The Next Best Haunting

 In last week's comments, JB pointed out that I don't have the "holy grail" Disney album (which he is lucky enough to own!) Well, the truth is I do have it...sort of. 

Probably the coolest Disney album ever released is The Story and Song From the Haunted Mansion. Why, here it is...

That's a fantastic cover, isn't it? This is my copy, but all is not what it seems. Here, let's get a little perspective...

You see, my version isn't the original 1969 vinyl version, but rather the 40 year anniversary released on CD! Although not nearly as cool as the original, this version has a couple of "extras." First, "Grim Grinning Ghosts" is presented as a complete separate track here. Ans second, when inserted into a computer, you can view Collin Campbell's original illustrations in high def. 

Let's look a bit more...

Here is the back of the CD case...

And when you open it, you see the CD and the booklet with the story!

You have to pull the disc out to see the credits (Ron Howard!,  Thurl Ravenscroft!!, Eleanor Audley!!!, Robie Lester!!!! and the great Pete Renoudet!!!!!) Ok, you might not know Robie or Pete right off since "Karen" isn't actually part of the ride and Pete didn't make the cut as Ghost Host for the actual attraction. Robie actually voiced a lot of Disneyland Records (including Piglett, who's voice you can hear sneak by just a bit when she says, "But I'm scared!" on this album.)

Now, I didn't know it (but y'all probably did) that Pete is actually a pretty big Disneyland (the park) star! Here are his credits (not including movies)

Henry the MC bear and Max the deer in Country Bear Jamboree (Magic Kingdom and variations)

Captain Nemo in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea submarine voyage (Walt Disney World)

Abraham Lincoln in The Hall of Presidents (1994–2008)

Narrator for The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (Disneyland version)

Narrator for The Walt Disney Story

Voices for Tomorrowland Transit Authority (PeopleMover), Adventure Thru Inner Space, Mark Twain Riverboat, Flight to the Moon / Mission to Mars, and others

So losing out to Paul Frees as Ghost Host wasn't exactly a huge blow to his career. 

And here is the booklet...

And now we'll take a quick look at the Campbell gallery. This is the menu page. The candles float around a bit, but don't really do anything. You click on the "paintings" to see the art.

Like this! One of the great renderings of our beloved mansion!

And this! Ah, it looks like home, eh?

I don't have to tell you how interesting the story itself is. Having been written and recorded late in the Mansion's development, it shows how much was still in flux right up until opening day! I think of it as "The Mansion that almost was...but kind of is..." 

So there you have it! If I ever do stumble across a reasonably priced vintage vinyl copy, you can be sure I'll snap it up before you can say, "BOO!" Until then, this serves as a pretty good placeholder!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure....And don't forget your Death Certificate...

Disney Album Palooza!!!

 Hey gang!

I decided to go through all of my albums and see just what other Disney albums I have. Now, I must point out, that I don't really collect Disney albums, but if I go to an estate sale that has one cheap, I might grab it. Apparently, I've done that quite a bit over the years. Plus...I found something that I didn't even know I had! So let's dive right in!

First, from 1959 we have Uncle Remus. Now, I posted this one before, but for completeness, here it is again...

But jump forward to 1970 and we have Songs and Stories of Uncle Remus Brer Rabbit! This is like the small 45 records with a booklet, but larger and more stories!

Speaking of great story albums, how about this 1965 copy of 101 Dalmations? It proudly serves up "The story! The Music! The songs!" What's the difference between the music and the songs? I don't know! 

 

Next, from 1967 we have Songs from The Jungle Book! You don't get a booklet with this one, but the songs are so good, who cares?

Oh, ok...we'll do another song and story album! This one is from 1965 and it features Winnie the Pooh and the Honey (hunny?) Tree!

Then we'll jump to 1974 and look ar Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too! I like the graphics on this one quite a bit...

How about some live-action stuff? For that, we move from Disneyland Records to Vista Records. Don't worry, it's still Disney. Here we have The Happiest Millionaire! And it comes with a booklet too! Oh, it's from 1967...

