No, that Other Tower

Special Edition release by RCA Victor on the occasion of the completion of the Allied Chemical Tower in Manhattan's Time Square (1965): "A special souvenir collection of musical hits from great Broadway shows ... in celebration of the opening of the new Allied Chemical Tower." Of course, it didn't start out as the Allied Chemical Tower, nor did it stay that for long: One Times Square

The Pops gives these tunes their usual appealing treatment.

Anyone briefly glancing at this cover now will probably first think of 911.


Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops - Salute to a Tower

A1 Hey, Look Me Over

A2 The Sweetest Sounds

A3 March Of The Siamese Children

A4 Get Me To The Church On Time

A5 And This Is My Beloved
   
A6 76 Trombones
       
B1 "West Side Story" Medley
       
B2 "Guys And Dolls" Medley
   
B3 "Wonderful Town" Medley
   
B4 Hello, Dolly!

From 1961, here's a label sampler (Columbia) that has a nice little collection of tunes. It never hurts to start off with the Man in Black! (Following him up with Percy Faith, Roger Williams, and Mitch Miller kind of kills the momentum, though). Still, an all-harmonica arrangement of a big band tune can't fail to entertain, there are two jazz tracks that move along well, two soul tunes, and a folk-revival cut.

Columbia Records - The Headliners 1961

The Battle - Johnny Cash

Hawaiian Lullaby - Percy Faith

Gigi - Roger Williams

Sing Along - Mitch Miller

Dondi - Patti Page

Draddog - Miles Davis Quartet

This Could Be The Start Of Something - Lester Lanin

Think Twice - Brook Benton

Tuxedo Junction - The Harmonicats

Summer Days Alone - The Brothers Four

Somewhere Along The Line - Dinah Washington

The Lawless Mike - Dave Brubeck Quartet

Me Gotta Go

Here's another stop on the Major Nelson Alabama Tour of 1995. Birmingham's "Louie Louies" at Five Points had us crammed weirdly on the edge of an already weirdly-shaped stage. Odd monitoring, as well. This is only about 15 minutes of our set which was probably 30 minutes.

Not one of our best gigs.
This club no longer exists.




Another note for those videoing for bands - a nice stable wide shot is all that is needed. No zooming, panning, etc. is really required.

The Elephant In The Room

Here's a video from the internally-infamous Major Nelson "Alabama Tour" of 1995. The drummer was fired immediately when the band returned to Charlotte - at one point in one of the shows he "fell asleep" mid-song.

This was the first stop - Tuscaloosa's "Ivory Tusk", a college beer hall.







A note to those asked to video a band - just turn the camera on, point it at the stage, and leave it on. No need to fade in and out or pause - you just miss the intro to the songs that way. If anyone wants fades they can do it in the editing.

Gotta Give 'Em Credit...

Here's a nice label sampler (A&M) from 1969 sponsored by BankAmericard. Label owner Alpert's band gets extensively featured, of course.

Bankamericard - Music Box

A&M Records ‎– SP-19006
1969

A1 Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass – My Heart Belongs To Daddy-2:00    
A2 Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 – Look Around-2:59    
A3 Wes Montgomery – Wind Song-2:18    
A4 Sandpipers, The – Cancion De Amor (Wanderlove)-3:45    
A5 Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass – Green Peppers-1:31    
B1 Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass – Brasilia-2:30    
B2 Jimmie Rodgers – The Lovers-4:43    
B3 Julius Wechter & Baja Marimba Band, The – Fowl Play-2:01    
B4 Claudine Longet – It's Hard To Say Goodbye-3:05    
B5 Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass – Bo-Bo-3:04

Houston, We Have an LP

Classic space-race audio narrated by Walter M. Schirra Jr.
So very cool for those of us "of a certain age." 


Apollo 11 Flight to the Moon

A1		Alan Shepard - America's First Manned Flight
A2		John Glenn - Orbits The Earth
A3		Scott Carpenter - Reentry Into Earth's Atmosphere
A4		Ed White - Walks In Space
A5		Gemini 6 & 7 - Rendez-vous Above The Earth
A6		Apollo 8 - First Orbiting Of The Moon
A7		Apollo 10 - Approaching The Lunar Surface
B1		To The Moon
B2		On The Lunar Surface
B3		Return To Earth