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.

Mothra-The Revenge

I came across this guy on the way back from lunch today. He was right by the front door at work, which is pretty much the same place as the one I showed you a couple months back. This fellow isn't as big or as colorful, but I thought you might want to see him anyway. I had him resting on the windowsill while I shot my pictures, to get a little more sunlight. I had to turn around for a moment, and when I looked around, he was gone. Now he's loose in my office somewhere...

I know what you're thinking, "You don't have a camera." And you're correct. But I do have my old camera, which doesn't take very good pictures, so I don't like to use it. But I thought this was cool enough to break it out and shoot...

How To Work Your Records

I found this little diagram on the inner sleeve of the Webley Edwards LP I doodlized below, Let's Sing With Hawaii Calls (Capitol KAO 1518). I love the fact that there was a time when people had to be shown how to do things that we wort of take for granted today. I suppose it worked with this record, though, because it survived to this day with the inner sleeve in place. Perhaps I shouldn't make fun of it...

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 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.

Moog To The Music

In honor of the passing of Robert Moog, I'm sharing (or here) (via YouSendIt) a couple of tracks from The Moog Machine-Switched-On Rock (Columbia CS 9921, 1969). I ripped these tracks this weekend for a Beatles covers CD I'm working on, but with the news of Dr. Moog's passing, I figured I'd share them out now. The sticker you see above is on my copy of this LP. Notice that it doesn't say the music is any good, just that it's sophisticated and complex. By the way, this is the 300th posting on my blog. Thanks to everyone out there for all your support. You know who you are. (A Moog Machine Christmas track is available over at FaLaLaLaLa. Get it while it's hot. Get it? Hot, Christmas, oh, nevermind...)

Oodles of Doodles XCVI

How's this for a creepy little doodle? Go ahead, count the fingers, I'll wait. Yep, there are 13, and that's a good thing, because otherwise this doodle wouldn't make any sense. The artist is Sir Julian and the LP is The Thirteen Fingers Of Sir Julian (RCA Victor LSP-2372, 1962). If you look close, just above the last two fingers on the left hand, you'll spot the initials JH. Or at least I think it's a JH. This LP was produced by the team of Hugo & Luigi, who we previously doodlized here. And if you care, below is the tagline from the front of this LP, "Dazzling Electronic Organ".

Next To The Last Week In August

Another week, another picture. This is a spot that pops up time and time again in my photographs. It's the breakwater on the Anna Maria Island side of Longboat Pass here in Florida, just off the coast of Bradenton. I'm standing up on the drawbridge over the pass. I've probably taken this picture a hundred times, but it still fascinates me for some reason. The whole spot is just beautiful.

Oodles of Doodles XCV

Here's another spectacular doodle from a long-lost age of innocence. This young man is probably about to get smacked by this young girl. Take a look at his left hand. It seems to be getting pretty close to her knee. You know that can only lead to trouble. This doodle comes from The Ames Brothers With Sid Ramin's Orchestra-Smoochin' Time (RCA Victor LSP-1855, 1958), and is signed with the initials RR. (You've seen the Ames Brothers before at Oodles of Doodles here.) I'm pretty sure I've seen those RR initials before, too, but I can't seem to find them. I'll keep hunting. Ah, here it is. (In case you're having trouble spotting the initials on this doodle, look at the front center of the couch. It's hidden in the carvings.) Did I mention the front cover of this LP? It's a little creepy, with the Ames Brothers standing in the bushes smiling for the camera while a couple makes out in the dark behind them. Weird...

Oodles of Doodles XCIV

Are you getting hungrey yet? How about some Italian food? A little wine, some meat, a guitar, and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. You get all that and more with Al Caiola-Guitar, Italian Style (Pickwick 33 SPC-3034). This doodle may be from a record on the budget label Pickwick, but I can't complain about it. I think the signature says Daniel, but I doubt if I'm going to be able to get any more info on a name like that.

Caution!

It is better to replace your needle than your record collection. This advice has never been truer. I found this on an inner sleeve from David McCallum-Music: A Bit More Of Me (Capitol T 2498, 1966). It just struck me as funny, especially the little picture of the bad needle carving away the grooves on your favorite LP.

