STRANGE RARE WONDERFUL 1968 industrial musical - York air conditioning

$

160

If you've seen "Bathtubs Over Broadway" or read "Everything's Coming Up Profits," you know that private pressing "industrial musical" souvenir albums are some of the rarest and weirdest records in existence. These motivational musicals were only for dealers, salesmen, distributors and other industry insiders at sales meetings and conventions, and the souvenir vinyl records were not available to the public. And many of these shows boasted outstanding music and performances along with the bizarre corporate subject matter.

I'm the collector and historian profiled in the documentary "Bathtubs Over Broadway," and the co-author of "Everything's Coming Up Profits - The Golden Age of Industrial Musicals." I'm thinning out my stash of duplicates, and offering an assortment of records that range from the scarce, to the very rare, to the "you'll probably never encounter this again."

This is such a cool one. Forgive me, I didn't intend the pun. But I love these York air conditioner musicals (there were several). So much about them is loopy and fantastic.
"York Division of Borg-Warner" -- already we know we've sailed into some strange waters. Usually industrial show albums are the relics of companies you've heard of. But York has faded from public consciousness, I think, and we now must rely on their souvenir records to absorb any sort of feeling about the company.
And based on that cover, it's a feeling, in my opinion, of "this is so wrong that it's right." It's a cover very far afield from any known school of popular album cover design.
"Up From The Valleys" refers to one of the themes of the show: the importance of learning how to sell air conditioners even when it's not summer, as detailed in the amusing sad-sack salesman song "I Love 'Em, But I Can't Sell 'Em."
Other great Skip Redwine songs include "The Lesson," a musical mini-play about how to make profitable cold call vists to homeowners ("cold call"? Another pun? I swear I'm not trying to), "Land of Opportunity," a cheerful admission that salesmen "stretch the truth and stretch the pocketbook," and "Regional Roundup," a pastiche of song parodies about sales strategies in various sections of the country.
Another great thing about this York show is the highly unusual semi-gatefold design. The front cover is actually a paper sheet glued down on the left, so it opens like a magazine, revealing show info and credits and cast photos/bios inside. And the cast is pretty damn impressive -- Georgia Creighton and Jack Drummond are standouts.
The cover is in very nice shape (especially considering how fragile that front sheet is), and the vinyl is very good, with just a few stray marks. It plays fine with a few odd crackles and pops.
Rarer than most of the industrials I'm offering, this York show is top shelf in its visual and musical oddness, impressive level of execution, and all around fun. Absolutely essential for industrial show enthusiasts -- and for fans of obscure vintage air conditioning memorabilia.

Check out my other listings for many more killer examples of this deliciously strange and secret slice of American musical and corporate history, including another York show.

Buyers of multiple records get a break on shipping charges.