This time, three REMC (Rural Electric Membership Corporation) gift 45s for Christmas, from 1964, 1965, and 1966. I only included the first sides of the first two; I skipped the usual flip-side Christmas carols. The third disc, from1966, has a story which continues through to the second side, so I ripped both sides (as one file). As records in the companies-plugging-their-own-services category go, the 1966 single is the masterpiece of the trio. Taking forever to get to the payoff, we hear the story of two kids--Randy and Ellen--who discover that Santa follows the REMC power lines to.... Darn, I gave it away.
Anyway, the Chipmunks-style REMC jingle at the close of the 1966 disc is classic. The sound quality is not. The fidelity is closer to 1946 than 1966, but... these things weren't produced for a mass audience.
I've found different accounts of what REMC stands for, but I trust this page: REMC Southeastern Indiana. The C is also said to stand for Co-op and Company, so... don't ask me. I'm just glad I finally discovered how Santa is able to find homes in rural areas, and... d'oh! I gave away the ending again. Dang it.
These have their charm, but Line Material they are not. I've put up the 1966 REMC 45 before, though I checked and discovered it's not in the blog history, so here it is again, along with the 1964 and 1965 discs, which are recent finds. You can do worse than these company-sponsored novelties. And you can do better. Or you can do the same. The possibilities are almost endless. The "Cranfill" mentioned on the 1966 label is the Cranfill Advertising Agency in Indianapolis, which has since changed its name.
In other news, I have no idea why the jingle repeats itself at the and of the 1964 side. It's as if the editor messed up--but it wasn't me. Fun jingle, so I'm cool with it.
How many of your Christmases, to date, have been Southeastern Indiana Rural Electric Membership Corporation Christmases? Not many, I'm betting. This post may change the way you experience the holiday.
DOWNLOAD: REMC Christmas, 1964-66
Ringing Everyone a Merry Christmas--Storyteller: Marti Mae (REMC RK4m-6964; 1964)
A Delightful Story of Christmas Fun in the Country--Storyteller: Marti Mae (REMC SK4M-4692; 1965)
REMC 1966 Gift Record--Storyteller: Jack Underwood (REMC TK4M-9554/9555; 1966)
Lee
3 comments:
Enjoy finding these shares you have online...it's been close to four years since I've downloaded goodies like this (computer crashes, 2nd shift job, stroke, etc...) Grew up between Ft. Wayne and Muncie, and remember Jack Underwood and his mid-morning show on WOWO. Got to meet him and the afternoon personality Chris Roberts in the studio when I was doing my final electronics project for my degree from ITT in the early 80s...AM Stereo!
Guess that's showing my age.
Looks like I downloaded these last year, but forgot to say thank you. So here is a belated Thanks! And a link to one that I shared recently that you didn't share...
https://ernienotbert.blogspot.com/2020/04/christmas-in-time-of-covid-19-part-9.html
Are yours single sided discs? I see you shared them as single files. Mine has two sides, part one and part two, though each side get a different title.
Thanks! And I combined the two sides, since they're continuing "stories." The first (I think it was the first) Randy and Ellen is about a minute's worth of story spread into five....
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