-----Original Message-----
From: Bob Snyder [mailto:bob.snyder@...]
Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2003 8:07 PM
To: Mellotronists@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [Mellotronists] Stan Beard & The Swinging Strings
"Snowbows"
I have a copy of Snowbows that was sent to me by (IIRC) Phil Milstein
who runs the "American Song Poem Music Archives". A semi-delightful
little piece, as opposed to most of the other song poem recordings that
I've heard.
Song Poems are a fascinating bit of forgotten Americana. Back in the
50's and 60's they would put ads in pulpy magazines for you to send in
your "Song Poems" (i.e. lyrics) and they would write the music, and
produce recordings of your work. People were suckered into paying them
money for what were hastily written and recorded bits of crap. Some of
it was slightly charming crap, like Snowbows.
Anyway, they discovered that the Chamberlin (this is long before the M
series, probably one of the Musicmaster line) made creating the little
ditties much easier. No session musicians needed!
Here's a quote from the ASPMA's website
<http://www.aspma.com/what_is.htm> :
"Stanton also introduced to the song-poem arsenal a pre-digital sampling
keyboard called the Chamberlin. Using strips of pre-recorded magnetic
tape, the Chamberlin was able to replicate any instrument in the
orchestra as well as human voices and sound effects. Following Stanton's
lead, other song-poem companies began using the instrument, recognizing
it as a less-expensive alternative to live bands or as an efficient
enhancement to an underlying band recording. Its eight-second strips of
tape limited the Chamberlin -- and its better-known English descendent,
the Mellotron -- to rather unnatural distortions of the instruments
sampled, although the song-poem entrepreneurs seemed hardly to have
noticed. In the hands of a sonic alchemist like Rodd Keith this con
became a pro, his deftness and inventiveness with the instrument proving
it to have a delightfully wheezy sound all its own. Sandy Stanton was
the LA-area distributor for Harry Chamberlin's eponymous device, and
even sold a unit to his chief local competitor, Preview Records and
their affiliate MSR Records."
Checkout the site. It's fascinating stuff.
http://www.aspma.com/what_is.htm
Bob S.
mellotrongirl wrote:
I heard this song just today on a just-out compilation on the
Bar/None Records label titled "The American Song-Poem Christmas" and
given the fact that many of these songs have a children's
1950's/1960's adult contemporary holiday theme about them, imagine my
surprise when I heard what sounds like MkII strings and noodling like
something off of Harrison's Wonderwall Music flailing about all
through the song. I thought it might have been the Big Band Beat
Optigan disc for a nanosecond, but the cool thing about this tune was
that you can hear the key attacks loud and clear.
Upon doing a little research (the CD's liner notes tell nothing), I
gfind out the song was the flip of a single from 1977. It sounded
like 1962! I thought I was on to some ancient Chamberlin gem at least.
I wonder why the band was called the "Swinging Strings"? Someone
trying to pull the wool over our eyes on a technicality?
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