https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBp1wLMCmeohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYspFe9u5RU Apropos of yesterday’s post on the joys of Muzak, above are two TV spots for the Los Angeles FM Muzak station KJOI. My memory is that there were no announcers on the station–it was a solid hour of Muzak-Bed with a canned announcement at the end of the hour
Muzak was an American brand of background music played in retail stores and other public establishments. The name has been in use since 1934 and has been owned by various companies. The soothing, full orchestral arrangements of popular songs were heard in supermarkets, shopping malls and–somewhat infamously–elevators, leading to the
Yesterday I posted a commercial from 1956 featuring the all-new RCA clock radio. I mentioned that I thought it was an invention from the 70s, not the 50s, and the above 1974 commercial for G.E. clock radios does make it seem falsely like its a new concept. They roped Sammy
Above is a charming reel of a few old RCA Victor television and radio ads. As always with ads for old technology, the yuk-yuk factor is easy, low-hanging fruit. Of course old TV sets look silly. So do the annoucers who sit there extolling their virtues. (They also sound silly–the
Last night we watched the above installment of ‘Hollywood Palace‘, an hourlong variety show that broadcast Saturday nights (except September 1967 to January 1968, when it aired on Monday nights) on ABC from January 4, 1964, to February 7, 1970. This particular episode was broadcast on January 20th, 1968. The host
Much as I love Cal Worthington, I have to give the best car sales pitch of all time to Ralph Williams, a northern California auto dealer. No other explanation is necessary or possible. Just watch the above and enjoy the fast approaching weekend.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vi_BHHY5A8M No, that’s not a typo. I said ‘dogs’ plural and I meant ‘dogs’. Cal Worthington, budget car dealer extraordinare, saturated the Los Angeles late night airwaves throughout the 60s, 70s and 80s with ads like the three contained in the above video. ‘His dog Spot’, as you’ll see, was
Every day, based on my recently watched videos, YouTube spits up a bunch of suggestions for other videos I might like. I guess the absurdity of the past few days Piano and Organ Emporium ads somehow suggested to the algorithmic powers that be that I might enjoy re-connecting to one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75dVl_ew0ek Continuing my obsessive pursuit of an audience who appreciates the history of the home organ phenomenon of fifty years ago (see previous two posts if you dare), here is part two of the SCTV send-up featuring Tex and Edna Boil. For those who remember SCTV this will make perfect
Last week I posted about the now-vanished phenomenon of the Organ Emporium superstore–a result, apparently, of a once thriving appetite among the public for ownership of the cheesiest of instruments, the home organ. To my surprise this post received the lowest amount of clicks I’ve ever received on this blog.