Zero to 180 – Three Minute Magic

Discoveries of a Pop Music Archaeologist

Category: Various artists compilations

"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"
Zeroto180

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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"Cycle Annie"
Zeroto180

“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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"Ice Cream and Suckers"
Zeroto180

Earliest Recording of a Melodica?

July 2020 Update:  Click here for the latest info One of Zero to 180’s earliest pieces (from 2012) concerned itself with documenting the earliest recording of a melodica (i.e., keyboard version of a harmonica), and 1966* seems to be year to beat in this regard, with the composer, Steve Reich,

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"Another Woman's Man"
Zeroto180

Seymour Stein & King Records II

Henry Stone on Seymour Stein of Sire Records: “When I left King Records about 1956 I guess, Seymour Stein ended up interning there with Syd Nathan.  He was a young kid.  He must be about 10 years younger than me, must be about 75, or 80 by now. He fell

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"Money, Marbles and Chalk"
Zeroto180

King Records Meets “Big Red” – Seymour Stein (Pt. 1)

In May, 2015’s piece about Guitar Crusher, it was pointed out that Seymour Stein, along with fellow Sire Records co-founder, Richard Gottehrer, had done production work on a Columbia recording in 1967, having formed Sire Productions the year before.  As Billboard would note in its chronology of the music industry

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"Yancey Special"
Zeroto180

“Yancey Special”: Prog Reggae II

Keith Emerson captivated me as a grade schooler with the deep, heavy Moog sounds he conjured for Emerson, Lake & Palmer‘s “Lucky Man,” fittingly, the final track on a 4-LP box set from 1973 that got a lot of mileage in our household growing up, Superstars of the Seventies — one

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"Gonna Get Along Without You Now"
Zeroto180

Bossa Country -or- Honky Nova?

On my one and only visit to Northampton, Massachusetts (NRBQ‘s 35th anniversary show in 2004), I ducked into a second-hand vinyl shop and came away with a K-Tel country collection from 1976 — Country Superstars – 20 Greatest Hits This collection of early-to-mid 70s hits includes 1976 dieselbilly hit “Roll

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"The Americans (A Canadian's Opinion)"
Zeroto180

A Canadian Defends America

I own fifty or more K-Tel (and Ronco) hits LPs that were issued from the late 1960s to the early 1980s.   I almost passed on Music Power recently, since the cover looked so similar to K-Tel’s other offerings from the early 70s, but upon closer examination, I had to admit

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"Seven Deadly Finns"
Zeroto180

“Seven Deadly Finns”: Roots Rock Rediscovery

Back in the days of vinyl (i.e., “before music was free”), there seemed to be endless time to pore over the contents of a record album.  However, truth is we invested the time, since budgetary restraints (and lack of YouTube) made it incumbent upon the listener to really make the

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