| Author | Message | ||
  stephanie (stephanie) 6-Zenith Username: stephanie Post Number: 3167 Registered: 2-2005 |
Throughout the decade growing up I heard of groups like the King Family, The Mike Curb Congregation, The Ray Coniff Singers etc. Here is my question for SDF members although they may have had a hit or two on the charts who was buying this stuff? I had been in white and black households and I never saw any of these people in homes but they put out tons of albums. I think I may have seen two Ferrante and Teichers and that was it. Was it the upper crust? Did these people do tours and we just were not paying attention? Im really curious because I have always wanted to know who bought these albums and how did they find out about them? | ||
Marv (marv2) 6-Zenith Username: marv2 Post Number: 4370 Registered: 11-2008 |
Stephanie, are you kidding? the King Family and The Mike Curb Congregation were on television all the time. Not as much as Lawrence Welk, but they were pretty visible in the 60's and very early 70's. Ferrante and Teichers had a huge hit with the motion picture "Midnight Cowboy" in 1969-70. I think one of their albums slipped into our house , but not by the other two groups you mentioned LOL! | ||
NYSister (nysister) 5-Doyen Username: nysister Post Number: 374 Registered: 12-2004 |
Stephanie, I had a couple of those albums especially the Ray Conniff Singers. Some of you may remember the music club inserts in magazines and in the TV Guide where you order 10 albums for a penny. Well, of course, I would choose the soul albums but they would always send you whatever they had and that's when I received those albums. Boy was I disappointed! | ||
Garo (gary_james) 6-Zenith Username: gary_james Post Number: 3045 Registered: 5-2004 |
I remember watching the King Family specials on ABC, but i don't think they and The Mike Curb Congregation sold many albums. In 1970, The Mike Curb Congregation suppled the poorly mis-matched song Burning Bridges for the movie, Kelly's Heros, i had a DJ copy of the single on MGM. No one bought it. Lawrence Welk and Ferante & Teicher were different, they both had hits on the pop chart. And being instrumentals, adults bought the albums for play on the HiFi's. Elevator music for the home. But, it was mostly the parents not the kids buying them. Like the Tijuana Brass albums which were huge sellers. | ||
stephanie (stephanie) 6-Zenith Username: stephanie Post Number: 3168 Registered: 2-2005 |
NYSister I remember seeing those albums in the Columbia Record Club inserts in the newspaper but to this day (with the exception of Ferrant and Teicher) and yes I saw the King Family on TV Marv but I didnt know who was buying these albums. I couldnt stand the Mike Curb Congregation they got on my nerves. Herb Alpert appealed to everyone and he got massive airplay. Like I said on TV I remember these people I wondered who was buying the records. Thanks for the input gang. | ||
Motown_Fan (motown_fan) 6-Zenith Username: motown_fan Post Number: 4614 Registered: 9-2006 |
I don't think many people bought albums by the King Family or the Mike Curb Generation. These are the records you always find in abundance at Goodwill or Flea markets. But on the other hand, I think white people living in Suburbia typically bought these records. I assume the same folk who tuned in to Lawrence Welk every week bought these easy listening LPs and played them at dinner time so their food would digest easily. I don't know of many black families (unless they were sell-outs, squares or wannabe oreos) who deliberately bought LPs by the King Family, Ferrante & Teicher, Roger Williams or any of those other easy listening acts. People who enjoyed classical or so-called "good music" might have attended a Ferrante & Teicher concert. But culturally, they offered little to blacks that we could relate to. However, the Mike Curb Generation did sing with Sammy Davis Jr. on the candy Man. It was a No. 1 record so a lot of people bought it. (Message edited by Motown_fan on August 03, 2010) | ||
Timmy Funk (timmyfunk) 6-Zenith Username: timmyfunk Post Number: 3178 Registered: 5-2007 |
Motown Fan, that was one loaded post, but I can't disagree with it. | ||
Motown_Fan (motown_fan) 6-Zenith Username: motown_fan Post Number: 4615 Registered: 9-2006 |
LOL@Timmy. I didn't know any other way to put it, so I just kept it real. I don't know of many blacks who deliberately bought a Mitch Miller album or a Ferrante & Teicher record. But now that I think of it, my brother had the soundtrack to Midnight Cowboy and I believe Ferrante & Teicher were on it. But my brother is a movie nut and I called The Drop Squad on his ass a long time ago. But he's straight now. (Message edited by motown_fan on August 03, 2010) | ||
jway (mygirl) 5-Doyen Username: mygirl Post Number: 223 Registered: 7-2004 |
When I Was A Kid In The Brewster Project,Every Sunday Morning We Would Get The Order Blank For The Record Club.We Would Order Who We Liked And Every One Of Those Artist Named Here Were At The Top Of The List So We Would Pick Two On Each,And The Order Would Be Sent.They Were The Most Advertised,Outside Of Elvis,Johnny Mathis And Many Jazz Artist Miles And Nat King Cole! | ||
Motown_Fan (motown_fan) 6-Zenith Username: motown_fan Post Number: 4616 Registered: 9-2006 |
