Hello, My first post! What a cool thread! There was a little store in my home town, not a record store but more like a giant newsstand in a building. They had everything from dirty novels to Cross pen and pencil sets, chocolates, newspapers, you name it. They also had a small bin of new records, usually what was very current, a hundred titles or so, maybe. Some how or another they always had a few of these in their selection too, and at the cheap price. Thank you for the nice memories reawakening! Charles
Making it weirder, looking at his album on EBay he was apparently only a singer, as all of the songs are by other writers. There is also a single by him for the label Parrot, and a self released album titled College Concert recorded in Minnesota (again mostly covers of obvious folk choices like "Everybody's Talkin'" and "Both Sides Now").
What I thought was strange about the series was that Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band were only featured twice. Once on a semi-easy listening compilation (Schlagers), and also on an R&B anthology years after Wright & co. left the label (Cookbook). They really should have been on one of the regular rock samplers. A self-contained, experimental funk band like this would have fit in well with the rest of the stable. Right on the edge of rock, like many funk bands were.
I would have loved to have heard "Do Your Thing" or one of its proto-funk album-mates too, I think it would have fit right in. In fact, you asked this just when the question popped into my head of "Who was signed to Warners that did not appear on Loss Leaders?" Whoever is on that list either refused to give up their royalties (a condition for inclusion) or weren't even asked (which shows who was on the outs with the company). Maybe Wright felt like hanging on to his royalties at first, and then loosened up as his sales went into decline?
Among Hamilton Camp's acting credits were The Andy Griffith Show, Gomer Pyle, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, M*A*S*H and WKRP in Cincinnati.
Yes, I can see how they would be, and it's not surprising they are rare over here, I mean there never was an "official" way to get them here, so... Most stores have their "various artists" stuff spread around many different sections for different genres and eras, so where do they put these since they are such a mixture(?), I mostly don't have the energy to go through all the junk to try to find them... I don't think these are very expensive when you find them though, it is just that one seldom does. The store where I found Songbook and Record Show for some reason had several copies of both, and they are mint copies and have the original liner notes. This is a rather good track, has anyone heard the full album and can comment on it?
I have heard a few tracks on YouTube. The title track is an interesting song reminding me a bit of Procol Harum while the others were less memorable.
The first two in the series were instantly recognizable to me by their covers. I've seen both, countless times over the years. I didn't recognize the 10/10/69 cover at all.
Somehow I doubt it. "Love Land" was included on Schlagers the same year that song was a hit. There were plenty of minor acts on the Warners stable between 1969-80 that never made the cut for those samplers, but as far as the ones who had some measure of fame...I don't believe I've ever seen an Ides Of March track on any of those albums. That's the only one I could think of.
Not the ones I owned. WB also had Allen Toussaint who made only one appearance on the Loss Leaders (on the same album side with the Meters, natch).
Actually (looking at the Dustbury site) the Meters were on four Loss Leader albums. Earth Wind & Fire were on one, the single LP Together.
None of these, except for Alternatives, were available for sale at any time. Warner/Reprise Radio Show, Burbanks Greatest Hits, New Music That Stays New (both) and Gold Medal were all promo only and distributed to those on the promo Warner mailing list (variously reviewers, record stores, radio stations, etc.). So the only similarity they share with Loss Leaders is that they were from Warner/Reprise and were samplers. But they weren't distributed to the public.
Yes, "The Sound Move" Datsun commercial is brilliant. I bought the few Loss Leaders albums I have for rarities like this. When I mentioned to Van Dyke (after a live performance a couple of years ago) that I had played this track on a two-hour radio special I did on him he was rather taken aback.
I bought "Looney Tunes" by cutting the coupon from an issue of Rolling Stone around '72-'73. I was 15 and didn't have a checking acct so I sent them 3 $1 bills. I probably waited a month, maybe less for the records to arrive. IIRC the box was not shrink wrapped and I really don't remember what the set was packaged in (I dispensed with it rather quickly!). I was thrilled when the box arrived. It turned me on to a bunch of artists I'd never heard (Black Sabbath, Little Feat, Beefhart, Randy Newman, Fleetwood Mac, Ry Cooder, etc. and I loved the radio spots - thought they were hilarious. That was the only 1 I bought, but reading this thread has piqued my interest in the rest of the series.
over the years I've bought used lps that have the coupon cut out of the inner sleeve. I bought big ball and merrie melodies directly from warners and sent cash!
They make their first appearance in 1971 on the tenth album, Together. Part of me has been kind of avoiding looking ahead to see what's coming just to preserve the surprises while I listen. But I've been taking peeks.
A Facebook friend of mine claims he sent away for a couple of those Loss Leader albums straight from Warners and actually got them. In 1986. Six years after the last ones were released.
seederman-gotta tell you, my favorite song on any of the loss leaders is coming up-the Stovall sisters version of spirit in the sky. it is killer and made me search out the lp!
Yeah, you're right. Seems the later LL's are much stronger on black music in general...Don't know if that means Warners was just releasing more of it.
They of course provided the backup to Norman Greenbaum on his recording, which judging from the hyperbole on the covers and ads, was a song very close to their hearts (and wallets). I'm intrigued to hear what it sounds like.
