2003 JULY 7 #188
Yet another moronic puppet album that surfaced in a thrift store. I only found one reference to this on the internet after considerable digging. Apparently, this was a television show in Winnipeg and the reason Ktel devoted a whole album to it is likely because they are also based in Winnipeg. There are several other puppets on the show that butcher various tunes, including two by the Beatles. But this excellent reading of the Anne Murray classic is the standout track.
Be still my wooden heart.
- Gary Ouimet
TT-2:11 / 3MB / 192kbps 44.1khz
from the LP, "FUNTOWN: Favorite 20 Selections"
(K-tel NC 498) 1978
(Image courtesy of Gary Ouimet)
Doug Harvey writes:
Archie Wood and Friends, AKA Uncle Bob and Archie was
indeed a long-running local ventriloquist dummy show in
Winnipeg, I believe on the local station CTV. I remember
in its latter years (around the time this K-Tel collection
came out), the tech guys grew increasingly confrontational
with Uncle Bob, putting graphics that said things like ""Archie and his Fat Uncle" over the cheezy sub-cable
access effects between segments. Uncle Bob would be obviously
barely containing his rage while pretending to be in on
the joke. There was a sock puppet called Marvin the Mouse,
and a poodle called Petite, and sometimes Archie would
be in drag as his own cousin. They actually put out a
bunch of LPs - I have a few in storage somewhere, including
a particularly soporific Xmas LP I got autographed during
a personal appearance at Grant Park mall sometime in the
late 60's - from which K-Tel probably culled the collection
Gary found. K-Tel probably only bothered with it because
it was also a Winnipeg company.