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Merry Christmas From Chun King

These records were pressed as promotional items for the staff and associates of Jeno's Inc. Which made Chun King products in the late 1960s

They were pressed on the lids of their long discontinued frozen entrees.

More incredible non vinyl records here https://www.wfmu.org/MACrec/index.html

A KJR Rock N' Roll Christmas (1975)

"(A KJR) Rock N' Roll Christmas" Ric Hansen & Julie Miller (1975)

Listen Here

In the '70s, the most listened to Top 40 radio station in Seattle was "Channel 95" KJR (950 AM.)

The station could easily claim to as many as 1/4 to even 1/3rd of all the radios in Puget Sound were tuned in to KJR at any given time and they would be pretty much spot on. You heard KJR everywhere in the '70s.

And back then, this sticker on the window or bumper of any car in the Seattle area meant the driver was pretty cool.

While FM rock was available (KJR's FM sister station in the '70s was KISW.), it was still a niche and would remain so until the 1979 disco implosion that drove everyone to harder rock or Adult Contemporary pop in Seattle. (KJR-AM today is All Sports.) 

But KJR was a Seattle institution in the thick of the '70s. So much so, it was revived on 95.7 FM during the '70s nostalgia wave of the '90s. (Somehow, I never got used to the FM-upgraded tagline in their '90s jingles "KJR Seattle.....Channel 95.7!")

And when you're THIS big, you can put out your own Christmas song and have it easily become a local hit. And that's what KJR did in 1975.

Julie Miller (who?) does an eerily accurate Karen Carpenter imitation while powerhouse jock Ric Hansen runs down the kind of stuff you heard on KJR in 1975 and before joining the chorus (yes, he sings on this one.)

If you're from Seattle and you remember KJR back in the day, it's an awesome holiday flashback. If not, it's probably pretty much 3 minutes of WTF.

Enjoy!

Thighmaster

One of the most memorable infomercials of the '90s, starring babe-o-rama Suzanne Somers and her new gadget, the Thighmaster.

You can see she was having a great time with this thing. And so does her doctor. Hmmm......

During the height of this infomercial's popularity, Alice In Chains released their classic Dirt album. In the opening lyrics of the first single "Would?", everyone thought they said......

"Help me/I've broken my Thighmaster....."

"L.A. Is My Lady" Frank Sinatra (1984)

The year was 1984 and Frank Sinatra had just released a long awaited new album.

This was a pretty big thing. Whenever Sinatra put out a new album, the world of music paid attention.

This album however would be Sinatra's last album of new material. 

This video has a ton of cameo appearances, including Van Halen, Donna Summer, Missing Persons, Michael McDonald, Cheryl Tiegs, Dean Martin, LaToya Jackson and of course, Michael Jackson.) When you get a call from Quincy Jones asking you to appear in Frank Sinatra's video, who is going to turn him down?   

Exposed: A Cheap Peek At Today's Provocative New Rock (CBS, 1981)

Back in 1981, CBS Records released a 2 LP compilation of what was then some pretty cutting edge music called "Exposed: A Cheap Peek At Today's Provocative New Rock". It featured a few hits from Loverboy, Judas Priest and Adam & The Ants, but mostly selected album cuts from newer artists back then to the CBS house labels (Columbia, Epic and Portrait) as well as labels which CBS distributed (Nemporor, Stiff and Cleveland International.)

It sold on the counter of your favourite record store for a super cheap list price ($2.98, at a time when many rock acts were making double concept albums with more filler than you can shake a meatloaf recipe at for $15.98.)

It was what they called a "loss-leader", meaning if you liked what you heard on this sampler, you COULD be inclined to buy the full length albums from the artists you liked. But this 2 LP set was a nice way to come home from a fun day at the record shop with a little something extra in the bag to round out an evening of stereo fun.

Another act prominently featured on the set was Ellen Foley. Her name may not instantly ring any particular bells. But if you've ever wondered who that chick was who sang with Meatloaf on his hit "Paradise By The Dashboard Light"....

"STOP RIGHT THERE!".....That was Ellen Foley. But that's NOT Ellen Foley you see in the video. That's Karla DeVito lip-synching Ellen Foley's vocals......

You may also know Ellen Foley as Billie Young from the '80s TV sitcom Night Court. But in the early '80s, she took a stab at a solo music career, recording two albums. One of them, The Spirit Of St. Louis was recorded with The Clash as her backing band. She was going out with Mick Jones at the time, a relationship that didn't work out - he wrote "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" about her.

There are other lost power pop/new wave gems here (The Sorrows, Garland Jefferys), some early country/rock crossovers (Rosanne Cash, Steve Forbert) and others completely lost to time and memory.

It was also popular enough to spawn a sequel album later that year....

