When I was a little kid, we’d sometimes go to church with my grandparents on the weekend. Their church was a little tiny place in the middle of the woods where mostly farmers and poor people went. There was a Hammond instead of a pipe organ, the carpets were faded crimson red polyester, and the walls were lined with cheap wood paneling. My grandmother sang tenor (!) in the church choir, and my grandfather would play fiddle or musical saw along with the organ and piano. Anyway, the brash, earnest crooning of the Television’s Soul’s Harbor Singers reminds me of this church.

Google’s got nothing on these folks, but apparently they’re from Charleston, Maine. I love the Country Western arrangments, steel guitar, stiff postures and crazy hairdos. I also love how each little group of singers has its own stage name, like “The Singing Faloon’s.” Also check out Pastor Ronnie, who I’m sure caused impure thoughts in more than a couple parishioners. The track below appears to be sung by his dad.

Your attention please. I am thy captain. The flight thou art making today is the same which Abraham, Moses, John, Peter, Paul, and all of those redeemed before have made. Enoch and Elijah joined us in mid-flight, without passing through the Gate of Death. We shall be flying today at altitudes unlimited and at a speed never known to thee before. Flying time to the New Jerusalem is not considered, for thou are now in the realm known as Eternity, where Time is no more. As we left the Earth, the weather was stormy with heavy overcast, but the report from the New Jerusalem is, as it always will be, a beautiful day without a cloud.

For those who wonder what it would be like if God ran His own airline offering direct flights to the Afterlife, this record provides a “dramatic comparison.” Passengers need merely have their ticket stamped with the blood of Christ before making their way down the blood spattered sprinkled concourse to the Gate of Death. Your seatbelt is Psalm 23. No meals will be served on this flight, as you’re about to gorge yourself at the Great Banquet Table upon arrival (also, one assumes, because you are dead.) So pack your bags and let’s jet away from this moral coil! But don’t bother bringing your Earthly burdens, as these have recently been banned by the TSA.

This record was listed at Show&Tell for a long time, but now seems to have disappeared. Recently it sold on eBay for over $20. So, I figure now is a good time to release its full glory to the sharity world.

Excerpt: Your stewardess, the Angel of Mercy

Summer may be nearly over, but there’s still one more weekend (a long on, at that) to throw that luau…

A great little album of vocal hula music, done in a very traditional style. A couple tracks devolve into kitsch (“Little Brown Gal” is amusingly racist) but most are lovely. Produced by Tommy Kearns, who seems to have been a big name in Hawaiian music, although I can’t find much about him online; maybe some Hawaiian buffs can fill us in. Dig the instructional diagrams on the album’s reverse side. And as always, enjoy!

Listen:

I originally picked this up thinking it was some weird Latin American Hula fusion record (the back is entirely in Spanish and the record seems to be from Venezula.) Well… no. It’s even weirder: Hawaiian music with a Dixieland sound. And it’s apparently a South American reissue (bootleg?) of an American a British record. Very fun and goofy Hula tunes from guitarist Billy Bell. (A very clean transfer with only minimal surface noise, too!) Enjoy.

Listen:

I’m not sure what to say about this, except that “vocal percussion” means Myrna periodically yelling things out of the left speaker (things like, “MEN!”) She sounds a little bit like Judy Garland, and the songs are super-catchy, and if this doesn’t make you smile, I fear for your mortal soul. Between that and her gold-lamé outfit; I think this may be the gayest album I own.

Couldn’t find much about her musical career, but I did find this twelve-year-old New York Times article about Myrna’s battle with cancer. I sure hope she made it, ’cause she sounds like a fun lady.

Listen:

Download: 38Mb

I don’t know about you, but the mere fact that Klausie’s last name sounds like “Wonderful” is enough to make this record one of my favorites. And, are there any sweeter words in the German tongue than “Hammondorgel mit Rhythmusgruppe”?! I think not. Some great tracks here; an upbeat version of “Summertime” from Porgy and Bess, the old standard “The Girl From Ipanema” in organ form, and the surprisingly haunting original composition “Echo In The Night.” (Now, if I could only track down a copy of “Organ Happening”…) Enjoy!

Listen:

Buy CDs from KlausWunderlich.de

Is your insatiable organ-lust at peak intensity? Has the thrill of just one organ long ago faded? Do you crave more and more– your harmonic intensity increasing– until you burst forth in a melodic cascade of organ ecstasy?! Well, wait no longer, because Buddy Bonds has heard your prayers!

OK, in all fairness, Buddy’s idea of an “orchestra” consists of a measly three organs. But fear not– three organs can make an awful lot of racket. It is, as the back cover breathlessly proclaims, “the most ambitious undertaking of his 28 years as an organist!”

Probably the most interesting thing about this album is the way it anticipates the synthesizer boom of the 70′s. Buddy and his compatriots Ray Jenkins and Darrell Stuckey coax some very Moog-like sounds out of these otherwise unhip harps, creating a “way out” sound that’s sure to delight “the Hullabaloo-oriented teen-agers.” (Sadly, Hullabaloo-orientation is still not protected by federal law.) Or, as Ed Wallace of the New York World-Telegram is quoted as saying on the album’s reverse side:

The newest means of making hip-swinging music, which seems to propel the most casual foot-patter right out of his seat and onto the dance floor, is the electronic organ. This small box of electronic wizardry is filled with new sounds, and is capable of endless surprises of rhythm. Its voices and moods may be varied through a thousand colored tones, and on the drawing board of its engineers and designers are more wonders to come.

The foremost missionaries of the modern organ are two brothers, Ralph and Buddy Bonds, who came out of the armed forces to form the first twin organ team to appear in night clubs, hotels, theaters, and organ clubs throughout the country. Their numberous albums, several of them on the nation’s best seller list, propelled them into national prominence.

Question: why are there no more “organ clubs” in existance? At any rate, if you like your twin organ teams missionary style, this album is sure to delight. Sadly, Buddy’s fame appears to have been short-lived; I could find very little of interest about him on the web. Let this page be the resurgence of Buddy’s organ!

(PS: My apologies for the rather poor sound quality of this one.)

Listen:

Here’s a light, dreamy album packed with a whopping sixteen tracks of organy goodness. Marjorie seems to have been one of the major players of the 60′s organ scene, with at least 7 LPs to her name that I can find online. Here, Marjorie’s playing the Lowrey Organ, which according to Wikipedia was one of the first transistorized organs, and which apparently she was a spokeswoman for. The Lowrey here has a lighter, more etherial quality than the Hammond, and some of the tracks have cool guitar and vibraphone arrangements woven in. A sweet, swingin’ album with a nice upbeat tempo throughout.

Listen:

Some bouncy high-camp Hammond organ from Lenny Dee, famous for his hit “Plantation Boogie.” Whereas most Hammond organistas stuck to quiet, soothing ballads and slow, stultifying hymns, Lenny made his name with upbeat, sometimes goofy arrangements and swingin’ rhythms. These twelve tunes are are sure to enliven your next roller-rink-themed cocktail soiree. Lots more info on Lenny here and here. And don’t forget to get his autograph!

Listen:

Here’s a fun album that’s sure to irritate Classical musicians and delight bongo fans. Classical standbys by Debussy and others, arranged with a swingin’ Latin beat. Surprisingly sweet and listenable. I tried looking for some info on Galian, but aside from the occasional listing at used record stores (and this photograph,) he seems to be practically unknown. I have a few other LPs from “Discos Corona,” and they’re almost always a good listen.

Listen: