Post by memphis on Sept 9, 2009 8:36:23 GMT -5
It Happened At The World's Fair - Instantaneous Discs
Whilst surfing the web recently I came across the following:
Between the soaring popularity of recorded sound on the discs of the early twentieth century and the high-fidelity recording capabilities of magnetic tape achieved after World War II lies the brief but enthusiastic niche of the instantaneous disc. Developed in the 1930s and used well into the late 1940s, 1950s and 1960's as an inexpensive and accessible method of recording, the instantaneous disc was different from commercially distributed records. The instantaneous disc – sometimes called lacquers, acetates , transcription discs, old time radio (OTR) recordings, Insta-discs, dubs, or reference recordings – was a “compromise of ease of engraving and playback life,” composed of softer materials than mass produced phonographs and thus more fragile and susceptible to the hazards of playback. Created using a special turntable either acoustically or magnetically, instantaneous discs created immediately available recordings that were unique, consumer-initiated sonic time capsules of a period in which media innovations were broadening and linking the world in a way quite similar to present day computer technology and the internet.
Listed below this entry was a list of songs on Instantaneous Disc from several of Elvis' films. Looking through the titles of the songs I saw the following and thought I had stumbled on an unreleased Elvis track.
"The Life I Love." SC-2481-1. MGM, Culver City, Calif. August 24, 1962. #20411, Series 4. It Happened at the World's Fair., Audiodisc FD-1190
In the circumstances I e-mailed the source of the article which was the Southern Folklife Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. They assured me the track was sung by Elvis. I purchased a copy of the disc in question and on it's arrival I waited with baited breath. Unfortunately the track was not sung by Elvis but by an unknown singer whom I originally thought was P.J. Proby (real name James Marcus Smith) or Jett Powers as he was then known. I e-mailed The Wilson Library and informed them about my findings and as a result they published the following on the Web:
"Often we rely on our researchers for valuable information about the material in our collections: they are the ones who spend the most time with the material, and they definitely have the most expertise. A case in point: a recent discovery in our Elvis Presley Instantaneous Disc Collection, from a set of acetate masters for the soundtrack of the 1963 Elvis movie It Happened at the World’s Fair. A researcher who specializes in all things Elvis has pointed out that one of the the songs in the collection, “The Life I Love” (FD-1190), is not a recording of Elvis Presley at all, but most likely sung by P.J.Proby, a Texas native whose act the folks at MGM apparently found so Elvis-like that they contracted him to record demos of songs they were considering for Presley. It makes sense that this particular song would only exist in demo form: “The Life I Love” never appeared in the movie, so it’s likely Elvis never recorded his own version, and the existing Presley discographies make no mention of the song. P.J.Proby would go on to have a very impressive recording career of his own, scoring three top-ten hits in the UK in the mid-sixties, appearing on the Beatles TV Special, and recording an album with the future members of Led Zeppelin. Later in his career Proby would continue to capitalize on his similarities to Elvis, portraying the King in various productions of Elvis: The Musical."
Having listened a lot more to the recording I am still not sure who is actually singing the song. Perhaps you may know - you can hear the track at the following URL: www.lib.unc.edu/blogs/sfc/index.php/2009/07/15/youre-no-elvis-pj-proby/
Anyway, here are the words to the song:
"Got no ties, got no strings, don't know where I'm headed
But I'm spreading my wings, I love the life I live and I'm living the life I love
Oh I got no strings, got no ties, looking on my light in every cloud in the skies
I'm loving the life I live and I'm living the life I love
Got a lot of girls waiting for me
Got em waiting under a Apple Tree
But when they say I'm the only one
I run, Bye Bye, it's been fun
Oh I'm feeling great, things look good
crossing all my fingers and I'm knocking on wood
I thank my lucky stars above
That I'm living the life I love
Got a lot of girls waiting for me
Got em waiting under a Apple Tree
But when they say I'm the only one
I run, Bye Bye it's been fun
Oh I'm feeling great, things look good
Crossing all my fingers and knocking on wood
I thank my lucky stars above
That I'm living the life I love
Oh Yes I'm living the life I love."
As it happens I purchased all of the 'World's Fair' tracks and when I saw 'Take Me To The Fair' I automatically assumed it would be the track we all know and love as sung by Elvis. To my surprise it was a totally different song and again sung by an unknown singer whom I originally believed to be P.J. Proby/Jett Powers. Now I have my doubts.
The words to the song are as follows:
"Potato Chips, Rocket Ships, Pony Tails and Mono Rails
Folks are just from everywhere
Oh Take Me, Take Me To The Fair
Candy Bars and Trips To Mars
Brand New Worlds and Brand New Girls
Big Space Needle In The Air
Oh Take Me, Take Me To The Fair
There's girls in bikinis walking down the street, little dutch maids are great
Eskimo Cuties and Arapaho beauties
Wow what a great parade
Cowboy Shirts and Hula Skirts
Southern Belles and Madamoiselles, Pretty girls from everywhere
Oh Take Me, Take Me To The Fair
- Short Instrumental break -
Well, Eskimo Cuties and Arapaho Beauties
Wow what a great parade
Cowboy Shirts and Hula Skirts
Southern Belles and Madamoiselles
Take Me, Take Me To The Fair
Take Me, Take Me To The Fair."