Jeno's Frozen Pizza

You gotta LOVE Jeno's Frozen Pizza.

Usually on sale for $1.50 or less each in most supermarkets, they are a cheap and super tasty way to get your tummy full in 11-12 minutes in a 450° oven. College students LIVE on Jeno's pizza and air.

But I'm also old enough to remember when Jeno's pizzas were also a little bigger than the 8" in diameter they are today. They used to be 12" in the '60s and '70s....

10" from 1983 to the 1990s. And 8" from then to today - mostly because of cost cutting, but also because Jeno's had been bought by it's budget frozen pizza rival, Totino's (both now owned by General Mills Inc.) Totino's pizzas are still 10" diameter.

Jeno's even made pizza mix. In fact, this came out before they made frozen pizza!

I always thought Jeno's tasted better than Totino's, even though technically, they are actually the same. But the one thing everybody complains about Jeno's is they never put enough mozzarella cheese on their pizzas. So you usually had to buy a bag of shredded mozzarella to compensate.

In 1967, they released this album, a selection of accordion music called Music to Eat Pizza By.

The Dodge La Femme

It's pretty much a 1955 Dodge Custom Royal Lancer with a pretty pink paint job, it's own nameplate and a few extra goodies.

The Dodge La Femme was the first car specifically marketed towards women.

It was a gorgeous car. And it had everything the modern woman of 1955 could want. Including a matching shoulder bag/purse, matching makeup case, matching rain cap, matching cigarette case, matching umbrella and matching raincoat. (Matching dream house extra.)

While finding a 1955 Dodge Custom Royal Lancer is easy, the La Femme's are much harder.

In spite of the dealer hype, few women felt the need to change their entire wardrobe around a car. Even back then, this vehicle probably evoked horrifying images of matching poodles in their minds as well.

But this car was, after all, a patronizing appeal to the classic male ideal of femininity, rather than how the woman of the 1950's actually saw herself.

It wasn't a real model either. The La Femme was a $143 option for the Lancer. So it's hard to tell how many were actually made, but it's presumed something around 2,500. It was discontinued in 1957.

Admiral Stereo Demonstration Record, 1958

 

A classic stereo demonstration record from the late 1950s. With that PHANTOM Third Channel! This video sounds good on any decent stereo output. I have my computer patched in the AUX input of my 1983 vintage Sony STR-VX300 stereo receiver and it REALLY sounds good.

The label looks strangely like Decca's multi-color bar label of the early '60s to the early '70s. But it was made by RCA. Hmmm......

The J&H Productions Tape

The entertainment industry is a rough business. But it's not what you know that matters, but who you know. That little fact is pretty intimidating to upstarts in all areas of the entertainment business.

That being said, let's say you're not trying to be a star, but taking the presumably easier route of concert promotions. Again, it's not what you know, but WHO you know.

This guy....well, I don't know what he was thinking. All I know is he doesn't seem to have ANY experience in concert promotion - certainly not on the stratospheric levels of the stars he's courting. Yet somehow, he's ready to do the job for people like Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers and The Oak Ridge Boys.

OK then......

In fact. I don't even know what he is even talking about two minutes into this recording he made for some record labels somewhere in 1981 or early '82 (I'm guessing because that's when all the stars he mentions were at the peak of their careers.) He talks about his "company", J&H Productions...at length....a full 13:30. But offers no specifics of his company. Any credentials? Well, he got a brochure from the Cavalcade of Stars. And apparently, he doesn't understand receiving that brochure was likely the record company's sublime way of letting him know they already HAVE a concert promoter.

And a rejection letter from Quincy Jones. But you have to appreciate his tenacity.

This tape somehow got salvaged from the trash can of some label giant and had been dubbed and sent to other people in the entertainment industry over the years. I first heard it in the early 1990s and it was like the aural equivalent of an out of body experience...WHO was this guy? And WHAT was he thinking? Could he not make a simple cover letter, info packet and business card, instead of a meandering cassette tape of his proposals? This recording had been saved by WFMU and you can hear it at the link below

Well anyway, have a listen to this tape. TRY to keep up with him...and every tangent he goes off of.......

http://blogfiles.wfmu.org/DP/2003/09/365-Days-Project-09-15-j-and-h-productions-tape.mp3

And just COUNT how many times he says "Pertaining to...." (MAN! Get a Thesaurus!)

Here's an archived fansite, pertaining to...J&H Productions

http://web.archive.org/web/20051212063752/www.timharrod.com/jhhome.html

Yes, it's even on MySpace:

http://www.myspace.com/jnhprod

Created by a fan....even a mini movie on the site!........

It's "The Greatest Show Ever Being Gave". In ALL.........the stadiums.............and............the coliseums. From city to city......