Category:
1960s
1960s
The Frito Twist
NOTE: the text below calls it a 78, but it looks pretty much like a 45 to me.
This 78 rpm record was made by the PAMS (Production, Advertising, Merchandising Service) production company in February 1962 for the Frito-Lay company to promote its Fritos snack food with a dedicated jingle, the “Frito-Twist.” The disc’s white paper label bears the Fritos and PAMS logos on both sides. Side A plays “The Frito Twist,” and Side B contains the instructional “How to Twist.” (In earlier versions of this promotional record, side A featured “Dallas: My Home Town” with “The Frito Twist” on side B.) The music for the “Frito Twist” was written by Euel Box, a Dallas-based composer and arranger best known for his work on the “Benji” movies of the 1970s and 80s, and a music director for the PAMS company. The sound engineer on the recording was Dick McGrew (as noted in the fine print along the edge of the record).The Dallas-based PAMS production company was founded in 1951 by William B. Meeks, Jr., often credited as the creator of the musical station break. In the 1950s-1970s, advertisers looked to music and dedicated jingles to help promote their products. They aimed branded dance fads in particular at teenagers and young adults.
More info here.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jan 20, 2021 -
Comments (6)
Category: Business, Advertising, Music, Junk Food, 1960s, Dance
Mary Mild
Disney released Mary Poppins in 1964. The next year Ivory Liquid Soap debuted a new mascot: Mary Mild, a flying maid. Seems like an obvious Mary Poppins rip-off to me, though I can't find the similarity mentioned anywhere.Mary Mild didn't last long. Within two years, Ivory had canned her.
The ads below ran in 1966 in magazines such as Ladies Home Journal and Good Housekeeping.
Posted By: Alex - Mon Jan 18, 2021 -
Comments (5)
Category: Advertising, Corporate Mascots, Icons and Spokesbeings, 1960s
Shrimpenstein
Wikipedia page of co-creator Jim Thurman. Obit for co-creator Gene Moss.IMDB page.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jan 06, 2021 -
Comments (0)
Category: Humor, Parody, Television, Pop Art, 1960s, Fictional Monsters
Cheese-Filtered Cigarettes
We've previously posted about "cheese candy", which was the invention of Wisconsin lumberman Stuart Stebbings. Another of his inventions was cheese-filtered cigarettes. He was, apparently, a man driven to find new uses for cheese.
Lab tests demonstrated that a cheese filter could remove 90 percent of the tar in cigarettes. A hard cheese worked best, such as Parmesan, Romano, or Swiss. Although an aged cheddar could also be used. Or even a blend of cheeses.
In 1966, Stebbings was granted Patent No. 3,234,948. But as far as I know, his cheese-filtered cigarettes never made it to market.
Mason City Globe-Gazette - Feb 8, 1960
Posted By: Alex - Sun Jan 03, 2021 -
Comments (3)
Category: Food, Inventions, Patents, Smoking and Tobacco, 1960s
I am sitting in a room
An experiment in feedback and reverb by composer Alvin Lucier, 1969.I am sitting in a room different from the one you are in now. I am recording the sound of my speaking voice and I am going to play it back into the room again and again until the resonant frequencies of the room reinforce themselves so that any semblance of my speech, with perhaps the exception of rhythm, is destroyed. What you will hear, then, are the natural resonant frequencies of the room articulated by speech. I regard this activity not so much as a demonstration of a physical fact, but more as a way to smooth out any irregularities my speech might have.
It's a fairly famous piece of experimental music. But I wonder how many people have actually listened to the entire thing from start to finish, as opposed to skipping ahead to see how his voice changes.
More info: ubu.com
Posted By: Alex - Sat Jan 02, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: Music, 1960s
Moon Zero Two
Welcome to 2021, the year in which the 1969 movie Moon Zero Two was set. It was promoted as "the first Moon western". From Wikipedia:In the year 2021, the Moon is in the process of being colonized, and this new frontier is attracting a diverse human population to lunar settlements like Moon City, Farside 5, and others.
For some reason the trailer for the movie inexplicably identified the year as 2028, even though in the movie itself the date was clearly shown as 2021.
You can watch the entire movie for free on YouTube:
Posted By: Alex - Fri Jan 01, 2021 -
Comments (3)
Category: Movies, Science Fiction, 1960s, Yesterday’s Tomorrows
Do You Love Me?
With millions of views, this video is making the rounds. But perhaps you have not seen it yet...
Posted By: Paul - Thu Dec 31, 2020 -
Comments (5)
Category: Music, Technology, AI, Robots and Other Automatons, 1960s, Dance
Astromusic
In 1969, astrologer Carroll Righter released an "Astromusical Houses" series of records. It consisted of twelve records, each one devoted to a different sign of the Zodiac. Righter explained, "These albums enable purchasers to select the music of their stars—music that will enhance their state of well-being to alleviate any problems of everyday living that may beset them."I was able to find five of the albums on YouTube. But not Gemini (my sign).
Bloomington Pantagraph - Nov 16, 1969
The others: Pisces, Libra, Sagittarius, Cancer
Posted By: Alex - Mon Dec 28, 2020 -
Comments (2)
Category: Music, 1960s
When Belgium Invaded England
Very good long article here.
Tip of the hat to pal Peter Danssaert.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Dec 22, 2020 -
Comments (1)
Category: Government, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, War, Reader Recommendation, 1960s, Europe, United Kingdom
The Rain
The film shows Marcel Broodthaers trying to write while the rain constantly washes away the ink. In the final scene, during which the artist gives up and drops his pen, the inscription “Projet pour un texte” (Project for a text) appears.
Is that actually rain, or is someone spraying him with a hose?
Posted By: Alex - Mon Dec 21, 2020 -
Comments (1)
Category: Performance Art, Absurdism and Dadaism, Writers, 1960s
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