Oodles of Doodles XCIII

This doodle is a detail of a clock face from Royale Concert Orchestra-An Hour Of Leroy Anderson And Dave Rose Tunes (Royale 1473, 1952). This appears to have been a cheapie release from way back in the early days of the LP. I'm afraid I can't even think of anything smart to say about it. That one girl does have a nice ponytail, I suppose. And the hair-do on the angel is rather interesting. Maybe I'll have better luck tomorrow.

Oodles of Doodles XCII

Here's an exotic scene from the back of Raul Diaz "El Mago" And Orchestra-Xochimilco (Capitol T10239). I can't pronounce Xochimilco, but according to the liner notes, it's a place south of Mexico City that features some beautiful floating flower gardens, hence this doodle of some floating flower gardens. Wait, it says here in the liner notes that it's pronounced so-chee-MEEL-co. There you have it. The artist's name on the doodle is Bob Thomas, but I'm not finding any hits that are obviously the same guy. Sorry about the rather poor quality of this scan, and the text over top of it. I can't airbrush them all as well as I'd like. But it's a pretty scene and well worth sharing. By the way, "El Mago" means The Wizard.

Oodles of Doodles XCI

Here's a doodle that seems at first glance to be from a video instead of a record. This scene comes to us from Dinah Shore-Moments Like These (RCA Victor LPM-1719, 1958). The reason for the early TV camera and boom mike is a tie-in with Dinah's then-current TV program, The Dinah Shore Chevy Show. In fact, the producer and director of that show, Bob Banner, wrote the liner notes for this LP. No info on the doodle though, as usual.

Oodles of Doodles XC

Here we go, 90 doodles later, and still going strong! How about a little something from Matlock himself? Andy Griffith-Just For Laughs (Capitol T962) is the source of this doodle. Andy put out several singles and LPs for Capitol in the late 50's and early 60's, right before he became a big time TV star. And once he left TV, he returned to music, singing gospel and country flavored stuff. I don't think this LP has been reissued in exactly this form, though, and if it has come out in any form, I don't imagine it came with this doodle. The doodles serve to illustrate some of the titles from the LP, such as Carmen, Romeo And Juliet, Conversation With A Mule, and Andy's biggest hit, What it Was, Was Football.

Oodles of Doodles LXXXIX

Much like this doodle from last week, the doodle above featured on an entire set of albums. In this case, the set was entitled Background Music-Music Blended To Mix Graciously With Social Gatherings, and was issued on Capitol Records. I scanned this one from Sweet And Sentimental (Capitol T473), and I also have Show Tunes (Capitol T378) & Light And Lively (Capitol T375). I'm missing Songs For Harmonizing to complete the foursome, but I've got my eyes open and I'm on the prowl. The artists vary from track to track, but all the tracks are by either Bill Loose And His Orchestra, Gardiner Gibbs And His Orchestra, Jack Stern And His Orchestra or Charles Romo And His Orchestra. The liner notes are the same on all, and feature the following:

With praise like that, how could you pass this up? Not much info on the web that I can find. A few sites have these for sale, and it looks like they were originally released on 10" vinyl. Absolutely no info on the doodle. That guy in the center reminds me a little of Uncle Moneybags from Monopoly, though.

Oodles of Doodles LXXXVIII

Perhaps you were wondering, but there is almost no planning whatsoever that goes into these doodles I post. If there was, I wouldn't have brought you this one today, since I posted one by the same artist just a little over a week ago. I wondered why the name sounded so familiar. But with that being said, these are still some pretty good doodles, and color too! From the front cover to Marjorie Meinert At The Lowrey Organ-Flying Fingers For The Fun Of It! (RCA CSP-116, 1965), these are five doodles that have absolutely nothing to do with the organ music inside. Don't ask me why they are there, but they are. This particular LP appears to have been an RCA Victor record club exclusive. I don't know if that means it was free to members, or could only be purchased by members. I'm sure it wasn't available at your local A&P though.

Pelican Sentinels-Classic Ernie

Here's another picture to tide you over until I get my camera back. These pelicans were guarding their respective pilings in the water off The Pier in St. Pete, Florida. It would be a much better picture without those boats pulling up in the background. But I'm not that ambitious in Photoshop.

