The first First Family album was recorded in front of an audience in the Ballroom studio at Fine Recording. John Quinn was the engineer (some of you might know John, he later owned The Mix Place studio on 5th Avenue, which had a very long run as a sound-for-picture studio). John told me that the recording took place the night that the Cuban missle crisis came to a head, I think meaning the night before the Soviet ships turned around and didn't try to run the blockade. He said everyone was aware of what was going on, which heightened the comedic tension and enhanced the intensity of the performance. Most bits were achieved in one take.
The second First Family album was done at Columbia's 30th Street studio.
Both albums used to be available on a reissue CD, I'm not sure if it's still in print.
Mike is right that mono versions of the first LP seem to be more common, but I've found several stereo around and there never is a shortage of the record at used LP places. In the dollar cutout bins at The Bop Shop in Rochester late last year, I counted no fewer than a dozen copies, I think all mono.
If what Mike said about the album being taken out of print after the JFK assassination is true, then it sold many, many copies in relatively short time, meaning it was quite a phenom in its day. It did win a Grammy.
The producer team on the First Family records, Robin and Dowd made another record at Fine Recording, "Welcome to the LBJ Ranch," again with John Quinn engineering. This was what I'd call performance art of a sort, "interviews" with various officials and celebrities of the day with the goofy answers spliced together from tapes of the actual people responding to media questions, performed in what sounds like real time in front of an audience. I'm not sure if this technique/comedic device had been used on a record album before.
-- Tom Fine
----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael Biel" <mbiel@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, June 12, 2009 2:35 PM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Vaughn Meader
For many years my only copy of Vol 2 was the stereo copy. I had not gotten it by the time of the assassination, and found it in Stereo Record King in Phila around 1965. I GRABBED IT QUICKLY! I got monos from about 2or 3 pressing plants years later. But I remember shopping for the best price of Vol 1 the weekend of Thanksgiving and seeing, for example, 300copies mono and no stereo on the counter at E.J. Korvettes in Paramus NJ for $1.79 which turned out to be the best price but they were GONE by the time I returned about an hour later!!! It was the closest store of the ones I checked, so it was first and then I decided to get it as I circled back towards home. My brother in law ended up getting it for me in NYC later the afternoon.
I have a shelf full of the tribute albums which took over the xmas season of 63 as this and My Son the Folk Singer had taken over the 62 season. I'm working on an article about this and was showing Leah some of the Billboard articles last night. But they are missing a couple of the important issues from the on=line file, and I already have those photocopied though.
Mike Biel mbiel@xxxxxxxxx
-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Vaughn Meader From: David Weiner <djwein@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Date: Fri, June 12, 2009 1:59 pm To: ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
By the way, despite charting high on the Billboard STEREO charts, stereo copies of the two First Family albums as well as My Son the Folk Singer are very rare. Of the thousands of copies of each that I have seen, I have only three stereo copies of the 1st First Family, and one each of Vol 2 and My Son. During the phenominal sales period for these albums Dec 62 thru 63 I never saw one stereo copy of any of these in dozens of major stores in the NYC area. I think that the reissues of the two First Family albums have been mastered off of mono vinyl pressings.
Mike Biel mbiel@xxxxxxxxx
======= I vividly remember buying Volume 2 of THE FIRST FAMILY at Sam Goody in Valley Stream, LI, right after it came out. On sale - think it was $2.88!
Near the front entrance, they had a BIG pile of the mono albums and a much smaller stack of stereos side-by-side. No shrink wrap! I bought the mono.
Dave Weiner
-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Vaughn Meader From: David Weiner <djwein@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Date: Fri, June 12, 2009 1:59 pm To: ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
By the way, despite charting high on the Billboard STEREO charts, stereo copies of the two First Family albums as well as My Son the Folk Singer are very rare. Of the thousands of copies of each that I have seen, I have only three stereo copies of the 1st First Family, and one each of Vol 2 and My Son. During the phenominal sales period for these albums Dec 62 thru 63 I never saw one stereo copy of any of these in dozens of major stores in the NYC area. I think that the reissues of the two First Family albums have been mastered off of mono vinyl pressings.
Mike Biel mbiel@xxxxxxxxx
======= I vividly remember buying Volume 2 of THE FIRST FAMILY at Sam Goody in Valley Stream, LI, right after it came out. On sale - think it was $2.88!
Near the front entrance, they had a BIG pile of the mono albums and a much smaller stack of stereos side-by-side. No shrink wrap! I bought the mono.
Dave Weiner