really starting to come to a rolling boil around here. Maybe it's time to cool things off just a bit.

Winding things down before we get out of control, here's the sixth and final doodle of the post from Fun In The Sun-The Three Suns (LPM/LSP-2437, 1961). What's not to like about the beach? As I type this, Tropical Storm Katrina is bearing down on me, so that may be something not to like. But worries like that are a million miles away from these two lovebirds. That concludes this 100th doodle post. I hope you enjoyed them all. (Oh yeah, many of these Three Suns LPs feature the taglines on the front advertising the tunes inside, such as "Exotic Percussion Sound" or "Perfect For Dancing". You can see these posted here.)

Oodles of Doodles XCIX

Here we are at doodle number 99, and I've got the biggest selection of doodles yet from a single artist, or, well, in this case, a pair of artists. All of the doodles in this post are from Louis Prima and/or Keely Smith. I've brought you one other doodle from this pair before (only the second doodle I ever posted!), but here's a set of 5 that will make you jump, jive and wail. The first illustration above is from The Wildest Show At Tahoe-Louis Prima & Keely Smith With Sam Butera And The Witnesses (Capitol T908). I don't know about some of those other animals, but the moose you see there is a popular Prima motif. You'll see the moose again in the doodle below, as well as on the cover of that LP. I love how Keely looks like Keely in this doodle. The artist has really captured her look. The only info I have on the artist are the initials FP (located between the legs of the trombonist, who is James "Little Red" Blount, by the way.)

This second illustration, again featuring a prominent moose, is from The Call Of The Wildest-Louis Prima & Keely Smith With Sam Butera and The Witnesses (Capitol T836, 1957), which I believe was Louis & gang's second LP for Capitol. I don't think this artist did as good a job of capturing the various players in the band. That's Louis and Keely on the moose, and the other folks are, top to bottom, Sam Butera, Jimmie "Little Red" Blount, Jack Marshall, Willie McCumber Jr, Amato Rodriguez and last but not least, Bobby Morris. The doodle is signed Don Kapp (down at the bottom near the drummer man).

The final three doodles are from Keely solo albums. I wish I had more group LPs to scan in and share, but these things are rare as hens teeth. As I find 'em, I'll post 'em, but you're gonna have to wait. This first solo doodle is from Keely Smith-Be My Love (Dot DLP 25241), with music by Billy Vaughn. It may just be me, but doesn't that bottle to the left of center look a lot like the one that Jeannie lived in on I Dream of Jeannie? And that owl on her head... Just ask yourself "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Tootsie Pop?" See what I mean? Oh, and that angel on the cauldron is familiar, too, but I can't place it right now. Maybe another Keely LP...

Whew! I'm getting tired of typing on this post. Bear with me though, only two doodles to go. Keely Smith With Billy May And His Orchestra-Politely (Capitol T 1073) features a set of gentleman suitors who are trying to be polite to Ms. Smith. This doodle again features the initials FP that we saw on the first illustration above. Perhaps he worked with Louis & Keely exclusively, or maybe he was a Capitol staff artist. Somebody out there has to know, and hopefully they'll share that info someday.

Could this be the end of this mammoth post? I think so. And for the end, we have a small bouquet of roses courtesy of Keely Smith-I Wish You Love (Capitol T 914). The orchestra on this one was conducted by Nelson Riddle. They sure didn't spare the talent when it came to Keely's solo career. Too bad it never took off like similar female crooners of the late 50s/early 60s. I think this is the only Keely LP I have on CD, and it's OK. The best part of it is the bonus tracks that are from unreleased sessions with Nelson Riddle that make Keely come across more as an early rock-n-roll singer than a torch song singer. If you have the CD, you know what I mean.

Oodles of Doodles XCVIII

As the elusive 100th doodle gets closer and closer, I'm trying to cram more and more special stuff in here. So today, I present not one, not two, but three albums worth of doodles from my new favorite doodle-meister, Webley Edwards. You can read all about Webley over at Space Age Pop, but the short story is that Webley hosted a radio show from Hawaii that popularized the islands music and culture for many years, both before and after Hawaii became the fiftieth state. The first doodle above comes from Webley Edwards Presents Hawaiian Strings (Capitol SM-1152). Webley wasn't really a performer, these records only collect some of the music he helped to popularize. He did work with many of the artists and songwriters to be sure that the music said 'Hawaii'. These next two doodles come from Hawaii: The Island Of Dreams-Webley Edwards & His Hawaii Calls Orchestra (Pickwick SPC-3062). Again, I don't know that Webley had a whole lot of musical involvement in this, even though it's listed as his orchestra. The LP lists a whole plethora of artists, the last one of which is Webley. So maybe he did do something. The last two instruments listed as being played on the album are "Actual sounds of native birds, waves on Waikiki Beach". I don't think you can get those at the local music store...


And that leaves the rest of the doodles below, all of which come from the back cover and inner gatefold of Let's Sing With Hawaii Calls (Capitol KAO 1518). As far as doodle quantity goes, I really hit the jackpot with this one. The inside of this sleeve is littered with doodles surrounding all the lyrics to all the songs. And they're an odd brownish color. It's a little bit darker in real life than what you see on the scans, and I know the scans aren't even all the same, but this was as close as I could get. So have a look see at all the great images below, and imagine yourself on a spectacular beach covered in black volcanic sand with a drink in your hand. Ahhhhhhh........

Oodles of Doodles CXII

OK, after that boring George Shearing, I figure I owe you something good. So how about a pair of doodles, courtesy of Living Strings? I brought you Living Marimbas earlier today, but we'll try to forget about that one. This first doodle is from Living Strings Play Music For Romance (RCA Camden CAS-637, 1960). Look close down at the lower right, and you'll see J Grey II, an artist we've seen at least twice before, here and here (as Jo Grey II). In fact, this doodle is very, very similar in both style and subject to that second one I linked to.

This time the LP is Living Strings Play All The Music From Camelot (RCA Camden CAS-657, 1961), and again we have a familiar signature. The RR you might spot down in the debris at the right side of the drawbridge is another initial that's popped up before here (and here) at Oodles of Doodles. I like the fact that specific artists are beginning to turn up with some regularity around here. Now if I can only track someone down who knows about these people...

Oodles Of Doodles CCCXXIII

A new year, and high time for some new doodles. Well, at least new to the blog. These may be among the older doodles I've featured on the blog. These come from an old Bluebird RCA Victor 10" 78 RPM sleeve I brought home recently. It actually housed that Phil Harris record I shared earlier today, but I seem to remember slipping the record into this particular sleeve because I wanted to get these great doodles. I love the Magic Brain above, just because he seems like a real record head. The dancers and musicians below are certainly not bad, either.