Square Dance Records

[bjarvis]

A while ago, Dayle H. bought a load of 400+ square dance 45 rpm records on eBay. He's passed the box to us so we can take our pick of the lot.

Oh. My. God. They're horrid.

Well, more accurately, they're horribly dated. Few have dates marked on them but of those, none are newer than 1982 and some go back to the early 1960s. And 90% are my most hated labels: Lore, Windsor, Grenn, MacGregor, Jewel, Kalox. So many banjos, fiddles and accordions.

I'm sure they were all high quality stuff in their day. Of the 200+ I've listened to so far, only three would not get me laughed off the stage in shame.

And the subject material... oy! What bright light thought of "Hertz Rent-a-Chick" (Blue Star 1853)? "Wouldn't it be slick if they had a Hertz Rent-a-Chick? They'd sure get the business out of me!" WTF?!

I'm going to listen to the remaining records, just in case there's a gem buried somewhere in this steaming pile of records. My soul is taking major hit points today but I might be able to salvage something from it all.

Edit: I just located a record from 1957: "Marianne" by Folkraft Records.

Edit: *Six* copies of "Square Dancin' Man," MacGregor 1062? One is bad enough.

Comments

[quirkstreet.livejournal.com]

You should consider letting anybody you know who does podcasts at these. I'll bet there are some gems in the sense of "let's listen to how much popular taste really has changed."

I mean, Hertz Rent-A-Chick .... that's GOLD right there, son. I hear a delicious parody version featuring LGBT themes in my head, already. You've gotta know somebody who has one of those USB turntables who can digitize these for you. Could you work any of them in as palate cleaners for joke tips or something. WOW. ;-)

[bjarvis.livejournal.com]

I digitize the occasional 45 rpm record which is palatable... it's easy enough to run the line-out of our turntable to a computer to create the required MP3s.

Yeah, it might be great for parody if I could get past the initial wretching...

[quirkstreet.livejournal.com]

I hear you about dated, stereotypical instruments. And about male sexist piggism on the Rent-A-Chick track. Fer shure.

It's just that whenever I think of how dumb shit like Hertz Rent-A-Chick was, the next thing I think of is Bear 411. ;-) The more things change ....

[unzeugmatic.livejournal.com]

Brian: If at some point you are simply looking for a place to dump the records, let me know. My sister-in-law (Janine Smith) is a caller in the DC area, mostly contras and New England squares (for years she organized the contra dances at Glen Echo Park) and her particular speciality is singing calls.

-Steven

[bjarvis.livejournal.com]

Good thought! Generally, any records I don't want get circulated to other callers who may find something they'd like from the stack. I'll be able to find Janine in the local callers' directory.

[unzeugmatic.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure whether there is a crossover between Western Squares and New England Squares and Contras -- so if you can't find her in the local directory let me know.

Although I just did a google search on "Janine Smith" and "Square" "Dance" and whole bunch of stuff came up.

those records...

[justetthon.livejournal.com]

There is also the GCA SWOP SHOP that goes on every year at Caller's School. You could ship the records to Cleveland for the "school" and maybe some would find happy homes. Linda might also like to take a look, as she "likes" that kind of old-time square dance records. Really. :-)

[paigemom.livejournal.com]

I've probably run into your sister-in-law on numerous occasions, since I used to be quite the regular at Glen Echo on contra night.

I see you're from Minneapolis -- is that the Minnesota Traditional Morris kit you're wearing?

[unzeugmatic.livejournal.com]

No -- that's the kit for Ramsey's Braggarts Morris Men, the other all-male Cotswold Morris team in the Twin Cities.

Janine is a dark-haired woman in her early fifties with a fun-loving and exuberant personality. She's married to my brother Matt, who on rare occasion fills in with a band, but it's not really his music -- he's a bluegrass musician.

[paigemom.livejournal.com]

Wow, I didn't think anyone still wore all whites.

The names sound vaguely familiar, but it's been years since I lived in the DC area.

[unzeugmatic.livejournal.com]

I didn't think anyone still wore all whites.

I'm confused by this. All of the Cotswold Morris teams in the Twin Cities (including the teenage and children's teams) wear all white as their base kit. Here is a picture of the Giant Abram's Circle last Mayday, with all the Twin Cities teams visible in the semi-dark:

http://pics.livejournal.com/unzeugmatic/pic/000d922f/g19

Most of the midwest teams use white as the kit basis -- that is, white trousers and white shirt, usually with a vest rather than baldrics or suspenders (which is our team's weirdness). Here's a picture from a massed dance at last year's Midwest Morris Ale:

http://pics.livejournal.com/unzeugmatic/pic/000dw79g/g22

The all-dark kit is that of the visiting White Rats, from SF.

I suppose 19th-century tradition is really dark knickers, like the St. Louis team wears (visible in that massed dance).

Here I am in Melbourne, dancing with Britannia Morris (and one member of their sister team), also all in white kit:

http://pics.livejournal.com/unzeugmatic/pic/0006adpe/g16

So I'm not sure why you'd be surprised. Do you mean all-white without mitigating vests of a darker color?

[allanh.livejournal.com]

My favorite bad record is "Where Were You When The Ship Hit The Sand?", an interesting attempt on a racy lyric, but the music is terrible and the key changes are ... well, even more hideous than the title and the chorus.

[paigemom.livejournal.com]

Ahem. Ya got a problem with accordions, mister?

(now thinking up new and ingenious ways to torture the bearded brother-in-law)

Bwaaa-haaaa-haaaa

[bjarvis.livejournal.com]

Accordions are fine, but not in symphonies, funerals or square dances.

IMHO, anyway.

[paigemom.livejournal.com]

Okay, I'll grant you that.


(nice self-preservation move, btw, lol)

[billeyler.livejournal.com]

Actually, some of them I may be interested in for "Transitional" value. I have quite a collection of old records, but specifically, I'm looking for records that were dances unto themselves from 1948-1955...most of those I find on 78s.

[allanh.livejournal.com]

"Hurst Rent-A-Dick" certainly comes to mind, though I can't think of anyplace I'd be brave enough to sing it.

Now, "Hertz Rent-a-SCHTICK" might have some possibilities, especially if calling to other callers.

[rfrench.livejournal.com]

Hey I've got a copy of Square Dancin' Man, too! Want it?

I have huge collections of records that I've inherited from retired callers. They pretty much all suck. But I'd never heard of Hertz Rent-A-Chick. If I had been drinking something, I would have spewed it on the monitor.