K-Tel's 'Hit Machine' Album (1976)-- Part 2: "Let Your Love Flow"

 Continued from September 1.

These were the ten songs on the flipside of the album.

ISLAND GIRL--  Elton John

A FIFTH OF BEETHOVEN--  Walter Murphy & the Big Apple Band

LET YOUR LOVE FLOW-- Bellamy Brothers

WELCOME BACK--  John Sebastian (No Sweathogs allowed.)

EVIL WOMAN--  Electric Light Orchestra

TAKE A HAND--  Rick Springfield (Not Springsteen)

ROCK AND ROLL ALL NITE--  Kiss

I'M NOT LISA--  Jessi Colter

WHO LOVES YOU--  Four Seasons (What?  No Valli?)

DISCO LADY--  Johnnie Taylor

Lots of Bang for Your Buck, You Know.

Name That Tune (from the above songs):  "Your Dreams Were Your Ticket Out."  Answer below.  --RoadDog

"Welcome Back"

K-Tel's 'Hit Machine' Album, 1976-- Part 1: 'Love Really Hurts Without You"

I bought this album at The Vinyl Frontier in McHenry, Illinois, on Saturday for Record Store Day for $3.

I had my eye on this album or possibly one about the old TV show "Hee-Haw."

For $3, I got twenty songs from 1976.

(SHAKE, SHAKE, SHAKE) SHAKE YOUR BOOTY--  K.C.& the Sunshine Band
RIGHT BACK WHERE WE STARTED FROM--  Maxine Nightingale
MOONLIGHT FEELS RIGHT--  Starbuck

SUMMER--  War
WHEN WILL I BE LOVED--  Linda Ronstadt
HAPPY DAYS--  Pratt & McClain
OUR DAY WILL COME--  Frankie Valli

(YOU'RE) HAVING MY BABY--  Paul Anka
LOVE REALLY HURTS WITHOUT YOU--  Billy Ocean
DISCO DUCK (PART 1)--  Rick Dees  & His Class of Idiots

Name That Tune (from the above songs):  "I've Been Cheated, Been Mistreated."  Answer below.  --RoadDog


"When Will I Be Loved"

Well, I Went to My Local Record Store on Record Store Day Today

I drove to McHenry, Illinois, just a few hours ago and visited my usual mom and pop record store, The Vinyl Frontier.  I always thought that was a great name for a record store.  Quite catchy.

However, this year, the store was not participating.  Evidently there is a $1500 cost involved to be in it, and business has been so bad thanks to you-know-what, they are sitting this one out.

However, I did what I was going to do anyway and that was buy at least one album and five CDs.

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ALBUM

K-Tel Hit Machine  ($3)  1976  Those old K-Tel and Ronco collection albums were a great way to build up your record collection cheaply.  They usually had at least 20 songs.

Some of the ones on this album:

Shake Your Booty--  K.C. & Sunshine Band
Summer-- War
When Will I be Loved--  Linda Ronstadt
Disco Duck--  Rick Dees

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CDs  The Vinyl Frontier always has a 5 for $20 special.

**Nuggets from Nuggets  Great Garage Rock.

**  The Copulation Compilation  Including "The Rodeo Song" and "The I-95 Song"

**  American Beauty--  Grateful Dead  I loved their studio albums, but hated their shows, but I hate jamming.

**  Some Girls--  Rolling Stones

**  Electric Barnyard--  Kentucky Headhunters

I Did My Part for the Mom and Pop Record Stores.  --RoadDog

PONDER THIS:  The easiest way to find something lost around the house is to buy a replacement.  Amen to that!

I Made It To Record Store Day-- Part 2: CD and K-Tel Albums

I went to the Vinyl Frontier Record Store in McHenry, Illinois, for Record Store Day this past Saturday.

I bought the Harry Nilsson Anthology CD with two CDs worth of his songs.  Always love the two-fers.  It has all of his Top 100 hits including "Me and My Arrow," "Without You," "Coconut," "Jump Into the Fire" and "Everybody's Talkin'."

Unfortunately, it did not have the song "Rainmaker" which was on the flip side of "Everybody's Talkin'" and was played so often at Rick's in DeKalb, Illinois, back during my freshman year at NIU.

I have a great love for the collection albums, where you really get your money's worth.  I often refer to them as K-Tel albums because of that company that put out so many of this type of album.  I know some record buffs don't like them and, at the mom and pop record stores, they are usually very cheap.

But, Give Me a K-Tel Anytime.  --RoadDog

SOME INTERESTING AND IRONIC PREDICTIONS (From the Wassup magazine):  "We don't like their sound and guitar music is on it's way out."  --Decca Records memo declining to sign the Beatles, 1962.

Ronco's Been Sliced and Diced- So Much for Those 50-Year Guarantees

The June 16th Chicago Tribune Business section reports that Ron Popeil's empire has filed for bankruptcy in California. Good old Ron sold Ronco two years ago for around $55 million, and the new owners still owe him almost $12 million. Other major creditors are the Food Network, QVC, and Court TV, where much of the advertising was done.

Over the years, Ronco, based in Simi Valley, Ca, has sold $1.4 billion worth of products, $19.99 and $39.99 at a time, "but wait, there's more..." Ron started it in 1964.

It also went through another bankruptcy in the 1980s.

Thanks to Ron Popeil's personal sales pitch, such terms as Ronco, Popeil, and o-matic have become a part of pop culture. "...how much would you pay now?"

He first sold inventions of his father, S.J. Popeil: Veg-o-Matic and Popeil's Pocket Fisherman. Then, in the 70s, he developed products of his own: Ginsu Knives and Armorcote non-stick pans. Obviously, he got big into the infomercial scene in the 1990s. Other products were the compact rotissiere, food hydrators, the bagel-cutter, and Dial-o-Matic.

I believe that at one time, they sold collections of popular music similar to today's NOW CDs, but, of course, they were albums. This was in competition with K-Tel. Anybody remember those good old K-Tel albums with ten songs on a side.

You can watch classic Ronco spiels at www.biography.com.

Hey, Ron, How Much Postage I Gotta Pay? --RoadDog