The day after Christmas

Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty /Prokofieff: Peter and the Wolf Acorn Records (A budget label that produced some memorable covers including one with Bettie Page)
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Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty /Prokofieff: Peter and the Wolf Acorn Records (A budget label that produced some memorable covers including one with Bettie Page)

“Sing It Again, Sam!” The inimitable song stylings of Sam Sacks Arliss Records For those unfamiliar with the wonder of WFMU’s Beware of the Blog let this be a welcome introduction. Go to BOTB and listen to Sam’s fantastically awful mauling of standards. A private recording on par with the best of the worst from Mrs. Miller, Lucia Pamela and Florence Foster Jenkins. I gotta find a copy!

“Today’s Top Hits” by the HOMESTEAD (?) on Homestead Records (of course) 1979 Featuring bad recreations of chart toppers of the day, like Randy Newman’s “Short People,” one of the greatest politically incorrect songs of all time.

“Wailin’ with Winnie” Winnie Gould with Larry Fontine and his Orchestra Bel Canto Records

Emil Nargi IS Elvis “It’s Now or Never” There are so many records by Elvis impersonators you can’t imagine. Each one stranger than the last. Emil looks like he could be one of the little dolls or porceline statuettes that my Grandma Loretta kept in a glass case.

“Music for Cooking with Gas” featuring the Harry Fields Quintet

“What do you know about DEMON POSSESSION?” POSSESSED – by GOD or demons? On POWER Records

Jesus and Superman!! Reverend Danny Nance.

“The Demon Possessed Boy” A T.L. Osborn Evangelistic Production Like A.A. Allen, Osborn was a Soul Crusader who traveled the country – the world – healing the sick and possessed, driving out demons and performing assorted miracles. He recorded his big tent revival meetings and audience responses. This record features a boy who misfiled his father’s records one day, leading his father to suspect the devil’s hand and bring him to see the great and mighty Osborn. In this recording, T.L. dramatically illustrates his power of exorcism, leaving the boy cleansed, never to mistake James Brown with Clifford Brown again. True story.

You gotta hear these! Christopher Hart sings “Gipsy Man” with the St. Julian’s School Choir under the “leadership” of Maestro Cesar Batalha. RT Records (1981) Art: Maria Lucia / Photography: Lourenco (Portugal) Thanks to lp cover lover, Paolo Martins for writing “Christopher Hart rocks all you teens out of your closet with his fabulous double 45.”
Gipsy Man: Every kid dreams of freedom outdoors.
“I’m am the gayest Gipsy man that rides inside a caravan”

The “B” side: “Super Boy”
Super Boy: A song about British superpowers.
“I’m always so supreme when I have my daydream”
Paolo adds: Maestro César Batalha composed a lot of children music. He’s responsible for the theme of the band Onda Choc in the 90’s and several others. Onda Choc was a pre-teen cover band. Gipsy Man was also sung in Portuguese and its melody spread everywhere where emigrants with children went. A French friend of mine recalls the song in Portuguese as Little Gipsy Woman, not Man. I’m not sure where Christopher Hart came in, but he’s British and probably sang in St Julians School Choir. Maybe there was some effort to internationalize Maestro Cesar’s themes by bringing in some foreign singers.