Zero to 180 – Three Minute Magic

Discoveries of a Pop Music Archaeologist

Category: The Beatles

Experimental pop
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Blink and You Miss It — Zapple Records

The timeline in Barry Miles‘ memoir of his ever-so-brief tenure as manager of Zapple Records (“the brainchild of Paul McCartney“) says it all: 1 May 1969 — Zapple launched in the US 9 May 1969 — Zapple launched in the UK June 1969 — Zapple closed. No announcement, funding simply

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"Tomorrow Never Knows"
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Oddball Beatles EPs Worldwide

Last month’s surprising (and under-reported) research results pertaining to The Beatles’ controversial association with K-Tel, I assumed, had tapped the well of Beatledom dry.  So imagine my surprise when Zero to 180 researchers poked at 45Cat’s database with a stick and stumbled upon a treasure trove of curious and, at

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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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"It's a Super-Spectacular Day!"
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Mad Magazine’s Multi-Groove Flexi-Disc

Remember the Las Vegas Roulette record with the “multi-groove“ in which the tonearm stylus randomly selects (at least, in theory) one of 38 separate grooves – one for each slot on the roulette wheel – so as to allow partygoers the ability to play roulette from the comfort of home?   That’s

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60s/70s rock +/- pop
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Arif Mardin @ Muscle Shoals

Arif Mardin is a renowned producer, arranger, and music executive who also – surprisingly enough – recorded a couple solo albums for Atlantic.  This hard-hitting instrumental arrangement of Lennon’s “Glass Onion” (from the Beatles’ “White Album“) would be used as the (1) kick-off tune, (2) title track, and (3) debut

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"While My Guitar Gently Weeps"
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Charlie Byrd’s Guitar Weeps – Due to Late 60s Social Tumult

In an attempt to convince the skeptical (and serious) music purchaser that this album really is a wise investment in the quality of one’s listening experience, almighty Columbia tries to have its cake and eat it, too, with Charlie Byrd’s Aquarius album from 1969, as the unnamed writer of the

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"Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da"
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Ambrose Brazelton: Fab Four as Force for Fitness

In a noble attempt to leverage the Beatles’ massive popularity on behalf of making kids more physically fit all across America, Ambrose Brazelton – a lifelong educator and former Director of Health, Physical Education & Recreation for the Ohio public school system – went into a NYC recording studio in

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