Have you heard of Scandalous John? I hadn't, but I read up on it and I might want to check ir out. It was a comedy/action movie set in the old west. I'm pretty sure there wasn't any real scandal involved, even though this is Vista too (aren't they the racey Disney?) This was from 1971.

Now THIS one I remember! In 1979 Disney released The Black Hole! This companion album and booklet are among my favorite Disney albums! 

Speaking of favorites, how about this blast from Walt Disney World's past? The 1972 album, The Hall of Presidents recalls the attraction during it's first year! And yes, you get a booklet.

Finally, remember how I said that I needed to get another Walt Disney's Merriest Songs due to the finger painted cover? Well, it seems at some point...I did! The album inside isn't quite as nice as the finger paint version, so I may do a switcheroo. I'm pretty sure I didn't get this one to upgrade the other one, I just happened to find two of them! Sometimes things just work out!

So there you have it! All of my accidently collected Disney vinyl! Will I buy more? Probably. Will I keep up with what I have and don't have? Probably not. 

Sue, do you have any of these?

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Musical Service Stations!

 This week we'll look at a slice of late 1960s kid life! You see, that was the time when service stations had promotional items that you could either get with a fill-up, or for a slight add on fee. Some of the coolest collectibles come from this time. Everything from paper models of the lunar lander to football team glassware, to...well...these!

In the late 1960s Gulf Oil relased two Disney albums that could be purchased for a dollar after a fill up  The first one, released in 1967, was this:

Walt Disney's Happiest Songs featured twelve songs from hit Disney movies! I had this one as a kid and I remember that Supercalafragulisticixpialidonhjffg...uh.... Superhjjcnjkh....uh...

Anyway, it was my favorite! Interestingly, the sharp eyed reader will notice that this recording is not the official soundtrack recording (although it is done by the stars). In fact, out of the 12 songs, only four came directly from the soundtracks. This was pretty common for Disney at the time. They would put alternate tracks, often recorded during the same sessions, or remixed from the soundtrack cuts for their albums. A lot of time, though, this was simply to cut out dialog or tweek the instrumentation for home listening. 

The next year, in 1968, Disney and Gulf released this:

Now, my copy (that I picked up at a thrift store) was set down in some kid's finger paints! The record is in good shape, though, so I plunked down my fifty cents (or something like that) and bought it. This album has twelve MORE songs from Disney movies! This one features six songs from the original soundtracks. Although it's every bit as good of an album as "Happiest," I prefer the first album. Probably it's because I actually had it as a kid, and also because I like the castle design on the cover, which, of course, reminds me of Disneyland. 

The reason the Gulf put these albums out (along with other Disney promotional items) was simple; they were a major sponsor of  "The Wonderful World of Disney" on NBC. In fact, there were commercials that ran on that program promoting these albums!

Gulf Commerial

Isn't the internet wonderful?

So, the next time you're feeling down, remember that there was a time where just buying gas could bring an extra helping of joy!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Mighty Tiny Sound!

 Today I'm going to share something I picked up at an estate sale a few years ago, just because I thought it was cool! It's this unopened package of Mighty Tiny records!

This little card contains four records made for the Mighty Tiny record player. The Mighty Tiny was made in 1967 and was, in fact, a fully functioning record player that fit in the palm of your hand. The records came in a variety of genres, this card being "Dixieland & Jazz." It's tempting to open the card, but since other unopened cards are going for about a hundred bucks on eBay, while opened records go for about 30 bucks for four, I shant. 

What I'd really like to do is get a player to go with them. Again, they run for about a hundred bucks, so as much as I'd like one, I'm not rushing out to buy it. However, in my quest to be complete in my blog, I offer these pictures of a genuine (not mine!) Mighty Tiny record player!

This is it closed. It looks like the whole top is a speaker.

This is the inside. I think there's supposed to be a battery door on there, but I'm not sure. The design is pretty cool because the clamshell keeps the record in place no matter how you carry it. It really is portable!

Anyway no matter if I ever get the player or not, I have an unopened pack of four cool records! By the way, I'm pretty sure these are the same players (or close to them) as the players in the games "Voice of the Mummy" and "Seance."

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!