Jway, are you saying that kids in the projects would order albums by Ferrante & Teicher, Mitch Miller - and the like - just to try and throw the Columbia Record Club off, so it sent the R&B or Rock albums the kids in the projects really wanted? Like the record clubs would know or care that it was sending records to people in the projects. I never did that. Of course I would order something that I knew my dad would like (something by Ray Charles or Nat King Cole). But that was a ploy to get him to pay for those records. (Message edited by motown_fan on August 03, 2010) | ||
Soulster (soulster) 6-Zenith Username: soulster Post Number: 2961 Registered: 2-2007 |
You know, I hate to stereotype (mostly), but I have been in several homes of all types of people. Also, these artists, and more like them, litter garage sales, estate sales, and Salvation Army stores all over the place. That alone should tell you that it is usually older, white people who bought this stuff. | ||
Garo (gary_james) 6-Zenith Username: gary_james Post Number: 3046 Registered: 5-2004 |
John Barry did the music for Midnight Cowboy, Ferrante & Teicher's version of the theme was a cover and not on the soundtrack. | ||
Motown_Fan (motown_fan) 6-Zenith Username: motown_fan Post Number: 4617 Registered: 9-2006 |
Hmmm. I don't know. I remember my brother playing the theme from Midnight Cowboy in his room It sounded a lot like that Ferrante & Teicher version. He might have had the single too. Weren't Ferrante & Teicher on United Artists Records too? I still called The Drop Squad on him.  (Message edited by motown_fan on August 03, 2010) | ||
stephanie (stephanie) 6-Zenith Username: stephanie Post Number: 3170 Registered: 2-2005 |
The only song of this genre that I remember seeing in white and black households was Love Is Blue by Paul Mariat and that is one of the most outstanding instrumentals that still gets or got play on oldies station. | ||
Jimmy Mack (luke) 6-Zenith Username: luke Post Number: 4576 Registered: 4-2004 |
I have been in a good many white peoples' homes too and have never seen a Ray Coniff or Mike Curb album; the thought of it is frightening. I I dont think Muzak sells many albums. | ||
Garo (gary_james) 6-Zenith Username: gary_james Post Number: 3047 Registered: 5-2004 |
John Barry's theme in the movie features harmonica great Toots Thielemans. Although on UA records, Ferrante & Teicher are not on the soundtrack. The movie was released in June of 1969, their cover of the theme was out in November of that year. | ||
Timmy Funk (timmyfunk) 6-Zenith Username: timmyfunk Post Number: 3180 Registered: 5-2007 |
Jimmy, I'll bet you that the people you speak of were born after 1964 or around that time. Maybe we can suggest to Ralph to link this thread with the Mitch Miller thread. Definite similarities. | ||
Soulster (soulster) 6-Zenith Username: soulster Post Number: 2962 Registered: 2-2007 |
Jimmy, what age were they, and where did they come from? The majority of White people of a certain generation, largely the WWII generation, listened to that stuff because it was their popular music of their day. Rock and roll was not anywhere near mainstream, and few would listen to what they called "race" records. The numbers are overwhelming, too. I live and work with Whites from the WWII generation, and almost every single one of them only relate to the Barbra Streisand and Gogi Grant era. They might know about Earl Grant. Even mention Elvis to some of them and you might get a negative reaction. Now, i'm Black, and my parents had a Frankie Laine or Percy Faith album or two, but they, otherwise, had Miles Davis, Nancy Wilson, Dinah Washington, and Miles Davis albums from the 50s. If I want into a White person's home of a certain generation, you saw Patti page, Doris Day, and Mitch Miller. Maybe you say some Nat King Cole in there. There was the issue of race and age, indeed, but moreso, it was just about musical style. Things started to change a bit in the 60s. these same people gravitated to "The Sound Of Music", Ray Conniff, and Henry Mancini. But you also saw that stuff in Black homes too, along The Impressions and Lou Rawls. It started to become more about generation rather than race. We called it the generation gap. Gary Puckett and the Union Gap seemed to straddle the line. It is my experience that the children from these White homes gravitated to rock and folk music of the day. They may have had a passing interest in R&B before funk took over, but they pretty much stick to their peer and environmental influences. Their natural progression was The Beatles and such. (Message edited by Soulster on August 03, 2010) (Message edited by Soulster on August 03, 2010) | ||
Motown_Fan (motown_fan) 6-Zenith Username: motown_fan Post Number: 4619 Registered: 9-2006 |
I just called my brother. He says he had both the Midnight Cowboy ST, the Ferrante & Teicher single and the sheet music for Everybody's Talking. He still has the sheet music. I have Love Is Blue on a CD, but I didn't buy it just for Love Is Blue. And if at 15, I would have gone into my neighborhood record shop in Detroit and asked for Love Is Blue on a single, I would have probably been chased home. My mother worked for a wealthy, white family. But I never saw Ferrante & Teicher records in their home. However, I did see my first Ike & Tina Turner album in one of the kid's rooms. I think it was a generational thing. These white college kids loved R&B. One of my aunts had a Percy faith album in her home, but Mahalia Jackson was singing on it too. I hate to stereotype too, but only squares listened to Mitch Miller and that other popular or easy listening stuff. (Message edited by motown_fan on August 03, 2010) | ||