Oodles of Doodles LXXXVII

This doodle is an odd mish-mash of different things meant to represent some of the songs on Stan Kenton-Stan Kenton's Milestones (Capitol T190). Would it help to know a couple of the song titles, like Peanut Vendor, Theme To The West or Bongo Riff? Does it make any more sense now? I didn't think so.

From The Hi-Fi

This is not normally a music blog (well, not a shared music blog, anyway), but since I featured the doodle (click the link for all the details about the LP) from the back of this LP, it hasn't been far from my turntable, my CD player, or my PC. So I've decided to share it out. If it goes well, and everybody loves it, maybe I'll share out more of the obscure, out-of-print LPs that I like to talk about here on the blog. I'm also sharing this because I could find so little info on the recording out there on the web, and everyone I played it for enjoyed it. Something to note on this LP is that tracks 4, 7 & 9 are written by Antonio Carlos Jobim. I don't know if the scan is detailed enough for you to be able to read that. If anyone comes up with a date for this record, please let me know.

So, without further ado, click here (or here) to download the LP via YouSendIt. The zip file contains all 12 tracks in MP3 format at 128Kbps, front and back cover scans, a detail scan of the doodle, and links back to my blog. If there is enough demand once the YouSendIt links expire, I may repost, but I make no guarantees.

The Third Week in August

Here's the latest calendar page for you folks. This is from MacDill Airfest 2004. Some of you who have followed the blog from the start might remember seeing loads and loads of pictures from this year's Airfest back in April. If you missed them, you really should go back and have a look. Pre-AirFest Blurb; Page 1; page 2; page 3; page 4; page 5; page 6; page 7; page 8; page 9; page 10; and a page of highlights from the previous year.

Oodles of Doodles LXXXVI

You've seen lots of other musical instruments, but how about these more exotic items from The Music Of Africa (BBC Records REC 130 M, 1971)? I can't even pretend to know the names of these instruments.

Oodles of Doodles LXXXV

This little slightly psychedelic doodle is from The 20th Century Strings Arranged And Conducted By Hugo Montenegro-Volume 1 Premiere Performance (20th Fox 3018). I don't think I've blogged any violin pictures yet, so here ya go! Beautiful picture of a girl on the front of this one, looks a little bit like a paint-by-numbers picture, though. I couldn't find many mentions of this LP anywhere on the net, short of a couple listings on GEMM. Maybe I should scan this cover and share it with you... How's this?

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.

Bloom County Meets Polk County

Whoa! Talk about a trip in the Wayback Machine! Somebody call Sherman & Peabody! I just scanned this drawing in from the back of my senior class yearbook, circa 1988. My buddy Scott was quite the artist, and he drew this in there for me. The car is a 1965 Chevy Chevelle Malibu convertible that I owned at the time, and the characters are Steve, Bill, Binkley, Milo & Opus from the comic strip Bloom County. There was nothing funnier to us at the time than Bloom County, and certainly nothing cooler to me than my car. I took it off to college that year, where it survived only a short while before the top was destroyed in a hailstorm. After that, it went downhill fast, and eventually became a pile of junk. To this day, the old rotted-out hulk sits back in a field behind my parents house. (Sorry about the blurryness on the left side of that scan. I must not have gotten it into the scanner right. or maybe I need a new scanner, this one is getting a little bit long in the tooth.)

Oodles of Doodles LXXXIII

You've seen lots of musical instrument doodles here at Ernie (Not Bert), but this is the first harp we've featured. This instrument features appropriately enough from the back cover of The Stanley-Johnson Orchestra-Have Harp Can't Travel (Liberty LST 7118). The front cover has a great picture of a short person trying to man-handle a large harp onto a city bus. There is actually a credit to the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority on the back for the use of their bus, but no word of where the harp came from. I guess the title is a take off on the old TV western Have Gun-Will Travel, but I first was exposed to the phrase through the name of my father's business when I was growing up, Have Tractor Will Mow. Somewhere around here I also have an LP called Have Piano Will Travel by Crazy Otto (Decca DL 74157). I guess it was a popular phrase for a while.