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:
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!
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!