stephanie (stephanie) 6-Zenith Username: stephanie Post Number: 3172 Registered: 2-2005 |
http://www.ferranteandteicher. com/ Look at their website 22 gold records and 100 some albums! That is why I posed this question who is buying this stuff? Unless they had a huge fanbase overseas. I forgot they did the theme to the Apartment. | ||
Marv (marv2) 6-Zenith Username: marv2 Post Number: 4377 Registered: 11-2008 |
You know what's funny? If you ask Berry Gordy Jr what his favorite song was, he'll reply "Tammy" by Debbie Reynolds from the film "Tammy and the Bachelor" go figure: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =oYymDZtJvgs | ||
Soulster (soulster) 6-Zenith Username: soulster Post Number: 2963 Registered: 2-2007 |
Motown Fan, those records came near the close of the 60s decade. Of course you are going to see more crossover. But, in the 50s, and throughout most of the 60s, it was different. I grew up in a home where most types were listened to without regard to age, race, or musical style. It always annoyed me, growing up in a somewhat racially diverse area, that Whites people weren't so accepting of all musical styles. When I was a kid, I had a friend who's house I would visit all the time. On Sunday afternoons, I would notice they had Lawrence Welk on TV. I would just look at it and wonder what the hell it all was and what it meant. It was so alien to me, as I would go home and see Soul Train and The Real Don Steel Show. Big contrast! Earlier, I had friends who listened to the Osmonds. We listened to primarily the Jackson 5, and I had a couple of Osmonds 45s. But I could never understand why they wouldn't listen to the J5. Now I know it was because they were too "black" sounding. No, they aren't racist or anything like that, but it's just the music and culture they were indoctrinated into. | ||
Soulster (soulster) 6-Zenith Username: soulster Post Number: 2964 Registered: 2-2007 |
Hey Marv, If you look in the Joel Whitburn Top R&B singles book that features every Billboard chart single to reach the R&B chart since the late 40s, you'll find some very interesting records that made it big. One thing I always noticed is that the Beach Boys and Rolling Stones made it, but The Beatles never did. | ||
Marv (marv2) 6-Zenith Username: marv2 Post Number: 4378 Registered: 11-2008 |
Soulster, you are right. I use to have one or two of Joel's books. I can recall seeing Johnny Rays "Cry" listed as a top R&B hit | ||
Timmy Funk (timmyfunk) 6-Zenith Username: timmyfunk Post Number: 3184 Registered: 5-2007 |
The Beatles did make it on the R&B album chart. "Abbey Road" went to number 38. | ||
Motown_Fan (motown_fan) 6-Zenith Username: motown_fan Post Number: 4622 Registered: 9-2006 |
Time Life has this infomercial for Romancing the 70s which compiles songs like Longer by Dan Fogelberg; Sunshine On My Shoulders by John Denver and The Most Beautiful Girl In The World by Charlie Rich...all of those middle of the road, easy listening pop songs from the Seventies. My brother was over and we watched the commercial and he recalled that he bought & had a majority of the tunes. We asked him why he used to buy that stuff and he said because everyone else had the other genres - like Soul, Gospel and Jazz - covered so he just bought rock and pop. | ||
Timmy Funk (timmyfunk) 6-Zenith Username: timmyfunk Post Number: 3185 Registered: 5-2007 |
With all due respect to your brother, I don't know if I can buy an artist just because they represent a musical genre that is lacking in my collection. Hair metal will never be a part of my collection. Country music post-1980 will never be a part of my collection. Smooth jazz will never be a part of my collection (does Chuck Mangione count?). Post 1997 rap music (with Outkast being the exception) will never be a part of my collection. Music that speaks directly to me, instrumentally and lyrically, will always be a part of my collection. | ||
Motown_Fan (motown_fan) 6-Zenith Username: motown_fan Post Number: 4624 Registered: 9-2006 |
Tim, i guess my brother was looking for something he could call his own or he just wanted to be different. You know how most siblings are? He admits he now cringes at some of the records he once owned. | ||
Timmy Funk (timmyfunk) 6-Zenith Username: timmyfunk Post Number: 3186 Registered: 5-2007 |
Now that I can relate to. In selling off my collection, I came upon a lot of records that left me saying, "what in the hell was I thinking?". | ||
144man (144man) 5-Doyen Username: 144man Post Number: 501 Registered: 9-2007 |
Some people might have bought Herb Alpert's "Whipped Cream and Other Delights" album just for the cover. | ||
Timmy Funk (timmyfunk) 6-Zenith Username: timmyfunk Post Number: 3188 Registered: 5-2007 |
Or the imitation cover by the disco band Sweet Cream. | ||
Timmy Funk (timmyfunk) 6-Zenith Username: timmyfunk Post Number: 3189 Registered: 5-2007 |
http://cgi.ebay.com/LP-SWEET-C REAM-OTHER-DELIGHTS-STILL-SEAL ED-/120570475820?cmd=ViewItem& pt=Music_on_Vinyl&hash=item1c1 28f752c |
