Art Garfunkel - Angel Clare

Angel Clare is the solo debut record of Art Garfunkel.  And playing on it is a veritable who's who of the all-time greats!  This record was released in 1973.  On it are guys such as: Dean Parks and Larry Carlton, Hal Blaine and Jim Gordon (!), Larry Knechtel and Michael Omartian on keyboards, - plus J.J. Cale, Jerry Garcia, Carl Radle, and Paul Simon.  It was produced and engineered by Roy Halee.  Song-writing credits go to: Paul Williams, Van the Man, Randy Newman, three by Jimmy Webb, and J.S. Bach.

Erroll Garner - on Columbia Records; Penthouse Serenade

Erroll Garner.  Penthouse Serenade.  One of the all-time greats.  I have a cherished cassette tape of a live recording I made of my dad playing Erroll Garner's beautiful Penthouse Serenade on the upright piano in the living room of the house I grew up in.  Besides my two keyboard-playing relatives, Garner is my "new" favorite piano player.  He attended the same high school as Billy Strayhorn, in Pittsburgh.  Like my dad, he was self-taught and played by ear.  On the back of this record cover, it reads: "Records Sound Best on Columbia  Phonographs.  For the best reproduction of your records, play them on a COLUMBIA phonograph.  Columbia, the greatest name in sound, is the originator of the modern "Lp" record and the "360" phonograph.  Your dealer can demonstrate a varied line of Columbia phonographs, styled to enhance the decorative scheme of your home.  See him today for the pleasure of your life."

Name that Record

Name that record.  We have not played Name That Record in a while.  And this could be a real tough one.  Here are some clues: it's a live, single-disk record album from 1968.  It is this artist's sixth album.   It was recorded at the Anaheim Convention Center, California.  It's on Epic Records and in the UK, was released Pye Records.  The album reached #18 on the U.S. charts.

Ronco Record Vacuum

This is a Ronco album, like those from K-tel.  I must admit, it actually has some fun songs on it.  The tape and arrow is for me to quickly spot and play Alan O'Day's saccharine and yet quite catchy Undercover Angel.  I played that last night and 1977 came racing back to me.  Yikes.  But what I like best is the in-house ad in the lower left hand corner of the back cover of this record cover for Ronco's Record Vacuum.  Did you own one of those things?  Or maybe Popeil's Pocket Fisherman...?

Phoebe Snow; 1950 - 2011

I bought a short stack of used records today for forty-nine cents each at a local record store.  Those beat up old cheap ones are always down on the floor ain dusty milk crates and I have bend way down on my knees to browse.  So I feel that I earn them at that price in a small way.  I was not really a fan of hers, but I saw three Phoebe Snow records at that record store.  And with her having passed away very recently, so I thought that I should rescue this and this one and two other records of hers as a small tribube.  This one had the best cover.

Nuthin' Fancy - Lynyrd Skynyrd's 3rd album; back cover is at right

Nuthin' Fancy.  Lynyrd Skynyrd's third album.  From 1975, it followed their record that had Sweet Home Alabama, which is too big of a challenge to folloe, but this one has some great songs on it.  My two favs are Whiskey Rock-a-Roller and Am I Losin'.  The liner notes tell us "The entire album was recorded at WEBB IV Studios, Atlanta, Georgia, with the exception of Saturday Night Special, which was knocked off in one night at good ole Studio One, Doraville, Georgia with good ole Rodney Mills at the controls."  The album is dedicated to Lacy Van Zant (Ronnie's dad), Shorty Medlock, and Peter Rudge.  As for Shorty Medlock (1910–1982) was a blues musician and composer.  A descendant of the Blackfoot Confederacy, he is the is the grandfather of current Blackfoot and former Skynyrd lead guitarist Rickey Medlocke.  Shorty was the guy Ronnie was singing about in their song The Balland of Curtis Loew.