A few weeks ago I ran a home tape recording of a band, getting together at a friends house and rehearsing – didn’t know who – didn’t know for what. All I knew is that it was an interesting glimpse of the all-too-familiar teenage ritual of being a garageband and maybe-maybe getting a career, or at least the girls in your school to notice you. This one was 1959 and it’s tantalizing to wonder who was actually on the tape and if there was an icon-in-the-making on those strands of brown oxide.
I also made mention of the fact that on the other side of the tape, no doubt the same kid who taped his band, was also an avid taper of songs off the radio. Because the garage band practice was from the 1958-1959 period, it was a certain bet the songs off the radio on the other side was from the same period. And there were certain “tells” that this was the case – I made mention of the fact that such luminaries from the period such as Alan Freed could be heard on some of these recordings. Bits and snippets – the main interest was the songs.
That spurred an avalanche of e-mails from readers who wanted to know what and who was on those tapes, and even having the chance to hear for themselves would be the opportunity of a lifetime.
I hesitated, mentioning the snippets were frustrating and, out of sheer frustration, I wasn’t going to run any of them.
They persisted – they weren’t going to take my word for it.
So I broke down and am offering the infamous “other side of the band tape” to prove once and for all that this is a slice of nostalgia that was never meant to be – the taper was no doubt a kid around 14 or 15 and with the customary short attention span most kids around that age have.
Making matters worse, I have a few hundred of these tapes and they are all the same way – maddening, frustrating – but ultimately sounding very clean, leading one to only imagine what a historic treasure these would have been if the kid JUST LET THE TAPE RUN. But no. Tape was not cheap, it was a precious commodity and every spare second had to be taken up with a song because, no doubt as a band member, he needed something to learn for the next Senior dance.
So I offer the next hour+ with a ton of caveats – wow, clips, warts and all – sound is great but lots is missing – important stuff; gone, never to be found. I will say, in all due fairness to the music – a lot of it has gone under the heading of Forgotten – the hits are the hits, but the music around the hits is interesting. A few gems – a lot of clunkers and this is what had your undivided attention in 1959.
So, accept my apologies – you begged me and I complied – listen to me next time and save yourself the frustration that I had to endure hour after hour, sifting through these tapes, looking for history. I go through this so you don’t have to – but no, you insisted.
Okay – over to you.
