Zero to 180 – Three Minute Magic

Discoveries of a Pop Music Archaeologist

Month: December 2017

"Come Back to Me"
Zeroto180

Streisand’s “Experimental” LP

Just for fun, find a casual fan of Barbra Streisand‘s music, and study her/his reaction closely when you play a fairly obscure track – “Come Back To Me” – for his/her virgin ears: “Come Back to Me” by Barbra Streisand (1973) Believe me, Zero to 180 is just as stunned

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"Candy Store Rock"
Zeroto180

True or False? Led Zep on K-Tel

True or False?  Led Zeppelin have appeared on a K-Tel album. Answer: ⇓ ⇓ ⇓ ⇓ ⇓ ⇓ ⇓ ⇓ ⇓ ⇓ True! The band that famously refused to do TV appearances did not, generally speaking stoop to K-Tel‘s level of crass commercialism.  Led Zeppelin cultivated such a mystique amongst

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"She's So Fine"
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Jimi Hendrix (and Beatles & Stones) on a K-Tel Album?

It still boggles my mind that Ronco somehow found a way to compile an album featuring tracks from top pop acts – Jimi Hendrix, Buffalo Springfield, The Beatles, and The Byrds – one would not normally associate with TV-advertised hits labels, such as Ronco. Jimi Hendrix — 3rd artist listed

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"One Way Ticket"
Zeroto180

Helen Reddy’s (Non-LP) Debut 45

Melbourne-born, Helen Reddy would begin her career in 1963 laying down vocals for a Consulate cigarette jingle with Bob Young and His Orchestra. Reddy’s win on Australian Bandstand would, according to Discogs, spur her big move in 1966 to the United States, where two years later, she would make her

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"Rudi's In Love"
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Forgotten 1968 UK Rocksteady 45

Thanks again to record collector extraordinaire, Tom Avazian — underwriter of numerous Zero to 180 research initiatives (most recently, Scotland’s The Poets) — who provided a vinyl copy of 1988 UK anthology, 20 One Hit Wonders, an album that includes a strong track from a band of Birmingham musicians, The

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"Fred's Delicatessen"
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Smitten by the “Break-In” Record

I must have been about 9 or 10 when I first became aware of the “break-in” record, in which the man-on-the-street dishes up pop hit sound bites in response to each and every one of the news reporter’s questions.  I remember hearing “Watergrate” and “Mr. Jaws” on Cincinnati’s pop juggernaut,

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"I Love Monsters Too"
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Alex Harvey Loves Monsters, Too

Most music fans in the US (and even quite a few in the UK) are unaware that a major 1970s British rock star put out an album on K-Tel (!) during a period of peak popularity – one entitled Alex Harvey Presents the Loch Ness Monster, no less.  There’s a

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"Moon Maiden"
Zeroto180

Duke Ellington Meets Apollo 11

Eternal debt of gratitude to Larry Appelbaum of WPFW’s Sounds of Surprise program for pointing listeners (including myself) to a fascinating moment in our nation’s history about which not enough seems to have been written. “Moon Maiden“ Duke Ellington Quartet @ ABC in NYC July 21, 1969 A rather surreal

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"Cycle Annie"
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“Foreman”: Sanitation Engineer

Scooter “The Music Computer” Magruder – WPFW radio host and general manager of Silver Spring’s Roadhouse Oldies – has work tirelessly to fan the flames of appreciation for our shared musical heritage over the years.  My recent album purchases at Roadhouse Oldies affirmed yet again that plenty of interesting songs remain

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