It would have certainly been interesting to hear Elvis sing the said songs as they are quite good.
Brian
Whilst surfing the web recently I came across the following:
Between the soaring popularity of recorded sound on the discs of the early twentieth century and the high-fidelity recording capabilities of magnetic tape achieved after World War II lies the brief but enthusiastic niche of the instantaneous disc. Developed in the 1930s and used well into the late 1940s, 1950s and 1960's as an inexpensive and accessible method of recording, the instantaneous disc was different from commercially distributed records. The instantaneous disc – sometimes called lacquers, acetates , transcription discs, old time radio (OTR) recordings, Insta-discs, dubs, or reference recordings – was a “compromise of ease of engraving and playback life,” composed of softer materials than mass produced phonographs and thus more fragile and susceptible to the hazards of playback. Created using a special turntable either acoustically or magnetically, instantaneous discs created immediately available recordings that were unique, consumer-initiated sonic time capsules of a period in which media innovations were broadening and linking the world in a way quite similar to present day computer technology and the internet.
Listed below this entry was a list of songs on Instantaneous Disc from several of Elvis' films. Looking through the titles of the songs I saw the following and thought I had stumbled on an unreleased Elvis track.
"The Life I Love." SC-2481-1. MGM, Culver City, Calif. August 24, 1962. #20411, Series 4. It Happened at the World's Fair., Audiodisc FD-1190
In the circumstances I e-mailed the source of the article which was the Southern Folklife Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. They assured me the track was sung by Elvis. I purchased a copy of the disc in question and on it's arrival I waited with baited breath. Unfortunately the track was not sung by Elvis but by an unknown singer whom I originally thought was P.J. Proby (real name James Marcus Smith) or Jett Powers as he was then known. I e-mailed The Wilson Library and informed them about my findings and as a result they published the following on the Web:
"Often we rely on our researchers for valuable information about the material in our collections: they are the ones who spend the most time with the material, and they definitely have the most expertise. A case in point: a recent discovery in our Elvis Presley Instantaneous Disc Collection, from a set of acetate masters for the soundtrack of the 1963 Elvis movie It Happened at the World’s Fair. A researcher who specializes in all things Elvis has pointed out that one of the the songs in the collection, “The Life I Love” (FD-1190), is not a recording of Elvis Presley at all, but most likely sung by P.J.Proby, a Texas native whose act the folks at MGM apparently found so Elvis-like that they contracted him to record demos of songs they were considering for Presley. It makes sense that this particular song would only exist in demo form: “The Life I Love” never appeared in the movie, so it’s likely Elvis never recorded his own version, and the existing Presley discographies make no mention of the song. P.J.Proby would go on to have a very impressive recording career of his own, scoring three top-ten hits in the UK in the mid-sixties, appearing on the Beatles TV Special, and recording an album with the future members of Led Zeppelin. Later in his career Proby would continue to capitalize on his similarities to Elvis, portraying the King in various productions of Elvis: The Musical."
Having listened a lot more to the recording I am still not sure who is actually singing the song. Perhaps you may know - you can hear the track at the following URL: www.lib.unc.edu/blogs/sfc/index.php/2009/07/15/youre-no-elvis-pj-proby/
Anyway, here are the words to the song:
"Got no ties, got no strings, don't know where I'm headed
But I'm spreading my wings, I love the life I live and I'm living the life I love
Oh I got no strings, got no ties, looking on my light in every cloud in the skies
I'm loving the life I live and I'm living the life I love
Got a lot of girls waiting for me
Got em waiting under a Apple Tree
But when they say I'm the only one
I run, Bye Bye, it's been fun
Oh I'm feeling great, things look good
crossing all my fingers and I'm knocking on wood
I thank my lucky stars above
That I'm living the life I love
Got a lot of girls waiting for me
Got em waiting under a Apple Tree
But when they say I'm the only one
I run, Bye Bye it's been fun
Oh I'm feeling great, things look good
Crossing all my fingers and knocking on wood
I thank my lucky stars above
That I'm living the life I love
Oh Yes I'm living the life I love."
As it happens I purchased all of the 'World's Fair' tracks and when I saw 'Take Me To The Fair' I automatically assumed it would be the track we all know and love as sung by Elvis. To my surprise it was a totally different song and again sung by an unknown singer whom I originally believed to be P.J. Proby/Jett Powers. Now I have my doubts.
The words to the song are as follows:
"Potato Chips, Rocket Ships, Pony Tails and Mono Rails
Folks are just from everywhere
Oh Take Me, Take Me To The Fair
Candy Bars and Trips To Mars
Brand New Worlds and Brand New Girls
Big Space Needle In The Air
Oh Take Me, Take Me To The Fair
There's girls in bikinis walking down the street, little dutch maids are great
Eskimo Cuties and Arapaho beauties
Wow what a great parade
Cowboy Shirts and Hula Skirts
Southern Belles and Madamoiselles, Pretty girls from everywhere
Oh Take Me, Take Me To The Fair
- Short Instrumental break -
Well, Eskimo Cuties and Arapaho Beauties
Wow what a great parade
Cowboy Shirts and Hula Skirts
Southern Belles and Madamoiselles
Take Me, Take Me To The Fair
Take Me, Take Me To The Fair."
It would have certainly been interesting to hear Elvis sing the said songs as they are quite good.
Brian